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==Season 2023/24==
*2024-Apr-03 to 2024-Apr-05 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 1 + B + OSM Trail to Laguna Sucia / Joscha
I combined Section 37, 38 and 39. It took me 10.5 days including 2.5 days waiting at Bahia Pescado for the ferry. I left a bag with food in Villa O'Higgins which the ferry brought me. And I could store food at the chilenian Border station. Therefore I never had to cary food for more than 5 days.
Day 1: RR [0.0-31.8] + OH39-01 + OH39-B [0.6-0.2]
I arrived at the southern end of lago de desierto at noon. I hiked for about 2 hours on the primary road until I got a hitch to the start of OH39-01. Its probably easier to get a hitch in the afternoon. At Laguna Piedras Blancas is a sign that the area around the Laguna is dangerous and it's forbidden to go to the Laguna. The sidetrail to the Laguna is a rock scramble. Because of wind and rain I did not went to the Laguna. But its possible to see the glacier without scrambling up to the Laguna (its also possible to see the glacier from the RR) and the rest of the trail is in good condition as well. I camped at the campsite Poincenot [39.4+0.2].
Day 2: OH39-B [0.2-2.6] + OSM Trail to Laguna Sucia + RR [39.4-49.4]
I went up to the Laguna de los Tres for sunrise with about 50 other hikers. The trail is officially closed for the season, but nobody cares. It was a little icy, but doable without spikes. I returned to the campsite Poincenot and went to the Laguna Sucia on the OSM trail. This trail is also officially closed, because it is suposed to be to dangerous. The last few hundred meters to the Laguna is a rock scramble, but in good conditions pretty easy. During the rock scramble you can go on both sides of the river. I liked the southern side a little more, even though the OSM trail is on the northern side. I can really recommend Laguna Sucia. Only few people and in my opinion more impressive than Laguna de los Tres. After that I returned to the RR and went to Laguna Torre. I camped at the Campsite D' Agostini at km 49.4.
Day 3: RR [49.4-59.4]
Easy walk to El Chalten.
* 2024 Ma 20 to 22 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Juliette and Martin
Day 1 : Argentinian gendarmeria - Punta Sur
A small day with only a walk along the lago Desierto. Approximatly 5 hours of walk. Nice points of view on the fitz Roy. We sleeped at the « Hosteria y restaurante Punta sur »… It’s 48 000 argentinian pesos for a two people room with a breakfast included (and it’s allowed us to dry our stuff). There is a camping on the side with a small refuge inside in case of rain for 14 000 pesos per people.
Day 2 : Punta Sur - Camp Poincenot
We hitchhiked to skip the road to hike less (because of a foot pain). The detour to the Laguna Piedras Blancas worth it, but the ascenption to the lake on huge rock took us à long time, despite the low distance. Camping poincenot was crowded, but we didn’t heard of any mice.
Day 3 : camp Poincenot - El Chalten
Wake up early to contemplate to sun rise from the Lago los Tres. The ascenption from the camp is an hour long, easy beaucause overrun and the trail is maitained. A lot of people do the same (almost 20 or 30 I would say). It’s really beautiful, espacially if you have a good weather. Walking on the most famous trail around the fitz roy is really différent from the GPT. The trailed arouned Cerro Torre is really easy and overrun.
*2024-Mar-08 to 2024-Mar-09/ 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Opt 01 + Var B+D / Matthias
Day 1: Argentine Border Control – near Rio Electrico:
Started at the Argentine Border Control at 14:00. (I stayed the night before in Candelario Mancilla, GPT38). It took me 3:45h of straight walking to reach the road on the southern end of the lake. Got a ride from there at 18:15 to the bridge over Rio Electrico. On OSM there was a camping indicated there, which does not exist. Due to the beginning darkness, I camped near the path of Option01 2km from the bridge – very windy night.
Day 2: near Rio Electrico - Laguna Piedras Blancas - Laguna de Los Tres - Laguna Torre - El Chalten
A very (too) long day due to a bad weather forecast for the following days. Option 1 is very nice though officially closed because in one season there had ocurred 18 accidents and one person dying. (Information of park ranger Miguel at whose house I stayed in ElChalten). Was lucky to see Fitz Roy from Laguna Piedras Blancas!
It is very interesting to see how the tourists concentrate to certain hot spots all over the world. On the path to Laguna de Los Tres I “met” probably more people (hundreds) than on my whole 60 day GPT hike before!
24-Mar-03 to 2024-Mar-05 / 48 hours / Hiking / SOBO / RR, option 1, new option from Laguna Sucio to Laguna Torre / Tomáš
I started at 1300 from the carabinieros. The trail to road took me 3 hours (with one 5 minute stop), it is not that horrible with ups and downs but it has its share, with the small ones at the end more unexpected. I wanted to catch a bus that supposedly leaves at 4 as previously noted. I met only one couple hiking one km from the road. How surprised was I by the full carpark (30 cars). The bus apparently leaves at five. I hitched a car instead after 15 minutes. The road seemed busy, maybe it was the Sunday afternoon but one car passed every 3-5 minutes (and there were cars going north too). Got off at start of option 1 - there is enormous parking lot there with maybe 50 cars.
I took the option 1 which is supposed to be peopleless. It is, once you reach the X at 2.4. Or earlier, if you take the OSM trail after 1 km signposted to camping Poincenot. Follow that for 500 m and then turn right on a barely used trail. Shortcut the detour by CCing to the left through open forrest after cca 400 m on this trail. Once again on GPT, you will come across a fence - I guess that is why this trail is not much used, it is probably not official. Viewpoint at 6.2 is really worth it - for me it was also the first time I saw Fitz Roy, as it was in the clouds previously. I camped at the turnoff to the viewpoint here: 49.2640959S, 72.9554167W. There is a place for tent but I used a cave-like space under a boulder 15 m upstream - it was big enough to allow me to use the inner part of my tent against the few mosquitoes around. Too small for two though. Not sure what the legal situation is, I heard when caught camping without a permit in the park, they take your gear and you must pay a fine in town. This trail is however rarely used (only signed by cairns), so probably they would not check here.
The next day I did not take variant B to Lago de los Tres. By the way the OSM trail there to Cerro Madsen in reality does not seem to go over glacier but in between them, the glaciars are shrinking (it is marked as SAC 4 which seems about right, looks easily walkable/lightly scramblable), you could also probably cut it from the Lago to Laguna Sucia going through this seemingly waterless valley/gulley: 49.2825930S, 72.9843467W. How do I know these? I went from Laguna Sucia (not on GPT yet, but it is on OSM partly) to Laguna Torre. This is a demanding but very fun and extremely beautiful scramble (at most SAC 5 but I did not exactly always aimed for the easiest route), hopefully it will make it to the GPX files for the next season. It goes like this: follow the OSM trail that goes from camping Poincenot to Laguna Sucia and then to Swiss Bivy/la Cueva. Once there, follow the trail a bit more (150 m) to get on top of the cliffy-like part of the slope, where it will be a bit flatter. Scramble horizontally to SE and then to E. The glacier is smaller than on the map - I got to its very end and crossed on of the small gullies near it. Then you traverse for some time on a less steep terrain, until you are roughly under a nameless lake. From there, go up. I took a ridge, which was fun, but easier would be to go up a slope. I got to about 1550 on the ridge that is above the lake from NW. Going down to the lake is a bit less slopy from there. There would be other ways, either going higher over this ridge, or even lower. One could also probably go straight up from the lake, or even with a bit bushbashing approach the lake from NE.
At the lake, I met a Swiss couple who slept there. They built a very nice tent space there. This was a coincidence, this does not seem like popular traverse (though I saw a paraglider launch from Loma de las Pizzaras, which had a trail to it on OSM - that is what the Swiss took saying the trail stops 500 m before the peak; from there they went down to a valley south of the peak and over a pass). I went through the pass cca 200 m from Loma de las Pizzaras (which had usable if a bit spotty 4g Claro internet), down a valley and then over a miniscule pass to SW to a lake that is not even on OSM yet here: 49.3051327S, 72.9861450W - a good camping spot, so I stayed (it was a very sunny calm and reasonably warm day/night), but the place seems more sheltered than the other lake where I met the Swiss. Did not bother to build a windwall, sorry. I met 12 people all day, 7 out of which were climbers lolling about their tents, they camped both just before Laguna Sucio and at the Swiss bivy. Not sure if this is tolerated or you need a permit (or possibly climbing gear). Took me about 4 hours from Swiss bivy to Loma de las Pizzaras. Incredible views, ice kept falling from the glaciers, once even to the lake. Usually the ice is down by the time you hear the rumbling, but I was close enough to watch two falls. Also saw Condors again after a long time. A perfect day and I am out of superlatives describing it; I guess this is what makes some people crazy about Patagonia. Fitz Roy is actually the only place I knew about before coming to Chile after googling "long distance hike in south America" 16 months earlier.
The next day I went over a small pass to the west of the lake and then down, roughly aiming for end of variant D. Around 1050 m I crossed a stream (take water from it, there wont be much more) and kept it to my left, graduallly distancing myself from it to maybe 50-100m. There is a way between the greenery that does not involve BBing. Then you reach the forrest, which is open and you end up on the trail.
From there to El Chalten, it is a highway (200 people met?), very easy and pretty (autumn is coming), but annoying with people. I do not like El Chalten, going on to GPT40 before the weather turns horrible. I will post gpx routes to the Facebook group.
2024-Feb-24 to 2024-Feb-28 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / option 1 + Laguna Pollone + variant b + variant d / Yannick & Nolwenn