Cambios

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=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

The most annoying is WIND. It is crazy windy almost everywhere except last day. The most windy part is at the second pass, i even can't open my eyes to look at the trail and walk on it straighly because of crazy freezing wind. (Be careful of hypothermia, crazy windy + rain/snow/after river crossing is horrible)

My friend give me a 2hour ride from Villa O' Higgins to Lago Christie( X[142.0/550] ) , so i save about 50km road walking, a huge thank you to him!

{36H-G} km3 : river crossing, cross it on a huge log easily.

RR Km117.2 : flat spot(-48.02468, -72.49029) can fit 1-2 tents with weather protection by forest. A small stream flowing beside it.

Km103.95 : camping spot(-47.97095, -72.55524) can fit 3-4 tents with fire ring.

Puesto[98.4/553] : Puesto Las Tablas, huge and beautiful grassland for camping, refuge is a small cabin, have a wooden bed, bench, fire pit and some dry wood sticks (for burning) inside, it is possible to sleep inside with a warm fire night, good wind protection but not for rain. Didn't see any water nearby.

Ford[75.4/1023] : easy rock hopping, look at the rocks underwatee here, the west side of valley is white colour, the east side is red, amazing!

Border,pass[73.9/1225] : snow here, but still not problem, go around them easily, or just above ankle posthole. A beautiful lake looks like good for camping 200m before here, but just for good weather because very exposed.

Km65.85 : shelter(-47.70890, -72.49466) with 1 side protection in good condition, nice for cowboy under it when summer. Flat spot can fit 2-3 tents with fire ring just beside it. Trail easy to miss it because covered by some trees.

From here to km53.2(road), HURDLE RACE start! At least 500 blowdowns you need to step over. No climbing, just step over, easy to walk and follow but muddy and blowdowns, you know that.

Puesto[53.1/611] : didn't see anyone when i passed here, but looks like still in using because lot of cooking equipment is outside the refuge. The refuge is not locked but I just take photos and didn't go inside. Can be emergency use for bad weather.

After here, all the way road walking.

Lastly i stayed at Calafate Camping in Cochrane, 6k CLP for camping, good spot with nice refuge(kitchen), hot shower and clean toilet. You also can camping under some shelters if bad weather.

*2024-Mar-19 to 2024-Mar-23 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 24A + 02 + 04B / Joscha

I got a hitch to the junction at km 5.5. From there I walked for about 2 hours until a car took me to the junction at km 33.9. There is a fence between Rio del Salto and the RR. At the Danger Waypoint (km 43.2) is the fence broken down and the river is accessible. I got a 3rd hitch from there to the Calluqueo Glaciar. I took OH36H-24A to the glacier. Its a good trail, but mostly through forrest without view. Around km 3.0 you can see the glacier + the lake. Its really nice. At the end of OH36H-24A you get a close-up look at the Glaciar. There is a lot of water between km 3.5 and 6. At km 4.1 is a decently flat spot for camping. I camped at km 49.7 next to the RR. I would not recommend the spot in a windy night.

Day 2: RR [50.0-79.9]

There was snow above 1000 meters. Around the Bourder/Pass Waypoints the snow was more than knee deep. It was possible to do it without any snowgear, but it took some time. There was plenty of water along the RR and all Fords were max. knee high.

Day 3: RR [79.9-107.3]

The RR crosses lots of small streams, so there is plenty of water. Puesto at km 83.9 can be used as shelter and has a open outhouse. I camped at km 107.3 on a flat meadow.

Day 4: OH36H-02 [0.0-26.6]

The first 2 km of OH36H-02 are more CC than a trail. After that the trail is easy to follow and in good condition for about 5-6 km. Than the trail starts to become overgrown and later very muddy. Therefore it wasn't to much fun walking this trail. But the valley offers some nice waterfalls and snowy mountains. There was plenty of water and fords were easy.

Day 5: OH36H-02 [26.6-29.0] + OH36H-04B [122.5-132]

I hiked about 2 1/2 hours along the Carreterra Austral until a group of cars passed me and one of them took me to Villa O'Higgins.

* 2024 Mar 6 to 2024 Mar 12 / 7 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Maddi and Tom

Day 7: Started walking along the road hoping for a hitch. Was actually very hot. Managed to get a ride after about an hour to Cochrane.

*2024-Feb-28 to Mar-03 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matthias

Did a shortcut between ca. km103.5 and km 100.5. Sometimes good trail, sometimes obstacle course over fallen trees.

Was very lucky with transport to Villa O`Higgins. Got a motorcycle ride all the way from the refugio at km148.6 at 6 pm with a short detour to the border at Rio Mayer. Stayed in Hostal Rio Mayer in Villa O`Higgins (very friendly and talkative, no internet).

28-Feb-24 to 03-Mar-24/4days/ Hiking/ NOBO/ RR/ Natalie & Luca

Last but not least, if you've always dreamed to try hurdles in athletism, this section is for you ! You'll have to pass threw hundreds of fallen trees ! Enjoy !

*2024-Jan-01 to 2024-Jan-08 / 7.5 days / NOBO / Villa O'Higgins - Cochrane / RR and Option 36H-D / Alex & Christophe

Together they are 24 km return and with a daypack it could work.

The EXP-OH-TL-I trail is very well maintained and relatively well marked. There is even a very nice Refugio Puesto Rivera + campsite for tents along the way. BUT from km 7 the trail is damaged by landslides and the section after that is overgrown. I tried the last km via BB through the forest. After that everything should be clear and only CC to the Mosco glacier. Unfortunately, I make very slow progress with BB, it simply takes too much time and with a temperature of 15°C the river crossing afterwards would be dangerous. Unfortunately I have to abort (safety first) & return.

*2023-12-10 / 4 days / RR + OH-TL-V / SOBO / Anh

Hi! We finished this day the section 36 from north to south. It took us 6 days without the last 37 kms on the road (we hitchhiked on this part). It was rough, we have had 2 days of bad weather (only rain at our altitude but it changes everything). You are isolated in the middle of nowhere and we met no one during 5 days. Officially no bush bashing but sometimes the path is barely invisible and unmaintained so hard to walk. From the 3rd day to the end, we have had many rivercrossings. Some were easy, some not and some also quite dangerous. With all the snow melting, the level of the river is very high and the current is strong (I do not recommand to try these fords without walking poles, these saved us). Same situation with the lakes we walked near. Their level is high and often the path was submerged and we had to walk litteraly in the lake (sometimes up to the waist). Luckily we met 2 cabañas (2 last nights) to dry our clothes and sleep under a roof. This made the section even more wonderful than it already was. A great experience!

*2019 Dec / Olrik / Northbound

From O'Higgins there are 50km on a dirt road to the beginning of the sendero. There are some open refugios on the way to sleep. you can also arrange a paid transportation from O'Higgins. Hitchhiking is possible but there is not much traffic. The sendero was in pretty bad shape due to the weather conditions. Muddy and flooded all the way near the lakes. We ended up turning back as we did not plan to walk that slow and did not have enough food, and we felt it was safer. We met Matthieu (see below) and they completed it so his report seems better. Puesteros are really nice though.

*2019 Dec / Matthieu / Northbound Regular HR : 9 days

The rest we didn't have any technical difficulties. A trekk not to take lightly, and with much respect. Take advises to the locals before. Every one is happy to talk about it in Villa. They have the bad habbit to say that it's an easy way though !

*2019-Nov-12 / Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe / 6 days / northbound / regular hiking route

Walk through town and join Highway 7, a moderately trafficked dirt road. The Regular Hiking Route follows X-901, a beautiful but fenced dirt road that culminates in the view of a stunning glacier, for about 28 km until it ends at a blockade just after the Mirador Calluqueo. Along X-901 there are few residences but extensive fence line on both sides. At the end of the road, the route transitions into a braided single track trail that may be confusing to follow.

Comment by Jan Dudeck: I recently changed the regular packrafting route of GPT36H. This change avoids 35 km of gravel and adds around 70 km of paddling on the two lakes and one river. It’s a big detour but adds impressive beauty. Note that paddling Lago Cochrane is very challenging as wind can be firce. Follow the regular packrafting route only if you are willing and prepared to possibly wait several days on the shore of Lago Cochrane if wind makes paddling this lake unsafe.

The trail, called La Ruta de Los Pioneros since it is frequently used by the local people, occasionally passes run down refugios as it winds through the forest. At the beginning of the climb to the highest pass, the trail joins a glacial river. Eventually the trail leaves the river to the west and follows a higher route above the valley that is occasionally marked by stone cairns. The top of the pass is at approximate elevation 1.300 m. From this point, there are several kilometers of very exposed hiking among rolling hills.

==Season 2016/17==

=Resupply and Accommodation=

2024/Joscha

I would recommend Los Cuatreros (-48.463589, -72.559946) and Los Coigues (-48.464742, -72.559453) for resupply. They are cheaper than the other supermarkets.

*Supermarket on the square in Cochrane. Several shops in Villa O'Higgins.

=Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=

=Links to other Resources=