GPT05 - Río Colorado
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GPT Section Articles
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Recent Alerts and Suggestions
- 2018-Dec / Martin Lizondo / Regular Route Southbound
Volcán Planchón Peteroa in "alerta amarilla", so passing is not allowed. I had to skip the section and continue GPT6 from Puente Inglés.
Season Section Log
- Start Date: December 24, 2019
- Section: GPT 5 + 6
- Duration: 7 days
- Name/Alias: Ian Hikes
- Overview: So, I decided to combine GPT sections 5 and 6 in order to avoid a 30k out and back resupply section into parque ingles. I thought this was a good decision for me and really enjoyed being out there for a week. In my opinion this was the hardest section of the GPT in between sections GPT 01-10. I went the first 5 days without seeing another person which I thought was quite cool. So, these two sections are quite remote, and you are way out there in the mountains. There was also some pretty intense river crossing in “GPT Section 5” that I found to be manageable (keep in mind I’m 185cm and have lots of thru hiking experience.) but still a little difficult. The rivers were also very dark and murky which made it hard to see where you would step. There was also an improvised bridge crossing the Colorado River that I used, and thought was safe to use. These two sections are dominated by a volcanic profile with much of the route on ash and volcanic rock. Most of the route is very exposed and there are not many trees or vegetation that grow in the volcanic ash/rocks. There was plenty of water with springs coming out of the hills everywhere and then disappearing into the sand.
- Difficulties: It was slow going walking thru the sand, especially when hiking vertically. Exposure to the sun. River crossings. Isolation and remoteness. Hiking up and down lose rock and scree fields.
- Highlights: Hot Springs. Great views of the volcanic region. Mountain Lakes. Sunrise and Sunsets were epic with the landscape.
- Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at ultratrailca@gmail.com
- 2019-Dec-8 / Martina & Ivo / Regular route southbound
Six (hard) days for this section. After the first pass there was a tiny snowfield to cross, nothing to worry about. River crossings didn't cause any problems. The bridge Puente Las Yeguas was in excellent condition. The navigation through the cross country parts was quite demanding and took us a lot of time. Right of way conflict before the Laguna Mondaca: The whole valley is private property and belongs to a guy who comes by helicopter for fly fishing at the weekends. His guards spotted us several hours before we arrived at their puesto but welcomed us very friendly and explained everything. They let us camp at the Estero del Volcan. At Parque Ingles we found food and accommodation. There is a bus to Molina (for schedule see section "Access to route").
- 2019-Dec 9 / Ty & America / RR SOBO
7 nights 8 days for us. Super tough section. The entire area around Rio Colorado is extremely challenging; down & up. We went the alternate route to the Hot Springs. (OH-CC-A@05-C-#001). I was tough with multiple steep gullies, then we got there to see the hot springs were COLD. Then the optional hike to Re connect with the RR from the hot springs (OH-CC-A@05-E-#002) was completely impassable. I didn’t go all the way up to the canyon wall. All I could see were route that would take some serious climbing. We had to down climb and take the lower route to climb up again. Property dispute near Volcan Mondaco had no problems. Quiet and didn’t seem like anybody was there for us. Parque Inglés - Molina Bus leaves at 7 am on the weekdays, we hitchhiked.
- 2019-Dec-17 / Matus & Anna / Regular SOBO and Optional to meet optional start of GPT06
It took us 5 days including 1 zero due to bad weather. I agree with everything what was written in previous updates for GPT05. Cross country sections were difficult, but in some of them we managed to find old unused trails which worked for us. River crossings - Rio Claro in the afternoon was ok. Rio Negro in the afternoon was REALLY challenging, almost not doable. After hour of trying we managed to find one spot we could cross. I wouldn't want to cross Rio Colorado without that bridge at any time. Optional trail to meet optional start of section 6 was fine in the valley. Problem was to connect it to the climb. We had to climb very steep slope to get there. From that point trail was in good condition.
2019-Dec-19 / Melissa/ Regular Hiking Route SOBO. It took me 6 full days (5-9 hrs hiking) and 1 1/2 day (3 hrs.) not including 1 day of 0 hiking due to weather-rain and needing rest. Route finding, the three inclines of over 3,000-4,000 feet of elevation gain in a mile was insane, terrain-gotta love sand. The entire incline up Las Animas white crumbly/soft sand and make sure you have plenty of water here because the white reflecting sand and sun can easily dehydrate you and there is nowhere to get water except this flat section near the top that has very little stream from snow melt. Crumbling rock/scree that is barely able to be hiked up with a waterfall in between after think it was called Laguna Grande tracks #61.7-67.2 end of that track. Take the route up to the left where the rock is tan don’t hike up the black it’s dangerously eroding. The gps was not helpful in that section because all three directions seemed correct (right,left or up the waterfall). I had no issues with right of way dispute. I agree with all that is stated above. Very hard and challenging section.
Summary Table
| GPT05: Río Colorado | Hiking | Packrafting | |||||
| Group | B: Zona Arrieros | Total | 112.2 km | 40 h | - | - | |
| Region | Chile: Maule (VII) | Trails (TL) | 64.1 km | 57.1% | - | - | |
| Start | Los Queñes | Minor Roads (MR) | 19.2 km | 17.1% | - | - | |
| Finish | Radal | Primary Roads (PR) | - | - | - | - | |
| Status | Published & Verified | Cross-Country (CC) | 28.9 km | 25.8% | - | - | |
| Traversable | (Maybe: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr) | Bush-Bashing (BB) | - | - | - | - | |
| Packraft | Only Burden | Ferry (FY) | - | - | - | - | |
| Connects to | GPT04, GPT06 | Investigation (I) | - | - | - | - | |
| Options | 190 km (4 Options & Variants) | Exploration (EXP) | - | - | - | - | |
| Hiking | Packrafting | Total on Water | - | - | |||
| Attraction | 3 (of 5) | - | River (RI) | - | - | ||
| Difficulty | 6 (of 5) | - | Lake (LK) | - | - | ||
| Direction | Both ↓↑ | - | Fjord (FJ) | - | - | ||
| Comment | - | ||||||
| Character | Forest, Alpine Terrain, Volcanic Terrain, Summit Ascents, Mountain Pastures, Arrieros, Unpeopled Areas | ||||||
| Challenges | Demanding River Fords, Exposure to Elements, Clambering, Demanding Navigation, Resupply Distance, Possibly Impassable, Right-of-Way Disputes | ||||||
Satellite Image Map
Elevation Profile
Section Planning Status
Recommended Travel Period
Benefits of Hiking and Packrafting
Recommended Travel Direction
Section Length and Travel Duration
Suitable Section Combinations
Section Attractiveness
Section Difficulty
Resupply
Resupply Town
Shopping: Food
Shopping: Fuel
Shopping: Equipment
Services: Restaurants
Services: Laundry
Services: ATM and Money Exchange
Accommodation: Hostals and Hotels
Accommodation: Cabañas
Accommodation: Camping
Transport: Ground Transport
Transport: Ferries
Transport: Shipping Services
Resupply on the Trail
Location, Names, Available Items and Services
Access to Route and Return
Access to Start
Return from Finish
2019-Dec-8
Monday to Thursday
Molina-Radal: 17:00
Radal-Molina: 07:30
Friday
Molina-P.Ingles: 17:00
Radal-Molina: 07:30
Saturday
Molina-P.Ingles: 11:30 / 13:30
P.Ingles-Molina: 18:00
Sunday
Molina-P.Ingles: 09:00
P.Ingles-Molina: 15:30 / 17:00
