Cambios

Continued directly from GPT12 so we started at the end of RR-TL-V {11} [31.3+1.5] . We followed the RR for the whole section.

On day 1, for RR-CC-A {11} [27.6+3.3], you have to stay in the river stream for the whole duration. You will find plenty of water because you walk in it, and nice pools and little cascade if you want to take a bath. Leaving the stream for higher up is not a good choice : every time we tried it was a mistake. We camped at Camp {11} [26.1/1957]. It was not protected and the night was very windy... Not our best choice.

On day 2, we continued until Guallali following the RR. The trail around Km15 transforms in a MR that leads you to the village without even checking the GPS.

There, we found the minishop that had limited resupply options (we bought lentils, cookies, snacks and cola). We checked in with the carabineros that were friendly and sayed we could camp wherever was wind protected. We opted for the football field which is a nice flat and grassy place.

Not much to say about this section, we found the end on the dirt road relatively dull but the beginning in the mountain is awesome

Day1

Slept in Guallalí in the growth as others have described but still asked the shop owner first for permission. Carabineros were nice and told us we did not need to check in although the sign says "obligatory check". Pedro at the mini shop is also kind and willing to help hikers although there is only a handful of items in his shop-bought some sweets. Pedro also told me that option05 to lonquimay would require you to pay 10mil from the locals. We took RR. At this time of year the road is the "dirt-dust type" but still fast until Estero Quillaylemu (14km) which makes for a nice rest. Tomáš checked out the hotsprings at 6.6. There is a table and a pool of nicely hot muddy water directly next to a river. Better camping site than in Guallali. After the Estero Quillaylemu the track gets harder to follow but becomes beautiful after the ford and bend towards the pass. Lost the trail a couple of times but found lots of wild quinoa. Camped at 25.1 behind a boulder by the river to cut the wind, camp at 26.1 looked nicer.

For the pass we followed the ridge for as long as we could (option 01) and it was fun and straightforward. Luckily, although the winds were strong that day the ridge was almost windless. Made our way down similar to Will. Got off the ridge here; -38.10270, -71.07250 (later than indicated by the GPX), headed to a small dry gully next to and below the "greyish" dirt here; -38.10359, -71.07282, you had to use your edges as the ground was hard"grit". Entered a small creek bed here;-38.10604, -71.07538 and followed it (some water) until it turned into a scramble. At that point we climbed back up to our left (East), moved south until we went down and up our final gully, just underneath 01B. This last gully was easy as Tomáš found a soft spot, somewhere around here;-38.11039, -71.07474. After this point it was easy to connect to the main route. Just the section up to here from the ridge is problematic - maybe two km. Probably fastest would be to go down the regular route and take the first option left, which is probably a trail and only means about 300 m of additional climbing. The route as mapped by the GPX files (option01; second half of the traverse) looks quite steep and exposed and does not save much elevation. It is probably possible but to us from below it does not look worth it.

Lastly there are water sources on the other side of the ridge (SW, the hard side) before the hotsprings if needed.

Continued onto Section 12 towards Banos Coyucos for the night.

I took the bus to Guallali, which took me past the Carabineros and directly into town where I set up in the standard grove. A bit after dark two carabineros showed up at my tent. Intimidating at first, they were very friendly after I explained my plans. They just said that next time I should make sure to stop and report to them on my way by.

The section starts out with a not very interesting road walk, but suddenly became super beautiful 15ish km in. I camped at 25.1, a somewhat sheltered spot by a stream, where the wind rattling my tent made it hard to sleep. A few arrieros came by during the evening. The 26.1 campsite looked similar.

The horse flies reappeared as I got up closer to the pass. Had flashbacks of sections 7 and 8, trying to determine whether each stab was a horse fly or a burr or a paranoid hallucination. My theory is that they've migrated up to the higher altitudes, now that it's later in the season.

I took option 1 (diverging a decent amount) to join up with section 12 at the termas de pelehue. It was tough and slow going, taking around 3 hours, but I really enjoyed it. I planned my route to avoid horizontal slope traversals so I never really felt in danger of a serious fall. I did still slip a few times, cutting up my hand a bit.

In Guallalí we camped at the same spot as Veronica after arriving around 20:30.

The first day there is a lot of walking on dirt roads and good paths, so the km went by quickly. We camped at the ford waypoint [24.3/1688], where the way passes a small creek. It has some natural pools, which are amazing to take a bath.

The next day after arriving on the plateau there is a CC part, so keep an eye on your navigation device. When we reached the pass we accidently went the wrong way and ended up taking option 1 to decrease the detour. Bad idea! Better don't take option 1. There is almost no path, its very steep, a lot of scrambling and there was one very stupidly dangerous descent across some gravel/rock part. It took us around 3,5 hours to cross option 1. We would definetly not do it again. We directly continued to section 12.

Route: Guallalí - Junction to Section 11, Option 2 - Ridge Las Monjas - Junction with GPT12, RR-CC-A {12} [12.9+3.5]

Ralco is a good resupply town, the smaller supermarket had camping gas. Took the bus back to Guallalí at 5 p.m. for 1,000 clp, arrived around 8:30 p.m. I camped in the same araucaria grove as the night before (via the wooden gate next to the escuela). Good and clear path in a pleasant valley, river fords easy. Found some ripe berries/brambles along the trail that were delicious.

I decided to opt for Option 2 that goes east of Cerro Dedos. I was worried about the likelihood of snow on the steep south side of the pass (2174 m) on the regular route. I didn't need to stop in Ranquil, so figured it was best to stay high on the mountain and take either Option 1 or Option 2 to connect with GTP12. After reading the comments from other hikers, I knew I didn't want to take Option 1. A scree traverse on a south-facing slope didn't sound appealing, especially if you factor in lingering snowbanks this year. So I thought Option 2 would be best. A detailed description of my experience along that route is posted under "Optional Routes" ("its directly under this post - modified by Joscha97") . The gist of it is - it was very technical, not much solid footing, lots of exposed scrambling. In a couple spots I genuinely feared for my life. Would not do it again. Please stay safe if going that route, and I would definitely not attempt it NOBO!

Took 1.5 days to meet up with GPT12 at km 12.9

The trail is good and easy to follow in the initial valley once it splits from the RR. There was no puesto at the second "puesto" waypoint, just remnants of old fences and corrals. Good place to camp, sheltered from the wind. The start of the CC section is an annoying but thankfully short bushwhack to the treeline. Afterwards it's straight up to the top of the ridge, grass turning to scree/rocks higher up. Steep, but quite doable.

Once at the top of the ridge, this is where my troubles started. The ridge is not nice and rounded, but very narrow and jagged, with vertical, rock outcrops/spires blocking the way frequently. You have to go around most of these obstacles (impossible to climb over), and this is the most dangerous part. To go around you need to descend back onto the nearly vertical scree slope, traverse around the rockface, then climb back up to the ridge. All on the most slippery scree/gravel I've ever experienced. It was all extremely precarious. Climbing back up around the very first obstacle, the scree was so loose I was on my hands and knees scrambling upward, trying to climb faster than the rocks falling under my body. One of the most frightening situations of my life honestly, I felt like I could have gone down with the rocks like an avalanche. After miraculously getting back up on the ridge, I couldn't stop shaking and was almost in tears. Couldn't believe what I'd gotten myself into honestly. And then came more scrambling and clambering. Poles were useless, I was using my hands the whole time. I can't stress enough how loose and unreliable most of the rocks were. Very, very difficult. Would not attempt this northbound, ever. And thank goodness the weather was good and calm too. The views were spectacular, out of this world, but not worth risking my life for, and I wouldn't ever do that section again. Don't know if Option 1 would have been better. At least snow wasn't an issue with Option 2. If I had to do it again I would stick to the regular route, go down to Ranquil and climb back up GPT12 via the RR.

==Season 2021/22==