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→Description of the route
After passing through the ñirre scrubland the path crosses a dried-up stream, where it gets to yet another a another load of bushes, albeit less dense than the previous ones. From the dried-up riverbed, looking towards Cerro Tres Puntas, you should see signs that point the way to “Laguna de las Ánimas”. From the route signs, you should carry on along the bottom end of the sparsely-vegetated slope, a little bit higher than the floor of the valley. Without crossing the ravine, and immediately behind the signs, is where the climb really begins -- undoubtedly the most arduous section of the trek. It typically takes an hour and a half to walk up "Cuesta Las Ánimas", which you have to do by way of some major zig-zagging over rocky terrain. There are a couple of good rest stop locations along here with beautiful views down into the valley. Once you have finally hauled yourself up on to the ridge(km 14,6 - 2260m), you could well find that it's rather windy up there.
Once you are up on the ridge, and on the "final straight", things get considerably easier. The path heads eastwards towards Laguna de las Ánimas. It goes gently downhill and then gently uphill. The last CONAF sign on the route indicates that you have arrived in the vicinity of the lake(km 16,0 - 2283m). The lake is a somewhat small yet pleasant Andean spot with a white sand beach. The water, unsurprisingly, is very cold. It's definitely a scenic place to spend the night in a tent :-)🙂
The ascent from Refugio El Bolsón up to the lake typically takes three hours, or less.
