GPT07 - Laguna Dial

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Laguna Dial

GPT07

This is a simplified track file, not suitable for navigation on terrain. To get the detailed file see the following section on the main Greater Patagonian Trail article __ Main trail __ Packrafting Instructions to follow the track in your smartphone

Summary (editar) Activity Trekking Location Chile, Linares Scenery Atractiva Atractions Vistas panorámicas Duration días "Días" no está en la lista de valores posibles (3 horas o menos, 1/2 día, 3/4 día, 1 día, 1 día y medio, 2 días, 3 días, 4 días, 5 días, 3 - 5 días, 6 - 7 días, 8 - 10 días, 11 - 14 días, 15 - 20 días, 20 - 25 días, 26 - 35 días, 36 - 60 días, 61 - 89 días, más de 90 días) para esta propiedad. Trail Siempre Claro Signage Inexistente Infraestructure Inexistente Topology Cruce Gain/Loss (meters) +5611, -5857 Distance (k) 155.2 Skills No requiere Original creator Jan Dudeck Download KMZ/GPX Debes registrarte para descargar. Formulario es BREVISIMO Para ver estos botones debes registrarte. Toma 30 segundos: es un formulario minusculo, de solo 3 campos obligatorios.

Season Section Log

• 2020-Jan-3 / Maddie & Tom / Regular Route Southbound

5 days. Starting at El Medano, hiking the regular route southbound towards El Ingles. 11km in we encountered a gate to get onto the trail with private property signs. However no one was there so we walked in without difficulty by walking around the fence (it was late Christmas Day however so it could have been quiter than normal). In general a nice route however when the track descends into cow pastures it gets very boggy and the track sometimes disappears. We did not think there were any dangerous spots. To resupply at the end of the section we took a bus in the morning from Los Sauces (10am) to San Fabian. We caught the same bus back at 1pm. Great selection of cheap food in the local ‘mountain’ supermarket and overall a good town for resupply options. It had methylated spirits for cooking but the bottle did not state the concentration. I suspect around 70%.

• 2019- Dec - 29/ Tyler & America / Optional start at Cruze de Melao then RR Sobo / 8 Days

We took our sweet time through this section. The optional start helped...as we were able to hitch all the way up to the RR at Carizales. (Bus from Talca @3, 2000 CP each) Hot springs near Carizales were warm & awesome. Two nice little tubs. We took our time and had a great time with all the arrieros along the way. Irma sells beer, wine, and delicious cheese. Other arrieros will welcome you in and treat you like family as well...so be sure to leave them with whatever you feel fit in return. All river crossings good, be diligent on filtering throughout this entire section. Dog at El Ingles shop bit me, so be careful with that. We camped down by the river for free. Bus leaves at 7:00 and 10:00 to San Fabian, and amazingly friendly town. We got a 1 bed Cabin at Cabanas Nativa for 30,000/N total. Pool, private bath & kitchen, ok WiFi, welcoming people. Fine town for re supply.

• 2019-Dec-18 / Lea Geibel & Kevin Moe / Optional/Exploration Route around Laguna del Maule / 4 days /

After finishing section 5 we only had 4 days left before the end of our hiking time, so we decided to do some exploring in the area instead of following the regular route of section 7. We followed the main road to the Laguna del Maule where we roughly went in a loop around the Laguna (~60km) starting at the Chilean Border Control. We checked in with the border control and informed them about our plans (that involved to not cross into Argentina but stay in Chile, just behind the Border Control). It was no problem for them, we just had to go through the Border Control again on our way back to have our backpacks checked for food. The water level of the laguna is very low and walking along the shore is mostly easy travel on sand/pumice, however, sometimes can be rather rocky and tedious. We climbed up some of the 3000 meter peaks around the Laguna (that mark the border with Argentina), each of them offering beautiful views on the area. There are several beautiful hidden lagunas higher up in glaciers that are well worth exploring. We never followed any particular route but just headed cross country to whichever place we fancied, which is very easy in the open, sandy terrain. The Southern end of the Laguna has many flamingos living in it, the East shore is mostly untouched by humans and the east side has some puestos and fishermen (mostly on weekends and close to the roads) but we didn't see anyone around. Around the Laguna there is a very strong thermal wind that picks up during the day but dies down/weakens a lot during the nights. Highlights: all the views, swimming in laguna, lava fields flowing into the laguna, flamingos, numerous obsidian fields, empanadas de queso at the bistro right next to the border control (only open on weekends)

• 2019-Dec-24 / Martina & Ivo / Regular Route Southbound

7 days for this awesome section. Absolutely agree with all of Matus & Anna's remarks :-) We went to San Fabian (excellent resupply place) for some days off.

• 2019-Dec-24 / Matus & Anna / Regular route SOBO

This section took us 5 days. Trail was in good conditon. River crossings were not a problem but plenty of water everywhere. In tienda in Carizales you can buy pasta, tuna, cola, beer some cookies. We bought huge chunk of cheese and some bread from Irma. It was amazing. Tienda in El Ingles is not best for resupply. We saw some tunas and pasta, but it was not enough for us to buy for next section. There is one more tienda down the road in Los Sauces but it was closed with no one around. We took bus to San Carlos which is leaving at 7am. We didn't find accomodation in El Ingles but it's possible to camp just before the bridge on the right side of the road.

Summary Table

GPT07: Laguna Dial

GPT07: Laguna Dial				Hiking		Packrafting
Group	B: Zona Arrieros		Total	155.5 km	49 h	153.3 km	47 h
Region	Chile: Maule (VII) & Bío Bío (VIII)		Trails (TL)	126.9 km	81.6%	115.4 km	75.3%
Start	La Mina (Termas del Médano)		Minor Roads (MR)	5.4 km	3.5%	5.4 km	3.5%
Finish	Puente Ingles		Primary Roads (PR)	11.3 km	7.3%	11.3 km	7.4%
Status	Published & Verified		Cross-Country (CC)	11.9 km	7.7%	12.2 km	8.0%
Traversable	Jan - Mar (Maybe: Dec, Apr)		Bush-Bashing (BB)	-	-	-	-
Packraft	Deployable		Ferry (FY)	-	-	-	-
Connects to	GPT06, GPT08		Investigation (I)	-	-	-	-
Options	714 km (8 Options & Variants)		Exploration (EXP)	-	-	-	-
	Hiking	Packrafting		Total on Water		9.0 km	5.9%
Attraction	4 (of 5)	4 (of 5)		River (RI)		-	-
Difficulty	3 (of 5)	3 (of 5)		Lake (LK)		9.0 km	5.9%
Direction	Both ↓↑	Both ↓↑		Fjord (FJ)		-	-
Comment	-
Character	Forest, Alpine Terrain, Hot Springs, Mountain Pastures, Arrieros
Challenges	Demanding River Fords, Exposure to Elements, Resupply Distance

Elevation Profile

Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)

Section Attractiveness

Thissection of the Greater Patagonian Trail leads in four to five hiking days through the wide open valley Melado to the crystal clear Laguna Dial. This lake was formed by a volcanic eruption that plugged the upper valley and transformed this part of the river into a long lake.

With the melting snow in spring and early summer herdsmen migrate up the valley with their animals. Occasional lush green patches intermigle with vegetation that struggles with the try soil. But the now visible life and the accompanying river Melado make a refreshing change after having crossed the death beauty of volcanic ash and lava in the week before on section 1. Don’t miss the puesto of Señora Irma, where you can eat fresh goat cheese with bread that was recently baked in the hot ash of a fire.

After having passed the deep blue Laguna Dial you descent through the now tighter but equally scenic valleys of the rivers Rió Rodriguez and Los Sauces to the small settlement Pichi Rincon and a place called El Ingles. Here you can take a bus to the small town San Fabian to take a rest and to resupply.

Access to Route and Return

Access to Start

Bus Talca - Termas El Medano

07:00 and 15:00

from Terminal Talca

Images

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  Laguna Dial

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  Laguna Dial

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