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==Season 2025/26==
*''' 2025.30.12 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Var.:A, B, D, E + Opt. 1 (Pampa Frutilla) & 2 (La Plaza) / Kris and Stiina'''
(Continued from Section 19)
Day 3 - After the lunch at the restaurant in Anticura we went back on variant B to the junction and across the road to join variant A and straight to the Conaf park ranger. The ranger there wasn’t very talkative but asked us about our plan and gave us a form to fill out. We didn’t have to pay anything, my guess is because the trail further on is in pretty poor condition so they don’t ask any money for it, at least for now.
Like mentioned before the Bridge, Camp {20} [3.9/465] is repaired and the trail leading to it was also alright.
After joining the RR the “minor road” was in good condition for some quick kilometers but the further it went the less of a minor road it became. Unfortunately it also started to rain even though the weather forecast didn’t show any rain, once again. At first it was only the tall grass that made our shoes wet but about 4 km before X {20} [17.0/1252] the trail that was there suddenly shrunk and went under the bushes with lots of fallen trees across. We could still always see the trail and follow it but it was a squeeze just through the thorny bushes. And what is worse than going through the bushes? Going through wet bushes. At times it felt like walking through a river. Fully soaked we made it to the X @ 17.0.
About 500m before the X the minor road actually appears again and is very good and easy. From the X we took the option 1 to Pampa frutilla where we camped for the night. Really awesome place, huge open area and not a single cow poop in sight, unprecedented.
The waypoint Camp {20-01} [3.7/1233] (Pampa Frutillar) is actually in a very random place on a hill. We camped here -40.74466, -72.04979 a bit before it on a nice flat grassy area. We went a bit further along the lake to investigate and there was what looked like some sort of an attempt at building a sheltered camp with a frame for a tarp and a table but it was old and abandoned and the tentsite would have to be on sand, no bueno, the grassy place we were on was a lot better. Because it was raining we didn’t go further to investigate the other, larger lake.
Lots of soon to be wild strawberries on the field around the lake, hence the name Pampa frutilla? Stiina found one that was half ready, lucky will be those that will visit this place in a month’s time.
Day 4 - From Pampa Frutilla we went back to the junction, from which there was a very faint trail to follow. There was only a short bushy section that was easier than some of the stuff when we were coming up yesterday. Once it starts going up through the forest there is definitely a trail you just have to notice it.
Since it was a very good weather which we haven’t seen often this December we opted for variant D Volcan Antillanca summit. The traverse in the beginning is on a very slanted ground but once you get past it it gets a lot easier just one steeper section on very loose sand to get to the main ridge. There were footsteps of at least a few people who had come before us, it’s slowly becoming a trail. The surrounding area was totally a world class hiking destination the views of the snowy volcanoes Tronador, Villarica, Puntiagudo, Casablanca and Puyehue were just incredible.
Another thing that was incredible was the wind that had picked up. The ridge up and over the summit had a very strong wind blasting us so we didn’t hang out on the summit for too long. There was an easy snow patch to cross right before the summit that could also be used for water.
From the summit down we took the variant E, continuing on the summit ridge looked like a doable scramble but the ridge itself seemed very crumbly and not worth the risk. We could see by at least three other footprints on the ground that the Variant E is probably the main way to go.
Near the unmarked pass there was a decent size pond with snowmelt here -40.78329, -72.14393 definitely good for at least another month, there was also a windless and sheltered place for a tent right before the pond but it would require a quick ground work removing a few rocks, that’s where we had lunch.
Option 2 (La Plaza)!!
It was 31st of December, the last day of the year and we had no idea yet that the hardest part of the whole year was coming in the last few hours of it.
After evaluating our options we decided to go for the option 2 because if the RR was meant to be a 6km BB anyway we might aswell do it on O2 and have only 3km of guaranteed BB, oh boy, after some high highs, comes some low lows.
The first 4.5 km of O2 were more or less fine with some relatively easy CC and a short and minor BB after the scree field around here -40.79925, -72.14281
After that we actually picked up a faint trail right on the gpx and followed it all the way to where it entered the large wide open stream bed. There was cold, clean, flowing water here -40.80828, -72.14502
When we got to the edge of the forest we followed the gpx instead of the osm line, even though the waypoint “Important: Sobo: Overgrown Trail {20}” is actually on the osm line not the gpx. But since the two lines were soon to meet we thought it shouldn’t be a problem, also the gpx line entered the forest a bit later so it seemed like a better option.
As soon as we entered the forest it was like hitting a wall, thick, overgrown bushes, fallen logs and interwoven bamboo. The going was extremely slow but meter by meter we were slowly making progress hoping that it will get better and we would pick up at least some resemblance of a trail. We got to where osm and the gpx line met and there was absolutely no evidence of any trail that had ever existed. The further we kept going the worse the bushes got. It was impossible to follow the gpx or the osm because the bushes were so thick it was just physically impossible to get through them without wasting hours. So we would follow what was the path of least resistance while trying to stay on the gpx as much as possible in case any trail appears. We were pretty much crisscrossing the gpx line, getting stabbed, slashed, poked and what literally felt like being abused by bushes in any way possible. At some point the bushes took my phone and I had to use “find my phone” function on my watch to actually locate it. It was exhausting and impossible to see further than 5m at maximum, if hell exists I imagine this could be one version of it, it was literally hell! It felt surreal to be in this situation. We even started joking about pressing the Garmin sos button, though the rescuers probably wouldn’t find us under the thick bamboo anyway. And we couldn’t even be angry because we got ourselves into this and also it would waste too much mental energy. After 4 hours and about 1.5km of BB we were exhausted, out of water and the idea of doing this for 4 more hours to get to the junction with the RR, while some of it in the dark, just felt absolutely hopeless. And then at the lowest point, as it is often the case, suddenly out of nowhere while crossing the gpx line for who knows what time a perfect trail appeared at this location -40.83220, -72.15579, right on the gpx line.
It felt like winning a lottery, a weight of a whole whale coming off our shoulders. But we didn’t celebrate because we couldn’t believe it, we thought it would disappear into bushes any moment and we will be back to BB. At the point where we found the trail it was also obviously going in the opposite direction back up, however we were not up for finding out where it led.
As we kept following the newly found trail, it was just good, well walked and visible, a few places with fallen trees across but it was a very decent trail, looked maintained and about 500m before the “junction” even some orange markings appeared on the trees.
What was interesting is that the only point where it touched the gpx was where we found it, immediately afterwards it went east of the gpx line.
The whole way while BB I couldn’t believe that this option 2 was even offered to people if there wasn’t actually any trail. However since we found the trail I think if someone going NOBO would investigate it all the way I believe this would prove to be the actual RR option in the future. Because when we got to the supposed junction with the RR - X {20} [36.7/419] we didn’t see any other trail joining it or branching off of it. We were of course a bit tired and it was getting dark in the forest but to be honest the whole way through the forest we only saw one trail and it was the one we were walking on. And it didn’t pass through that X waypoint, at least not according to our devices. However people have mentioned before that after the “junction” a fine trail appears? Which I believe is the trail we were on from somewhere in the middle of the O2 BB.
Knowing what I know now, if I would to go NOBO on this section I would just follow this well walked trail and see where it leads me out to and properly mark the entry/exit point into the forest. I speculate that there must be a good trail leading all the way through this forest just nobody knows where exactly is it. Once it is tracked the annoying BB of this section might get solved.
We continued following what seemed like the most walked option not and now comparing our gpx to the RR track file I can see that we deviated from the RR on the meadow here -40.86663, -72.17464, again, we didn’t see any other trails, but it was dusk and we were walking without headlamps. Eventually it spit us out of the forest here -40.86860, -72.18041 on a more open meadow with many cow trails crisscrossing. We went all the way to the river and understood that we would need to find the actual crossing to cross the Rio Gaviotas. Turning on this cow trail south-east -40.87038, -72.17955 would have lead us to the RR more directly.
A bright, almost full moonlight was illuminating the ford of Rio Gaviotas, which was about crotch deep (I am 184cm) but it was slow moving and easy.
Mentally and physically exhausted we just camped on the river shore a bit over a kilometer from Las Gaviotas here: -40.87177, -72.18011, great view of a moonlit Volcán Casablanca. Since we got there so late by the time we finished washing all the filth off of ourselves and our clothes and making dinner it was already midnight. Which is a rare occasion for us to actually stay up until midnight on the New Year’s Eve while on trail. What a way to finish the year!
Day 5 - In the morning a few locals went by, two fishermen blasting music on a loud speaker and a runner. Well, after the demanding day yesterday, we did sleep in until 9:00 though. Once we packed-up it seemed that we had camped right on the path that seemed newly developed with some board walks a bit after and a new bridge here -40.87235, -72.18067 and it seemed that this was the main path from the ford of Rio Gaviotas to Las Gaviotas village.
We also saw a sign that said camping forbidden, but there was no such a sign from the direction where we entered, at least we didn’t see it in the dark.
Since it was the 1st of January everything was closed in Las Gaviotas - the kiosk and the cafe, but there were many people camping at the campground.
Our plan was to continue onward to Section 21 via option 1 (Laguna Los Quetros). Good Movistar signal in Las Gaviotas for making boat arrangements for the upcoming section.
(Continued in Section 21)
For more stories, photos, videos on the trail and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on IG: @smallfootprint_bigadventures
*''' 2025-12-05 to 2025-12-07 / 2 days / SOBO / RR / Variants A & D / Antoine B