Cambios

On this trail, in particular on the first seven sections you will meet herdsman on the summer pastures with their livestock, which are mainly cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Depending on the altitude and the snowmelt they migrate up between October and January and return to their winter quaters quarters in April or May. These herdsman, locally called "Puestero", live in improvised permanent shelters, called "Puesto". They bring large quantities of food with their horses and mules up in the mountains. You may ask them for food, in particular for flour and bread or whatever they are willing to sell. With flour, dry yeast and salt you can bake your own fresh bread on the trail. If you are desperate for meat they may sell you a goat or a sheep but be aware, the smallest quantity for sale is typically half an animal. To communicate with the locals you need to speak Spanish.

On section 5 to 10 you will cross the distribution range of the impressive Araucaria trees, that which are ancient evergreen coniferous trees. What we liked on these living fossils were not just the imposing figure, but the nutritious female seed cones that are rich in carbohydrates. These fruits or "piñones" were the main staple food for the indigious indigenous Pehuenche people and they taught us how to harvest and prepare them. You can gather these starchy Araucaria "piñones" between February and April.