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GPT21 (Lago Todos Los Santos)

2026-01-14T12:10:07Z

Kris&Stiina:

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=Overview=
=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.07.01 / 4.5 days / Hiking / NO/EABO / RR + Op. 2 (Tronador) + Op. 3 (Lago Nahuel Huapi/ 5 Lagunas) / Kris and Stiina'''

We combined sections 22N and 21 from El Manso to Colonia Suiza - 8 days total - 3,5 days for section 22N from El Manso to Cochamó via La Junta.
A resupply in Cochamó and hitch to Ralún (El Cruce) for Section 21. 4.5 walking days for section 21 options 2 & 3.

(Continued from section 22N)

Day 4 - After the lunch and resupply in Cochamó we opted for the magic thumb once again. There was supposed to be a bus at 15:30 going through Cochamó towards Puerto Mont, but our thumbs summoned a ride before the bus arrived, though the bus was running a few minutes late.
We got a ride to El Cruce - X, Bus {21} [76.9/64] and when we were stepping out of the car the bus passed us.
We called Miguel +56 9 9866 2101 (nr. provided previously by Dorota) and he wanted 20k CLP for the 10km ride, so we decided to walk.
In all honesty, after the few previous days of walking in a deep, dark, muddy forest on anything but a flat ground it felt great to finally be walking again, despite it being on a dusty +28C gravel road. There were even views behind us of the Estuario Reluncavi fjord and Volcán Yates. No cars passed us on the way up though some came down seemingly with people coming from the Lago Cayutué. When we got to the lake we met an Argentinian couple camping that had just done the hike from Pampa Linda so they shared some useful information about the upcoming. Later a bunch of youngsters came to the lake for camping aswell. For the most part they all behaved nicely. It is an excellent campsite by the lake with views of Volcán Puntiagudo and the water was a perfect temperature for swimming.

Day 5 - A bit of a green tunnel most of the day, from Lago Cayutué to Termas Vuriloche with some openings in the meadows however that’s where all them tabanos were hanging out. All fords were easy and there was plenty of water en route, we didn’t carry more than half a litter at a time. The nice thing about the forest was that it kept things cool while it was very hot out in the sun.
It seemed like a popular traverse, we met 3 guided groups and some other hikers along the way, mostly Argentinian.

Termas Vuriloche:
Ford {21-02} [101.3/351] - can be avoided if you go through the settlers yard and follow the osm trail that leads to a suspension bridge: -41.24813, -72.04719 across the river. Right after the bridge there is a trail going up and a trail going down. Following the upper trail brings you to the meadow with campsite described by Clara. And the trail going down brings you to the river. And some termas? We didn’t go down this trail our selves we used a different one.
The settler (“Jose/ Coche”? - Peggy) was at home and saw us, we greeted him an asked if it’s ok if we pass here to go to the termas to which he said yes, no problem.

The trail then goes by the newly built private refuge - Nana Roth that is owned by a company called Expediciones Petrohue -41.24847, -72.04779. A little googling showed that guests are brought there by helicopter to enjoy the termas and stay at the Refugio, it did look very fancy and a really unexpected out of place building when it suddenly appeared in front of us.

We camped here -41.24555, -72.04866 in a meadow, but as described by Clara, there is an established campsite, sheltered in the forest with fireplace and tent sites, however there was already a guided Argentinian group camping there, mostly older folk.

Looking at the campsite from the meadow there is a trail on the left (south) side leading down to the river where there are a few termal pools, one is built with concrete walls but very private, comfortable and perfect temperature, we didn’t want to leave.
Another more natural looking terma just on the rocky beach, a bit warmer.
But as I said there are probably more termas that could be accessed from the trail leading down from the suspension bridge because we saw people going there in swimming outfits when we took the upper trail (the one marked on the OSM)

Day 6 - From the Termas Vuriloche to Pampa Linda still a lot in the forest but finally some views of Tronador were opening up.

The trail passes Settler {21-02} [92.9/592] and crosses Rio Aguas Turbio twice, before and after the settler there are bridges on both sides.

Another new Refugio Baguales being built here -41.22699, -71.96225 by the same company that had constructed the Refugio Nana Roth. Refugio was similar design, built from the same materials on the outside.

Ford, Camp {21-02} [88.9/802] - there are two streams and both have hanging bridges, but a bit sketchy ones. The fords possibly looked easier and quicker.
Not really a place for a camp. A picnic table was there but I didn’t see a place for a tent.

Puesto {21-02} [86.9/1030] (Huenchupen) - as mentioned by other is supposedly a refugio. There is a small stream right before it with a flat spot for a tent, another spot a bit after and probably one by the refugio or just inside it like Dorota did.

No problem at the border, make sure your passport is stamped with exit stamp and they give you a paper slip (a double /copy paper) that you have to show to Argentinian border control.
The place and the campsite there is very nice but also very tabano infested. Tap water available.

Camp ? {21-02} [78.1/1241] - not really, didn’t see a spot for a tent, like Peggy mentioned too much vegetation.
If really in a need of camp on that stretch of a trail then here was one: -41.23509, -71.80915 - there is a ford and some flat, bushless spots for a tent I believe the spot that Peggy meant.

After arriving in Pampa Linda we went straight to the border control. Supposedly since covid Argentinians don’t stamp your passport upon entering. However last time (2024 Jan.) we had a stamp and still had some issues when leaving the country, because we were “not in the system”. Due to this we asked them if they could do it so that we could leave the country with less hassle. They stamped the “copy side” of paper slip that we got when leaving Chile. Which we then needed when we were leaving Argentina again.

We camped at Auberge Pampa Linda Camping / Rio Manso camping. 14k ARS pp, shower 15k ARS pp, we washed in the river like any other day.
Dinner at the auberge, fast food, papas fritas is what we have been craving. Card payment accepted and Fernando working there was the friendliest and nicest guy in Argentina.
We camped on the spot nearest to the camp entrance and were “catching” some of the public wifi in our tent. It worked pretty well by the information building (closed) making the wifi, even some tables outside for longer surfs.

Camping Los Vuriloches 30k ARS pp, with shower included. Also has a nice restaurant with some healthier food options and a small shop, not really a resupply, but enough snacks and drinks, fresh fruit. Cash only!

Day 7 - From Pampa Linda we took the option 3 (Lago Nahuel Huapi) however the actual name for this trail is Cinco Lagunas.

It is a very popular trek to do around Bariloche and we met very many people doing it despite it actually being quite demanding in some places with some quite poor sections of the trail in other. But mostly all the locals that we met had a very different philosophy and approach to hiking which we found very interesting. Just one example, by the time we go to Laguna Cretón at around 14:30, the people that camped there the night before were just finishing drinking matte and packing up to start their day. A different approach, for them it’s a camping trip with some hiking whereas for us it’s a hiking trip with some camping. We should try it the other way some time.

It is a very good trail (autobahn of a trail) from Pampa Linda to Laguna Ilón, but after that the trail gradually gets worse and worse.
Ford {21-03} [50.5/848] - has a bridge.

Lots of people camping at Ilón, at least a hundred. (It was Saturday). There you can buy some food, snacks and drinks (Cash only!). And the prices are quite outrageous, Chile felt like a really cheap country in comparison.
A very beautiful location but I wouldn’t want to camp there at least not on a weekend.

Again as mentioned by others the trails going up and down the passes are not in the greatest conditions. There are some cairns and some blue and red markings, here and there but it is still possible to loose the trail because the loose terrain in some places can be engaging and requires full focus.
Up and down - Pass {21-03} [38.4/1942] (Paso Cerro Capitan) was quite simple there was a trail up albeit steep and sandy in places and it sort of fizzled out on the way down mainly because of the rocky terrain, but plenty of cairns to follow.

The Laguna Azul was truly azul in comparison to Jujuy and Cretón, very beautiful contrast with the surrounding mountains.

The Up to the Pass {21-03} [33.5/1911] (Filo Cerro Cristales) was steep and tbh the trail didn’t make sense from the beginning to the end and it is potentially dangerous due to a rock fall that could be caused by others.
First it goes steeply down through some trees and to a wet meadow instead of just traversing from the pass by Laguna Cretón. Then it just goes straight up through the steepest part of the face. I definitely wouldn’t want to be on this super loose trail, below some of the very overburdened hikers with 6 bags on all sides, that we saw plenty of, slipping and sliding down the most simple trail because they can’t see where they are going. The “trail” for some mysterious reason is designed to channel any dislodged rocks above you, right at you. We were lucky and there was nobody above us, but I can definitely see a potential hazard there. This part of the trail could definitely be made a lot safer by adding some longer zig-zags traversing the face and spreading the people out instead of keeping everyone in a “death culoir”
Plenty of blue and sometimes red markings, just need to look for them.
Down on the other side was way less steep and mostly on solid granite.

And then the Pass {21-03} [28.0/1815] (Filo Cerro CAB) was a mirror of the previous pass, first up on lower angle mostly solids granite slabs except for the final bit and then down a steep and loose slope but at least traversing the face for the most part. We also didn’t follow the gpx but just went straight down to the NW bypassing the cliffs on the other side. Not sure whether it was any more difficult than the actual route.

We were incredibly lucky with the weather and the views from all the passes were just incredible, we missed those, all the previous days being in the forest.

We camped on the west side by Laguna C.A.B. / Lluvu (locals call it CAB and also some signs reffered to it as CAB not Lluvu.
A nice swim in the lake after a long day but it takes a walk to get to the deep/swimmable part of the lake. A very few other campers by the lake. Though the 20 people we talked to on the way there all had camped there the night before.

Day 8 - There are no actual trails around the either side of the lake so you have to walk through the lake or potentially do a very annoying BB. The lake has actually a pleasant, flat and hard packed bottom near the shore, very easy to walk on even without shoes, a nice foot massage.
After the lake there is a mierda trail pretty much all the way down to the Ford {21-03} [23.0/1133] (Arroyo la Chata) after which it slowly starts to improve again. There is a possibility to camp by the ford. The “ford” is doable on rocks and logs.

The trail up to the Pass {21-03} [20.1/1780] (Filo del Cerro Negro) is actually not too bad except for a short but very steep and sandy part just before exiting the forest. And then after the pass it’s pretty much back on normal trails, especially oncce past the Refugio.

No card payment at the Refugio Manfredo Segre, solo efectivo, Pepsi - 7k ARS.
A lot of people on the trail afterwards and with every km closer to Colonia Suiza more and more people were on the trail.

A massive camp - “Camp {21-03} [16.1/1185]” over 50 people were wild camping there, though when we passed there in the afternoon, most of the people were still drinking matte and packing up in a true Argentinian fashion. I can only imagine how much toilet paper you could find in the bushes around that place. I definitely wouldn’t take the water from anywhere in Arroyo Goye stream.

And btw the pipe from the Refugio toilets went into the gully where the river originates from. There are side streams along the way.

Somewhere else in this valley of surprises a bit lower down there was a school group with about 40 school kids that had camped there. When we were passing there, some of the kids (teenagers) looked quite desperate running around with toilet paper rolls in their hands, one guy was just squatting behind the rock right next to the trail. The shit smell in the air was a direct consequence of a poor planning, bringing so many school kids to a camp-out without any facilities.

Even though we thought we saw many people on the trail, when we got to Colonia Suiza it felt like we had suddenly come to some sort of festival. Supposedly the reason was the Sunday fair due to which the place was extra busy.

We took Uber from Colonia Suiza to Bariloche as after the 28 days of hiking (not all in a row) we were a bit too tired and smelly for the bus. It also started raining shortly after we got back, perfect timing.

Overall, definitely a very beautiful and worth doing section. Bring some ARS if you want some goodies and probably, avoid doing it on weekends if you can.

After 27 GPT sections and over 2000km of trail covered over 3 trips in 6 years we now plan to take a bit of a longer break from GPT. It’s an amazing project and truly a special place to explore and find an adventure and solitude in the mountains that’s not that easy to come by these days. Thank you GPT community!

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

*'''GPT21/ 2026 Dec,Jan 31-4 / WEBO / OH03, OH02A, OH2B/ 4.5 days/ hiking /Bailey'''
General notes -

Incredibly beautiful section

Killed at least 100 horse flies

When entering Chile to bariloche they asked how long i intended to stay in Argentina. I said 5 days. I read a previous comment saying that you can stay for less but not more than the time you say you intend to stay in Argentina. So I would recommend giving yourself more time maybe

Costs - bus to trail head, camping at Refugio (10,500 ars), bus to Puerto varas (2000 CLP,)

Difficulty - 3/5

Attractiveness - 5/5

Day 1

Bariloche felt like a mega city compared to everywhere else

Bus to Colonia suzia pay with card number 10.

Started after noon. Trail was great up until Launga Negra

First ford is a bridge. All the fords were okay. Mostly rock hops, there's a bridge or calf height

I camped on the pass after cab Laguna. The ascent had cairns going in multiple directions but mostly upwards.

Camp 1

Pass {21-03} [28.0/1815]. No water, heaps of flat ground, not really wind protected

Day 2 - Option 2A Refugio otto meiling

I forgot the pass but I missed the cairns for one of the descents and had to do a awkward down climb

The trail from pampa Linda to the top was pretty nice. I found some water along the way. This was between the ford (a bridge) and the steep incline where the trail starts and road finishes. The ford/ bridge had murky water

Camp 2

Refugio otto meiling

Nice spot, heaps of people. I didn't reserve my camping. The person who checked me in recommended people reserve their campsites or if you are staying inside. There's water here.

Day 3 - option 2B Refugio Viejo

Wifi was working okay for me at pampa Linda.

I got my Argentina exit stamp in pampa Linda.

After crossing into Chile the Carabineros were nice, I didn't check my bag for food, I didn't smuggle anything in. There's water here, tables and camping. They wanted me to check in after camping at the

Camp 3

Refugio Viejo - cowboy camped past the Refugio Viejo. There were about 6 people up there. Agree with a previous comment to get closer to the cliff and watch the glacier. Snow melt for water.

Day 4

Checked in with the Carabineros

Big day walking through the forest in the heat wave. Thankful a lot of shade and water. I didn't see anyone until the end of the day

Camp 4

Lago Cayute [63.6/233]. Water from the lake, sheltered. Very busy on the weekend.

Day 5

Walked to cochamo, caught the bus to Puerto varas.

*''' 2025.28.12 / 1 days / Hiking / SOBO / Opt. 1 (Laguna Los Quetros) + RR to El Callao/ Kris and Stiina'''

(Continued from Section 20)

Day 5 - While we had the Movistar cell service in Las Gaviotas we wanted to at least make sure that Rudy is at his Refugio Dos Condores to help us with the boat the upcoming day.

When we tried to call him the call didn’t go through, we tried different phone nrs.
We didn’t guess it then but what Rudy told us later is that you should write him a WhatsApp message instead, because he has internet there but no cell service.
Don Rudy Yefi phone nr. +56 950 180 447 as mentioned earlier.

So, we googled boat services on Lago Todos Los Santos and we found this website with 3 different phone numbers for different ferries www.lago-todoslossantos.cl/informacion/

First we called the Elizabeth III, there was no answer, then we called the Catamarán (a fast express boat between Petrohué and Peulla) +56 942 623 484 and a man answered. We explained that we want to be picked-up from El Callao the next day to which he said yes no problem and that the boat will be there at 9:30 and that’s it, no further information was given. So oblivious to our faulty arrangements we continued on to section 21.

A lot of the following information we only learned the next day because we didn’t read the trail notes careful enough.

Even though we thought that we spoke with someone who operates the Catamarán boat, it later turned out we spoke to the captain of the Elizabeth III as he himself confirmed.

What we didn’t know at the time but learned later was that - in El Callao there isn’t actually any ferry port or a dock, just a sandy beach.
And the main cherry on top of the cake that we somehow missed was that to actually board the Elizabeth III you have to have your own independent boat arrangement for a boat that will actually take you to the ferry that just passes El Callao from a distance. This somehow very “obvious” information wasn’t even mentioned by the captain of the ferry. However I spoke to him about it once we were on the ferry that next time some extranjeros calling for a boat pick-up to please mention this little detail.

Long story short, we were simply lucky that Rudy himself and another settler from the valley had to go to the Puerto Varas the same morning that we had to go. Otherwise we would have waved to the ferry from the coast watching it go past without stopping, scratching our silly heads.
The 5min boat ride to the ferry cost 10k CLP pp, the 2h ferry with toilets and wifi to Petrohué cost 660 CLP pp, all makes sense.

So once we “”arranged”” a boat transfer from El Callao for 9:30 tomorrow we went on to join the Option 1 (Laguna Los Quetros).

On the way along the road 3 dogs started following us and those weren’t some street dogs they all had collars and they looked very groomed, at least when they started following us later they were completely dirty like dogs. No matter how we tried to stop them from following us they just continued all the way to Laguna Los Quetros which was a bit annoying. People that we saw along the way kept telling us that the dogs will return home, sure. We had this happen before in Armenia, hiking the TCT where we became known as foreigners that stole the dog.
Anyhow, when we go to the Quetros lake there was luckily an ariero who had a horse tour with some people whom he had brought to the lake for lunch. We asked for his help with the dogs and he tied them all to a tree until we left, to later make the dogs follow them back instead. Because when we tried to continue on from the lake the dogs kept following us again, instead of hanging out with the people who were actually giving them food. We didn’t give them anything except some swear words, however we did name them - Chikito, Negrito and Goldie.

We met Isabelle at Rudy’s termas, she works for Rudy and was there with 3 other foreigners preparing the hot tubs she was very nice and friendly. The termas were two bathtubs carved our of logs with a pipe of warm water filling them up. And it was all inside a shed, which is presumably locked when nobody is there. We just did small talk and kept walking.

Rudy is a lovley old gentleman, we explained to him that we had arranged a boat for tomorrow and that we will be heading to El Callao for the night to avoid the very early morning hike the next day to which he didn’t say anything, just nodded so we though all is good!
We also bought some pan amasado from him, a really delicious dense, homemade bread 400 CLP per piece a bargain!

The trail from Don Rudy’s place to El Callao was slightly undulating and took us about 1.5hr even though Rudy advised us it will take about 3h.

We camped not far from the harbor on a meadow we saw on the satellite that had a stream running by. When we were setting up our tent, we heard some people talking. Behind the stream and the bushes were a few houses and the people were at home so I went to ask if it’s ok that we camp there. We talked a bit and I explained about the GPT, the man was nice bus asked me not to disclose their location as they value their privacy.

Day 6 - Cows started blaring from around 5:00 in the morning in the neighboring meadows. The evening before the man said there is a bull that visits the meadow that we were on in the mornings. And sure enough the bull was there at 6:30, staring at us, what the heck are we doing in his field, so we had an earlier departure than anticipated.
While waiting for our ferry to “pick us up” on the beach in the El Callao we enjoyed some sunshine with some, Rudy’s pan amasado and a few protein bars which was all that we had left from food.
Unexpectedly Rudy arrived with two other men and that’s when we learned about how this whole thing works, luck definitely saved us from having an unexpected adventure that day.

We boarded Elizabeth III about a kilometer from the coast, which would have been a long swim otherwise. It was smooth sailing all the way to Petrohue with the most incredible views of Volcan Osorno, Volcan Puntiagudo and the Tronador on the other side of the lake.
There are toilets and wifi on board and we didn’t make any other stops which brought us to Petrohué in about 2hrs. When we got there the bus to Puerto Varas was already waiting - 3.5k CLP pp.

Next off to Section 22 NoBo, 21 (Tronador traverse) and to Bariloche to finish another GPT season!

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

* '''2025-12-07 to 2025-12-11/ 4.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO+EABO / 21-01 + RR + 21-04A (Packraft El Callao to Rio Blanco) + 21-04 + 21-02 + 21-02B (Refugio Viejo) / Antoine B'''

A section mostly in forest trail with nice highlights: Laguna Questros for camping, crossing Lago de Todos los Santos and sleeping on an isolated beach, ascending El Tronador, enjoying hot spring and isolated farms.

Attractivity: 4
Difficulty: 3 (long forest sections)

Day 1:
Coming from GPT20, I started at las Gaviotas around 18.30 and finished the day hiking up to Laguna Los Questros. Very pleasant path uphill. I met a horse rider coming from la Laguna, who asked for 10k for camping over there. I wasn't sure if he was the owner but paid 5k CLP (it's just a good flat ground with a pit, dry toilets maybe). La Laguna is a great spot to camp and swim in the lake, no one there but birds and cows.

Day 2:
Long day walking on forest trails with tabanos. 2 farms on the way but no one there. Arrived around 18 at Lago de Todos los Santos and packrafted SE for 2.5h until nightfall (barely no wind, clear sky, lucky conditions). The evening light were charming and the surrounding landscapes reminded of many places (Fuji for Osorno, Garda & Annecy lakes)....
Camped on a lovely isolated beach (-41.117963 ; -72.127518), close to the referenced waypoint. Splendid spot.

Day 3:
On the water around 10:30 for 2-3h, a bit of tail wind accelerating me. It wasn't possible to access the last bit in the river meadows (not enough water) and Rio Blanco has too much current, not worth the effort. So I landed in the muddy/woody shore, where a neighbour just left by boat (-41.15470, -72.09983). Short walk along the shore before joining the trail in the forest. Nice walk in the valley, then lots of forest trail, I went eastward towards Tronador and ended up by nightfall at the hot spring spot, by the river close to the farms (thanks for the tips shared here, really a memorable place). Camping ground is perfect.

Day 4:
Started at 12, walked to the 2nd farm and met 4 carabineros visiting the farmer. We hiked back to the puesto together (4h). We sympathized and they invited me for dinner. Lovely company, great memories. Camped at the puesto, free, water available and a little stream for washing. Good news: they just got equipped with solar panel so no more noisy diesel generator as of now.

Day 5:
Relaxing hike up to Refugio Viejo (option 02B), at fast pace (1h30 up). Loved the views (and not carrying any backpack). It's quite fresh and was super windy up there so worth carrying jacket + sun glasses (very reflective with the glaciers). The CC path beyond the refuge, to the edge of the cliff is indeed not to be missed. Ran down in 45mn, amazing feeling after 2 weeks with a 25kg backpack. After chatting again with the carabineros, it took me 3-4h of forest trail to end up in Pampa Linda (17:00). Gendarmería is after the bridge, last building leaving the place. Smooth entry but the bus left (17:00 I think). Hitchhike was not successful for 30mn and I met cool people staying at the camping Vuriloche (~30k ARS if I recall) so I joined them for the night and they drove me the next day to Bariloche.

* GPT21 5-8/12/25 / 4 days / Hiking / WEBO / OH03 / Nimrod + Shai + Shmuel

5/12 — Colonia Suiza → Laguna Negra

Took a bus to Colonia Suiza (using SUBE card but you can just use your credit as well).
The ascent to the lagoon was mostly easy and well marked with a steeper section toward the end.

Distance: 11 km
Ascent: 963 m
Descent: 163 m

6/12 — Laguna Negra → Campsite After the Pass (41.1760733S, 71.6480100W)

After breakfast at the hut, we packed and began the climb to the first pass, which offered an impressive reflection of Laguna Negra.
We then continued ascending toward Laguna CAB on a partially marked and steep trail. We did some bush bashing but connected to the trail after 10 or so minutes. The GPX is fairly accurate and it easy to miss the marks. The weather was hot, and there were many biting flies. ( bring some fly spray) We took our shoes off and crossed the lagoon from the other side (the gpx trail is from the opposite side but longer) along its edge and stopped for lunch.
Afterward, we climbed another pass with beautiful views. The beginning of the ascent was not clearly marked.
During the descent, Shmuel and Shai lost track of unintentionally followed a difficult scrambling route. The Route is marked with rock cairns but easy to miss.

Distance: 13 km
Ascent: 1,067 m
Descent: 1,176 m

7/12 — Campsite (41.1760733S, 71.6480100W) → Laguna Ilón

Well marked, steep accents and decents. (Need to use hands for sure). Mostly well marked, a bit confusing near Jujuy. It was an hoilday and a lot of people camped at the laguna. Campsite is 20000 pesos per person. I was told after I paid there is a wild camping spot pretty closeby.

Distance: 12.5 km
Ascent: 955 m
Descent: 1,058 m

8/12 — Laguna Ilón → Pampa Linda

Easy route down, and well marked. The road is closed till 16:00, rested by the river till then. Was super easy to hitchhike back to bariloche. Maybe because of the holiday. Where is a weak free wifi near the visiter center.

Distance: 8.5 km
Ascent: 112 m
Descent: 632 m

Annoyances : the horse fly bite ever through the shirt, bring some bug spray

Attractiveness 5/5
Difficulty 5/5

* '''GPT21 / 2025-12-01 and 02 / 2 days / Packrafting Sobo / Option 5A and Lago Cayetue side trip / Lago Todos los Santos from Petrohue to Lago Cayetue / Meylin Ubilla and Jan Dudeck'''

This route is a suitable southbound season start for packrafters with heavier packrafting gear that wish to minimize hiking in favor of more packrafting.

Public transportation to Petrohue at the western terminus of Lago Todos los Santos is simple. Take a minibus from the Puerto Montt bus station to Puerto Varas (every 5 to 10 minutes) and tell the bus driver that you wish to take another minibus to Petrohue. The bus drive will drop you off in the center of Puerto Varas at a bus stop where the buses to Petrohue stop (every 30 minutes).

In Petrohue are two camp sites on the other side (southern) of the slow moving river just where Lago Todos los Santos ends and drains into Rio Petrohue. Packrafters best stay at one of these camp sites to start paddling with the first light on the next morning when conditions are typically calmer. Motor boats bring people to these camp sites (boat crossing 1000 CLP / camping 5000 CLP) so packrafters don’t need to inflate the boat for a 50 m river crossing.

Wind typically blows westbound on the lake main body. The lake arm Cayetue is generally less windy but the typical wind blows northbound (“viento sur”). On a typical sunny day wind starts between 10:00 and 12:00 and calms down after 18:00. Therefore starting very early is the best strategy to complete the lake crossing in one day.

There are quite some emergency exits along the water route if wind and waves force you out of the water. Note that most buildings along the shore are now vacation retreats of the rich and super-rich and not the homes of settlers. A good number of these luxury buildings are equipped alarm systems so be cautious when exploring these upscale buildings to avoid a visit by caretaker. If you are forced to camp somewhere along the shore then best choose a hidden spot that is not easily visible from water nor from the buildings.

We packrafted in 6 hours from Petrohue to Cayetue. The best lake exit is just west of Rio Conchas (41° 13′ 40.5″ S / 72° 16′ 0.8″ W) and not as indicated in the track files at the small port. This extends the water route by 1.5 km and reduces hiking by the same distance.

The trail from the lake exit to Lago Cayetue is well maintained.

Lago Cayetue and Rio Conchas is a nice side trip. You can packraft the Rio Conchas from the lake drain 1 km downstream (very little flow) and from lake feed 2.5 km upstream.

Hikers that need a northbound boat transfer from Cayetue may call Eduardo (+56 9 7515 2075). He is a caretaker of the vacation retreat where Rio Conchas flows into Lago Todos los Santos.

* '''2025-11-25 to 2025-11-27 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / RR / Daniel.s'''

Started at Puerto Poncho, from Entre Lagos hitchhiking is the only way. Plan a half day to get anywhere on this side of Lago Rupanco.

Day 1: Paddling is straight forward, tailwind in the afternoon usually. The hike from las Gaviotas is easy to find and maintained, used by cattle at L. Los Quetros, where I camped (no one there). In summer tabanos and mud (after rain) will be your dominant enemies.

Day 2: hiked all the way to Lago Todos los Santos, trail easily followabel. At arrival (~15:00) wind was moderate at shore, strong in the middle of the lake, made a few kilometers to a little sheltered beach (S 41° 03.993', W 072° 11.689') where I spent the night.

Day 3:
Early start (4:30am) to use the calm hours. Arrived at southern end ( S 41° 13.706', W 072° 16.019') around 11am, then hiked to L. Cayutué and up to the parking for the day-hikers (S 41° 18.052', W 072° 16.309') where I got a lift all the way to Cochamó quickly (to avoid hiking down 10 kms of dusty gravel road).

'''2025-01-21 to 2025-01-24 / 4 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Thijmen Scholten'''

- Road from Entre Lagos to Puerto poncho does not have much traffic. Hitchike may take long.

- Because of that I started at lago Rupanco quite late (12.00). Waves were big but ok with decked packraft.

- Laguna's los quetros and the thermal baths are perfect camp spots. As for 22th of January there is no one , so it's free.

- Water is easily to find on the route every hour or so l. So no need to carry

- The trail goes trough beautiful forest. Can be very muddy if it recently rained alot.

- You can beautiful camp at the Northern shore of Laguna de los Santos. To cross the lake next day early morning.

- I started at 7 and at 8 there were already huge waves. In the afternoon it calmed down. Crossing took a whole day.

- The entry of Rio conchas is not at the first entry but more downstream.

- camping next to Rio Conchas has awesome fishing

- The haucho there said in the winter Rio conchas flows to Lago dos Santos and in the summer it flows to the Laguna.

- Just before the lake Rio Conchas turns into a small stream so you need to carry the packraft (100m).

==Season 2024/25==

*''' 2025-02-24 to 2025-03-03 / 9 days / Hiking+ferry / SOBO / var 21-01 + RR + ferry + 21-02 from Puerto Callao + 21-02 A (Refugio Otto Mailing) + 21-02 B (Refugio Viejo) + RR / Dorota'''

Day 1: I started at Puerto Las Gaviotas. I did not make it to 19 stages because I would like to cross the border as quickly as possible. I found Uber tel.+56 9 8716 2865 who took me for 50,000 clp to Las Gaviotas. I can recommend him. The road was not easy and the price is fair because from Entre Lagos it was 70 km. Then I took OH 1. Very nice path in the forest but a little moody after rain. Near Termas de Rudy trail passes for private terrain. Diana, who is the owner, invited me for tea. She also offers camp for 5,000 clp and has Termas. There also lives his son, Alejandro. There I have met two Chilean girls. They were frightened after passing bridges in variant RR. From the house of Diana, take variant AA, not RR. On RR at point .... there is a bridge. But I decided to go through the river. After the rain, the current was strong and the level of water was till my hips. I passed the night at Refugio Los Condores. Laura, mujer de Rudy, was very polite. She took me to his house, in the cabana there were some people. For hospedaje, cena, desayuno I paid 40,000 clp. The cena was very big and the desayuno also.
You can also buy eggs, bread, honey , beer. When I was in Entre Lagos I wrote Rudy to order a boat, refugio and food. Also he ordered for me a place at the ferry Elizabeth III for the next day. I paid for the boat to the ferry 15,000 clp.

Day 2: From Refugio Dos Condores to Puerto Callao, it took me 1.5 hours, but I recommend 2 hours. Two bridges were very solid. At Puerto Callo, I was waiting for Augustino, the son of Rudy. The ferry Elizabeth III arrived at 4:30 p.m. with a half-hour delay. During the journey, we took and left passengers at different ports. Finally, I reached Puerto Puella at 8 p.m. I slept at Hotel Puella for 40,000 clp with breakfast. But you can try Hotel Natura. The next day, one girl said to me that she had paid 30,000 clp. I was very lucky that transporting between ports had worked well for a normal price, together 20,000 clp.

Day 3: In the morning, I crossed the border of Chile without a problem. I still had three days for my stay. The road from Puella is a little boring but easy. I joined a group who went to "Riggy". From there, I had very spectacular views of Tronador. Afterward, I came back and spent the night near a refugio in a tent. The refugio is private. One person said to me that it belonged to carabineros, and another that it belonged to Hotel Natura.

Day 4: In the morning, I reached Aduana, Argentina. But the officials went at 12:30 on a boat from Bariloche. They did not like me to give a stamp of entrada to Argentina. But finally, the women gave me a paper to fill out and gave me a stamp. The men were impolite. Then I took a very nice trail "Paso por las Nubes". You had to pass some bridges. The trail went through the forest and is very easy. The night I spent in Refugio Alfonso Roca. A lot of people were there, but the views of the glacier were spectacular. The price for a night was 60,000 clp. You need a first reservation for WhatsApp. I had not, but it was a place for me. Payment only in cash.

Day 5: The trail went down through the forest. It was very easy. All fallen trees were cut down and easy to cross, and there were bridges saved. I decided to take variant 21-02A to refugio Otto Mailing, also paying 60,000 pesos argentinos for the night. They had also places for tents for 14,000 pesos argentinos. You can pay by card but with an additional 10%. The views of the glacier were incredible. The trail from Pampa Linda is very popular and very well signed.
Unfortunately, it was raining and there were a lot of clouds, but still I could see the glacier. This refugio has a very nice atmosphere. Because of bad weather, there were not a lot of people.

Day 6: It was a very rainy day. I started very early from Pampa Linda. At the border control, the man was very polite. He gave me two stamps: entrance and exit. And filled out a paper in three copies. I did not make any requests in Pampa. The Paso Viriloche trail was well signed, and the next day was the maratón to Ralun. I would like to take variant 21-B, but the carabinero stopped me because of bad weather. He was very polite. Because of bad weather, he invited me and two other people to something like a house and also took our clothes and shoes for drying. We slept on the floor and made a fire inside.

Day 7: The weather was excellent so I took 21B to refugio viejo. This place is amazing with views on Tronador. Finally I was walking together with three carabinieros, they had patrol. They took care of me. We went a little up after refugio to see glaciers. Tronador is amazing. After descending I took my things and went to refugio Huenchupen at km 86.9 of 21-02. I slept on the floor.

Day 8: Next day very rainy, so I was walking very fast through forest and mundo terrain. Night at puesto at km 26.4 of variant 21-04 close to RR. There were not poblador. We put tents together with two chilenos and two argentinos in house for animals. Water we find close from small stream.

Day 9: Crazy day. Next day in the predicción heavy rain, so I decided to reach Ralun, 37 km to go. All rivers all the way had increased water level because of rain. But only Rio Conchas was demanding: water above knee level and strong current. Finally I reached Ralun. I slept at hospedaje for 30 k clp, there is also cabana there for 40 k clp. The first house at the left. The owner is Margot, phone:+56 9 8716 2865. In shop el cruce very good asortiment. Next day I went to Puerto Montt to take my deposit with food. Bus at 6.50 and last at 8.00. Last from Puerto Montt at 4 p.m, at terminal you can buy ticket at shop number 37.

*'''2025-01-03 to 2025-03-05/ 4,5 days / Hiking/ WEBO + SOBO / OH03D (a small prt), OH02, RR / Peggy

After choosing to come to Bariloche by bus to renew my visa (to avoid the rain and give my body time to recover from a bad cold), I initially planned to take the option suggested by Tomáš, departing directly from Bariloche and joining stage 21 at option 3 by passing through the Frey and Jacob refuges (03D), despite the bad weather ahead. But things didn’t go as planned.

The first part of this option starts from Bariloche, either with the cable car or not. Since I had booked an Airbnb on the way up, I left directly from the house. While descending towards 03D, about 1 km or less from the end (41.086296S, 071.219331W), I encountered a man with his horse who forbade me from continuing, saying it was private property and that there was a sign indicating this at the Arelauquen refuge (closed), which I hadn't seen (maybe because I passed behind it?). So, continuing was impossible—frustrating… I climbed back up a few dozen meters and then decided to cut through off-trail (BB) to reach the path below, which made a switchback. I crossed off-trail for about 100-200 meters and found the wider path again, this time with large houses under construction. Since it was Saturday, I only came across two workers who said nothing to me.

At the bottom, near the road, I was faced with a large double gate topped with barbed wire. No way to pass through there, but after searching the sides, I found a possible passage, though there was barbed wire (be careful with your gear!). However, I first tried to go through a spot that seemed suitable and looked like it had been used before, but in doing so, I knocked down a wasp nest and got stung several times! I quickly moved away after the stings, faced with a hundred angry wasps whose home had just suffered an earthquake caused by a clumsy human!
So if you want to do this new option (OH03D) it is better to start directly in Villa las Coihues.

I eventually found a way out. The stings (only two in the end) were painful (until the evening) and put me in a strange state. Soon after, I met a friendly Argentinian, and we traveled together to Pampa Linda. Apparently, my path was not meant to follow the option suggested by Tomáš. In any case, the rain and wind that followed in the next days would have made this route difficult due to its exposed sections, according to Tomáš's description. Nevertheless, I hope to return to do it—maybe. Now that I have a friend in Bariloche! The GPT is just incredible in terms of changes, encounters, and adaptability!

Entrance fee: 20k for entering the park when coming from Bariloche via the road to Pampa Linda. Remember to stop by the Carabineros for the exit stamp from Argentina if coming this way.

The camp at km 71.8 is not possible now—too much vegetation—but I was able to pitch my tent a bit earlier, just after crossing the river where the sign is. There is space for one tent.

Despite my desire to go to the old refuge and enjoy Tronador, which must be magnificent, I couldn't go up the day I arrived due to the rain and wind—the Carabineros were even sending everyone back down. I camped near the Carabineros, hoping to go up the next day, but the weather didn't improve. The Carabineros kindly lent me a "five-star" tent, where I spent the afternoon and night like a princess! (My X-Mid Pro would have been fine, but it couldn't compare to this castle!). Indeed, as Volker (I think) mentioned, they run a generator, so be prepared for noise. But in my castle, I had nothing to complain about!

There is a free refuge at km 86.9 (Refugio Lomas de Huechupan) that offers shelter.

At the Vuriloche hot springs, there is a bivouac spot (GPS coordinates given by Clara, thanks, Clara: -41.24628, -72.04855) with a place for a fire. As Clara noted, there is no "Vuriloche refuge"—it’s a house belonging to a settler.

From the bivouac site, the first path on the right goes down to the river to collect water and leads to two hot water basins. The second path on the left leads to the main hot springs with two hotter basins, one of which is very hot. This is where you need to cross via the suspension bridge—very fun! Jose, aka Coche, who lives on the other side, told me not to take the other path as the bridge there has collapsed. For those afraid of crossing the suspension bridge, it is possible, according to Coche, to cross via the ford at km 101.3. At the suspension bridge, there is a refuge for rent called "La Junta"—ask the person living near the "Refuge de Vuriloche" point on the Locus map.

Between the hot springs and Bandurrias (3–3.5 hours of walking):
I couldn't find a suitable camping spot due to the rain, mud, and soggy ground. However, just before Bandurrias, there are plenty of excellent spots.

On the OH02 route, there are many river crossings. Often, there are log bridges, but sometimes not. Due to several days of rain, the water level was higher, but everything remained completely doable.

Because of the rain, I spent an afternoon and a night on the porch of the puesto at km 126, where no one was around. Gratitude 🙏

The forest is stunning and magical. Many muddy passages, like tunnels of earth—an incredible journey. As Tomáš and Natalie (I think) mentioned somewhere, it sometimes feels like an Indiana Jones-style adventure!

*'''17Jan2024 - 24jan2024 / hiking WEBO + SOBO / OH3 + OH2+2B + RR / ~7 days / Clara'''

There is a detailed report of Natalie and Tomáš from January 2024 so I'll just add the differences/changed things.

I took the formal OH3 so I began in Colonia Suiza.

To get there from Bariloche by bus, need to bye a SUBE card (or ask someone to pay for you with it in the bus and give cash directly). These cards can only be found at the Centro Civico Bariloche in the center. Then you have to go in one of the many kiosko with SUBE in the city to pay and charge it. It was 1.5k for the card and needed to charge 4k to go untill Colonia Suiza. The bus 10 goes there directly from the city center but not much per day. Other solution is to take bus 20 and then an other one. Easy to find out in ggmaps or app moovit.

Untill laguna negra, it's an easy trail, overrun at this season.
Camp at 16.1, close to nice river.

Pass at 20.1 is easy and the view is awesome.

Going up to laguna CAB : there are some falen trees, trail a bit harder to follow. At this point -41,14666, -71,61216 intersection with an other more evident trail but it's not the good one, which is hide behind a log.

First beach of laguna CAB is very nice, stopped there to eat and swim, water at perfect temperature in the afternoon and no annoying insects.

Then steep ascent to the pass at 28.0. Up there, I found navigation a bit confusing. Sometimes lots of cairns in several direction. No trail as it's only big scrambling rocks. Begining of the descent is hard and take time.

Camp at the 2nd camp spot close to Mallin Mate Dulce. This one was nicer than the first. Good river flowing close and sort of a waterfall with a bassin. But so much mosquitoes that I ate and mostly stayed in my tent.
This day was only 15km but feels way more. Lots of elevation gain and loss, slow evolution (and also I had a very heavy backpack).

Next pass at 33.5, navigation easier with some red/blue marks, steep ascent and descent that often demand using of hands (especially begining of the descent !!). I saw my first condor up there, incredible moment.

After laguna Creton, everything gets easier (and faster) : navigation, terrain and steepness !

Note : camp spot just under laguna Creton (with waterfall and bassin) and the one close to Laguna Jujuy (probably a bit exposed if big wind but there are little stonewalls to pitch the tent) seems really nice to spent the night !

The view is awesome all along the ridge till pass 38.4.

Easy descent to laguna Ilon. Lots of people camp here coming from pampa linda (12k/pp for camping). Still nice spot to rest a bit, perfect to swim, shade, dry toilets and drinking water.

Easy descent to pampa linda with really nice views on the tronador !

Pampa linda : restaurants (expensive!), campings (saw one at 8k without shower). Free wifi that worked really well in all town (at least in the morning when not much people there), I could even had a WhatsApp videocall with perfect quality.

Gendarmería : easy and fast. No date in the paper so I guess it's not compulsory to get to the carabineros the exact same day.

Carabineros : very chill, they don't check my bag at all, no form to fill, so I didn't finished all my prohibited food as previoused and I passed the border with cheese, nuts, dry fruits,... Possible to let them things to go up to refugio viejo.

Refugio viejo tronador : long but mostly easy going up to the refugio, awesome landscapes. I splept there in a high windy night, the refuge is very basic but a good schelter.

Puesto at 86.9 is not a puesto but a refuge. There is a table outside with an awesome view on the tronador. No bed inside but could probably be a good shelter to pitch the tent in bad weather. Water in the river flowing just few meters down (not in OSM).

Camp at 88.9 : the spot with the river is really nice to have a swim with large bassins. Only fits 1 tent I think.

In Gaia there are 2 others refugio on the map. Refugio Seba --> nothing. Refugio Vuriloche --> seems more like the house of a settler. The termas are at wrong place on Gaia map.

I did a short day to enjoy the termas and shelter from rain, multiple nice and clean bassins.
-41,24628, -72,04855 : flat spot to camp, tables, fire.
-41,24701, -72,04806 : first trail go down here to the river. 1 bassin just down and one closer to the river.
-41,24813, -72,04712 : 2nd trail go to the bridge (the one in OSM). Just before there are 2 other nice bassins, hoter !!
I was there with a group of 16 argentinians who make the traverse every year, they know the settler, told me the use of hot springs is free !
I saw him the next morning. He sells bread and killed a lamb for the group (but maybe need to be asked in advance for that?).

Then trail sometimes muddy/sleepery but mostly in good conditions even after a rainy night !
Fords of Rio Conchas up to knee.

Camp just after ford 28.6.

In total, it was a very nice section with awesome landscapes, especially OH3 and the refugio viejo!! Took me about 7 days with some short days.

*'''2025-JAN-17 to 2025-JAN- / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+OH (var. 01) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel'''

We combined stages 20 and 21, starting with food supplies for both stages (4 days). This stage with enough water, mostly leads through dense Valdivian forest. The highlight for us was the view of the Puntiagudo and Osorno volcanoes from Lago Todos los Santos, where you need to arrange transportation to the opposite shore.

Following variant 01, the trail ascends to Laguna Los Quetros through dense forest along a cow path carved into the terrain. At Laguna Los Quetros, there are many beautiful camping spots, benches, fire pits, and a dry toilet. We met the owners of this campsite at the beginning of the stage, and they told us that the campsite usually has a fee, but they didn’t feel like going up that day, so we could stay for free.
The ford [19.1/650] was crossed dry-footed. The bridges along the trail were quite fragile or improvised, for example, the bridge [20.3/419] is suitable only for the brave due to its condition. At the point Food, Lodging, Ferry [21.1+0.2/415], no one was there, so we continued to Settler, Lodging, Ferry [23.2/432], where you can buy breakfast, lunch, dinner, as well as bread, eggs, honey, soda, and beer. We also learned that the boat to the other side of Lake Todos los Santos was expected to depart the following day (Sunday) around noon. Therefore, we reached the lake and decided to wait until the next day. However, the owner of one of the boats appeared and offered to take us to the Cayutue port for 120,000 CLP. We eventually negotiated the price down to 100,000 CLP. He dropped us off outside the track files at coordinates (-41.22695, -72.26297), where there is a sheltered terrace where you can stay overnight. In addition to tables, benches, and a grill, there is also a water tap. From there, we set out on a new route, mostly across pastures, visible on navigation tools. The settler at coordinates (-41.25020, -72.25722) allowed us to pass through his property, though he didn’t seem too pleased about it. We rejoined the RR trail at the transition from MR to TL approximately at km [57.2]. From Lago Cayutue, we encountered many people who were out on a weekend walk. The rest of the way to Cochamó was peaceful.

* ''' 2025-JAN-17 > 18 / 1 jours (30km) / Randonnée / SOBO / RR > 21-A > RR > END km 30 / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT20+GPT21+GPT22
| Meteo : nuageux
| Eau : rare
| Neige : oui
| Intérêt : 4/5
| Difficulté : 3/5
| Danger : manque d'eau

Si la neige ne fond pas, il n'y a pas d'eau entre le km 4,5 et le km 19,0. Je n'ai pas pu faire ma lessive. Le RR va dans la riviere au km 20,3 alors j'ai pris le 21-A qui est le chemin officiel. Le (vendredi) soir au refuge Dos Condores, on me dit que le ferry ne passe que certains jours. Je dois donc attendre le dimanche 12h00... Je n'ai pas compris où allait le ferry car le monsieur parlait très mal et je comprend mal l'espagnol. Bref je pense que c'est très difficile de trouver un bateau El Callao > Cayutué. Le lendemain je suis descendu au port par la derniere section plutôt boueuse, espérant un miracle. Et le miracle était là... un groupe de 15 jeune randonneur (14-18ans) de Puerto Varas avec un guide qui attendent leur bateau... Je suis rentré avec eux à Petrohue gratuitement. J'avoue qu'après la section 18 et 20, et ce plan foireux de ferry, ma motivation avait totalement disparu. Mais je repars de plus belle vers le GPT22. Bus de 12h00 entre Petrohue et la route 225, tentative infructueuse d'auto-stop vers Cochamo mais bus à 12h45. Je n'ai pas pu faire la seconde partie du GPT21 malheureusement. Mais je suis content d'être sorti de ce cul de sac.

* '''2025-01-14 / 6 hours / Packrafting / SOBO / Option 8 / Tomáš'''
While Natalie was resting in Puerto Varras, I took the same bus like last year at 8:38 from next to our hostel (-41.32710, -72.96598) and got dropped at the bridge where Option 8 starts an hour later (2500 CLP). Unlike last year, the bus was half-empty. The approach is MR, no CC. Rio Huenuhuenu does not have that much water - it is navigable, but you will hit the ground from time to time probably. Also, there are some sticks, that are due to narrowness of the river not so always to avoid (just walk your biat here and there). It took me 40 minutes to get to Rio Petrahue, which is deep and wide and while it has momentum, so you go fast, is not technical at all. There are logs and sticks but they are extremely easy to avoid. It was raining and I stopped for about two hours at Hot Spring {21-08} [24.2/29] (Termas de Ralun). They are free and popular (with both Chilians and foreigners) - there have always been other people. So probably not good for camping or washing, but great warm up. They can fit 10+ people. Tide reaches there and it somewhat elevated my boat even though I put it on the beach previously. Luckily it did not flow away. Due to high tide, Rapid {21-08} [25.1/30] was nonexistent. Camp {21} [79.3/7] is paid, I think, this is private land. Without stopping at the hot spring, Rio Petrohue would have taken me 3 hours to go down. I managed to lose my inReach in my transparent dry bag there, but recovered it later (see next entry). Hitched first car to Puerto Varras. All in all maybe due to rain and clouds, I did not find it very scenic, but listening to a podcast and eating strawberries while just floating down the river was a treat.

* '''2025-01-6/ 1 / Packrafting/ SOBO/ RR&OP 8/ Davide'''

Together with Volker I took Elisabeth III for Petrahue at Lagos todos Los Santos. While he proceeded for the climb of Vulcan Osorno I continued my packrafting trips starting a bit after Petrohue (Los Pollos). The official track of the GPT (21) start back at the intersection between Rio Hueñu Hueñu and Rio Petrohue, and for good reasons. The rapids starting at Los Pollos are locally famous for guided trips and rated at III+, so I don't suggest them for unaware packrafter. DO NOT try if inexperienced.

On the other hand the rest of the river is a glorious enjoyment up to its end at estero Reloncavi.

Be mindfull at the delta of Rio Hueñu Hueñu to Rio Petrohue, there are many trees in the river, and the left-most branch of the delta is completely blocked by a fallen tree transversal to the flow. Care must be given also for the remaining trait of the river.

This route overall represents a possible variation to existing tracks to not have to go to Puerto Varas if passing to Petrohue. While it is a bit more dangerous, it can substitute the hike of the RR to a day on paddling in the river downstream.

* '''2025-01-10 to 2025-01-12/ 2days / Packrafting/ SOBO/ RR&RP (ridge) / Natalie & Tomáš'''

Note: I wrote this when out of service without reading the last three new entries, so many things could be repeated, apologies.

Day 01: El Poncho to Cenizo basin; ~14km
After a short paddle from our, "alternative hot spring camp" (see gpt20), we arrived at El Poncho port. Unfortunately like others have said, there is no infrastructure there, the GPT has it misplaced. There is just one vacation home and SWARMS of tabaños. This was disappointing because I (Natalie) wasn't careful during the last resupply stop and did not buy enough food. Tomáš set up the tent to organize our things and I wasted an hour swinging a paddle into thin air trying to kill as many tabaños as I could. I will be having a good laugh for a while when I think back to what the Chileans must have thought when they saw me walking along the road, wearing a neon colored drysuit, and swinging a paddle up a down like a lunatic. I was very close to the skipping point as my body was exhausted from stomach issues that started at the beginning of gpt19, but eventually I came to terms. Plus, Tomáš had plenty of extra food as a back up so we set off around 12:30.
The trail is an old CONAF trail and there is an covered seating area/shelter near the start (no water). The trail was in surprisingly good shape and well traveled until the turn off for the gpt trail around -40.89986, -72.27375. We recommend taking the left fork (on OSM), it looked more traveled than the right and it went well (Tomáš of course cleared some bamboo to make it more obvious, hope it helps). There is also a stick blocking the GPT route at the top when they connect again. The OSM route first takes you to two settler houses, except if you hit the second s
house, you have gone too far, the trail veers upwards in the grass just before the second. After that it is pretty easy to stay on route, there are just a couple of alternative paths that intersect at times. The last one km of the OSM route is a bit overgrown, but it is just annoying, not slowing you down. There is no water until past the "Camping Alerces". If you plan to camp there, you can walk westward ~300m to a good flowing creek that should hopefully provide water year round..
After the camping, it's a walk up a semi dry creek bed until a waterfall blocks further advancement. The trail leaves the creek bed on your left about 100 m before this waterfall, Tomáš magnified the cairns there so hopefully you can see it. Then it's a simple but steep at times walk to the ridge, absolutely amazing views of Puntiagudo (Osorno's evil stepsister) and the the surrounding area. I give the ridge walk a 10/10 for views. We slept (the night was thankfully windless) in the basin underneath Volcan Cenizo. If there is snow and sun you may find water in the afternoon/evening, but no water in the morning/early afternoon so the last water would have been the waterfall.

Day 02: Volcan basin to Lago Todos Los Santos; 20 km
The next day was very straightforward. We hiked up Cenizo , aiming more to towards the north ridge for easier climbing. The peak to it's east looks like a possible fun scramble (from the west!) if you find a good way (without bag of course). There was no snow melt on the way down and like Roman has mentioned the turn off into the forest can be easily missed; -40.95687, -72.18367. The path down was in surprisingly good shape, lots of orange cut marks as well. The tabaños were in FULL force in the valley. They were the worst around the hotspring 19.2. The hotsprings are in a locked shed and nobody is living in that spot, they live a little further down valley on the trail (Sergio?). The worst of the tabaños were there but they continued to be terrible anytime we were not in the shade of the forest. We had lunch at the main hub of the valley; Refugio Dos Condors (aka Laura and her son Augustin, Rudy being the head of the family?). They are formally set up to take guests, so it is unlikely they will ever "not" be there. They have a couple menu's and prices for alternative requests. We had lunch for 16mil each. It was well worth it for my sake because I had been under fueled for a while. I also bought eggs (300pp), bread (400pp) and half a kilo of honey (3mil). Tomáš was overjoyed to be able to eat as mucj cherries from their trees as he could and also some raspberries. They are notnripe yet, should stay available maybe till end of month? We then made good time and got to the beach "ferry" early enough to rest before an early morning paddle the next day. P.s. we almost accidentally went to the beach of the settler to the east of the ferry, seemed like a prettier spot. Also, if you camp at the ferry, there is a large light near the boats/trail entrance, so I suggest camping on the far right (loling onto the beach from the lake). There was a trickle of water that seemed questionable, so our last source of water was the bridge 27.1.

Day three: Lago Todos Los Santos (TLS) to Petrohue - 22 km
We chose to go to Petrohue as we have walked to Ralun last year via Argentina. Tomáš had the idea of crossing the lake and then following the south shore of TLS as it was less distance. I hesitated as I didn't trust the lake, so the safest option sounded like the north shore, but we had a good weather window so we went with Tomáš's suggestion, making one quick stop on the island (a nice stop if it wasn't for the tabaños. Sadly we had almost no tabanos before the stop but after that they followed us to the end - must have killed over a hundred). In the morning we set off at ~6:15am and glad we didn't set of any later. One reason being the attack of the horseflies while paddling but mainly because when we got 1km close to the end we got hit by some strong headwind and waves. Advancement was slow but we made it (altogether the section took us 48 hours). A tourist boat came to us looking panicked but we assured them we would make it. Goes to show that it is true, conditions can change VERY fast and I am personally glad we were not any further from shore. Petrohue is an awful touristy place. Bus to Puerto Varras leaves every half an hour and there were swarms of cars with tourists. There are several telecommunications towers, but no working Entel internet (Edge!).

* '''25-01-08 - 25-01-11/ 3,5 days / NOBO-EABO / RR-OH2 (Tronador) Volker'''

Very pittoresque route (I took it inspired by Tomas & Natalie, who did it WEBO in january 2024)
Day 0: After climbing Volcan Osorno in the morning, I hitchhiked to Ensenada (resupply) and then to Cochamo but got out of the car 12km before Cochamo in Ralun at the start of the RR MR going to Cayetue („21, Bus, 71,5). Took a cabana directly opposite (30k). The indicated shop has basic food.
Day 1: A van driving locals to physiotherapy gave me a ride, so the MR walking to the pass was shortened by a half. At the pass yet another view on Volcan Puntiagudo, now from the south. Very easy down to Lago Cayutue (lots of tabanos there, also along rivers and on meadows, luckily the trail is mostly in the forest). Very easy along Rio Conchas (easy fords). 1km before the settler at 117.3 it looked like it will start to rain soon. So I raised my tent on a small meadow, indeed 10 min later and then during the evening some rain, but very few.

Day 2: Blue sky, easy walking, very few tabanos, even outside the forest, many settlers on horses. At Gpt 21-02end a small wooden sign, asking you to stay on the right (orographically: left) side of Rio Blanco (id est: not to take variant c). I did not go down to the ford, but on the following kms Rio Blanco seemed quite difficult to cross, the ford at 101.3, however, easy. So the sign makes sense. Shortly before the ford a non indicated settler, very lovely place. The settler at 98.5 offered me cherries from his tree and we talked a while. These friendly people provide for the special flair of this OH (on RR it’s just Rudy). From now on very scenic views on Volcan Tronador. Two bridges over Rio Aguas Turbias, which has deserved this name. Camp at the indicated spot at 88.3 (close to the destroyed bridge, fits one tent).
Day 3: Steep but easy up to the border. Several camp spots close to the puesto at 86.9 (which obviously serves as a refuge). At the border I told the very nice young carabinero that I want to go to Refugio Viejo (coming from the Chilean side technically you can go there without showing up at the carabineros, but I wanted to get some information about the way). Whereas Conaf rather doesn’t allow you to do this or that, because if something happens to you, they have to leave their chair, the carabinero explained me my options and told me: „If something happens to you, we will come and help you.“ I decided, that going to Argentina and trying to rent equipment for the Tronador (for Cumbre Argentino; cumbre internacional is the highest, but technical, so is cumbre Chileno) in Bariloche is way too complicated, so I asked the carabinero to keep my big backpack and went with a small one (you can also sleep in the refugio or camp there, but carrying your gear there will be quite physical). It took me three hours to the refugio. (I was alone there on a friday afternoon; the next day I met groups of all in all 12 hikers, who planned to go there and stay for the night). Breathtaking views on the glacier (especially if you continue after the refugio CC, trail on OSM) and the summits of V. Tronador. V. Osorno is showing up in the west and in the east you see the peaks of Cerro Catedral. I was back at the carabineros at 5.30 p.m. and decided to camp there: free, water, dry toilet - wrong decision: At 8.30 p.m. they turned on a generator in order to watch TV… After 5 minutes I decided to leave, luckily I found a dry spot some hundred meters away on the edge of the meadow, which is indicated as swamp
Day 4: Easy walk (12km) to Pampa Linda, which is a touristic hotspot. I decided to finish the hike here. The alpine route Tomáš took is very seducing, but it‘s probably better to do it at the beginning (going WEBO) and not after 3,5 days and 80km. Hitchhiked to Bariloche (2nd car, 2 hours; there is also a bus in the late afternoon).

Details on the border crossing; Returning from Refugio Viejo I got my passport back with an exit stamp and a paper in three copies (one for the AR gendarmeria, two for me to present when coming back to Chile.) As I had told the carabinero, that I will return to Chile soon, I had to define a maximum period in AR (you can come back earlier, but not later (strange rule). The argentinian border control is not, as indicated on the track files, at the border 1,5 km after the Chilean carabineros. It is in Pampa Linda (correctly indicated). The guy of the gendarmeria( very nice, too) offered me a glass of water and confirmed my entry without any control.

*'''25-01-05- 25-01-06/ 2 days / SOBO / RR varA / Clara & Volker'''

Very scenic but quite demanding

Day 0: We hitchhiked from Entre Lagos to Puerto Rico. We were lucky, it took us just three cars and a we waited in total less than 15 minutes. We got out of the 3rd car 1 km after the start of the RR at a small beach of Lago Rupanco, but the Tabano situation forced us to leave the beach at once. Haunted by dozens of horse-flies we went up to the MR road at this point -40,89289, -72,27335. At the last house (big wooden house after last gate on the MR), we found Robin that was really nice and help full, speaks english. She offers very nice rooms in a calm and beautiful house away of the tabaños, has a big kitchen were you can cook. Paradise to rest a night.

In the evening we wrote a message to Rudy, made a reservation for the refugio Los Condores and the hotsprings on the way for the day after.
The number to make reservation : +56950180447.
Camping + hot tubes 12k
Refuge : camping 6k, hospedaje 12k. Desayuno 10k, almuerzo o cena 16k. Everything is homemaid by his wife. She also cell bread, eggs, bebidas.

Day 1: We started at 8.30 on the RR, first hours in the forest (no water! You hear a small river, but the access seemed very difficult), then CC on the volcanic plateau.

On the trail up, we pass throught settlers land, they were nice but told us that they charge people of 5k each when they go by this trail that is on their land.

Ascent to the pass on very steep volcanic gravel. 1300 m of altitude only to this point. Great view on the very close Volcan Puntiagudo. From now on much snow, but no running water. The ascent on Cerro Cenizo is very, very steep, we went partly on snow, partly on volcanic gravel. When you arrive at the summit (1640m) you have climbed all in all around 2000m of altitude. We arrived at 3 p.m. and had still a descent of 1200 m of altitude before us. Very steep down, when the CC ends less steep on the trail. First running water only close to the junction with OH1.

Rudy had opened the hut with 2 wooden bassins at 19.2 (one too hot to enter, the other one perfect, but it‘s not the same as a natural bassin with a hot spring). We arrived at the refugio los condores 23.2 at 7 p.m. and got a great dinner (and two rooms in the lovely hut). This was a really long and very physical day.

Day 2: Clara went back to Lago Rupanco, Volker continued to Lago Todos Santos.

Clara :
took OH 1 to get to Las Gaviotas. Very easy trail compared to RR. Should be muddy in rain weather. There are more parallel trails, some are in OSM, frequently used.
Laguna Los quetros was full of tabaños so I went directly down.

No boat at Las gaviotas to go to puerto buey.
Easy to hitchhike if you walk a bit the beginning of the road.

Volker: Rudy‘s price for the boat transfer over the Lago Todos Santos is now at 150k, which is a no-go. But the Elizabeth III boat from Peulla to Petrohue passes by on the lake on mo/wed/friday at around 9 a.m. It does not stop at the beach! Rudy called his cousin down at the lake and arranged an apppintment at 8.30 on the beach. So I started at 6 a.m. at Rudy’s, arrived after two hours of easy walking (mud at the beginning; can be done in 1,5hrs) at the beach and 30 minutes later Esteban arrived with his small boat. Once he saw the ferry approaching, we got to the middle of the lake, where I changed the boat. Rudy told me, Esteban would charge 5k, it was 10, but I was happy with that, too. On the ferry they took 5k (less than 1k for locals, but again….). It took 2,5hrs to Petrohue. Probably it would have been even possible to continue to Cochamo on the RR. Before going to Perrohue, the ferry went to the Rio Conchas bay, again one person was brought to the ferry on a small boat. It would probably have been possible to get on this small boat and to start the RR at the beach.
But my plan was to climb the V. Osorno.

The very nice guy at the Conaf in Petrohue told me, that shops to rent the gear are in Ensenada (Terra SUR, at the junction of the road coming from Peteohue). From Ensenada I hitchhiked to Refugio teskiclub (close to the Ski station, single room: 23k the night, food). The much less friendly Conaf guy at the station there (150m behind the refuge) told me in the evening, that I have to come in the morning and he will not allow me as a solo hiker to go to the summit, if there is no other registrated group. What a stupid rule! Luckily when I started at 5.a.m. in the morning he was obviously sleeping. Just don’t go to the station and you will have no problems! There were groups - and they didn’t registrer. It took me 3 hours first on volcanic gravel, later on steep and harsh snow to get to the summit. Breathtaking view all the time, highly recommended to all gpt-hikers , which are experienced in walking with crampons.

* '''From 2024-12-25 to 2024-12-28 // packrafting // NOBO // rp opt 2 // Nic, Lukas, Basil, Max'''

Starting out from cochamo on Christmas Day we were able to hitch a ride to Ralún after 8km. Went another 25 or so until we camped in an open pasture.

Overall Route is a bit muddy even though it was dry but very passable in these conditions. Tabanos were mental. Sometimes 50 or so swarm you making stopping for more than a few seconds very annoying. They don’t like smoke or night time.

In day two Ford (22.0/226, La Flecha) was difficult to pass and the continuation of the trail is a bit hidden. After the main crossing go all the way down on the right side of the islet and there is a small crossing to the other side where the trail continues.

After the settler at 15.6/232 (Aroldo) we couldn’t find a way to the port farther down (very muddy and no clear path from his house). So we camped a bit farther down from the pack raft route that starts at the last fork. We camped on a sandy bank and were easily able to pack raft out of the shallow waters the next morning.

Starting a 6:30 am in the morning we packrafted approx. 16km to el Callao in about 4-4.5 hours with no wind. Walked and camped at the “hot springs” afterwards. They were basically nonexistent (would have to pay to unlock a weird house with maybe some warm water). We unfortunately talked to the settlers on the way there because there was a cow dying. They were uninterested in the cow and just wanted money for the hot springs. After setting up camp, the settler showed up and awkwardly asked us for 6000 clp each to which we happily paid because we realized we were on their land.

We then took the route over Cerro cenizo. Absolutely worth it but quite technical with the volcanic rocks and snow. Instead of taking the packs up the mountain we went up without and then went back down and around to join up with the route again. The route down is also easy to find. Be aware that el poncho is a bit of a long stretch of houses and the resupply is not where it’s marked currently. There are a few houses on the way that sell stuff but a real Mercado is further down the road in Rupanco.

* '''From 2024-12-20 to 2024-12-23 // packrafting // 3 days // NOBO RR // Mara, Tobias'''

No difficulties and just a few tabanos on this beautiful section. Crossed Lago Todos Los Santos from Rio Petrohue with little wind in 1.5 days. Camped day 2 beside refuge -41.00172, -72.16788 for 6000CPS per person. Laura and Augustin were happy to sell us fresh bread, lettuce and eggs. Trail is in a good condition (compared to other sections). Met no other hikers but friendly settlers.

* '''17th to 20th dec 2024 / / Hiking / sobo var 1 + RR + boat + bus / Allie'''

I attempted the RR over cerro cenizo in bad weather early december and then i had tendinite at my achilles so took a three week break at lago rupanco.
On this trip i hitchhiked to las gaviotas. From there the hike to refugio el callao is easy. The sign says it takes 9 hours to get to the refugio, but it can be done in 6 hours easlily in my opinion. I took a nice break at the termas, which were open by chance. Its two carved out tree trunks. I walked another 3 km to the refugio. +56 9 5018 0447 this is the number of rudi yefi that keeps it. Any boat information can be asked to him.
The 18th i went halfway up the cerro cenizo on a day hike. The trail is easy to follow.
The 19th of december i didnt do anything because of bad weather.
The 20th i went down from the refugio to todos los Santos. Rudis son drives a lancha that brings you to the boat to petrohue. The boat over todos los santos to petrohue costs 5000clp for foreigners. From there i took a bus to puerto varas and then a bus to cochamo.

* '''From 2024-12-8 to 2024-12-11 // 3 day // Hiking // SOBO // Las Gaviotas - RR // Mo'''
Found s.o. who dropped me at Las Gaviotas, then walked to the Termas which were open (luckily), slept there, went down to the beach Puerto El Callao/ El Rincon and waited for my boat I organised beforehand (80000 pesos) that took me to Petrohue.

==Season 2023/24==

* '''From 2024-02-26 to 2024-02-27 // 2 day // Hiking // NOBO // RR + OPT1 // Quentin Clavel'''

From Cochamo it's 15 long km on the asphalt road then 10 km on the gravel road and finally back on a nice trail (few cars stopped to offered me a ride while I was on the gravel so it seems easy to skip the first section I guess). I slept at the lake todos los santos with an amazing view on the volcano puntiagudo.

Arriving at the beach you'll see some big houses. It's like a lodge for rich people. I met Maria at the beach and explained the situation. I think she's Eduardo's wife, who was not there at the moment.

She knew that I haven't got any other choice for cross the lake and it was difficult to negotiate the price. So it was 80,000CLP for the crossing. It's was pretty late on that day so we agreed to make the traverse at 8am the day after. I slept next to this amazing lake, then the next morning, as we've dealt, I have been driven by Georgio, Maria son's.

80000clp is really painful, but the scenery of the traverse is absolutely amazing ! Georgio letted me at "El Rincón" where the trail continues.

Trail was in ok condition and easy to follow. I met Rudy's son with three horses on the way, then rudy's wife around the settlement. I continued my way until a point where there's a sign "thermals 2km" PK21,72. It's the junction with variant A. Take the junction. I followed the RR on the right, but it was a mess at the end (bushbashing+crossing river).

Few kilometers after I met Alejandro, who has his house there and his own termas. He's a very nice guy, but as the weather wasn't nice and because it was early and I wanted to continue and go on, I didn't stopped to have a bath.

The thermals camp just after Alejandro's house is very nice. There's toilet, flat and nice place to set up the tent and it's next to the river, pretty cool one.

Then, bc the weather was getting worse and worse, I took the option 1 to Laguna Los Quetros. A bit sad to miss the climb of Cerro Cenizo and its apparently amazing view on volcàn puntiagudo, bit it is what it is. The track was well marked, obviously muddy BC of the big rain that I had that day, but still less bad than on some part of the GPT22 (If you're going SOBO that's just a warmup 😜).

Arriving at las gaviotas at the end of the day.

* '''2024-Jan-31 to 2024-Feb-02 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / {21-01} - RR - {21-A} - RR - ferry(Petrohué) / Lilian'''

From the comments for ferry transportation, looks like need 100k-140k for one way, and I'm not sure is it will be more in 2024, ao i tried the ferry option, unfortunately failed. About the details read the comments below.

I joined 21 directly from 20 at Las Gaviotas (like Martin & Helena at 22/23 season). So i walked {21-01} for starting.

Dirt road walking to km2.9 then becomes trails.

From km2.9 to Laguna Los Quetros campground, trail sometimes breaks into some small trails like branches that going the same place, mostly they'll combine together later. Also trail crossing many tiny streams, easy to collect water all the way. Sometimes it is going in narrow valley tunnel with muddy ground, so maybe it'll be in a very slippery condition in rain or after rain.

Camp$[15.9/682] : Laguna Los Quetros campground.
Free because no one there. Beautiful lake and nice camping spot, I'm so happy i camped here! Lot of different types of spots you can choose at here, grassland just beside the lake with excellent views, well covered under trees with good weather protection, beside some brushes for privacy, or camping beside picnic table and fire ring enjoying the night with friends, all these i said you can choose at here!

The trail down to Todos Ios Santos Lake is almost the same condition, but much muddy and lot of up and down after Settler,Lodging,Ferry[23.2/432] when it close to river.

Hot spring[19.2/438] and the refuge is closed, all locked up. I saw some alga is growing at riverbed (means spring nearby), but the water is cold in river.

Km19.95 : junction of RR and {21-A}, a stick with "turn right arrow" there, so i take {21-A}.

{21-A} km1.05 : nice viewpoint(-40.99042, -72.16940) of Volcán Puntiagudo on the tiny hill at your right side, 2min climbing up only!

Km1.35 : a beautiful grassland(-40.99310, -72.16861) for camping just before rejoin RR. Also a stream is following good before you climbing up to the grassland.

Bridge RR [27.1/248] : flat spot can fit 2 tents before the crossing.

Km28.35 : flat spot can fit 4-6 tents under trees just before you going out to grassland. And the grassland(-41.04036, -72.16133) also is flat and beautiful, good for camping!

Km28.6 : go through the gate.

Km29.4 : one more grassland here, but the previous one is better.

Port[29.9/204] : El Callao, i didn't find any good spot at beach, one small grassland just before you go down to the beach, but not too flat, also poops around there. So the best camping spot before the beach i think is at km28.35, under some trees with views of grassland.

From the comments of Martin & Helena, some information at internet, and some conversations from locals at Lago Rupanco, i know there is a ferry called Elizabeth running from Peulla to Petrohué on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at November to February. But it need a phone calls reservation by the residents that lives at Todos Ios Santos Lake. I'm not sure it welcome backpackers or not, but i think you can go with some locals when the ferry arrives at your port.

From the schedule i know, from Peulla to Petrohué on Friday is at 8am, so maybe arrive El Callao at 8.30am to 9am. But, i waited at El Callao from 8am to 9.30am, nothing coming or any ferry going on the lake. (So i assume this ferry just running if there is reservations. And you can't book it, because you are just a tourist for them)

Luckily a local drive a small boat to El Callao from Petrohué with some hikers, i asked him about going Cayutué, but he didn't want to go there, and give me a lovely offer take me back to Petrohué with 25k CLP. I accepted, because today is raining and windy, i didn't want to wait at the beach, didn't know is it anything will come, also in a bad weather condition.

I love my rain jacket and the life jacket that the local provide to me when I'm flying on the lake about 30min.

Then i take the bus to Cochamó for GPT22.

For bus schedule:

10:30 Petrohué - Ensenada 1800CLP 20min
11:20 Ensenada - Cochamó 3000CLP 50min

* '''2024-01-23 to 2024-01-29 / 6,5 days / Hiking / WEBO / Option 3, 3B? (Bariloche+), Option 2, 2B, C (Bariloche+) / Natalie & Tomáš'''
[Note 2024 November: Beginning of this is not in the GPT yet at all, but it is in our suggestions in the 2024 Track files. This is the end of an alternative Argentinian route connecting GPT16 all the way to GPT21. In our opinion, for hikers it is probably better as it involes a lot less roadwalking and is very scenic (and the roadwalking there is is mostly easily hitchable). It might be slightly mode difficult than the RR. This is especially useful when coming from the Villarica traverse. What follows is an extension of GPT21, option 2.

Our pictures: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1740951703077375/.]

Overview (sorry for the length):

Since the mountains of Bariloche are a bit of a playground of trails, we did a variation of mainly high trails starting from Laguna Guiterezz and onward to Pampa Linda (joining Option 3 midway) and then followed the "Jesuitos/Vuriloche" route to Ralún (Option 2). We had a few short and a few long days to make a total of 6,5 days.

For the Bariloche part we wanted to go Lago Guiterezz – Lago Frey (via optional valley) – Refugio Jacob – Refugio Italiana (behind which you join Option 3) and out via Lago Ilón to Pampa Linda. However since I banged up my knee I separated from Tomáš. He went on to do the high route as planned from Jacob and I went down the Huella Andina and then back up via the Laguna Azul trail to meet near Laguna Creton.

Re-supply is possible but expensive and with limited variety at Pampa Linda, so bringing most of your food is advised. I restocked on bread (5mil for 1kg or 2.5mil for half) some sweets (2-2.5mil) and had a meal (9mil). There is weak wifi at the tourist info stand (sometimes not working at all, sometimes passing through messages, e-mails and even non-interactive websites, the speed was not a function of the number of people trying to connect) and two campsites (1@4mil, no services apart from toilets and water and 1@8mil with shared electricity and showers).

Highlights of the Bariloche part were indeed mountain vistas, Torre principal of Cerro Catedral lurking everywhere the first two days, rock scrambling and lagoons. The disadvantages were the slow terrain, (a lot of edging on rock/kitty litter dirt/dust on slab/steep tree belaying dirt) and park rules. You have to register online (easy and free, there is a Google form on park's website) and register in person at every Refugio (it is free and if they do not see you, you can get away with not registering, we only actually did it once). Camping is free but it can be annoying because of the amount of people concentrating around refugios. Officially you are only allowed to camp near refugios and at certain designated places, but given the number of tent places along the route, this rule is often breached. We never bought food from the refugios, but that option is out there.

As for the Jesuitos route (Vuriloche) we were lucky because things were dry and therefore the trek was a lot better than expected. The forest walking/mud tunnels felt like Indiana Jones. The biodiversity of mosses and ferns felt like home (West coast of British Columbia) and the valley settler homesteads were picture perfect at times (and smelled like summer houses in central Europe). The trek to Tronador's "Refugio Viejo" was not to be missed and neither were the hot springs near Ford at [101,3/351], if you can get there around nightime. The passing through the border with the Carabineros was alarmingly easy. They did not check our food (we smuggled a tomato!) and they barely asked any questions, they just took our passports and came back with a stamp (no PDI paper). Don't forget to check in with the Argentinian border patrol before leaving, if it wasn't for Tomáš, I would have had to walk back from the carabinieros because I did not think it was necessary since I never got an entry stamp from Argentina in the first place – I was wrong. The Argentinians made us fill out a piece of paper to show to the Chilians and perhaps communicated with them that we were coming.

Things to note:
-The Terrain around Bariloche is very much alpine-like terrain. It is slow and can be dangerous so if you are not comfortable with steep terrain, rock, edging, gullies and possible snow then I suggest choosing the Huella Andina or the regular GPT21 Option 03 (it is comparable to GPT11-GPT12 around Cerro Dedos or the ridge at the end of GPT08) - all of these trails are regularly walked though.
-The mud: it is said that in the wet season or after a recent rain, the trail on the Jesuitos route gets so muddy that it may be impassable. From what we saw, most of the mud tunnels were very dry so I think it would take a hard rain to make it impassable.
-The mosquitos were a thing but we were only "swarmed " in our camp spot on the other side of Cayute (and we built our tent once for lunch against them). Horse flies seem to be dying off but they were crazy around the Carabinieros.
- Option 2C on the North side of Rio Blanco is not meant for pedestrians, there is a sign saying for pedestrians to stay on the Right (South). Maybe it is because of the ford over Rio Blanco (one out of the two bridges still exist, the first one on the west side) or maybe the settlers are not interested in hikers. There is a skinny suspension bridge over the river at the hotsprings (300 m SE from the ford waypoint) but you can easily ford as well. Some of the bridges on OSM are broken and nonexistent [was corrected in summer 2024].
- we got a hitch for only the last 4km of the Laguna Cayute road, then hitched slowly to Puerto Varas for food and a rest.

The details:

We started by getting out of Bariloche by a city bus number 41 (0.2 USD per person, goes every 30 minutes, Google maps or Moovit [more precise] have the schedules, you need to have a SUBE card [available at bus terminals] valid in all of Argentina, topping it online is seemingly impossible, in theory there are many small shops that can top it up [they are marked SUBE, the SUBE app has their locations] but we got lucky only at the third such shop) to Villa Lago Guiterezz and then hitchhiking to the southern end of Lago Guiterezz, where we started walking along a very crowded beach and then in-the-evening-decidedly-not-crowded lakeshore to a beach at the mouth of Arroy van Titter. We then walked towards Lago Frey by taking a partialy (it is probably cleared from time to time) overgrown but beautiful valley just south of the main route. It was slow and swampy (cca for 2 km/1 hour but had little people and offered impressive views of Cerro Catedral south and it's towers. Through this we bypassed the Refugio Frey and made our way to the first of many passes near Laguna Schmoll. The way up is simple scrambling anyone can do, but the way down was a mix of slow edging and sand sliding (it is probably a lot less travelled). We waited until the heat of the day ended to make our way up the second pass above Refugio Jacob. For this second pass it was easy walking on the way up, but the way down was once again slow edging on relatively steep terrain. We registered and camped at Refugio Jacob to have an early start on the next day. The Refugio and campsites were packed and felt cramped.

I had a bad encounter with a log that morning and my knee was banged up so the next day Tomáš and I split. He went on to the high route and I went down the Huella Andina and up again to a meeting spot near Lago Laguna Creton via Laguna Azul.

As for getting down the Huella Andina it was slower than expected but fine, and getting up to Azul was fast but more involved than expected. The last 200 vertical meters was low angle slab beside a waterfall, which was fun for going up but maybe not so fun for the way down. The rest of the way to Creton and camping was easy with fun slabby terrain.

Tomáš's report:

I went from Refugio Jacob to Refugio Italiano through Pico Refugio and then to Pampa Linda through laguna Illón. It took me two full days. The warden at Jacob told us that the route to Refugio Italiano was closed due to snow (a lot fell late in spring), so I met no one on the route, though I saw a set of footprints that were at most from the previous day. The route is mostly marked by cairns, sometimes it is invisible and sometimes you can see a painted sign (there is little consistency in terms of shape or colour of the marking) but is easy to follow with a map. The climb to Pico Refugio was easy scrambling. There were bolted rings that you can use to secure a rope but I did not think it was dangerous to climb unsecured. It was never vertical, the holds were good. It took me 10-15 minutes to get through this section of maybe 50 vertical meters. SAC 5 or slightly under. A much less vertical zigzagging route appeared then on that went to a pass still before Pico Refugio. From then on I sometimes did walk on snow but it was soft without any creeks eating it from underneath so I felt safe. It took me four hours to get to Cerro Navidad. The gully from there was mostly under snow for about 300 vertical meters. I went down on the snow until a creek started flowing under it from left. Then I stayed on the left side of the undersnow creek or on bare rocks. Lower in the valley the route was a bit eroded and there was even a short (20 metres - SAC 4 at most) fixed rope but it was not too difficult to get down. It was not easy walking though even in the valley, one crosses the stream several times and there are big stones even in the forrest (SAC 3). I took the first OSM route left to Refugio Italiano. It was quite (but not fully) vertical, but easy, I did use my hands and it was fun. It took me four hours from Cerro Navidad to Refugio Italiano, where there were lots (40?) of people at 4 PM.

I continued along the lake, where there was even a section with steps on the stone made out of metal rods (10 metres, SAC 3-4). This part is frequented and so was easy. It continued to be easy until Laguna CAB (though I lost the route several times going up in the forest). I reached the lake before dusk. I met two people on the near end of the lake. There were several people on the far end of the lake, where there are lots of mosquitoes, not recommended to camp. There is no trail around the lake - one fords the lake along its shore for about 1 km, it is not deep. I started going up to Cerro CAB. It is steep and was at first muddy but the route is clear enough in the bush and then marked by cairns on the rocky section (SAC 2-3). I reached the pass when it started to be fully dark. I continued the horizontal traverse (SAC 3-4) with a headlamp but 800 metres took me almost 40 minutes so I stopped before the route starts descending (thank God for the InRreach to InRreach messaging, I could let Natalie know I would not make it that night – the next day it took me four additional hours to get where she was camping). It was hard to follow the cairns as one just walks on bare rocks with no visible trail whatsoever, sometimes using hands to go up or down a a few metres. There is a nice horizontal miniplateau ideal for sleeping on a warm windless night (no mosquitoes!) with plentiful water from the melting snow.

In the morning, I woke up to a splendid view of Tronador. I went down, at first again using my hands here and there (SAC 4), but not much. Mosquitoes during daytime in the valley, which is actually a pass you reach from above. The climb to the pass at Cerro Cristal is clear trail at first but the last 150 vertical metres is a diagonal upward traverse walking on large slabs or wedges made out of pure granite. Their slope is good and I thought it was fun and it is quite scenic (SAC 3-4). Going down to Laguna Creton is steep and the route is sometimes a bit hard to find but it is not too hard (SAC 3). I saw one tent around Laguna Creton and met about six people going my direction to Laguna Illón, where there were dozens of people at 4 PM. Going down I met over a dozen prople either going my way or going up (and then I met Natalie of course).

Altogether, this traverse took me to routes that are not overun with people and are quite nice with lots of views (Cerro Cathedral is a scary darling that has that name for a reason), being mostly above the tree line. However, the route is demanding – you will be happy to cover 1,5 km per hour. It seems many people go up to a refugio, spend the night and go down again, so the aproach routes to refugios are more popular than the connecting traverses between them. These routes seemed to be in quite good shape thanks to that.

From Pampa Linda, we followed the estabilished option, it was not very eventful and took us three days and a few hours. At the border, the carabinieros have a free basic camping there - expect only water and dry toilet, but you can leave your tent with things and go up to Refugio Viecho, which is functional and sleeps about 8 people plus there are several tent places near it. We met a Spanish couple with a guide who would climb Trenador the next day. People go to the border from Argentina for day trips or two-day in-and-out trips, we met several groups and there were four tents for the night. From the border, we would meet one group per day and one settler per day. The route is travelled but not busy (carabinieros do not have horses and probably rotate by helicopter, we saw one the next day).

The hot springs (41.2479669S, 72.0470375W) are very clean and have perfect temperature, there are two pools for about even ten people altogether. On the other side of the bridge, there is a new house probably meant for tourists. We did not meet or see anybody so we just used the hotsprings but techically you probably should go and ask the setler about 300 m downstream on the other side of the river for permission (and payment?). There is water everywhere on the trail even now when it had been dry for a few weeks. I looked for a route that would connect to La Junta in Cochamo and I found a start of a trail, but it might have been nothing and was anyway hopelessly overgrown. [I saw some puestos/settlers in valleys next to this pass: 41.3661786S, 71.9190514W in case somebody feels for an exploratory adventure that might not go).

* '''2023-Dec-28 / 3.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + RR (Variant A) / Lauren & Sebastian'''

TLDR: Very enjoyable section; No mentionable difficulties; Packraft Lago Todos Los Santos in the morning if you can, as wind will pick up in the afternoon; Great chats with the settlers along the way

From Entre Lagos we hitchhiked and took a bus + ferry to wp Ferry {20} [41.9/123] (Las Gaviotas) where we camped. It took us the entire day to get there so we stayed at the campsite right by the beach (CLP12,500 per person - expensive and maybe the other campsite is cheaper, but it was a very nice campsite with good facilities and hot tub if you like that).

We hiked the next day on RP to wp Refuge, Camp $ {21} [19.2/438] and stayed the night. Rudi wasn’t there and the hot tubs were closed. It was an easy hike all the way. There we met Alejandro, Sergio’s son, who mentioned that Sergio doesn’t live in the valley anymore - it’s him and his mother now, so no more beers, but Alejandro speaks fluent English, which made it easier for us to connect :). If you want to get in touch with him, connect through his insta @valleelcallao.

The next day we continued on RR, took variant 21-A and camped at wp Port {21} [29.9/204] (El Callao) right by the beach. We met Rudi there and had a lovely chat with him.

* We started paddling early the next day, crossed Lago Todos los Santos in ard 4 hours and went to shore at wp Lake {21} [53.6/200]. We continued to wp River, Camp {21} [61.1/237] (Rio Conchas) where we went into the water again to paddle the short RP upstream river segment and across Lago Cayutue. It was not the best idea to paddle there in the afternoon, as headwinds on the lake were strong. However it’s a short stretch and going back would have cost more time, so we managed, and the landscape from the lake is really amazing. We stayed the night at wp Lake, Camp {21} [64.1/233]. Beautiful place!

We went to the parking lot at wp Settler {21} [63.4/448] the next morning and were offered a ride down the valley by some lovely people, so we hitchhiked to Cochamó.

* '''2023-12-12 to 2023-12-14 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO /RR / Roman'''

Hitchhiked from Entre Lagos all the way to the start of the RR. Beginning was a bit overgrown nothing bad but a bit annoying (7km) [in hindsight I wouldn't consider it BB but close before it, still doable and worth it]. Snow stating at 1350m good to hike as soon as you are out the forest. Down the other side: watch the GPS the entry in the forest can be easily missed and trust the GPS. There are some marks in the bark. The point is here: -40.956873, -72.183669. Trust the GPS and after ~100m you will find a "proper" trail (visible easy to follow). Stayed at the Refuge, Camp $ {21} [19.2/438] [Rudi brought some people NoBo with the Boat). The trail from there to the lake is at the beginning for 5k a bit annoying due to a lot of vegitation (no BB). The frist bridge after Rudi is a bit sketchy, i crawled over it, because there is nothing to hold on, some planks ate missing and some are badly damaged [https://imgur.com/a/piW3AI3]. After that the bridges getting better. Pacrafted the next day to Camp ? {21} [52.2+1.0/196]. Startet Packrafting at 02:00 PM pitched tent at 08:00 PM. Conditions where good. Waited for a window of no wind to cross the lake to the other bank. A lot of exit possibilities there a lot more settlers than on the map. Overall it was a quite day; wind was mainly from west. Got on shore here: Lake {21} [53.6/200]. Trail after that easy and beautiful! Hitchhiked to Cochamó from here: -41.316407, -72.273071.

Overall: beginning a but annoying due to dense vegetation (no BB). After that the trail is ok and is good after the crossing. Would reccomend it even if the beginning is annoying and after Rudi also vegetation but the views are worth it!

Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-Feb-14 to 2023-Feb-17 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin & Helena'''

We joined 21 directly from 20 at Las Gaviotas (see our previous comment). The route to the Laguna Los Quetros is well marked with signs and its nice hiking eventhough pretty muddy for us after 3 rainy days. In the beginning it is a minor road that crosses land of local settlers and after some time its getting into the forrest which is really amazing with many ‘levels’ of vegetation. We ended the day on the official campground that is actually free because no one was there just like others mentioned. There is a fireplace and some benches, all covered. Nice beach and views, definitely one of the nicer campsites.

The following day we had only one goal which was to get close to the Lago Todos Santos and ideally arrange transfer for the next day. Again nice trail through the rain forrest. The hot springs are owned by already mentioned Rudi who needs to open them, as well as the refugio, as we found out. There were some Chileans at the time, but we just took a look and continued. There are 2 baths with hot spring water in a wooden chalet.

We continued with option A directly to the second marked settlement (Dos Cóndores - its not correct in OSM), because of previously mentioned price requested by Rudi (130k) and info from those guys at hot springs who were charged 100k, so it didn’t look like it would be possible to get below that 100k price. Spoiler - we paid that anyway 😅. At the settlement km 23.2 we didn’t get any specific answer because the father was away, bringing other tourists the next day with his boat, and his wife or son couldn’t confirm if the transfer will be possible. We stayed in their cabin for 10k CLP pp for a room, but there was no one else staying that day. There is shower with cold water only and kitchen. Camping is 5k CLP pp and they also provide food - classic dinner or breakfast, asado or bread / eggs.

We decided to go in the morning to the port, primarily to ask Esteban for the transfer. The trail is in good condition. You need to turn left before the shelters, before the port, and you will get to a house of a German family who are really kind and helpful. They speak also English. They showed us the way to Esteban through their garden, but its probably possible to get there from the other side / hill. Esteban agreed to take us the same day at 6PM, we asked him around 11AM. The price was 100k.

Another possible option for transfer over the lake - there should be boat called Elizabeth, organized by government for local residents, that leaves from the northern port km 29.9 on Friday at 9 AM. We don’t know about the other days. Rather verify with locals. We know it goes to Petrohué for sure, but with other places it depends on the demand, don’t know how it works really. But its definitely possible to get to the most frequent places. Eventhough its for residents, they don’t have problem with taking backpackers.

Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka

* '''2022-NOV-25 / 3 days / hiking / SOBO / RR and OR A / Yannic & Mirjam'''
We took the bus from Puerto Montt to Osorono. Unfortunately, the morning bus to Lago Rupanco was already gone. There's supposed to be another one at 4:00 p.m. we decided to take the bus to Entre Lagos and hitchhike from there - which wasn't easy. For a long time nobody gave us a ride on the Minor Road in the direction of Lago Rupanco. In the end we got some shorter rides and hiked some parts too. We stayed the first night at Camping Las Nalcas in Puerto Rico. No official camping but it is allowed to set up the tent on the private land for 4000 pesos. Mini market with simple equipment is right next door. Hike to Laguna Los Quetros was easy and well marked. Camping was free because nobody was there. The next day we went on to Lago Todos Los Santos. At S 40.98259 / W 72.16572 there is an arrow pointing to the right. Be sure to follow this to get on Optional Route A, as there is a gate on the main trail that is difficult to overcome. We stopped at Rudy's and asked about the transport. Because of the increased gas prices, he wanted 140,000 CLP for the crossing, which was too expensive for us. We walked on to Esteban and were happy that he offered us the transfer for 80,000 CLP, which we accepted. He also allowed us to camp on the beach in front of the house for free. Lago Cayutué was definitely a highlight for camping so far.
All the ways were in good condition, but sometimes a bit muddy. So maybe not that easy after heavy rainfalls

* '''2022-NOV-3 / 3 days / NOBO /hiking / RR / Frank'''
From Cochamo I walked 15KM on the road to Ralun crossroad (see transport section) Basic shop Minimercado El Cruce at Ralun Cross. Then 9KM on a good dirt road with a little traffic to 'Pass 510 metres'. You could probably hitch part of this if you want. After the pass the road deteriorates to a rough track. Cross a log bridge before Lago Cayutue. Beautiful campsite by the lake, one of the best on the GPT so far. On day 2 I walked to Lago todos los Santos & met Eduardo. He lives at the first house you come to NOBO just before the lake. He was busy & his boat was out of the water but agreed to take me for 80,000 CLP. Other houses & boats there are owned by weekenders who are rarely present. I believe Eduardo is your only option NOBO. However he said he is usually there & only goes to town occasionally. The crossing is spectacular with views of Osorno, Tronador & Puntiagudo.

I continued to the camp at the hot spring. The spring is in a locked shed & there is a basic refuge there, also locked. Rudy came by on his horse in the evening to open the shed. 10,000 CLP to camp & use the spring. If you want to be sure the spring or refuge are open then call in at Refugio dos Condores NOBO. Note the location marked for Refugio dos Condores on Openstreetmap which is used by Gaia & other apps is not correct. The location marked on the track files is the correct one. After Refugio dos Condores you cross a small bridge & on a ridge there are two signs saying Aguas Calientes 2KM. Don't follow the track file here but go down left at the signs on a trail, cross a small stream & go up to a meadow with some farm houses. Go out flat across the meadow with the houses on your right, continuing on a trail in the forest. After 1.5KM you rejoin the track file. This is much easier than the track file route (I used the 2019 track file)

Day 3: Pay attention after Pass 830M, there are a lot of switchbacks in the forest & the route is not obvious. Laguna los Quetros is also a very nice camp but I continued to Las Gaviotas. Got the ferry out at 8PM. This unscheduled ferry does not connect to a bus. I walked out 3KM to Entre Rios, cheap camping, cabanas & basic shop. The campsite has tap water & rabbits but no toilet or shower. The entire route has now been cut back, hardly any bush bashing. There are quite a few mud wallows on the track but you can go around them. Part of the route is on sunken trails & it's likely to flood out & be a mudbath after rain.

* '''2022-Oct-17 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Alice & Florian'''

We took the bus from Ensenada to Petrohue (every 45 min each day) and spent the day in the park around Petrohue. They are nice few hours walk on the volcano Osorno, near the the lake and in the forest, and the CONAF team is really nice there (kept our backpacks).
Then we arranged a boat transfer from Petrohue to Cayutue for 80 000 pesos. You can call Walter (+56999417795) to arrange in advance but we did not go through him in the end.

After reaching Cayutue, the trail is easy to find, a little bit muddy but okay for us after a few days of sun.
We slept at the camp # indicated on the tracks.
We arrived the next day around 4PM on the intersection between the trail and the road to Cochamo. There was no bus, but hitchhiking was easy.
We slept at the hostel Arcoiris. It is quite cheap as we paid 15000 pesos per person for a double private room, the kitchen is available and well equipped. You can camp as well if you are not tired of it :)

One another piece of information. The CONAF guys in Petrohue told us that they are planning to maintain and put more signalization on La ruta de los jesuitas. This trail comes from Argentina and crosses the Lago de todos los santos until the Rio Blanco. There you can join the main route of the GPT with an optional route.
Considering this information, it will be an additional argument for Jan to change this optional route to the main one.

==Season 2021/22==

* '''2021-Dec-13 / 4 days / hiking / NOBO / RR / Molly and Melissa '''

We took the bus from Puerto Varas towards Cochamó, but got dropped at the road about 15 km before and started directly on the gravel road. The bus leaves quite a few times, but you have to ask around for the specific times. We took it at 13, and I think it left at least once more that day. The employees at the different outdoor stores know pretty well where the bus leaves from and who to ask. We camped at the spot marked "camping" near a small lake, it was quite nice, near a river as well. We got to Lago Todos Los Santos around 13 and asked at the first house marked on the GPS. It's situated on a hill behind three newly built vacation houses. Eduardo who lives there came out as soon as the dogs started barking, and was immediately ready to take us across the lake. The place where you want to get dropped of is called El Rincón. We were charged 70.000 pesos like other people have said as well.
On the second day we camped right after the first "bridge" waypoint.
Termas:
The third day we went to the termas. On the way there, you pass Rudy's house - it's about two hours before the termas. They have a cabin which is about 8000 CLP and sell breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as bread, honey, eggs and so on. They also have the option to camp at the termas which is 7000 CLP for camping and access. They have a wooden tub in a small shed, so you need to get the key from them - easiest going nobo as you pass their house. We later found out that there is a second option. A guy who lives in the house right next to the termas has made his own, it's more natural looking with rocks, and it's outside and more private. You have to knock on his house for him to show you. We actually thought it was nicer, but didn't hear the price. He is also a really nice guy who offers trips to Cerro cenizas with great views of Volcán Puntiagudo if he has time. It's a one day trip according to him. The last part of the trail to Las Gaviotas was fairly easy, although with a lot of confusing trails that ultimately seem to go the same way.
Las Gaviotas:
In Las Gaviotas there are a few different options for sleeping. There seem to be two or three different people with cabañas, there's a nice camping ground right on the beach with toilets, and we saw a tent further down on the beach which didn't seem to bother anyone. There is a very small shop in a shed on the beach with a few snacks and sodas, and it's possible to buy some bread, eggs and honey but definitely no resupply options. The beach was beautiful and good for swimming!
Access/exit:
The ferry to Puerto Buey leaves right from the beach every day except Tuesday and Saturday, and costs 200 CLP as previously written. It leaves around 7-8 am and probably some other times as well, we took it Friday at 14 and we saw it leaving twice in the evening Thursday. Puerto Buey is even smaller than Las Gaviotas. The bus left from Puerto Buey (the shed where you get dropped of by the ferry) directly to Osorno at 15:30. We were told that the morning ferry matches a bus that only goes to Puerto Octay, but maybe there are more buses from there. As has been written before, it's possible to walk to Puerto Buey along a gravel road by the lake.

* '''2021-Nov-29 to 2021-Nov-30/ 1,5 days / hiking / NOBO / OR: Lago Todos Los Santos - Cerro Cenizo - Volcan Puntiagudo ridge - Lago Rupanco / Alex Abramov'''

This new variant is not the same as GPT21 option 4: it is easier and more logical. Easy/Moderate difficulty.
Rudy Jefi and his refugio are still in business (the price for boat from Petrohue 70.000), but Camping Las Nalcas and Mini Mercado Rupanco were closed.

* '''2021-Nov-17 to 2021-Nov-21 / 5 days / Packrafting and Hiking / Traverse of Lago Todos Los Santos, Option 2 Rio Blanco and Ruta de los Jesuitas (Vuriloche) / Meylin Ubilla and Jan Dudeck'''

We started this season at Petrohue on the western end of Lago Todos los Santos. Access by bus to Petrohue is easy (Bus from Puerto Varas every 20 to 30 min). Petrohue is a suitable starting point for packrafters that travel southbound with heavier fjord-suitable packrafting equipment.

Lago Todos los Santos: can get very rough with wind but we had two calm days with moderate wind in the late afternoon only. We paddled 40 km in two easy days. Only few of the originally dozens of settlers are still living on the shore and mostly the rich and super-rich of Chile have build vacation homes on the often steep coastline. But since the access to lakes and lake shores is legally guaranteed in Chile, this should not cause a significant problem.

Rio Blanco: 6 years ago we met a settler from Rio Blanco who confirmed that a horse trail traverses this valley and connects to the Ruta de los Jesuitas (Paso Vuriloche). Now we came to investigate and record this route. The well maintained trail includes two river crossings that are well fordable in the morning after some reasonable dry days. Packrafters can cross these fords by packraft if the water level is elevated but hiker may struggle after heavy rain.

Ruta de los Jesuitas (Paso Vuriloche): A well maintained but muddy horse trail connects to Lago Cayetue. Three river generally easy river crossings may become difficult to pass after heavy rain.

Conclusion: Connecting from El Callao to Rio Blanco requires a shorter and more wind protected lake traverse (compared to the current regular route to Cayetue) making it an attractive option for packrafters and southbound hikers if the weather is reasonable dry. I’m considering to change the Regular Route for this option and recommend the route via Cayetue in bad weather only.

El Callao to Cayetue: 22 km on direct route
El Callao to Rio Blanco: 14 km on direct route

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''2020-Jan-04 to 2020-Jan-06 / 3 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun'''

I accessed the southbound start of this section by walking 7km east from El Poncho on the dirt road that runs along the south shore of Lago Rupanco (=Oh-Mr-V@20-0a-#001). From settlers Sergio and Sandro, I learned that Esteban is an alternative to Rudy for crossing Lago Todos los Santos. Esteban was able to take me immediately, whereas around the same time Linda (see below) unfortunately had to wait a couple of days. My experience of the rest of section was similar to others’.

* '''2020-Jan-03 to 2020-Jan-06 / 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Linda'''

Starting on the beach of the North shore of Lago Rupanco (arriving from GPT20). Waypoint in Las Gaviotas Food and Lodging is great! Nelly prepared me a big glass of fresh raspberry juice.

Trail to Lago Todos Los Santos is easy and very nice. Only problem = the horse flies that loved me and I had at least 50 around me!

Stop at Las Termas! Beside the cold river, you will find a cabana with 2 bath tubes carved in wood full of hot thermal water. Amazing to camp and rest here.

Next house you will see on the trail is the one of Sergio. Very nice guy. He makes artisanal beer if you want to try one of them!

Then, as mentioned by Martin, in Refugio Dos cóndores, you can ask for the boat transfer of Lago Todos Los Santos to Rudy Jefi. 80000 CLP. I did and had to wait 2 days before crossing.

Other possibility for the boat transfer : when you arrive on the shore of Lago Todos Los Santos, ask the last house on the beach (waypoint = Settler) for Esteban. Same price 80000 CLP but you won't have necessarily to wait cause he seems to be more available than Rudy. Very nice man who offered me food and Lodging before I could cross the lake with Rudy! Say hello from me if you see him!!!

Between Lago Todos los Santos and Lago Cayutué, trail not maintained for about 2 kilometers. Easiest way to overcome the obstacles is to go on the left in the open fields and then go back on the track. Not that difficult but expect to be slow.

Then, after Lago Cayutué, no problem. Easy Hitchiki'g to Cochaml where you will find everything to resupply. Very good accommodation = Patagonia Nativa!

* '''2019-DEC-23 to 2019-DEC-24 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Martín Lizondo'''

Trail perfectly walkable. Ask Rudy Yefi in Dos Condores for boat transfer to Pto. Cayuthue (CLP 80.000). After crossing Lago de Todos los Santos the minor road finishes in a 1 km unmantained trail. After 1 km the trail becomes opened and it gets better as you aproach to Laguna Cayuthue. River crossings are easy, less than knee level. From Ralun there’s a bus stop to Cochamó or Pto. Montt.

* '''2019-OCT-07 / hiking / Sophie & Hendrik'''

Refugio Las Termas is a great spot to camp out. Beside the cold river, the hot springs and the fire in the refugio are very nice after a hiking day.

* '''2019-NOV-01 / hiking / Sophie & Hendrik'''

The part between Lago Cayutué and Lago Todo Los Santos is a bit tricky. The last winter(s?) damaged the trail a lot. Rivercrossings are up to knee deep and there is a lot of trees and debris on the trail. In wide parts it is easyer to walk to the right or left of it. Also at one point it is likely that you have to jump/crawl some barbed wire to get around some fallen trees. In some parts it is bush bashing. Expect to be slow in this part.

The river crossing south of Lago Cayutué is easier a little bit further south than indicated by the track files. There is a tree as a bridge.

* '''2019-OCT-30 to 2019-NOV-04 / 6 days / hiking / NOBO / RR from one km east of Ralun / Sophie & Hendrik'''

First day we camped at Lago Cayutué. Second day (to Lago Todos Los Santos) we had bad weather and were a lot slower than expected. (The trail is very damaged in this part, see recent alerts.) Due to health issues we stoped here and went to Puerto Varas for some days. We reentered the trail and only looked for a goat free campsite on our first day back (some 50min of walking). The next stops before we made it to the end of the section were Refugio Las Termas (we highly recommend to take a bath here) and Laguna Los Quetros.

What we liked: Very nice woods, beautiful lakes, very friendly and sympathetic people, crossing Todos Los Santos in an open boat in very heavy rain was harsh but beautiful, the termas, funny animals on the way.

What we did not like so much: In very long parts extremely muddy (probably depends on the season), the trail conditions between Lago Cayutué and Lago Todos Los Santos (which forced us to crawl beneath barbed wire).

=Resupply and Accommodation=

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

*Shopping: Food
Cochamó: Possible to resupply out of the several small markets located here but expensive. Some restaurants and many housing options.
Minimercado El Cruce at junction with the gravel road in Ralun, very basic. They have drinks, probably wine & possibly pasta.
There is a kiosk in Las Gaviotas by the beach with basic snacks & drinks but its opening hours are irregular.
On the road 1KM before Ralun NOBO there is a food truck but it only opens in the evenings after 5PM & may be closed in low season.
There are no other resupply options along the road Cochamo-Ralun although there are cabanas about every 4KM, some may provide food if you stay there.

*Services: Laundry
A local woman offers a laundry service from her home a few houses down a side street from the main road in Cochamó.

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

*There is nice camping at the small, scenic Laguna Los Quetros (Km6) near the northern start of the section. At the highly recommended Las Termas, around Km13, there is a small cabana with bath tubs carved of wood and full of hot thermal water. Settlers along the trail are interesting and welcoming.

*2022 / Yannic & Mirjam
We took the bus from Puerto Montt to Osorono. Unfortunately, the morning bus to Lago Rupanco was already gone. There's supposed to be another one at 4:00 p.m.
(...)
We stopped at Rudy's and asked about the transport. Because of the increased gas prices, he wanted 140,000 CLP for the crossing, which was too expensive for us. We walked on to Esteban and were happy that he offered us the transfer for 80,000 CLP, which we accepted.

=Transport to and from Route=

*Southbound and northbound hiking is feasible and recommended. It may be easier to arrange a southbound than a northbound boat crossing of Lago Todos de Los Santos.

*2023 December / Lauren & Sebastian
Southbound from Entre Lagos to Las Gaviotas:

Hitchhiked from Entre Lagos to intersection south of Lago Rupanco, from there we continued to hitchhike for a bit, but eventually a bus came (around 3:30 pm, CLP 1500 per person, I’m not sure where started though…) that brought us to Puerto Poncho, from there we took the ferry to Las Gaviotas (4:30 pm, CLP200 per person)

*2023 / Martin & Helena
Another possible option for transfer over the lake - there should be boat called Elizabeth, organized by government for local residents, that leaves from the northern port km 29.9 on Friday at 9 AM. We don’t know about the other days. Rather verify with locals.

*2022 / Alice & Florian
We took the bus from Ensenada to Petrohue (every 45 min each day).Then we arranged a boat transfer from Petrohue to Cayutue for 80 000 pesos. You can call Walter (+56999417795) to arrange in advance but we did not go through him in the end.

*Access to Start

Northbound:
The bus leaves Puerto Montt main bus terminal (07:45, 12:00, 3:30PM & 5PM on weekdays, runs on weekends also but weekend schedule may differ) and travels via Puerto Varas, Ensenada & Ralun to Cochamó. Get off at Ralun crossroads (intersection with a small gravel road near Minimercado EL Cruce) if you don`t want to walk 15KM on the road from Cochamo to Ralun.

Southbound:
Ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Buey Monday or Tuesday 7:00 & 16:30 Wednesday 2:30 PM, Friday 7:00 & 16:30, Sunday 15:00. Ferry connects with a bus. Buses may go to Entre Lagos, sometimes Puerto Octay or more often to Osorno. Buses every half hour Entre Lagos-Osorno. There should be an unscheduled ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Buey Monday or Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday at 8PM but this ferry does not connect with a bus. Ferry Puerto Buey-Las Gaviotas Monday or Tuesday 8:00 & 17:30, Wednesday 15:30, Friday 8:00 & 17:30, Sunday 16:00. A bus coming from Osorno outside Terminal Rural goes to Puerto Buey to connect with the ferry on operational days, timetable not known. Ask at info. desk in Osorno Terminal Rural. No bus on days the ferry doesn`t run. Hitching is difficult, there is a gravel road all the way to Las Gaviotas but not much traffic except on weekends.
In addition to accessing through GPT20, it is possible to take private transportation on the road that runs along the south shore of Lago Rupanco and walk the final 5-7km to the northern start point of GPT21.

*Return from Finish

Northbound:
The ferry to Puerto Buey leaves right from the beach every day except Tuesday and Saturday, and costs 200 CLP as previously written. It leaves around 7-8 am and probably some other times as well, we took it Friday at 14 and we saw it leaving twice in the evening Thursday. The bus left from Puerto Buey (the shed where you get dropped of by the ferry) directly to Osorno at 15:30. We were told that the morning ferry matches a bus that only goes to Puerto Octay, but there are more busses from there.

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

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT21 - Lago Todos Los Santos]]

=Images=

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[[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]

GPT22 (Cochamo)

2026-01-14T11:50:13Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

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<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

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<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''YYYY-MMM-DD / X days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Your name'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>.

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

=Overview=
* General advice : The Regular Route is best hiked between December and April. The primary obstacles are high river levels early in the season and after rain. During the peak period of January and February it may be difficult to obtain a camping reservation at La Junta which could prevent a southbound traverse (but people were usually let through when they say they go all the way to El Arco).

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.04.01 / 3.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + H, “Op.4 (Laguna Tagua Tagua)”-Bus / Kris and Stiina'''

We combined sections 22N and 21 from El Manso to Colonia Suiza - 8 days total. 3,5 days for section 22N from El Manso to Cochamó via La Junta.
A resupply in Cochamó and hitch to Ralún (El Cruce) for Section 21. 4.5 days for section 21 options 2 & 3.

Day 1 - 8:00 Bus from Puerto Mont to Laguna Tagua Tagua. We got there half an hour early, as recommended, but the bus didn’t really fill up and by the time we got to Cochamo by 10:30 the bus was half empty. It could be that on Sunday it is different than on other days on this particular route, less busy perhaps. The bus did one longer stop an hour before Cochamó and also a longer stop in Rio Puelo before continuing to Laguna Tagua Tagua. The bus ticket from Puerto Mont to Punta Canelo cost 8k CLP and we got there around 12:30. There are 7 ferries a day during the high season (Dec.-Mar.) earliest at 7:00 and the last one at 20:00 and two ferries run between Punta Canelo and Punta Maldonado simultaneously. We took the one at 13:00 and the ticket cost 1340 CLP. In Punta Maldonado we walked for a few hundred metres along the dirt road where there was a bus waiting at a small parking lot. There were also two food trucks selling a variety of different fast foods, mainly for all the people waiting in line in their cars to get on the ferry as each ferry can only take 8-12 cars at a time, the car queue was pretty long.
We took the bus to “Settlement, Shop, Bus {22N} [40.7/36] (El Manso)” there is a camp and a local El Puelo microbrewery. It would be a perfect place to end the day, but unfortunately since we were starting we didn’t try the beer, but they also sold a delicious homemade kombucha. The bus to El Manso cost 500 CLP.

For some reason our bags were very heavy once again and it also happened to be +32C when we started hiking around 14:00 so we only walked for about 7km before calling it a day pretty early, the heat got to us.
There was a rocky pebble beach and the osm map had a campsite marked: -41.69227, -71.96916. The water temperature in Rio Manso felt surprisingly warm, perfect for a long dip. We had a few hour nap in the shade on the pebbles before setting up the tent. However we didn’t camp on the beach, we set the tent up right by the trail on a small grassy patch, where the little side trail goes down to the beach. Two arieros passed by in the evening and our tent scared their horses, so not an ideal place for a pitch. The beach was campable, just rocky.

Day 2 - Good trail, very undulating, lots of ups and downs, Bridge {22N} [51.7/146] (Rio Steffen) is broken but there is sort of a driftwood dam on which it is possible to go across, otherwise fording also looked simple. Other bridges all good. First 3 km along the Lago Vidal very undulating with lots of muddy places. Pretty much all day in the foest, no views until the Lago Vidal, then at least some views of the lake opened up.
We camped here: -41.48798, -71.94550 in someone’s yard in front of a house. The house seemed disused. The whole yard was a bit slanted but there was one nice flat spot and the yard was full of pretty meadow flowers. Water from a stream nearby.

Day 3 - The trail along the lake slightly improved. The Bridge {22N} [79.4/612] is just a log across the river.
If coming from the north the Settler {22N} [79.7/611] has an information plaque on his gate with two WhatsApp numbers and a free WiFi that actually works so you can request a boat ride across the lake. They also sell some homemade products. In case you want to arrange the boat ahead of time the WhatsApp nrs. are: Andrés +57 954 799 902 & Máximo + 57 997 115 003
After that the trail goes into the forest once again and more or less stays in the forest until La Junta, some views around Lago Grande. The trail from around Lago Chico to La Junta ir pretty poor, though it is maintained it is very muddy in many places and very slow going. Also it somehow felt that from the pass going down to La Junta there was as much uphill as there was downhill.
The nicer campsite by Lago Grande was this one - Camp {22N} [84.9/1012]. The campsite marked on the OSM near the Arco waterfall smelled heavily like horse piss and wasn’t nice.
This place Bridge, Camp, Refuge ? {22N} [94.2/418] (Rio Valverde) had a nice meadow for camping even with some remnants of what used to be a dry toilet however the horseflies around there were more than anywhere else and also not sure where you would go for the water because the bridge was over a ravine.
In this area Camp ? {22N} [95.6/342] definitely many campsites possible, but there was an easy to ignore sign somewhere saying that it is a private property, go figure.
We rocked up in La Junta campsite and since we didn’t notice the gate and started walking straight through, following the RR the staff working there immediately noticed us. They were nice and explained to us that the correct route now is the variant H if we wanted to continue to Cochamó. We told them that we have no reservations whatsoever they actually invited us to stay at the campground if we wanted. Since the place was epic and definitely the highlight of the whole section we couldn’t refuse such an offer. Looking out of our tent at the sunset colors on the granite giants was amazing. A very nice well kept campground that did not feel crowded at all and had very good facilities. Showers, cold only but still good!
So yes the RR should be rerouted along the variant H, you can’t just walk through their campground.
The campground next door Trawen sells bread, coffee, hot chocolate, though at a price.

Day 4 - The trail after La Junta did improve but only marginally, still all in the forest with plenty of mud. However on the way we made a Chilean friend and chatted the whole way which was very nice and made the otherwise dull walking more interesting.
We got to Centro de Visitantes Valle Cochamó before midday and had to register our visit, no problem, the people were nice.
At the parking lot by Los Arieros cafe, a few hundred meters after the visitor center, you can hire a mule/horse service for your bag and buy some completos con papas fritas y sopapillas y bebidas diferentes. The lady working there absolutely hated her job and was calling everyone stupid.
The bus from there to Puerto Mont is leaving at 13:30ish, closer to 14:00.
After walking about 3km down the road we got a hitch all the way to Cochamó which concluded our section 22N.

After resupplying in Cochamó we continued on to section 21 going nobo and then optioning towards Colonia Suiza.

(Continued in section 21)

Overall for the part of the section 22N that we did I would say that unless you are a big fan of forest hiking and muddy obstacles, it’s not a section worth the effort. I know of some nicer forest walks closer to home. The views around La Junta are worth though, so I would just hike-in for those, spend a night or two doing the variants and hike back out.

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

* '''2025-12-15 to 2025-12-17 / 3 Days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + RH / Michel & Lisa'''

Day 1

We took the 8:00 bus from the Puerto Montt bus terminal with the company "Rio Puelo" (more details in the transportation section below). It filled incredibly quickly and left completely full, so we were glad to have gotten there 20 min early.
We passed Cochamo at ~10:30 and the bus was still full, it would've been difficult to impossible to get on the bus there I think.
Got to the ferry by bus at about 12:20. After the ferry on the other end of the lake, the next bus was waiting and took us further. It actually drove up Río Manso all the way to this point: [-41.70165, -71.98239]. But you might have to ask the driver to do that if you wanted to go there since it seemed we just dropped off a few passengers there. This would be an option if you wanted to packraft the Río Manso option (22-07).
We got to X{22-01} [25.0/187] (known to the bus driver as Lago Totoral) at around 14:30. The bus driver told us that we could not camp down the road at the lake (Lago Azul, i.e. Camp (22-02A} (3.7/222]) though he didn't say why. We started walking towards it anyways and found a closed gate with a "private property, do not enter" sign in our path after a few hundred meters. While we were looking at it, an elderly man came to us and started chatting from the other side of the fence. He seemed to be the owner of the land. We politely asked him if we could go down to the lake here to cross it in our boat or camp at the lake if the wind didn't permit crossing. He said yes and mentioned something about maybe helping him out for using his land if we did camp, though we didn't understand him very well. In the end he let us pass without any payment. There's a nicely kept campground a few hundred meters after the gate, which seemed to be his. We continued on the very well kept road to the lake, where there's some boating infrastructure. It seems that there are paying guests here sometimes (maybe in summer). You could camp here at the lake (i.e. Camp (22-02A} (3.7/222]), but there are quite a few structures around, better continue to the other end of the lake like we did (or, if you are fast and have the energy, go all the way to the next lake which would be a really nice place where there are no buildings at all, here: [-41.99745, -71.83223]. Practically no wind on Lago Azul made us put in and start. We had some light tailwind later on but didn't take out the sail and made it in 1 h 40 min, arriving at 18:20 at Settler {22-02} [3.9/217]. There are a couple of houses here and many nice campsites. As we arrived, three arrieros on horses came by who greeted us but didn't come to talk to us. We figured they didn't care much if we camped here, so we chose a site nicely sheltered from the wind close to the small stream (about here [-41.98298, -71.84432]). Some cows came to check us out but they seemed relaxed and friendly, so we stayed (very unlike our experience on GPT16, haha).

Day 2

Got an early start (early for us, anyways) and left by 8:00. The morning was fresh but not cold. We had to open and close some gates at the settler's property and were amazed by all the animals they have here - cows, sheep, horses, pigs, chicken, peacocks. You don't have to cross the little stream that flows towards their houses (we did, only to cross back again). The trail starts a little further up and is very clear. We got to the small lake, where it would be amazing to camp (as mentioned before, no buildings, nice flat grassland to put your tent, here: [-41.99745, -71.83223].) Got to Lago de los Rocas soon thereafter and put in at 10:00 with practically no wind on the lake and got to the end of the lake in 1 h 20 min with some tailwind and sailing. Especially once we reached the narrow end [-42.06854, -71.81438] the wind got stronger and then once we landed (12:30) it picked up even more (ideal for sailing, not too strong). So it could be a good idea to do this lake a bit later, more sailing that way. ;-)
The end of Lago de los Rocas would be fine to camp, but there's a ton of horse poop and two football goals on the big (flat) grass, so it's not that appealing (Camp {22S} [21.8/314]).
We hiked to the carabineros who were really friendly and chatty though a bit disorganized, haha. They said it was absolutely no problem to camp in between here and the argentinian border post. We didn't tell them about our packraft (also weren't asked) but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have cared. I can imagine it depends a lot on the officer who's in charge at the moment what treatment you get...
We went on to Lake (22S) [20.9/201] where there are nice campsites as well and put up our tent for the night (and afternoon, we arrived at 13:30). It's nice and sheltered here. :-) The two level-ish spots close to the water are not very big, but our two-person tent just fit on one of them.

Day 3

There was some slight rain at night and in the morning which delayed our departure a bit. There was already some wind and waves on the lake but the wind was in the right direction (westerly). We started paddling on Lago Inferior at 8:30 and made the 4 km to the end in 45 min. The waves were almost too big but we managed. After we arrived the wind picked up even more. We then continued hiking and didn't even try packrafting Lago Puelo since we were pretty sure that the wind would be prohibitive.
The officer at the Argentinian border control didn't seem too happy when we told him we had left Chile the day before and camped somewhere in between. But I think that was mainly because he suspected that we had illegally camped on the Argentinian side (at least I believe it's prohibited to camp here, but I'm not sure). We explained that we had camped on the Chilean side and that seemed to be fine. However, he was not too happy that we didn't have exit stamps in our passports. The chilean Carabineros had only put the exit stamp on a printed piece of paper exit form and not inside the passport, which we had thought was weird at the time, too. But they had told us that you don't get an exit stamp in the passport here. Well, after some eye rolling, the officer said "ah, no importa" and gave us our entry stamps. He even shared a tasty tortilla with us. :-)
From there we continued hiking without any issues. The trail is easy and well maintained, just like before. We forded Río Azul here [-42.08661, -71.62103] without issues, the water level was at or just above our knees (we're both around 170 cm tall). If there was rain before, the fording could become a bit of an issue. The views towards the south here are super beautiful! We hiked to the Visitor center of the National Park where the bus departs every full hour ([-42.08902, -71.61789]).

* '''2025-11-28 to 2025-12-02 / 5 days / Packrafting / NOBO / RP (partial) + Option 8 (Rio Ventisquiero) (partial) / Dave & Siyuan'''

Day 01: we got the 8AM bus from Puerto Montt to Lago Tagua-Tagua (7000 CLP), ferry (1340 CLP) and the bus to Primera Coral (2000 CLP), arriving at about 3PM. We followed Option 8 alongside the Rio Ventisquero on a 4x4 track. We stashed our food where the train meets the river for the first time -41.99928, -71.93188. The side stream Rio Correntoso at -42.01706, -71.94015 was a little too deep to ford so we used the packrafting to ferry across. After the crossing the 4x4 trail ended and the trail was tricky to follow. Eventually you’ll find yourself in farmland at -42.02391, -71.95023 with lots of barbed wire fences. We made the mistake of descending down to the river to camp.

Day 02: The farm is very easy to navigate - you should head straight for the gate by the building at -42.02519, -71.94891, then exit the farm through the gate at -42.02704, -71.94878. This then joins a very good trail which continues all the way along Rio Ventisquiero. We didn’t quite get all the way along the GPX track, deciding to get on the river at about the 15km point: -42.01938, -72.05608. The paddle down Rio Ventisquiero was absolutely stunning. Mostly grade 1 rapids, with a couple of easy grade 2 sections. Very little wood in the river made the paddle stress free. After picking up our food stash we continued to the confluence and on down Rio Puelo to a camp at -41.96241, -71.91332, which was secluded but just sand so pegs had to be reinforced with rocks. We got Entel 3G coverage at this camp site.

Day 03: The Rio Puelo was beautiful, but lots of wood in the water meant we were kept on our toes. We exited the river as indicated and found a relatively well defined trail. This continued as far as the farmland at -41.88868, -71.96327. After that the trail was very difficult to follow and very overgrown. We made use of our machete and made very slow progress for a couple of hours. Gradually the trail got better but we only managed to get about half way through this section before calling it a day. We found an excellent camp site next to the big rapid at -41.85605, -71.98205.

Day 04: We put in directly after the main rapid at -41.85389, -71.98136. There were three other rapids to portage:

1: -41.85020, -71.97891, grade 3.

2: -41.83783, -71.97900, grade 3.

3: -41.83532, -71.97799, grade 2.

We portaged #1 on the rocky beach on the left. This was simple, but the large rocks made portage difficult.

Rapid #2 is not visible on our satellite images, and we believe is it newly formed from landslides from the creek on the right of the river. It was easily portaged on the right. We needed to paddle hard to ferry across to the beach above #3 on the left.

Rapid #3 is at the start of the right channel of an island. There is also a smaller rapid at the start of the left channel. You should portage the rapids from the island. We portaged #3 on the left or the right channel. On inspection, both channels around the island would have been ok to paddle, but visibility down the right channel was better, so that’s what we chose.

After these rapids, the rest of the days paddle was very relaxing in comparison. There was quite a bit of wood in the river, but as the river widened be became easier to avoid. We reached the ferry terminal at 18:00 and waited for the 19:00 ferry. It wasn’t until the next morning we realised we were at the wrong location, and the ferry terminal was 5 minutes walk down the road.

Wrong location (toilets): -41.69748, -72.11422

Correct location for ferry: -41.69885, -72.11884

We slept in the unmanned building at -41.69748, -72.11422 which made a great shelter for the night, and had lights, flushing toilets, running water and power outlets.

Day 05: we got on the river at a great spot 500m from the ferry terminal at -41.64383, -72.17079. The river is straightforward apart from the rapid section as mentioned in the waypoints. We almost had a disaster and lost a paddle where one of the streams was blocked with wood. After an hour of searching we eventually found it. I don’t have any recommendations for a safe route through this section. There are several rapids, max grade 2+, but very shallow and rocky. The shallows were rocky and covered in algae, so very slippery.

The waypoint instructions to stay right is a good plan, but would involve lots of hauling your raft over rocks. Some of the rapids might be possible to paddle depending on your boat and water levels. Take care because there’s a lot of wood in this section!

After the rapids, the river widens and is much more relaxing. We exited the river and finished the section at -41.65247, -72.30067. We missed our bus so stayed overnight in an outstanding cabin in Puelo at -41.66261, -72.29580 for 40k CLP (https://maps.app.goo.gl/B8nh4TJS3Tw5aXFq9 WhatsApp: https://wa.me/56996127975).

* '''2025-11-30 to 2025-12-02 / 2,5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / OP (02A) / 02D / RH / 22S / Daniel.s'''

In short: from Cochamó by public transport to near Lago Azul, then Lago Las Rocas, Lago Inferior, Lago Puelo

Day 1:
Bus from Cochamó to Lago Tagua Tagua leaves every day between 10 and 10:30 (coming from Pto. Montt). From there you hop directly onto the ferry and from the ferry you can take the next bus towards Segundo Coral (hop off anywhere you want, just let the driver know). I got off at "acceso Lago Azul" by Lago Totoral X {22-01} [25.0/187] and started hiking. The land owner charges (in my opinion illegally) 6k clp for access to the lake. Once up at the lake it depends on the wind if it's safe to paddle. I had low winds, was on the other side in ~2hrs. Camped at the beach S 41° 58.959', W 071° 50.706'.

Day 2:
Hiked the short section to Lago Las Rocas, strong tailwind already in the morning. Reached Carabineros at noon (they're open till 8pm), no Salvoconducto needed. They email PDI and get a reply before he finishes filling out the paperwork. Camping between borders is an option (around 2kms after Chilean border post) needs to be communicated with Carabineros. Paddling Lagos Inferior and Puelo is also allowed. I opted to hike until Lake {22S} [26.8/213], because of too strong winds on Lago Inferior. Lago Puelo is a little sheltered in the beginning, no problem paddling until Argentinian border post (open 8am till 8pm). Immigration no problem, camped there.

Day 3:
Wind picked up over night and waves were massive, so paddling was not an option. Hiked the 7 kms to the National Park entrance S 42° 05.344', W 071° 37.075' on RH (no issues there, it's a popular trail), bus leaves from there to Lago Puelo village and El Bolson every full hour until midnight (yes, I double checked, midnight) The bus driver was happy to change CLP or USD (small amount) do i vould psy the fare. You get everything you need in Lago Puelo village.

==Season 2024/25==

* '''2025-03-05 to 2025-03-15 / 11 days (2 days rest) / Hiking+horse+boats / RR 22N+Valle Verde+22S / Dorota'''

This stage was exceptional due to the people I have met on my road.

Day 1:
I took Uber from Ralun to the entrance to Valle Cochamo (20.000 clp, +56 9 9866 2101 Miguel). I was there at 8:58, so I still had 2 minutes to enter. I said that I would like to go to Arco. I have registered and got a lot of information about the route. On the road to La Junta I met Ariero, Javier. He was returning to his house in Valle Verde. He took part of my luggage. The trail was muddy. There were some tourists but not too many. Two boys were looking for a girl who had lost last night on the trail near Junta. Rio La Junta (98.9) till knee for women of 1.64 cm and Rio Traidor (97.4) also. I spent the night at Milico (Ariero said to me about this place) before the Arco (-41.42665,-72.05549). Water from Rio Cochamo.

Day 2:
It started to rain in the night. The trail was very moody. It was a really hard day. As I know, Javier and I were the only persons who made this day stage from el Arco to Laguna Vidal. We started at 7. Rio El Arco had a water level to my knee. But at 12 a.m I had a big problem crossing the river [80.9]. There was no bridge. I tried two times, but I resigned. In the middle, the current was too strong and the water was to my waist. I waited one hour, rested a little, and crossed the river. But it was really demanding. The night ended at the end of Laguna Dial, in Casa de Dona Luisa. The night, dinner, and breakfast cost 31,000 clp. I met a group of Argentinos who had waited for better weather.

Day3:
I had an invitación to the house of Javier at Valle Verde at Morros. It is 5 km from the trail. It was the next day with rain, so I was happy that I had a roof. Javier is a local guide. He can organize horse trips and pesca, and also has hospedaje. @cabalgatasypescavalleverde, +56 9 4945 9601.

Day4: rest en Valle Verde.

Day5:
I came back to trail on horse with Javier. It was amazing because it was my first time on horseback. I survived 17 km on horseback, also crossing a river. After that, I walked to Steffen. I spent the night at 53.5km. Here is a "fugon" house with a place for a fire. Here, I met arrieros de Lago Vidal. They invited me for asado and wine. In the night, it was raining.

Day6:
I crossed Rio Steffen (till knee) without a problem. In the morning it was raining, after that it was sunny. In mini shop 43.0 you can buy a lot of things. I asked for a boat to cross Rio Puelo. Women said to me that I needed to go to cabanas de señora Oco and from there call for a boat. In Manso I took a really good bear. At cabana de senora Oco (Fabian,+56 9 6102 0535 ), a man called for a boat. I went to playa and after one hour came somebody. He took me to the other side for 20.000 clp at point -41.74885,-72.065492. About 1.7 km from the house of Ricardo Garardo (28.9). I put up a tent at -41.76425,-72.05840, close to the house of Ricardo.

Day7:
In the morning, I returned to Ricardo’s house because his three perros followed me. He invited me for breakfast. Finally, I spent the night at his house. In the evening, we collected cows and sheep on his motocross, giving apples to the pigs, and made bread. And also, he showed me how to use the cable car for crossing the river. It was a really interesting day.

Day8:
Ricardo +56 9 6473 8749 took me on his boat to cross Rio Traidor for 30,000 clp. But I have not paid for hospedaje y food. In my opinion, if you take a boat from Playa de Dona Oco, you should like to cross Rio Puelo y Rio Traidor. I continued RR from 24 km. It is a good place for camping at -41.85365, -71.98192. And from this point, you have some bushwalking and till puesto 7.7 km trail is not clear. Wife of Christian invited me for the night. I helped her with carrying different things. We spent a very nice evening together. Her husband was in Puerto Montt.

Day9:
She also said to me that in Puerto Urutia from 9 to 12 and from 15-17 is Dario with a boat for crossing the river 1000 clp. Hostel Puelo Libre is only with a reservation. I took the road to avoid discussion at puesto 7.2.
On the trail I met Roberto (he lives at lago rocas at -42.01945, -71.86015). You can ask him to put up a tent. He crossed with me a landslide. After Laguna Mosquitos the trail is complicated because of fallen trees. Finally I spent the night in the middle of BB but there was no water. (-4×.05604,-71.83066)

Day10:
Day without problems. Crossing borders easy. Control point AR is at 34 km not 30. I spent night at camping agreste.

Day11:
I took variant 22-03 to Lago Puelo at 1.7 km before Rio Azul. Men said to me that he had water level till his hips. At Lago Puelo I have found a fantastic place for stay. Hostel La Estación 15.000 ars for a night. There are a lot of shops. The most economical supermercado is Todo, the most expensive is Anónima. You can withdraw money, a maximum of 60.000 ars with a commission of 14.000 ars.

'''2025-02-01 to 2025-02-05 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO (partly) / option 8 / Steve Behaeghel & Katrijn + kids Lotta (9ys), Bosse (6ys), Pelle (3ys)'''

When we hiked/packrafted the GPT21-GPT22 back in 2013 we had some very nice stays with settlers in the valle ventisquero, so we decided to come back with our kids this season.

We did a 4 day trek starting at rancho Velazquez-Alegria (-42.02312, -71.93288) after an extensive almuerzo with the campesinos which we had not seen since 2013.
There is a bridge over the Rio Correntoso (-42.02938, -71.94279) where you can leave a car, so no need to do difficult ford near the mouth of the ice stream into the ventisquero river.

The first 5km it's all ripio walking where it changes in a trail just next to a ranch. There is nice camping on the river banks at (-42.01151, -72.02404).
There are safe cable crossings for Río Alicia (-42.02393, -72.05756) and Rio Unniverso (-42.03852, -72.12473).
There are several settlers in the valley which offer camping (see picture on FB page, rincon bonita is glamping with fly-in guests, so skip that one). Our objective of the hike was Bernaditta Alegria which offers camping at 6000CLP/person with hot showers included.

Bernaditta also offers half board (delicious food) sleeping in a bed for 45000CLP/pers/night. She has starlink internet nowadays, which is free to use when she puts on the solar battery 2-3 times a day for like half an hour. She still remembers well when we stayed at her ranch back in 2013, because on the night when we camped there, a puma came out of the mountain which killed a sheep somewhere 50m from our tent. It's a lovely place to go with kids.
There are a lot of wasps because of the fruit trees, so in autumn they might become very aggresive.

'''2025-01-25 to 2025-01-27 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO (partly) / RP / Thijmen Scholten'''

* Primer Coral has a very nice campspot. Chance there will be kayakers around doing the upper section of Rio Puelo with class 5 rapids you can watch them paddle it, it's insane.

* I heard there is a cabin you can stay up on Río Ventisquero would be a nice option and you can leave part of your gear/food at the camping. And do an overnight trip. Rio Ventusquero supposed to be very nice.

* I was lucky to go with another group of Kayakers into the Rio Puelo and into the rapids at the Canyon. I had no whitewater experience but the camping owner convinced me it was doable and safe even if I fall. It was nice to paddle the Canyon and the waves felt huge. I had a decked packraft that still filled with water, which was nice and made it more stable.

* So if you are here and get the chance on going with a group of Kayakers into the Canyon and rapids , it will be a nice experience

* First I would continue after the rapids and the pickup would take my backpack. But I decided to go back with the pickup to Primer Coral and continue next day towards Argentinia.

* First part of the trail from primer coral to Lago de Las Rocas is closed the settler there told me. You can join the trail from road V723. But I went from Lago Azul.

- The trail (blue line) towards Lago Azul already started earlier. * From the road at you left side there is already a sign with trail towards Lago Azul.

* Lago de Las Rocas went fast with wind in the back.

* I had to stay at the border crossing because they only had electricity at 7 p.m. to register me. Next morning from 8.00 I could pick up my passport. I did not fill in am online form beforehand and that was no problem.

* I went to the Argentinian border crossing that is indicated at the map. But because I was with a boat they did not let me. I had to get my passport stamped at the maritime office at the end of the lake at the beach of lago Puelo. So if you decide to skip lago Puelo/El Bolson than you better not show that you are by boat and pretend you are walking.

*'''25Jan2024 - 28jan2024 / hiking NOBO / RR (El Manso to Cochamo) / 3 days / Clara'''

From Cochamo to get to El manso, there is the bus - ferry (lake tagua tagua) - bus. First bus pass at Cochamo every day around 10am. It comes from Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas before.
First bus is 3k. Boat 1.3k. 2nd bus 500.

At El manso there are 2 little negocios. In front of the first one there is a cervecería with a nice terrasse, artisanal beer and wifi. Sadly it was closed on this super hot begining of afternoon !
There is an inconstant but working phone coverage there (entel).

Lago Vidal Gomez. Possible to ask at the camping to cross the lake by boat, Francisco do the traverse during summer. 35k that can be devided until 4 people. May make you pay less if he has to go to the other side anyway to get other people. The family here also sell good bread, vegetables, beers, sweets,...

Because of rainy night, I slept on the north side of the lake at the first house. Marguerita has a sort of barn where you can sleep/pitch a tent and also make fire (for 5k). Dry toilets and water.

Then trail was on better conditions than I expected.
Camp sites along lago grande are really nice.
Refugio El Arco is a really good shelter if bad weather (all in wood, nice roof, closing windows).

Between El arco and la junta very muddy trail but nothing impassable even after a rainy night. It just slow down a lot.

The valley is really nice.

La Junta - Cochamo : overrun +++.

There are multiple buses going back to Cochamo from the end of the trail

*'''2025-JAN-20 to 2025-JAN-27 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH (Var. 01 / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel)'''

Stage 22 is one of the longest sections of the GPT, but from our perspective (also thanks to our route choice), it wasn’t particularly difficult. Due to health issues and plenty of time (we had a scheduled meeting in Bariloche on a specific date), we took the stage quite leisurely.

The first part to La Junta is very busy, with a large number of day hikers. That wasn’t really our thing, so we rushed ahead into the wilderness, which starts right after the camps in La Junta.

In the Rio Puelo valley, due to health issues, we chose Variant 01 and rejoined the RR at Puerto Urrutia at the start of 22S.

The most surprising and interesting stop on the trail for us was meeting señira Alexandra at Lago Verde, where we spent an entire morning on the lake on boats and doing deep water solo climbing. (More details in the BIVOUACING section.)

ENTRY INTO VALLE COCHAMÓ

The first major challenge is entering Cochamó Valley, but it’s not as complicated as it might seem.

The entry checkpoint is at Road End {22N} [109.8/58], and access to the valley is free. However, due to high visitor numbers, there are relatively strict regulations. To be allowed entry, you need to follow these rules:

If you want to camp near La Junta, you must have a reservation through www.reservasvallecochamo.org and bring confirmation of your reservation to the checkpoint. Entry is permitted between 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

If you want to camp at Refugio El Arco, no reservation is needed, but entry is only allowed between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM.

The time restrictions aren’t enforced too strictly, but you shouldn’t arrive much later. According to locals, it’s also theoretically possible to enter very early in the morning before any staff arrive, avoiding the need to follow these rules.

However, we personally recommend adhering to the official regulations. There are many visitors (often with little or no experience), and if the beauty of this valley is to be preserved, some regulation and monitoring are necessary. This is also why camping outside of the designated campsites in the valley is prohibited.

For GPT hikers, the best option is to enter the valley in the morning, explain your plans, and then hike to El Arco, where there is plenty of space for tents and camping is free. (Although volunteers manage the site and, like at the entry point, record visitor details.) If you follow this approach, there’s no reason you wouldn’t be allowed in, and you will still comply with all the rules.

CHALLENGES

Ford at Rio Traidor {22N} [95.9/340] was very easy. All other fords on this section were also crossable with dry feet, except for the final fords over Rio Azul at the very end.

Bridge {22N} [80.9/645] doesn’t exist, but the river can be crossed on fallen logs.

Bridge {22N} [51.8/146] (Rio Steffen) was washed away. There is a cable car alternative, or you can cross using fallen logs.

At Settler {22S} [7.2/215], a man yelled at us from a house, saying we shouldn’t walk there. He seemed angry, and we didn’t feel like arguing. Instead, we walked a short stretch along the road and then rejoined the trail by climbing over a valley (near coordinates -41.98297, -71.88292). This involved a short bush-bash and crossing a creek on fallen logs.

The trail around Las Rocas is quite overgrown in one section, with many fallen logs. This rough stretch is between km 17.8 {22S} (-42.05306, -71.83367) and km 19.9 {22S} (-42.06622, -71.81971). We believe it may be possible to bypass this section using other trails, as well-maintained paths connect before and after it, but we didn’t try it ourselves and just bush-bashed through.

Border control was quick and completely problem-free on both sides.

BIVOUACING

The first night, we camped at La Frontera Camp at the entrance to Cochamó Valley. It’s a small and very nice eco-camp, where making a reservation is a good idea. Staying here was a special experience for us, as it is run by Pavel, a fellow Czech.

At El Arco, there’s a shelter, though it doesn’t have much sleeping space. However, right next to it is a large grassy area with plenty of room for tents.

At -41.56978, -71.93585 (km ~64.3 {22N}), there’s a beautiful flat campsite with a refugio.

At Bridge {22N} [63.0/337] (Rio El Colorado), there’s a fire pit with benches and a small tent spot.

One night, we camped in the backyard of Valle Puelo Brewery. They let us stay for free, but the roosters woke us up early.

At -41.96567, -71.90571 (Lago Verde), there is a settlement run by a very kind woman named Alexandra and her brother. They offer cabins for rent, but they also allowed us to camp in our tents for 8,000 CLP per person. The price included free kayak rental for a paddle on the lake. We highly recommend staying here. It is also the only reasonable access point to the lake. Elsewhere, the shoreline is covered with dense vegetation or cliffs.

WATER

There is plenty of water available. The trail runs along rivers and crosses many smaller streams.

RESUPPLY

Cochamó has several minimarkets, a hardware store (where you can buy gas cartridge), a pharmacy, post office, and plenty of restaurants and food stalls.

At the Road End {22N} [109.8/58] (Valle Cochamó entry checkpoint), there is a food truck open in summer with fast food, and a small store nearby selling snacks and some basic groceries.

We bypassed Camp La Junta via Toboganes, so we have no info on current shopping options there.

At Lake, Settler, Camp $ {22N} [70.9/602], we bought very good and reasonably priced fresh cheese and beer. They likely have some other basic supplies as well.

Shop {22N} [43.0/49] is operational. It’s small but sufficient for basic resupply.

Settlement, Shop, Bus {22N} [40.7/36] (El Manso) is a complex of brewery with the best beer we've had in Chile so far. The store is slightly better stocked than the previous one and sells gas cartridges.

Llanada Grande has a fairly large and well-stocked supermarket.

At the start of 22S, there’s a restaurant with its own brewery (Hostal Puelo Libre).

TRANSPORT

A bus from Lago Puelo to El Bolsón runs every hour (around the full hour) and costs 1,800 ARS per person.

* '''2025-01-24 to 2025-01-26/ 2days / Packrafting/ SOBO/ Option 02, RP, Option 09, Option 03/ Natalie & Tomáš'''

Coming from Cochamo, where we had to organize getting a new neck gasket, we once again set off towards Lago Azul. The bus for the ferry left at 10:30am (around here, -41.49304, -72.30553). It came five minutes after the bus that goes from Puerto Montt to the Cochamo TH. We left Rio Puelo at 12:00 after ten minute break but missed the docked ferry by a minute or two. Only had to wait ~30min for the next one and the busses on the other side were still there. Lots of people, so Entel did not work. The bus did its regular stop at Llande Grande (~10min - they have a very good non industrial salami there) and then we got off where the road to Lago Azul goes around 15:30. We managed to get a hitch quickly, but it was short lived. There is a man watching a gate (7mil for the car owner, nothing for us) and the car was only allowed to go ~1km further (maybe because it wasn't 4-wheel drive, and/ or they only allow certain [local?] people to go all the way, not sure). The road to the lake has recently been "upgraded" and is quite ugly. 02B and 02C are probably roads too, based on satellite and a little foot survey where 02B joins 02A. At the beach there were a stand selling empanadas, a toilet, about 20 people and 4 cars parked. We started paddling around 18:00. First going west for ~600m to check out an alternative trail Tomáš was interested in that is on OSM leading to here: -41.92170, -71.87635. The trail exists, but might be somewhat unused, as there seems to be a new road for cars built above it. Anyway, it looks like a more attractive and shorter approach to Azul, somebody needs to investigate it (we only noticed the trail half way on 02A). The start of the lake outlet (20 m) is magical with its blue-green water, a nice detour. The waves got stronger near the middle of the lake but then eased quickly. Near the end of the lake we had calm water. We camped at a spot we noted last year when hiking: -41.98306, -71.84801. It has a small flowing creek but is near a cottage. Both years of being here we have not seen anyone in it, you can camp in the trees and be mostly hidden. People vacation in tents 200m along the lake shore. Lago Azul is very pretty.

The next day was straightforward. Lago Los Rocas was "reflection-like" calm, despite starting around 11:00. We were worried about the boat and the Chilean Carabineros (read Jan's description in the manual) so we put the boat and equipment into the duffel bag and placed it all outside the Carabineros building, entering without our luggage. Everything went well because the men were nice (same ones from last year). However, we were almost busted when they asked us specifically if we were going to Argentina on foot or by boat. At first we said boat, but then they asked who was taking us, and when we struggled to come up with an explanation, they seemed to take our silence as a language misunderstanding and asked us again, so to make things easier, we said we were walking. We then slipped down using Variant U. If you are uncomfortable about this, it might be worth just putting your boat in your bag and walking the 3km to the next beach along RH. Variant S does not exist. Lago Inferior was once again sadly not windy, we started around 16:00 but no horsepower from the wind.
Tomáš and I had a small misunderstanding about our end goal at the lake. Tomáš wanted to walk up the river to scout the rapids and possibly run them back and I, being completely unaware of the obvious, agreed. I thought we most likely wouldn't run them and just walk on the other OSM trail. What I didn't know was that the river flowed against us, despite looking at satellite images and saying, "why does it look like the rapids are going in the wrong direction?" and noticing it's called"lake inferior". Like I said, unaware of the obvious. When I realized the river went against us I instantly hated the idea, but we were already past the normal take out point, so in the end we went for it. The first longish set of rapids (class II, -42.10240, -71.73502) is north (river right), so you cannot just connect to the OSM trail next to the river. We crossed to southern shore of the river and had a slow 400m walk and 100m paddle up to a point we could safely ferry back to the northern side, -42.10413, -71.73233. It was slow because of the algae/didymo being very slippery and rocks in the river bed having gaps in between them. You will appreciate how easy entrapment could be here if water was deeper and faster. A pole in one hand will greatly improve your stability and also a leash for the boat (walk the dog). We paddled up to the second short rapid(class II+?, -42.10487, -71.72934). Walking along it's side was more involved as we had to lift the boat over some rocks and it was a bit sketchy trusting our dollar store locking carabiners on our leash. The last rapid (class III, -42.10487, -71.72934) was much easier to walk along, once again on our north/river-right. We filled up on water after the last rapid and paddled towards the lake. Surprisingly there was not much wind and the waves only started to be not small just before the Argentinian border patrol, so it was a bit slower than expected.
All in all this option was probably a little slower than just packing your boat and walking to the border control and about as fast as deflating your boat, walking the 2km portage and reinflating your boat. If you are careful, it is not dangerous (slips permitting). When water levels are high, it might be a different story. It took us 75 minutes. If you go down river, NOBO, the first (going from Lago Puelo) rapid had some undercuts, so better walk it down on the right, but the rest can probably be run (after scouting!) or walked.

The camping at the border was once again packed, and this time all toilets were locked or non-functional, pretty gross considering the amount of people. There is a stream on the west side. The evening was quiet but fierce wind picked up around 3am, the wind was better in the morning but still not great. The check-in with Argentina (open from 8 till 20) was very easy and we got our passports stamped. I had a bit of "boat fever" and wanted to walk out, plus I wanted to be conservative with the waves at this lake. Tomáš felt it would be totally manageable so he sailed on down to Lago pueblo and I hiked out to La Pasarela. It was an okay hike with a little bit of water along the way. It was up and down basically the whole way and very warm. La Pasarela is extremely popular. There is a restaurant and a smoothie joint and many other food stands. Somehow I didn't get a hitch. There is a bus stop when you hit the main road around here; -42.05087, -71.59679. I went into town and caught the bus out front the hospital here; -42.05924, -71.59776 @ 14:15. It was 1.700mil and paid only in cash. The earlier bus stop would have been fine. Plum season is almost here, red ones are tart but edible, yellow ones need at least 2-4more weeks.

Tomáš: waves were sizable (75 cm maximum difference top to bottom?), from the camp I had to ferry to get out of the cove, but then I mostly paddled only to keep the boat in the right position and let the wind push me to the lake end. A huge parking lot by the beach, hitching does not work but the bus does.

* '''2025-01-15 to 2025-01-22 / 7 days / Packrafting/ NOBO (flip flop)/ Option 8 (extended), RP / Natalie & Tomáš'''

For hikers: the RR west of Rio Puelo is actually attractive and the part we walked was no bushbashing, do not all shun it :-).

Summary

Last year we were inspired by Tobi and Fangwen's (T&F) trip into the Ventisquero valley and tried but didn't finish due to time and weather. On the flip side, that meant we were able to return this year with a packraft, which made the return trip much more interesting. It is a stunning valley and a beautiful river to be in a packraft (a must for packrafters, Tomáš thinks). There were virtually no tabanos which was a biggie after the mid-January infestation of 20 and 21! Tomáš did the upper Ventisquero river after the view-hike in Rincon Bonito and I chose to go higher on the mountain of the view-hike as T&F considered, both not in GPT yet. The Ventisquero river was easy, class II at most, we hit our knees on occasion. The Upper Puelo before the hike was very easy with a faster flow, just a bit of wood (nothing that couldn't be avoided), probably class l. We skipped the first rapids of the Gorge (6.2), they are surprisingly powerful and should not be paddled by anyone unskilled or without a team. The hike was actually nice, not that overgrown and pretty easy to follow. Tomáš went back into the river a little earlier and skipped the last 6km of hiking. He had to walk one more rapid and ride two. The rest of the Puelo until the lake was once again easy. Upon approaching Lago Tagua the headwind was strong and paddling was slow. We planned to paddle to the parque Tagua (Option 11) but the waves and wind were very strong so we camped and crossed the lake the next morning, skipping the hike. Lake was easy and fast in the morning but the lower Puelo was slow for the first 5km before the rapids. We skipped the first rapid there and went down river right, putting in a bit earlier than Jan suggests, crossing a few small rapids and hitting our knees once. The rest of the lower Puelo was a bit slow but overall the whole thing was very beautiful.

Day zero: the bus

We again took the bus at 8:38 near Hostel Apel in Puerto Varas to Cochamo, we were told the bus that goes to the ferry (Laguna Tagua Tagua) was 10min behind the Cochamo-only bus. The ferry bus supposedly leaves here: 41.3160641S, 72.9853782W at 8:15 and then probably goes around town, taking a long time. The plan was to get off the first bus, look for Tomáš's inReach he had lost and then catch the second bus. Unfortunately, while we were looking for the inReach, the Ferry bus passed and we were unable to stop it, it was the only bus of the day. On the bright side, with more time to spare, Tomáš managed to wake up the land owner of Camp {21} [79.3/7], and it turned out they had found the inReach the day before and gave it back to us, yay! Soon after all of this (~10:15) we were able to catch another bus to Cochamo (later we learnt Cochamo buses leave @ 8,9,10,11,12 and 16:00 from Puerto Montt). In Cochamo, we waited until a bit after 12:00 for a bus to Rio Puelo (but no more buses to the ferry). We reached Rio Puelo at about 13:45. Since both of us were underslept due to Tomáš having spent the night vomitting (and having had little luck with hitchhiking on that road last year), we found a very nice two-room cabaña for 50.000 here: -41.66243, -72.29821, WhatsApp +56 9 4243 2328. (Entel internet in town functional.)

Day one: the bus and the walk, 4 km

The bus from Rio Puelo is said to be at 11:30 but didn't arrive until 12:15. If one is stopping in Puelo for re-supply, there is a small vegan bakery with good sourdough loafs (-41.6599144, -72.2974946; not open Mondays). Also Supermercado El Maiten sold gas canister's for 7mil. By one o'clock and 1.5mil per person shorter, we were at the ferry. There you get out of the bus and catch a new one waiting at the other side (there are two on the other side, be sure to take the correct one). It takes over half an hour and costs 1.3mil (slow but functioning 3G Entel most of the lake ferry, but not at the end, telecom tower at the northern terminal). The ferries are three and at least two of them go 7 times a day each way (December- March), so you are likely to wait less than an hour. The buses on each side of the ferry are coordinated The bus to primer coral costs 1.5mil. It still stops in Llamada Grande (10-15min) and the Entel internet mostly not functioning (receiving e-mails and text messages at most). We got to Primer Corral at 16:00.

Our plan was to stash extra food near Ford 37.5 (not fordable, maybe in February or better March). It seems it is regularly used for camping. We read T&F got their food stolen so we made sure to hide/bury our duffel bag of food very well. Unfortunately, after I hid it and carried on to the first ford, Tomáš met a pig. The pig tried to invade his backpack despite Tomáš only standing a meter away. He realized quickly our food stash had no hope against this invader. Since he did not know where I hid it, he started to pursue me, which only came to fruition at the river "Correntos", which has a fitting name. Therefore our first day was extremely short. Tomáš took both our backpacks across the ford (had to cross up river near the top of the islands where it divides into three: -42.01786, -71.93876 ) and made camp (lots of spots near the OSM path). The river was above his knees (173cm), but the length of the crossing, doing it three times and coldness made it somewhat challenging. I went back to make the duffel pig-proof, taking the OSM route that follows the river in my way (-42.00228, -71.93336). It was a lot nicer than the road, recommended.

Day two: Ford camp to outside Ricon Bonito, 16 km

Since we were both still struggling to get over our stomach bugs, we had a late morning and a very easy day. The simple 16km walk to Ricon Bonito felt a lot harder than it should have. As T&F described this section before, it is partially a MR, with a short detour, turning into a trail midway. From our river camp, the GPT track files follow an old trail used probably mostly by cows, until a settler: -42.02520, -71.94877. At the settler, who was not at home, we had to zig zag through gates and over one fence until reaching the MR: -42.02707, -71.94872 (it makes a detour probably to cross Rio Correntoso over a bridge). The way to Rincon Bonito is signed with little red arrows. Our first water was located here: -42.01995, -71.98929, shortly after the MR ends and trail begins. The last few kilometres of the MR were recently "upgraded", so it is quite ugly, and they may expand it more, but who knows. On the trail, there were two more simple fords. The first ford was a calm creek: -42.01840, -72.04246. There looked to be good camping just before it, would have been a nice place to aim for the first night. The second ford [15.8/164] has a cable car, where the GPT files indicate a bridge. Tomáš went to verify this after we forded and saw other tents camping there as well. Not sure if it was organized or not, probably yes. A little further ahead there is a settler with their own cell tower. Tomáš (who is from Europe) got full bars but my Canadian phone got nothing. There is still water just before the turn off to the viewpoint trail as T&F have noted. We went into Ricon Bonito to see what they would charge us for camping. We were surprised to meet a group of American packrafters who had flown in that day to paddle down to the fjord. There were 5 of them sharing the 200mil cabin, so not terribly expensive, but the plane from Puerto Montt was 600mil. Kind of nice to know we had a group of river guides near. In the end we were not allowed to camp at this glamping site, it is for reservations only. The men that worked there recommend us to camp at the Bernardita Alegría's (referred to as "abuela" in earlier seasons) 2km up the valley but they said it was 25mil a night per person, which sounded far too expensive for camping (maybe it included half board?) so we found a place in the forest not far from Ricon Bonito and once again had an early night. It seems that while the valley is privately owned (by several landowners? - settlers still live up there), there are no right of ways issue, yet...

Day three: Stealth Ricon camp to Ventisquero river camp, 20-25 km

The trail to the view point is steep but easy (~930m in 4km). The men working at Ricon Bonito had cleared the brush the day before, so Tomáš finally didn't need his machete. There was a little bit of water on the way up ( -42.03631, -72.09700), but probably best to fill at the bottom. You do not have to go all the way up for a view, there is a view point after 450m of elevation gain. At the top we decided to split and go on two different adventures. Tomáš wanted to explore the upper Ventisquero river with the boat and I wanted to explore the upper Ventisquero mountain (aka go to the highpoint above the view point like T&F considered). Luckily we both had successes and you can read Tomáš's description below. As for extending the trail to a highpoint at 1600m I HIGHLY recommend it. By using satellite imagery and intuition, the bushbashing was not bad at all. The bush is that dwarf alpine Lenga that is usually very stiff to walk through, but luckily it was not so dwarf. It was taller than me which made it possible to slither through the understory without much fight. There is roughly 500m of BB, the rest is CC. At the beginning I zig zagged between hidden open spots and then eventually made my way to a ridge-like feature that had many breaks from the bush, and some interesting views. You have to play with this ridge a bit because it is not continuous. Ridge around here -42.05122, -72.09511. Eventually you break free from the bush and enter a dry basin just below the highpoint. It is an easy walk from there and if there is snow you might come across a few small meltwater streams as I did. The views were amazing. If we did not have a plan to start paddling that day I would have explored the ridge. It easily goes to 1700m and then from there it looks you could connect to the main mountain, it will be a fun trip for one lucky person.
As for meeting Tomáš, we planned to meet where the track files hit the river. However I was unable to get to that spot as there were blackberries and cliffs, so I ended up taking the main trail to the river in Ricon Bonito: no one said anything. But when you take this trail down you will hit the bottom and eventually walk along two small boardwalks, just after these boardwalks, the main trail goes left, but dont go left, a better way in is to the right after the boardwalks. It is a sneaky path but it is there and leads you to a nice small beach. Luckily I was ahead of Tomáš and warned him of this new point; -42.02492, -72.09604. We had a nice evening paddle of only a few kilometers, filled up on water at the cable car ford and then made camp in a sheltered bay. Unfortunately the day ended with a torn neck gasket: I ripped my neck gasket all the way to the bottom when taking off my drysuit. I was terribly sad and in disbelief. I had been trying hard to treat it well, not pulling it, covering my face with a balaclava when putting it on, covering it with a balaclava from sun, treating it with 303 and so on. Luckily Tomáš had one bar of internet ať the camp site so I managed to find a store in Pucón that could ship a spare neck gasket to Cochamo (do not do that, ship things to Puerto Varras instead).

Tomáš's trip up the Ventisquero valley:
This goes beyond what is in the GPT files - I was not sure why they end up only in the middle of the valley. when one can clearly see buildings and meadows higher up the valley on satellite.Turns out there is a trail to them indeed. There is one more settler, Fredy Alvarado living here with his family: -42.03933, -72.13376. He is signposted, maybe he would provide lodging and stuff too. Up to him, there is an OSM trail. You can divert from it to a cable car over a river here -42.03852, -72.12473 (signposted by Ricon Bonito). From Fredy, the trail continues, it seems to be used by animals and is still fairly clear. When you enter one clearing, trail can be a bit difficult to find, join it here: -42.04754, -72.16677. Then here -42.04773, -72.17127, the trail fell into the river with trees (obstructing it, this part needs to be walked in packraft through a shallow side channel). It is just 50m and can be easily walked around. The meadows are abandoned puestoes that still seem to be grazed. I put in here: -42.04244, -72.18400. One could probably walk further up in the braided river bed if willing to ford, the valley is really pretty with lots of waterfalls and glacier views and the river would be packraftable for a few kilometres more. River itself is stunning (more scenic and wild than Rio Puelo I think) and easily navigable until Bernardita's place here -42.03202, -72.11899, where II or II+ rapids start (sorry, I am only apporixmate in rating). With a bit of scouting and skill (I am not very skilled though), the rapids are navigable though, as I ran them. The second and third are the biggest, and those are the ones I scouted, the following ones are a bit smaller but could have been scouted too. One can also portage and supposedly there is a path maintained by Ricon Bonito along the river bank (see OSM) so bailing out should be easy. Where there is the OSM path to the side valley, there were some cables so I assume a cable car, but did not see it and cables could be for water too, I did not get a good look. Rapids end around our meeting point with Natalie. I definitely recommend this extension especially for packrafters.

Day four: Ventisquero camp to Puelo Gorge exit, 26 km

We spent the morning organizing the online neck gasket purchase with one bar of internet and then set off quite late. The Ventisquero river is indeed gorgeous and at this time of year unlikely II+, the rapids are small and easily portaged if need be. Tomáš thinks II+ is for the rapid section he did alone - or possibly for spring months with more water. We scouted a few rapids but overall there were no surprises, and obstacles were easily passed. There was very little wood, and the wood that was there was big and obvious with lots of room to go around. I saw only one rapid with possibly dangerous strainers ( -42.02042, -72.06173 if we postidentified it well). There are two possibly low class II rapids here: -42.01429, -71.99931 and here: -42.01853, -71.99523. The first one is straightforward, the second one has a good line on the left of the main current. I personally agree with Jan's description that the river is shallow, we hit our knees a few times (canoe seat). Tomáš thinks it is "Moderate with occasional ground contact" at most - and this more in the upper part than the part we did with Natalie, that is as long as you pick the correct main line to run rapids, anyway it has a lot more water than Rio Huenuhuenu. There was one more water source for drinking further down the river on river right (-42.01882, -71.98949) and then Rio Correntoso if you trust that. I wish I filled up more because it was the last water until Bridge {22N} [7.4/137]. We got to our food stash near Ford 37.5 in ~3hrs. After lunch we headed towards the gorge entrance/hiking section (Rapids Start 6.2). This part of Rio Puelo seemed easier but flowing faster and with more water, no more shallows. There was more wood than the Ventisquero but once again easily avoided. However, there were a couple of underwater logs we almost hit. Tomáš thinks the river is at most I+, when Jan mentions "up to class III" in the manual, that either applies to November or is wrong, you can avoid all of the small rapids if you want and keep it strictly class I. We were totally surprised when we hit the gorge because we were fighting a headwind and thought we were moving slow. Turns out we were still moving fast (~13km in 1.5hrs) and therefore missed the exit by a hundred metres- you do not want to miss the exit! (the gorge is more than half a kilometre after the exit). We had to walk back up the river and ferry across it to get to the start of the hiking section. It was 17:30 so we just camped there and boiled river water. There is a telecom tower above Puerto Urrutia but we did not test it. Lots of didymo algae.

Day five: Gorge to end of hiking section, 12 km

The bypass trail turned out to be a nice up and down trail. It is only very little overgrown with some beautiful views of the gorge and powerful rapids within. There was drinking water throughout. We started late and stopped somewhat early. The first ~2km to Settler 7.7 (Christian) was very easy and clear but Bridge 7.4 is not there anymore, there is a new log bridge just up the creek bed (go left after the gate). Two men on stunning horses were there but we didn't talk for long. The overgrown bit technically starts after this settler but it was ~80% easy to see and follow. The meadow sections are the only places easy to loose it and it was only badly overgrown at the first beach after Settler's 7.7 gate (locked). There, the GPX wants you to walk on the river shore, which is probably a lot easier than the overgrown trail, as long as you find the entrance back to the trail again: -41.87870, -71.96787. Later, it would have been very overgrown after the last hill climb before Settler 15.3 but it had been recently cleared. I was very lucky as it seemed to have been cleared that morning or day before. There were fresh cuts, prints and horse poo. I often found the GPX was off by ~20m, which can be annoying in the forest at times. At the third beach (~6km before end), Tomáš and I split. He wanted to paddle the last bit as he believed it could be a good alternative river in, the rapids looked easily portaged. I was less inclined, so I walked and he took most of the weight and we met back at the normal put in. See Tomáš's notes below. Camping at the end of the hike, beach under Settler "Castanos", is very nice. There are lots of camping spots on the beach or grass meadow above and some tables as well. Near his boat, there is a tarp set up, if you want shelter from the rain. You can fill up on water at the top near Castanos or ferry across the river to a creek.

Tomáš: Rio Puelo in the section that is portaged looks like at least solid class III (that was also the assessment of the Americans we met earlier - they said the start of the gorge is 500m of big waves without holes, surveying from an airplane on their way to Rincon Bonito) and technically probably can be run by people who know what they are doing (but do your own research), as the Americans presumably did (but they were river guides). Possibly, you could even put in (somewhat precariously from a rock) at the end of the first beach Natalie mentions above, walking the rapids (the gorge is mostly not closed from then on where there are rapids) if you have got the skills (they are still mostly class III). From what we saw, I am unsure only whether rapid at -41.86224, -71.97834 can be walked, as we could not see the rapid properly. Also possible there are more rapids than we saw. Make your own assessment first.

Anyway, I put here: -41.85388, -71.98151. This is also a very pretty and comfortable campspot with access to water. There were three more rapids. First one well visible on satellite at -41.85019, -71.97913. It is II or II+, but short and straightforward to run through the center. Could be walked on the left, especially if you have a rope. Then there is a rapid at -41.83779, -71.97925. The main current is probably still III, I did not like it, so I walked it on the right, which was easy (and short, like 10-15 m). The last rapid is here: -41.86224, -71.97834, I would say it is II (or possibly II+) and I ran it. Natalie was faster as I ate, took forever to set up the boat and scouted all the rapids, which I would recommend you do too. Even with the scouting, it took me about an hour to do this section. The last two rapids were not visible on satellite, so Jan's waypoint ending the rapids is correct. According to my GPS, Puelo drops from 80 m to 45 m over this section, which is about 15m more than the manual says. The gorge is beautiful (but you will see it even if you put where recommened by Jan, it is not over there yet). Puelo here has a lot of that nasty didymo algea thing, it is ugly and do wash your boats after leaving.

Day six: End of hike to Laguna Tagua Tagua, 28 km

Rio Puelo was again pretty calm (and pretty) but then somewhat slow nearing the lake. Fresh (last that we saw) water not coming from humans here: -41.80219, -71.99786. We found a nice lunch spot here with picnic tables and nice views: -41.70008, -72.09018. No water but I recommend camping here if you know the lake is going to be too windy to cross and you don't want to take the ferry. However it looks like it sees day trip visitors. Our plan after lunch was to paddle to the start of the Parque Tagua Tagua hike. However, close to the ferry port the base valve in our middle seat inflation tube ripped (obviously a weak point in our boat as the same spot ripped on the main compartment while on the Rio Ñuble). Luckily it was just the seat. I stupidly put Aquaseal FD on it rather than taping it and doing the permanent fix later, so we had to be very careful for the rest of the day. The Aquaseal was a battle. I had been keeping the valve clean but the first few centimeters of aquaseal in the tube had turned to concrete and we had to make a new hole to get some out, I wish I had two tubes (FD + UV). In the end it didn't matter too much because the waves and wind were so strong at the lake that we decided not to cross the lake to get to the hike. For camping we went into the trees and found a wind sheltered patch of grass: -41.70132, -72.11486. We boiled water from the lake, probably not great considering the ferry port was right there. It is probably 4-5 hours of paddling from end of gorge to the lake.

Day seven: Laguna Tagua Tagua to Bridge 79.3, 23 km

We got started fairly early and the lake was easy to cross in about 100 minutes, even with some light tailwind. We stopped for internet at the north side. The first 5km of the Puelo before Rapids 68.9 were more like an extension of the lake, very slow (but pretty). It was easy to stay right at the small gorge before Rapids 68.9. We stopped to scout them and although they were not as strong as the rapids in the first gorge, they had many features we did not like. If there was more water it would have been possible to stay to the far right of them, but at this time it looked impossible to do so without hitting rocks on our knees (it is possible to walk the boat through here too). So we walked the boat to the far right as GPX indicates, there is not enough water to float the whole way. At the end of the walk (-41.61433, -72.21046), there is a a rapid you enter downstream if you want to re-enter the river. After that we stayed right the whole way, passing some more minor rapids directly after. We hit our knees badly on the last shallow rapid because at the end we went to the left of a center rock, we should have gone right (that was here: -41.60956, -72.21677). We found a nice water supply here: -41.61519, -72.24686. The rest of the Puelo that day was easy and it got slow, we had to paddle against the waves for the last few kms before Bridge 79.3 (it pays to follow the current, not chasing the shortest route). There was a fun small feature (possibly a hole) here: -41.63345, -72.25323 that we rode to the side channel of the river. At the bridge we got out and caught a hitch easily to Cochamo, and prepared ourselves to deal with the broken gear and online orders (the Post office in Cochamo is delivered to only on Mondays, so order your stuff to Puerto Varras instead - we had to go to retrieve the stuff in transit in Puerto Montt as to not wait in Cochamo for days). In Cochamo there are many hospedajes, the going rate seems to be 17mil per person. We chose Hostal Arcoíris (-41.49402, -72.30973), we got a small private room for 34mil. There is a large grass area in the back with outside showers to make cleaning the packraft easy, only downfall was it is very popular for Chilean campers. Good fruit shop here: -41.49456, -72.29692.

* ''' 2025-JAN-18 > 22 / 4,5 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / 22N > 22-01 > 22S / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT20+GPT21+GPT22
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : facile
| Neige : non
| Intérêt : 3/5
| Difficulté : 2/5
| Danger : aucun

Après quelques achats à Cochamo, je continue ma journée pleine de surprises. Sans que je fasse d'auto-stop, une dame s'arrête et je fais 4km avec elle sur la gravel road qui mène au barrage de la CONAF. Il est alors 15h30 et il n'est plus possible de passer depuis 15h, dernière montée possible seulement avec une preuve de réservation au camping La Junta. Pour passer sans réservation il faut se présenter entre 7h et 9h. Je dors au camping 200m avant le barrage. Le dimanche matin, je me fais dépasser par des dizaines de coureurs. Après La Junta, il n'y a plus personne et le sentier est plus difficile et boueux. Jusqu'au km 45, ce sont des montagnes russe. On a toujours l'impression de monter. Je prend la 22-01 puisque le RR est fait pour le packraft, et surtout parce qu'après l'échec du GPT20 pour demander un bateau, je préfère éviter de recommencer, 3 fois qui plus est.
J'ai fait de l'auto-stop 20km sur les 30. J'ai fait quelques courses à Llanada Grande, le supermarché est vraiment bien. Je n'ai pas vu de bateau au km 0 du 22S, preuve que j'ai fais le bon choix. Ensuite sur le RR ça alterne entre route de terre carrossable et chemin ou il faut pousser quelques branches, et enjamber des arbres en travers de la route. Mais le chemin est relativement bon. Attention aux ronces qui sont plutôt répandues ici. Aucun taon. Les 4km avant de croiser la 22-X sont en très mauvais état. Attention à bien passer par les postes frontière Chilien et Argentin, le premier pour sortir administrativement du Chili et le second pour entrer administrativement en Argentine.
JAN-23: Repos Lago Puelo

* '''23rd of december / 1 day/ hiking/ sobo/ var 12 + boat (rio puelo) + rr (lago inferior) + var 3 / allie'''

I started in segundo corral where I stayed in a hospedaje. The dueña helped me with the logistics of the boat transfer +56 9 2050 2809. The border control went smooth on both sides. The trail is well maintained and stunning views. When i got to the village lago puelo i tried to cross the rio azul but the current was too strong and it was very deep. I couldnt pass (im 165cm). I went back to the argentinian border control to ask for a boat. They called for one through the radio but no responses. so i had to take the detour to get to la paserela (var 3) which was an extra 13 km more or less to get to lago puelo alto. I passed some people that managed to pass the rio azul 5 km away from the pasarela. But they were quite tall.

* '''(2024/Dez/19-2024/Dec/23) 5 Days/ Packrafting/ NOBO/ Route K/ Lukas, Basil, Maxi and Tabea)'''

Entry point at Lago Pueblo and took the bridge over Rio Azul, which looked not easy fordable. The path to the border was easy to find and well kept.
The packrafting route starting at primer corral is easy and nice. The hiking path starting at 15.2 is partly in overgrown and takes a long time. The second rafting section starting at 28 km is also beautiful and easy however the current is quite slow getting closer to the lago tagotago. The lake should be crossed before noon, strong winds pick up at around 12.
Rafting after Lago TagoTago is easy, the rapids need to be skipped. pay attention of water vortex.

* '''(2024/Dez/12-2024/Dec/17) 6 Days/ Hiking/ SOBO/ Route N/ Lukas, Basil and Tabea'''

Entry point at Cochamo. Dont forget to register in advance for the park, they will send you away otherwise. In the park the path is well kept and easy to walk on, although a bit muddy. Up to the camping la junta many tourist are on the way.
From el Manso, after the loop, we took a bus to secundo corral. The bus leaves daily at 2pm on the main road.

* '''From 2024-12-07 to 2024-12-11 // 4 days //Hiking // NOBO // RR + Puerto Urrutia to La Junta // Mo'''

Transfer from Cochamo to Puerto Urrutia and the other side of Rio Puelo with Bus/Ferry/Bus/Bote was easy, then nice walking next to the river, in really short parts completely overgrown, otherwise easy walking until the river crossings where no settler was there but I was lucky to find others to get me over, from El Manso to La Junta you have a minimarket in El Manso and a little further (knocked on the door of the farm house) and a farmer sells eggs (I just asked for eggs) after Lake Viedma. In La Junta there is an expensive minimarket. Other settlers (like in Terrentosa) might also sell food.

* '''From 2024-12-04 to 2024-12-10 // 6.5 days //Hiking // NOBO // RR + Pasarela option, Option 2 (Lago de las Rocas east side) + Gravelroad between Llanada Grande and Rio Manso // MiaimZelt'''

In general: no dofficult river crossings, the biggest challenge was the mud between Rio Manso and La Junta. Navigation was mostly without difficulties.

Day 1: Easy trail to the argentinian border. Arrived at 5pm and needed to wait until next morning for the stamp. Camped at the beautiful and free camping next to the carabinieros.

Day 2: Got my stamp and continued. Lovely trail with nice vies until the chiliean carabinieros. Easy bordercrossing. Took the alternative at the east side around Laguna de las Rocas. At some point i saw a sign, indicating the trail is closed due to fallen trees. I continued, the trail got wider. Then i reached the farm of german settlers. A woman (Vivi) approached me and we talked. She told me, my GPX-Track is wrong, because it want's me to cross their private property. Last days people climbed over locked fences, what bothers them. Should walk outside of the fence. On the other side Vivi waited for me and asked me to walk the original trail with her daughter. Got invited to lunch, later her daughter walked with me on the original trail (indicated by a sign "Lago Azul 6km"), while she cleared it with a machete. I did record it with my Smartphone. Sent it to Jan, you also can find it in the facebook group.
After the ford of a river the trail in the dense forest was partly covered under fallen trees. Several times i needed to check the GPS. Camped at a tiny lake near Lago Azul.

Day 3: Didn't follow the GPS around Lago Azul, because it lead's through the property of a settler. Instead i stayed outside of the fenced area. Found signs indicating i'm on the right track, directly before i reached the shore of the lake. The path up to the gravel road was partly overgrown, but doable.

Walked on the gravel road, later i got a hitch to the supermarket in Llanada Grande. Very good shop for a full resupply. After resupply i didn't find a hitch, walked 3 hours until a very nice chilean took me the last kilometers. Stayed at Camp {22N} [45.2/44].

Day 4: Due to the steep up and downs + the mud i was much slower than expected. Met 2 very nice settlers on horseback. Bridge {22N} [51.8/146] (Rio Steffen) has a cable car instead of a bridge. Settler warned me about it. Didn't know how to get inside, because it drives away when you don't hold the rope at the same time. Decided to ford the river instead, was knee-deep. 4 more easy fords along my way to the nice campside at Bridge {22N} [63.0/337] (Rio El Colorado).

Day 5: Trail was in better conditions the next hours. At Torrentoso there is a open shelter with lots of space for tents around. Along Lago Vidal the trail got muddy again. Bridge {22N} [80.9/645] doesn't exist, but very easy to ford. The forst half of the ascent to Lago Grande was easy, but the second half was very muddy and challenging. Wanted to camp at Lago Grande but, Camp {22N} [83.8/1001] is fully covered under a huge downfall of several big trees. Trail along Lago Grande is in poor condition (fallen trees + mud). Camp {22N} [84.9/1012] is a beautiful campspot.

Day 6: Began with the poor trail. Directly after camp, there is a hole where the trail should be. Campspot near the tiny lake. Later one more huge downfall. Trail improves a little bit until El Arco, but due to mud i was very slow. 4 easy fords until the refuge. Rio Arco was knee-deep, easy ford. Met the first hikers directly after the crossing. Mud was getting even more, improved at the descent. Ford Rio Traidor was not difficult, again knee-deep. Ford Rio La Junta could be avoided, because above Toboganes there is a bridge. Didn't know. Could stay at Camp Trawen (13mil), was plenty of space for more tents. They have a small kiosk. Toboganes waterfall is worth to be visited.

Day 7: Easy trail in the beaufiful rainforest from La Junta to the reception. Hiked on the gravel road and luckily i got a hitch to Puerto Varas.

==Season 2023/24==

* '''From 2024-02-19 to 2024-02-24 // 6 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + Option 2, 1B, 1 + Variant I, J // Quentin Clavel'''

Lago Puelo - lago de las rocas (east) - Lago Azul - Lago Totoral - Llana Grande - El Manso - Lago Vidal Gormaz - La Junta - Toboganes - mirador Arcoiris - Anfiteatro - Cerro Trinidad - Cochamo

The section begin with the crossing of Rio Azul, wich was not difficult at this time of the year. Then easy track to the lovely Argentinia border, I slept on the camping there. 8 more kilometers to arrive to the carabineros office. Easy border, nice people.

Then due to the landslide on the RR (carabineros confirm me that the track is still not praticable there) I continued along Lago de Las Rocas, on the eastern side, following the option 2. Pretty easy to follow.

At some point there is a junction, with a sign indicate Lago Azul - 6Km on the right. I followed it, even if it get me out of the GPX file (and the nice and easy to follow track). Not sure it was a great idea, I ended up on a sort of small bush-bashing areas that I managed to pass threw and after few kilometers, finally found back the option track, clear and easy, and continue my way.

Then you arrive to a big farm, the one from Jonas, a German native arriving here when he was a child, grow up there and have now a family, living in nature, along the lake, cultivating fruits and vegetables, and selling woods. Very nice man, interesting discussions ! After his farm, you'll follow the valley but keep the left in the woods straight after his farm, if not you'll arrive in a big swampy area.

The track is less obvious and there's a lot of fallen trees. Few check on the GPS was necessary. Then you reach the Lago Azul. The GPX file is going inside the property of a settler. He's a nice guy but his dogs less, one bites me ! (Not hardly, but still!). Just be more careful than me going there, or go around the property.

One last hard push to reach a gravel road, that you will follow until El Manso (30km a bit boring), but easy to find camping and food, especially around Lago Totoral. Resupply at Llana Grande, big supermarket with everything you need.

At El Manso, there's a minimarket next to the cervecería wich is a place where you can camp. The track is quite easy to follow, and quite physical with all the ups and downs. I had rain for two days and this stretch was muddy, especially along the Lago Vidal Gormaz. Then it becomes VERY muddy until La Junta. I had the feelings I will never finish this stretch, and I felt few times in the mud.

I was definitely not presentable when I arrived in La Junta, and the contrast was huge with all people well dressed with clean sports clothes who smell good the fresh perfume of lavenderia ahaha.

I wanted to do Arco iris, but the track is closed because of a landslide. So I opt for the glaciar Paloma wich was surprisingly technical and steep.
But the surrounding worth it, the glaciar Is amazing, the fact that you can enter into it is mad ! I slept up there, there's a little circle with rocks to put your tent.

Then I reached Cochamo and enjoyed great food, confortable hostel and relaxing atmosphere

* '''2024-Feb-09 to 2024-Feb-16 / 7,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Gerald'''

First: I wouldn't do it if there was a lot of rain. Did it after a week of rain in 2019 and it was a mud hell until El Arco. Now it seems at least until junta the trail improved (not sure). For those who don't own a trekking pole, organize a stick early... you won't have mich fun with the muddy situation otherwise.

The bus leaving Puerto Varas at 8:30 (Bus stop at -41.31617, -72.985396) charged 7k. Surprisingly they drove me to the trailhead, last time i had to walk from the bridge, guess it depends on the bus. If you want to get a seat you should probably take the bus in Puerto Montt, had to stay the whole ride. Seems like they will also stop along the way if you wave (check the cochamo insta for an overview of the schedule and route of the bus).
Arrived at the checkpoint at 11:45. After explaining my trip and that i will stay at El Arco they let me pass (without a reservation). They just ask you to register before you go.
Stopped at la junta to make a coffee and enjoy the view. They sell veggies they grow on site.
If i remember rights from Rio Trador on it gets really muddy. It rained 4 days ago and mud was not a big issue until that river.

Anyway, arrived quite late at 8pm at the shelter. There is a path to the right to a place to pitch couple of tents. After Rio Traidor (-41.407173, -72.092915) would also be a nice place to camp

In average only 2 tabano/day annoyed me, what a time we live in... Finally

Dona Luisa has a nice spot on the southern side of the lake Vidal gormaz.
To give you idea, here a short pricelist:
5k camping,
3k for a beer (brahma or Sol),
7k for a bottle of wine,
12k for dinner (meat, salad and bread),
1.5k for cheese

Camping at the settlement Steffen looked nice. Unfortunately i chose a spot next to a way too curious bull...

The camping at the brewery in El Manso is not worth a penny (they charge 5k). It's basically a dry piece of land full of goose shit. Engine on petrol runs untill 10pm. Only wifi is positive. I couldn't find a good spot to camp nearby. I would camp way before. Bus supposed to arrive between 14:30 and 15:00. Luckily a car took me to Puerto Urrutia where i continued. Hostel Puelo Libre looked nice next to the beautiful river. Hiked until the north west side of lago las rocas.

Ricardo (?) offered me a ride for free to the other end of the landslide. But I chose to cross the whole lake by boat. He charged 30k (I was alone). The radio is not anymore at the "port", but you can walk to his house (just continue the MR, first house at around [-42.019089, -71.861245] to your left, if you want to avoid the dogs take the small trail to your left once you see it).

Leaving Chile without the PDI document was not an issue (I requested the paper 5 days in advance and only got an auto response...). They did not even ask. Good views on the lake from now on. Spend an extra day at the camp next to the AR border control. All in all, nice hike!

Missed the bus to El bolson by 5mins. Seems like it's more towards x:30h. I think they run every hour. Got a ride with a car for 1k to the city. If someone is fancying good sourdough bread i can recommend "El Obrador"

The Post office is also doing Westernunion here (check Googlemaps reviews for more Infos)

* '''2024-Feb-03 to 2024-Feb-09 / Lilian'''

If you decide stay at Segundo Corral, and take the boat to Argentina.

NO NO NO

NO NO NO

DON'T DON'T DON'T stay at Mari Mari Peni Camping, (or another name) Amancays Camping.

I saved a girl hiker almost RAPED by the campground owner, and I'm pointed by a rifle gun force me to stop helping her at the night on 07/02. About the details, i type it and upload later.

It is already reported to Chile carabineros and Consulate in Chile.

* '''GPT22 2024-01-31 to 2024-02-05 / 5,5 days days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Cochamó options/ Tomáš & Natalie'''

After a month and a half, we finally did something standard! From Puerto Varras (the bus stop on Avenida Vicente Perez Rosales just after Antonio Varras street) we took a bus at 8:38 going from Puerto Mont that went all the way to the end of MR to the "Road end" waypoint (aka the trailhead). At our hostel (Casa Apel), they told us it would arrive at 8:45. Not sure if this is the same bus that others said would pass Puerto Varras at 8:15 or if it just goes to the road end only in high season. It was 7000 per person - I think they might charge double for backpacks, it seemed expensive but happy they took us all the way.

We were at the entrance at 11 AM and were let through for free when we told them we were going to El Arco. Nat worries this excuse won't last long. The way to La Junta is really busy (met maybe 50 people and about ten horses), easy and without many views as it goes through a forest. When we reached La Junta, we decided that the valley is too special to just walk on by, so we decided to try our luck and ask for camping in order to do the side trips. We asked all the campsites and only La Junta let us stay, 8000 CLP per person. Nat says it is important not to spread the word as they were nice people and did us a favor even though they were not supposed to allow people without reservations to stay. So, do not expect to be let in. We had a numbered site so I think they genuinely had some places free. If nobody had places, after ford 98.9, there is a maze of paths and mini-meadows on the left where I saw somebody camp illegally. If you hide your packs well for the day and then camp from dusk till dawn, you would probably get away with it. Alternatively there are some flat spots in Trinidad valley two hours up - if you start so that you would arrive by dusk, you should meet nobody.

The side trips are steep but not challenging, many people take them. We went to Paloma [November 2024: in our suggestions and in OSM, like the next option too] in the evening, it can be done in three hours there and back if you do not stop (we did). We started going up at 1715 and saw last person going down at 1830 or so. It is quite splendid and fun, there are a couple of places you have to use a fixed rope. OSM says there is a route to Cerro La Junta. It is probably an exit route for climbers, I did not see any traces of it, but it looked like it was possible. If it is, one could probably continue all the way to Cerro Capicua.

Arco Iris is still closed. If it were open I think one could follow the ridge, which is not very steep or outcroppy, all the way north to above GPT21 - only there is probably no way down [November 2024: in the Facebook group, it was said that somebody died there and that is why it is close, so maybe there is nothing wrong with the path, but it is closed officially for sure].

The next morning I went to the Trinidad Valley and all the way up to Cerro Bella Vista and Nat went ahead to escape the approaching rain. The roundtrip takes about 7-8 hours. There is a marked travelled trail to the pass ("El Paso"), the last 300 vertical meters or so are marked by cairns. You will need your hands occasionally, but it is not exposed or particularly hard - SAC 4. The views are well worth it. It seemed most people only go to La Laguna (lake just under the pass). We started at 6 AM and I met the first people on my way down around noon at La Laguna. The way up through Camping Vista Hermosa (the current GPT track) is not supposed to be used by people not staying at the campsite. The proper way up seems to be the more western trail that is marked on OSM. Going back down trough camping Bella Vista was without issues though. They told Natalie you are not supposed to use their cable car (the one more upstream). Tomáš thinks you should use it as it is the only one that you can use without going through either of the campsites (the downstream one goes directly from La Junta campsite). No horseflies by now!

I left the camping at 15:30, and met only one group of hikers all the way up to the second Camp waypoint at Lago Grande. It is a nice camp, bigger than the first, but no good water sources. Wild legal camping, if I get it right. Refuge El Arco is unmanned, it is just a simple wooden hut. I would only use it in case of severe rain. The way up was almost all dry after two weeks of no rain. Mostly through forest, with some nice views of the valley, a few more fords than indicated, but they could all be jumped.

The next day it rained (5mm?) from 4 AM till 11 AM but it was not enough to make the trails substantially muddy. Nat had camped under a tree on a bench at Doña Luisa (5mil) and despite the rain was mostly dry without a tent. Tomáš had camped at Lago Grande and the tent got very wet (but not his sleeping bag). The bridge before Lago Vidal is not there but there was a nice log. There are some pre-colonization rock paintings after Lago Vidal, one probably needs to make a sidetrip to see them based on the information signs near Torrentoso (trail 22-10 was signposted; trails in the valley are well maintained so I assume the option is good to go). On the last meadow before the gone bridge at 51.8, there was a cherry tree that still had very tasty miniature cherries in the beginning of February. It is behind the house to the left of the trail, maybe 40 m from it. I discovered it by going south of the house (nobody seemed to be in it). Do not miss the turnoff of the trail from the meadow - I went straight, there was initially a trail but petered out into a landslide. Camp at 45.2 is nice but bring water (reach it by turning left from the trail cca 50-100 m beyond the imaginary shortest route from the trail to the camp, that way you avoid any vegetation, there is an opening in the fence (-41.70438, -71.99186). Finally met Natalie after two days of escaping rain, she found a dry spot under the tree canopies there. Shop in El Manso is better than expected (has good veges and fruit) but not as good as the one in Llanada Grande. El Manso also is besides a cerveceria with wifi (you have to buy the beer). The bus only came at 1530 despite being told it comes at 1pm. In almost three hours of waiting, we did not manage to hitch a car.

The bus indeed stops at Llanada Grande for 10 minutes or so - it is not really enough to orientate yourself and buy lots of supplies. The supermarket had lots of nectarines! Should you want to go to Puerto Urutia, the bus does not go there so you need to get off and walk the minor road there. We could not get reliable Entel internet reception anywhere in the valley (calls were fine) along the bus route.

We went to Primer Corral to do 22-08. The first few km are not a pleasant road to walk on. We decided to turn back as bad weather was coming in two days and it did not seem worth it. Not sure how far the road for cars goes. There seems to be regular but sparse traffic on it.

We walked back for about an hour on the main road before getting a hitch for the last 3 km to turnoff to 22-02, as others indicated the RR is badly passable due to a landslide. The MR we walked was aesthetically dreadful and supersteep. We had to climb a locked gate right at the start. We found a miniature camping spot (dry) about 200 m before the signposted trail turnoff. In the morning a lorry driver waved at us so probably no issues with climbing the gate. Luckily the trail is much nicer than the road. We met the settler at the lake Azul, he let us walk through his property. The few km to the first very small lake are actually an undriven MR, but very pleasant, it does not seem to be connected to the road network. After 2 km, one turns left onto a trail, there are new signposts indicating you ca go to the "Frontera" or the lake - go to the Frontera. Until the pass, it is very clear. After the pass, the visibility deteriorates somewhat but no bush bashing is involved. Soon after that, there is a gate saying there is no trail afer a harsh winter. We went further and it turned out there is a trail. There were some trees on it, but not too much and we lost it only for about 50 m. From setler at 11.4, the trail is much more clear. Met a seemingly lonely girl from the next homestead with whom we had a lovely chat. The trail to the border control was easy, we came there at 1530 and were let through. They told us that it would be ok to reach the Argentinian border control the next day. They too had a very ripe cherry tree but did not pick up on my appraisal of it and did not suggest I get some fruit.

We met several people on the way to Argentina border. We camped there (wild permitted numbered camping sites - there was about twenty other Argentinians, the functioning toilets are unsigned immediately next to the Police building, the building that looks like the old toilets is closed). The next day we had no issues with getting a stamp and going down. The last CC part is a trail. We forded the second ford a bit earlier than suggested, it was waist deep but very slow moving. Took a bus at 1340 to El Bolson - seems to run regularly (the dog bandits there are aggressive, watch out).

* '''2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + day trip / Lotti & Alex'''

We did this section mostly as described by Fangwen and Tobi (El Manso to Cochamo base camp), so there is not much to add. We stayed at La Junta for 2 nights and did a very nice day trip to Cerro Bellavista (see description further down). The trails were very well maintained all the way. The only minor problems were mud and lots of horse flies. Like Fangwen and Tobi, we were happy we did the section NOBO, because the landscape gets more and more spectacular. This way it is also much easier to get to camp at La Junta without reservation, because they always reserve some space for hikers coming from the south.
It was a beautiful hike and especially the area around La Junta is really spectacular and worth visiting. We even met a fellow GPT hiker there, which was great!

Transportation:

To start:
Bus "Rio Puelo" from Puerto Varas to Lago Tagua-Tagua at 8:20am, then ferry to Puerto Maldonado, then bus to El Manso. We arrived at the trailhead around 1pm.

after hike:
Bus from end of trailhead ("Cochamo base camp") to Cochamo/Puerto Montt at 1pm.

Day trip to Cerro Bellavista:

Start at La Junta on GPT Variant G, following the signs to "Trinidad". It starts by crossing the river with the little cable car. After the walls of Trinidad, stay on the trail and follow the signs to "Laguna". The official trail ends there, but there are stone cairns and ribbons marking a trail that goes up to the pass. The laguna is crowded, but we didn't meet anyone further up. The view at the pass is already great, but you can go up even further. Turn to the left and follow the stone cairns until the summit. It is not difficult, just walking and easy scrambling, and the view is absolutely spectacular.
The whole tour has about 1300m of altitude difference. It took us around 5h to go up, and 3-4h down.

* '''2024-01-07 to 2024-01-14: Fangwen and Tobi / 2.5 days Ventisquero Valley (Option 08 + more), 4 days El Manso to Cochamo RR / NOBO hiking.'''

We did two parts along this enjoyable section, connecting them by hitchhiking and resupplying in between in Llanada Grande.

The first part was hiking ~20km into the scenic Ventisquero valley (Option 08), alongside a wonderful river on an enjoyable and easy hiking trail through farms and rainforest that mostly follows an old minor road. It's often better to follow the well-marked trail rather than the GPT track files. A highlight of our trip was hiking up to a fantastic viewpoint at 1100m with a view of the whole valley, its remote side valleys and glaciated mountain peaks. The trail (900m elevation gain, 4.5km) through the thick rainforest is steep but excellent in quality and easy to follow (but the turnoff at S 42° 01.737', W 072° 05.643' is easy to miss). This and other trails in the valley are not part of the GPT files yet, but GPX files can be found on the website of Rincon Bonito (glamping accommodation for groups) that presumably created the trail. We camped by the viewpoint; what a wonderful experience! There are plenty of places to pitch up a tent, but little protection from wind. We found a wind protected camp in a dried-out puddle at (S 42° 02.705', W 072° 06.193'). Make sure to bring water, since the last reliable water source is in the valley, just before the turnoff onto the steep trail. From the viewpoint, we attempted to climb the local mountain, but beyond 1500m, it appears to require bush bashing. Our track: [[Media:GPT 22 Ventisquero Viewpoint.gpx]]. [https://rinconbonito.cl/experiencias/ The GPX on their site].
The viewpoint is within the Pumalin National Park, but the whole valley seems to be private property and camping is forbidden outside official campsites, which begin quite far into the valley. There are plenty of spots to pitch up a tent nonetheless (which is what we did).
For packrafters, going down the river must surely be a highlight! Rincon Bonito offers packrafting (maybe only for their guests?), they describe it as class II+.

Our second part followed the regular route 22N from El Manso to the Cochamo trailhead. This was an enjoyable hike and we found the trail to be in good condition, although it gets pretty muddy around El Arco (and that's after one week of sunny weather). There is quite a bit of pointless up and down between km45 and km79. Additionally, our hiking distance was often 20-25% longer than expected, as there are many switchbacks too small to be represented on the track files. We liked hiking this section northbound, as the rainforest and the views get more and more impressive as you go along. La Junta has a lot of local hiking options (e.g. hiking into the Anfiteatro valley or on top of Cerro Trinidad), but we didn't spend any extra days because the weather was turning.

Logistics: to get to the start of section 22, take the daily bus that leaves at 7.45am from Puerto Montt (stops at 8.15 in Puerto Varas at intersection el Salvador/San Pedro S 41° 19.081', W 072° 59.038', and later in Cochamo). The bus company Río Puelo has a ticket office in Puerto Montt, their WhatsApp number is +56 9 7408 9199. From there, take the ferry across Lago Tagua Tagua and the connecting bus down the valley to your respective trailhead (El Manso for the Cochamo valley, Primer Corral for the Ventisquiero valley). Note that travel is slow... We arrived at the Primer Corral at 4pm. We left a bag of food for the second half of our trip. Unfortunately it was visible from the parking lot and got stolen, so we resupplied at the Llanada Grande supermarket. The bus makes a stop there for ~15min, if you want a quick resupply there (it's a bit bigger than in El Manso). We hitchhiked to El Manso, which worked after two hours of waiting/walking (not a lot of traffic).

If you are in the Llanada Grande area, go to Camping Reflejo Azul. The campsite itself is average, but it has the most beautiful river we have ever seen in our lives. Visit this truly special place before Instagram influencers find out about it and it becomes overrun by hordes of tourists. Day access is possible also for 5.000 CLP.

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1732098767296002/?app=fbl

* '''2024-Jan-4 / 7.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RH + OP-LK-2 + RP / Lauren & Sebastian'''

Note: We were told a reservation is needed for a camp site at La Junta to be allowed into the valley from Cochamo side, so we did that. However, one of the wikiexplora entry mentioned that they were allowed in when mentioning that they wanted to camp at El Arco Refuge but we read it too late. Camp Trawen is the most expensive (15k per person), which is the reason why it’s been available on short notice. There are several other sold-out camps around for 8k-10k.

Day 1: We hitchhiked to Cochamo Base Camp at 9am and reached Camp Trawen by 2pm. It would have been better to go on the El Arco Refuge straight away and camp there. It’s a touristy stretch and in our view not really worth doing, if you like the general quiet nature of the GPT.

Day 2: Camped at the beach at Lago Vidal. Easy hike but lots of ups and downs.

Day 3: We packrafted Lago Vidal and had a good lunch at Luisa’s place (make sure to drop by!), before continuing on to Torrentoso (not the paid camp, but on the meadow a few hundred meters after the official camp).

Day 4: The bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [51.8/146] (Rio Steffen) does not exist anymore. It’s not a demanding ford but there are short steep ups and downs on both sides. We stayed near wp Settler {22N} [50.1/307].

Day 5: We rivered in at wp Rio Manso. The ride was super scenic and beautiful and there were no rapids, just a bit of boiling water but nothing difficult, which might be due to different water levels compared to previous accounts. It’s 45 minutes from there to the bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36]. We rivered out behind the bridge on the right side. There is a nice flat beach which leads to the cabin of Harv and Veronica. They let us camp on their land and even offered a hot (wood fired) shower for 2.5k per person. There is a cervezeria and shop across the road for resupply.

Day 6: We took the bus at 1 pm to intersection at wp X {22-01} [25.0/187] and went on OP-MR-V (along Hunter’s estate) to Lago Azul. You will be charged 5k per person to access the lake. We crossed Lago Azul with strong waves and tailwind so we sailed to the other side in no time.

Day 7: Crossed Lago de Las Rocas, Lago Inferior, and Lago Puelo to the Argentinian border control which opens at 8am next morning so we camped there. Next day we finished at Lago Puelo which is a popular tourist beach.

Tip: It is a hot & dusty walk to town from the beach and hitchhiking is not as easy in this part of Argentina as in Chile. Keep some small change of USD or Argentinian pesos for the bus ride to resupply in town. If you plan to continue packrafting Lago Puelo on GPT23 after resupplying, the earliest bus back to the beach reaches around 7.30am but it will be too late as the wind picks up by 8am. Lago Puelo is known for its strong gusts so it’s best to check wind forecast and paddle early morning 5.30am to cross. Therefore it may be easier to camp at one of the campsites nearer to the beach instead of staying in town. Just go there for resupplying.

*'''2023 Dec OH-TL-V / Anh'''
Note: the trail OH-TL-V alias Cerro Arco Iris [from La Junta] was damaged by big rocks in the last season and is completely closed. A new route or repair is not in planning.

* '''2023-12-17 to 2023-12-21 / 5 days / Hiking + Packrafting / SOBO /RR & Option 01B / Roman'''

Route: Hiking from Cochamó to El Manso. Bus to Lago de Las Rocas. Packrafted the lake and Lago Inferior. Hiked to Lago Puelo.

Due to the border crossing, there is a thread about it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1709504102888802/. I applied online - no answer. Went to the carabineros in Cochamó they couldn't issue it, so I went without it (it worked without a problem)

Started in Cochamó (there is a bus to the entry I just got him by hitchhiking so I don't know the schedule) and had a reservation for Camp Trawen (Fruit, Groceries, Electricity). This is getting checked at the entrance if you have one. The trail to the camp was a bit muddy (2 days of rain before the start) but all doable. The next day went to the northern end of Lago Vidal Gormaz and slept there at Lake {22-05} [7.9/604]. Bridge destroyed at: -41.43696, -71.96632 and Bridge {22N} [63.0/337] (Rio El Colorado). Both are crossable dry feed due to trees. Generally, there is no fording necessary after Lago Vidal Gormaz. Before yes. Packrafted Rio Manso. There were no rapids on the map, it's mentioned in the Manuel that it can be challenging. There are some rapids but all are doable and manageable (I am a beginner with kayak experience and an open deck packraft). You can get easy access to the river at -41.692561, -71.972725 this is 300m after the mark in the file. There is a dry river bed to avoid BB to get to the River. The river is fast flowing. Follow the GPS only at one point where the river splits pay extra attention: turn left as shownin the GPS: -41.698615, -71.985482 . Went out at the south side of the bride: Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36] (Rio Manso) on the right side. There is a trail to the street with one gate where you can walk through on the right side. The shop Settlement, Shop, Bus {22N} [40.7/36] (El Manso) has good supplies and free WiFi. The trail to this point is very good. Based on previous comments and a chat to a local I want to skip at least to Puerto Urrutia [comment in: 2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07]. There is an official bus going all the way from Rampa Punta

Maldonado -> Segundo Corral. Find the schedule here: https://imgur.com/a/7MVEscb . The shop owner said the bus is normally there at 02:00 PM. The bus was there in my case at 02:30 PM. This bus stops at the large supermarket [Supermercado Llanada Grande] a great place for a last resupply). The bus also stops at Puerto Urrutia but I went all the way to Lago de Las Rocas and used OH-MR-V {22-01B} [8.2+1.9] to get to the lake. Started packrafting at 05:00 PM. The start was fine. The wind got worse during the evening and was to my capabilities on the maximum with serious waves. Strong wind from the north. It was pleasantly paddling after going through the gap at -42.069608, -71.813735. Camped at Lake, Camp {22S} [21.8/314]. Got there at 07:45 PM. Crossed the border without any problems. Packrafted Lago Inferior and got in the water here: Lake {22S} [20.9/201] at 10:00 AM. The wind got stronger but manageable. Exited the lake at 11:15 AM at -42.102244, -71.742575. The trail back to the RR is good to hike. From there, the trail is in good condition. Due to the higher water in Rio Azul fording and therefore the RR is not possible. You get also the recommendation from the Argentinien carabineros to take Option 03. I didn't want to take this and followed the RR to this point: -42.091481, -71.633667. From there I followed the trail to this point: -42.09399, -71.634188. There is an old dock [image here: https://imgur.com/a/5LMsKA1]to put in you packraft. The trail can be downloaded at the end of the comment. There I packrafted with very strong onshore wind and if it hadn't been for only 300m I wouldn't have done it to (03:15 PM):-42.096114, -71.628682 ,and walked from there to the end of GPT22.

Overall: great section! It's a nice trail to hike and packrafting rRioEl Manso is a lot of fun and a great change in perspective after hiking for a few days. After that, the trail continues bto bein a good condition. The conditions for Lago de Las Rocas should be closely checked. I would definitely recommend it!

Trail download: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqzLweJ3NZW5q7YZzDoW3qlKypqwBg

Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW

* '''2023-Dec-03 to 2023-Dec-12 / 9 days / PACKRAFTING / NOBO & SOBO / Jordan Jennings'''
Route:

took bus to Primer Corral>Arroyo Ventisquero>Rio Puelo (walked 13km of rapids through canyon)>Lago Tagua Tagua>Rio Puelo>Estero Reloncavi to Cochamó (nobo) took bus back towards Primer Corral from Cochamó, asked to be dropped off near Lago Azul.. Lago Azul>lago las rocas>Lago Inferior>Lago Puelo>Lago Puelo town (sobo).

Highlights:

Arroyo ventisquero: is well worth a visit, packrafting or hiking. I got told that there is a hostel run by an abuela 4km further up the valley from Rincon Bonito (posh cabins) where the route on track files stops (c20km up valley from Primer Corral). Between the hostel and Rincon there are rapids, so be prepared to walk back to Rincon to put boat in water. The river from Rincon to Rio Puelo is stunning and very easy in packraft.

Lago Azul: If you flip flop (as recommended if packrafting), and return back to Primer Corral for sobo travel as Jan mentions in the manual, ask the bus driver to drop you at Lago Azul, rather than taking the bus closer to the Lago las rocas trailhead/Primer Corral. The 3km walk from the bus stop to the lake is easy and I got super lucky and passed a local horse race (Carreras) on a Saturday. Maybe ask ahead when they are on?!

Other comments:

The hiking section bypassing Rio Puelo (first set of) rapids through canyon, the 13km or so took me all day. Parts of the trail were barely a trail, very slow kms. Although I was also a bit sick so my experience might be tainted. The alternative is taking roads on the right hand side of the river.

I hiked the section between the Argentinian border patrol and lago puelo town (13km) which passed through some stunning farmland (lago puelo can get angry with wind as with any big lake). The dotted line section or shortcut which requires two river fords was impassable for me. Rio Azul was not even close to being fordable mid December. And even if you did pass, you would have to take the road to Puelo anyway.

In terms of transport to Primer Corral, the bus leaves Cochamó at 10:30am and Puelo at 11:30am (same bus, which I think starts in Puerto Montt v early). From the ferry there’s another local bus that will essentially drop you wherever you want (en route) to primer corral. Super easy.

==Season 2022/23==
* '''2023-Feb-18 to 2023-Feb-23 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + 22-01 / Martin & Helena'''

A lot has been already written, so just a few comments from our side:

No problem with entering the valley in SOBO direction, until the noon aprox., saying you will spend the night at the refugio El Arco - they have some time estimate for this hike and can’t let you in if its late. By the entrance you can buy some useful things that might be hard to buy in Cochamo, like gas or peanut butter. There was also a beer truck with quite good wifi connection (only during summer). Crowds of people in both directions, quite muddy trail. Detour to the Toboganes is definitely worth it. We spend the night after all in a marked camp aprox. 4 kms before the refugio and it was a good decision - there were quite a lot of people when we passed by the next day.

From the refugio its nice and easy walking. We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.

Based on other comments and our time schedule we decided to take the alternative 22-01 to Llanada Grande. This is a good resuppy spot as there is a new and big (at least in comparison to what you would expect in a place like this) supermarket that replaced the old one destroyed by fire. Good place to stay is a campsite at the end of the village, on the right side, run by really nice lady. Not expensive and if its free, you can stay for the same price in a so called refugio, that is actually just a very small room, but for us better than a tent. Hot water and electricity + possibility to buy pizza and maybe some other small things - there is actually no restaurant in the village. Some more road walking around Lago Totoral to Rio Puelo to connect back to RR. In general not very attractive part of the trail. Great restaurant in Hostal Puelo Libre with local beer and view on the river.

From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. We thought about taking the RR around the lake, but the landslide caused by snow (aprox. 1.5 km from the port) looked quite difficult to pass. We discovered there is possibility to cross the lake on one of the locals boat, which we did in the end. We were lucky that after waiting for some time in the port a car with locals arrived. Happily for us they arranged a boat transfer with other residents to get to the other side of the lake, where they went for a lunch. We were able to go with them, and after picking up their friends, we all hop off the boat close to the police station. Great experience and we learned a lot about this area and people living here. We paid 10k CLP. In the comments here is a contact for the guy with a boat, but without signal it must be arranged in advance, and the price might differ when not sharing the transfer with others. No problem with the border check. It took us around 4 hrs to get to the argentinian side, where everyone was super friendly as well. They offered us to camp there, but we decided to make it to Lago Puelo, which took us 2 more hrs. The landscape changes significantly on the other side where everything is more dry. No problem with the river crossing. We got off the trail directly on the main road.

Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka

* '''2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07 / 7 days / hiking / SOBO / Cochamó - Lago Puelo / Anna & Christopher '''

We hitchhiked from Eco Camping El Valle to the entry of the park and arrived around 8 am. We told them that we would camp at the Refugio El Arco and explained our further route. Until la Junta there were lots of chilenean tourists, therefore the path was very good only with some muddy stretches. Like Véronica we walked to Toboganes, a waterfall/stream with beautiful rock formations. There were tons of people, but it's worth it. La junta seems to be an amazing place for rock climbing, we would have loved to have some climbing gear with us.

After la Junta there were almost no more hikers. We camped next to the Refugio, as there were already two other groups of hikers sleeping in the Refugio.

Until Lago grande there are still some muddy stretches and blowdowns, but generally it is a good path. From there on the path is perfectly maintained. We camped at approx. km 66 next to Río los Morros.

Nice path until El Manso. We resupplied at the minimercado and camped next to the river, which was a beautiful camping spot with lots of delicious blackberrys.

The next morning we arrived at Señora Ocos house around 8 am. She contacted multiple people and luckily found out that there was somebody crossing the river to our side at 11 am. The man, whose name we unfortunately forgot, was super friendly and dropped us off after the river mouth of Rio Traidor, close to where he lives. He charged 10.000 CLP p.p.

The path to the first settler was mediocre and afterwards got worse and worse until it was almost pure buschwhacking. It was the worst we had so far on the GPT. Thorns.. Lots of thorns tearing away at your clothes, backpack and skin.
We camped at the river at approx. km 12, which was a beautiful spot.
Until the settlement Las Nieves the path continued beeing bad with lots of bush bashing. The settler told us that no locals use that path and she also told us that there are no regular boat transfers to Puerto Urrutia on weekends (it was sunday..).
We wouldn't do that stretch next to Rio Puelo again and instead hitchhike from El Manso to Puerto Urrutia.

At the boat transfer waypoint to Puerto Urrutia we had Entel service and contacted one lodging on the other side. They told us to go to the last house 1km back to ask for a transfer (it's the house of the man who does the boat transfer on weekdays). But we got lucky and a boat passed by and took us to the other side. The man on the boat also told us that the path from Río Traidor to Puerto Urrutia "is closed".

We continued to Lago verde, where we planned to camp, but it's surrounded by dense forest, apart from a private property.
That spot is amazing, a little landing stage to go swimming, a great view and a very friendly owner. She even baked some delicious apple bread for us. For camping she charged us 8000 CLP p.p.. That was definetly worth it.

After Lago verde there is a minimarket. We didn't check it out, but there is no resupply wp yet.

After reading previous blogs and having had enough of thorns we decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard. We also got his number (+56958694897), if you want to contact him in advance. When we arrived at the lake, there were already lots of people waiting for the boat so we just waited with them and after some time got knocked the boat with them. The ride was really nice across the crystal clear blue water and we were charged 5000 p.p.

From the southern end of the lake it's just a couple of minutes to walk to the chilenian border control. We continued on and camped at km 30 at the river. Again a really beautiful spot.

The next day we passed the argentinian border control and continued to Lago Puelo.

The section was really beautiful, except the part with the thorns. There are lots of streams along the whole trail, so one does not need to carry much water.

* '''2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Feb-02 / 5 days / hiking / NOBO / RR mostly / Frank'''

I got the bus-ferry-bus from Puerto Montt to Segundo Corral. To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas & delays with the river ferries I walked on the road from Segundo Corral to El Manso, about 50KM. Easy but not very interesting walking. It takes a full day to get from Puerto Montt on the bus to Segundo Corral so I believe it would be better to go SOBO with an early start to get through La Junta, otherwise you need 2 additional days for travel.

Stayed @ nice & cheap campsite at bridge over Rio Colorado & camped at El Arco. The trail approaching El Arco was muddy & a bit swampy (it had been raining). It's possible to go by boat across Lago Vidal Gomez but it's an easy 3 hour walk.

Got the bus again to Segundo Corral & ferry to Paso Bolson. The trail across the border is generally in good condition. There is some easy bushbashing on the Chilean side for about 1KM before the border & some fallen trees but they are straightforward to go over. Rio Azul was easily fordable in early February.

* '''2023-Jan-10 to 2023-Jan-14 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR, also GPT22-01 / Véronica '''

Route: Cochamó - La Junta - Lago Vidal Gormáz - El Manso - Puerto Urrutio via Option 1 - Lago Las Rocas - Lago Puelo (Argentina)

The borders of Paso El León and Paso El Bolsón are both opened again for tourists! Go for it! It is a beautiful section with wonderful people, such a contrast to where I started the GPT further north.

In Cochamó, I stayed at Eco Camping El Valle, right at the entrance to the Cochamó River Valley. Paid 7000 clp, very nice campground, there are tarps over the picnic tables at each site so you have a dry place to hang out even if it rains :) Since I spent the night so close to the trailhead, it was easy to get to the guarded valley entrance (Road End {22N} [109.8/58]) early. I did not have a camping reservation for La Junta. I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 a.m., explained my route to the staff, saying I would stay at Refugio El Arco that night. They let me through no problem. The trail to La Junta is a bit muddy, but nothing bad, my feet stayed dry in my trailrunners despite the fact it was also raining off and on. Beautiful path through the Valvidian rainforest, I really enjoyed all the green and the moss. When I reached the La Junta area, I stashed my pack in some trees and made a short detour to Las Toboganes. They are only 0.7 km off the regular route, and highly worthwhile to see! What a spectacular area, I totally see the Yosemite resemblence, and would love to go back someday.

I found the trail after La Junta (all the way to Lago Vidal Gormáz) to be in good shape, contrary to what others have written. It was maybe slightly less maintained than the popular trail leading into the valley, but it was still very clear and easy to follow — not overgrown, no blowdowns, just a bit muddy in some places. Granted, it has been drier than normal so far this summer. None of the fords went above my knees, and sometimes I could cross the creeks without even getting my feet wet, all very easy.

The refugio at El Arco is dark and without any furniture inside. I found it much nicer to camp in the nearby meadow just south of the trail there. There are outhouses.

Nice path from Lago Vidal Gormáz all the way to El Manso. Very beautiful in this valley as well. Met a few arrieros along the way. Most of the rivers have bridges crossing them. There is a small camp at the bridge over Río Colorado.

In El Manso, I topped off my food supply at the shop on the main road. It has a good selection of food items. Then I went to Señora Oco's house to try and arrange a boat transfer over Río Puelo. She and her family are very friendly and welcoming. I arrived there mid-afternoon, but she could not get in radio contact with anyone on the other side. In the evening, we heard back from Hospedaje Nancy, who charged 60,000 clp for a crossing upriver all the way to Río Traidor (where she lives). This I found too expensive for me traveling alone. Señora Oco baked some bread and I was able to buy some. She also said I was welcome to camp in the fields behind her house while waiting for a response from settlers Paulina and Jovino regarding a crossing to their place (much more direct and therefore likely much cheaper). The next morning, we still hadn't received any response from Paulina and Jovino either via radio or Whatsapp (they may have been away). Because of this, I decided to take the gravel road to Puerto Urrutia (Option 1), and forgo crossing Río Puelo, unfortunately. Despite this setback, I'm really glad I got to meet and spend time with Señora Oco and her family, they are such kind people.

I was able to hitch most of the way to Puerto Urrutia, where I rejoined the regular route. The trail from there all the way to Lago Las Rocas is mostly easy and clear. There were a few confusing junctions in the vicinity of Lago Verde, so I kept a close eye on the GPS there. After crossing the road after that, the beginning of RR -TL-V {22S} [2.8/7.1+2.7] is tricky to find. There are lots of fallen trees and many forest paths. The GPS was very helpful there too until I finally found the right path. After about 700 m it merges with a nice clear path all the way to Lago Las Rocas.

As has been previously reported, there is a large rockslide about 2 km in once you reach Lago Las Rocas. It didn't look overly dangerous to me, the boulders were large and seemed solid enough. I started crossing it right at the bottom where the rocks fall into the lake, as it looked to be the easiest and safest way across. I was maybe 50 meters through it, when a boat came along, and the people in it told me to hop in! What lucky timing! As we passed the rest of the rockslide, I could see the last part of it was steep, loose scree rather than big boulders. That part would have definitely been nerve-wracking to cross, and I was very grateful for the boat ride. The settlers who owned the boat live about 3 km along the trail, at a little bay/inlet in the lake. They have a nice beach and campground too. That's where I rejoined the trail. Beyond their house, the "Camino Los Mosquitos," as it is locally called, gets progressively worse in terms of overgrowth and blowdowns. The trail has not been cleared since the past winter, and not been used either. The stretch between kilometers 4 and 6.5 is the worst. It felt more like pure bushwhacking than following a trail. The path was mostly burried beneath walls of downed trees and branches, it got very hard to follow at times. Lots of climbing over and under vegetation, some of it quite thorny too. Very slow and tiring. My pack got ripped up a bit and so did my clothing. Had I known the trail was this bad, I would have taken the option on the east side of Lago Las Rocas. It's hard to imagine it could be in worse shape than the regular route.

When I got to the Chilean Border Control it was around 6:30 p.m., so too late to cross that day. The border agent working there was very friendly, but he couldn't get in contact with his supervisor to get approval for stamping my passport with the next day's date. So I camped back at Lago Las Rocas, and the next morning came back at 8 a.m. when the border post reopened. The trail on the Chilean side of the border was a bit rough in places, it has been neglected since the winter too. But it was not as bad as the previous stretch along Lago Las Rocas. Once I got into Argentina, it got much better. The trails in Parque Nacional Lago Puelo are well-maintained, and I met some day hikers. No issues at the Argentine Border Control.

I was able to ford Río Azul easily, thanks to the dry weather. There are three branches of the river to cross (the GPS waypoints only show two of them). The middle branch is the widest and deepest. The water there went up to my upper thighs (I'm 165 cm), but the current was slow and it never felt dangerous.

Now I'm skipping down to GPT32 to continue my adventure further south :) The northern sections that I hiked from 6 to 22 were simply amazing, with great weather almost the entire time. Thank you, all!

* '''2022-Oct-19 to 2022-Oct-24 / 6 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / ???'''

Here are the main points because our story is long :)
Paso el bolson and El Leon are closed for tourists until further notice
Some of trails are in bad condition because of the hard winter but they might be cleared in the following weeks.
Landslide in Lago Las rocas - very dangerous part to cross. We suggest to take an optional route

The trail starts in valle cochamo. We did not have any reservations but as we were in low season we were not worried. However the lady from the tourist office in Cochamo told us to arrive at the entrance of the valley between 7 & 8 to avoid being rejected. At 7h50 there was nobody at the reception so we did not have any trouble, but we cannot say for the high season.
You can arrange a car transfer to go the valley entrance. The numbers of the drivers are available at the tourist office.

The trail until La Junta is muddy but well maintained - no worries there. Up there we met some arrieros and the locals from the camping and they told us that the trail was closed a bit further because of snow (up to 2 meters) in laguna Blanca. This is the highest part of the trail (about 1100m). The river crossings were feasible, but as they forecasted rain for the next day, we preferred to turn back in order to avoid being blocked between high rivers and snow.

Back on the road between Cochamo and Puelo, we caught at about 10:30 the bus that leaves at 7:45 from Puerto Montt, to go to Rio Manso. There is a well furnished Shop where you can even find gas.
We remained in the Southbound direction and went to Senora Oco's house. She was very welcoming, and her and her grandchild helped us in arranging a boat transfer for the following morning (nothing was possible the same day). We paid 50000 pesos to go from their house to Rio Traidor - close to Nancy hospedaje. Indeed, we skipped the first part of the trail as they told us that it was very closed with a lot of small trees and not used anymore. Maybe it would be cheaper to cross a bit south using the cable car or directly from Manso to Rio Traidor.

Until the Rio Tigre, settler # 22N [7.7/157], the trail is visible but sometimes with some obstacles (fallen trees). After this settling, you will have to cross the Rio Tigre which might be the hardest to cross on your way if you have a lot of rain. There is a bridge indicated on the tracks but it has been swept away this winter. The best place to cross is a bit higher following the river, follow the horse track. We did not have any problem crossing, and probably the settler could help you with his horse if the river is too high. That is an advantage of the Southbound direction.

After, the trail is really clear. We found the last transfer across Rio Puelo about 1 km before the point indicated on the track. It is his job to do the crossings and he also does sportive fishing if you are interested. Look for a house with a border collie with a piece of wood around the neck :)

From Puerto Urrutia, the trail is clear again until the road. There is a shop at 600m on the right. Again here, the trail is closed due to fallen trees at the beginning, but the locals (last house on the right) will help you find another path. Clear trail until Lago Las Rocas.

Once you reach the Lago Las rocas you will be blocked after 2km. Indeed there was a landslide this winter and you have to cross a very dangerous part of about 300 m of rocky mountain slide. It is not stabilized yet. We went through but we do not advise it.
Also, there were a lot of fallen trees and the path was really tiring. The locals will probably clear the path in the following weeks. To get more information we suggest to contact the camping Playa Las Rocas on Instagram.
You can also consider the other routes or arrange a boat crossing.

Finally we arrived at the border crossing. Unfortunately it was closed due to the Covid, except for the very locals (people from Cochamo). Apparently Paso el Leon is closed as well for tourists. Be aware of that if you have to cross the Chilean- Argentinian borders, as small passes seem to be closed for tourists.
In the end we had to go back to Puerto Montt crossing the Lago inferior with a free boat (ask the carabineros), and then the bus-ferry-bus from Segundo Corral.

==Season 2021/22==

* '''2021-Nov-23 & 2021-Nov-25 / 2 days / Packrafting / SOBO / Estuario de Reloncavi from Ralun to Rio Puelo (Western shore) / Jan Dudeck & Meylin Ubilla'''

We paddled in two easy days the roughly 40 km southbound.

Start at Ralun at Puente Petrohue: On the right side of the bridge (view in river flow direction) is a suitable put-in and good spot to camp. The gate was closed but not locked. There are signs of people occasionally camping there.

Ralun to Cochamo: Packrafters in need to resupply can do this in Cochamo about 16 water kilometers from the put-in. Both, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking. The western side is less intervened and more scenic.

Ralun to Rio Puelo: Again, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking but requires the crossing of a 4 km wide bay in open water. The western side is less intervened and more scenic but requires crossing the 3 km wide Estuario de Reloncavi near Rio Puelo. On the western side are also the Termas de Sotomo that are suitable for camping.

Wind: On nice sunny days “viento sur” often kicks in around 10 am making southbound paddling difficult or unfeasible. We had two partially overcasted days and could paddle on the first day till 4 pm when wind became annoying strong. On the second day around 3 pm the wind and waves became unpleasant but by this time we were walking the final kilometers into Rio Puelo.

GPT22: Southbound packrafters may take in Cochamo or Rio Puelo the bus to Lago TaguaTagua an get to the recommended packrafting starting point of section GPT22 halfway into this section to Flip-Flop as recommended.

* '''2021-NOV-18 / 1 day / hiking / NOBO / Cochamó Valley (Lago Tagua Tagua - Lago Grande) / Tobías '''

The Section between La Junta Base and Lago Vidal Gormez was very challenging. It had been raining a lot, so the Trail was very muddy and I had to cross several rivers and creeks. Went straight from Cochamó to Lago Grande and camped there in some Snow. Met only a few settlers. After reaching Lago Vidal Gormez, the Trail was easy and I enjoyed the hike a lot. Amaizing área up there!

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''2020-FEB-18 to 2020-FEB-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tyler '''
I didn’t have problems getting a campsite at la junta on the spot luckily. AMAZING area that I’ll be returning to again to do all the day hikes in. Aside from that, most the trail was very muddy, rainy, and unmaintained. This got a bit difficult after the 3rd day in a row. Good places to camp at the lakes over the pass SOBO. When I got down to Lago Vidal Gomez the trail improved.. I got some bread from a settler at the start of the lake. There right on the trail and super friendly and have rooms. The last ferry across Tagua Tagua leaves at 7 pm. I didn’t make it, so I slept underneath the office/bathrooms and took the ferry at 8:00 the next morning. I believe there’s another ferry at 12.

* '''. 2020-Jan-09 to 2020-Jan-11 / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun'''

Despite the austere warnings on the La Junta Camping website, I was able to make a reservation at short notice in high season, and the back and forth process only took a few hours. In Cochamó, I was warned that due to recent rain the river crossings at El Arco and another nearby river would likely be impassable. With four more days of heavy rain forecast, I decided to take the bus-ferry-bus combo to Puerto Urrutia and try to walk northbound from there with the optimistic hope that by the time I reached El Arco the river would be passable or, at least, the wait would be less. However, 10km north of the Rio Puelo crossing (service starts at 9am) my way was blocked by a high and fast river. I then retraced my steps and completed the rest of the section southbound - which was straightforward. The trail on the west side of Lago de la Roca until the frontera is a bit overgrown but still easy to see and nothing particularly slowed me down. On the Argentinian side the trail is well maintained. It is not permitted to camp on the 12km stretch between the border posts. I arrived too late to cross that day, but the Chileans stamped my passport with the next day’s date so I didn’t have to wait for the post to open at 9am. The Argentinian border guards informed me that because of the rain, the Rio Azul was too high to ford at the point on the regular hiking route just before Lago Puelo so I took the alternative route (Oh-Tl-V@22-04-#001) a few kms north and crossed over the La Pasarela bridge.

* '''2020-Jan-22 to 2020-Jan-26 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / parque de la vallee de Cochamo - La Pasarella / Arnaud '''

As we arrived from Puerto Montt we were with the bus and stopped directly at the entrance of the private parque de la vallee de Cochamo.
As it is private, there are some rules to get in, or they block you at the control point.
The entrance is free but you need to have a reservation in one of the official camp sites there. To get the reservation, you can do it on internet (but you need to wait for the confirmation and it can be several days long), or do it directly there (red house), they give you the reservation voucher if there are places available (number seem to be limited). Then you pay the night when you reach the camp sites (6000 clp/pers).
Or the other solution is to say that you sleep in the refugio del Arco. It is 23km further after the control. Then it is free and no reservation is needed, but this is possible only before 10am (after they block you). After 10am the only way to pass is to sleep in the camp sites. They block you if you do not have a
reservation voucher for one camp site.
This spot (la Junta) is famous among the chilenos so the access to the camp sites is really overrunned. The path is easy to walk.
Once you go further than the campsites, you're alone, so it is better.
The path is clearly marked. There are bridges for most of the rivers you cross. But it is very muddy.
At the lago Vidal you can resupply a bit with those living there (you can also sleep in their camp sites).
In El Manso you can find a minimarket with lots of things.
Then, we decided to follow the road instead of the track because we were in a hurry with a deadline in El Bolson, until we reached la cruce de la rocas. There are buses or hitchiking is easy.
Crossing borders was easy. There are 12km between the chilean stamp and the Argentin one that we did in 3.5 hours.
At the very end we have not not crossed El Rio Azul, we walked 7 more km to the north to reach La Pasarella.

=Resupply and Accommodation=

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

*In Cochamo go down towards the lake. There is a church on the left & before you reach it there is a hospedaje on the right, good & cheap.

Really nice Cafe (Materia Cochamo) with a good selection of coffee, cake (Kuchen) & sandwiches ca 50 meters before turning right to the cheap campsite.

*There is a good place to stay NOBO 500 metres before the junction where the road turns towards Laguna Las Rocas. Farmhouse on RHS of road has rooms & meals. Cheap, friendly & good

*In Segundo Corral there are two campsites. The first one is just before the school, it just says Kuchen but you can camp there. Cheap, nice family & they do meals. There is a campsite after the school but the owner was drunk & looking for an argument.
Lots of campsites at Lago Totoral (on the road, not on RR)
It's possible to camp near the Argentinian border control.

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

*2023 / Martin & Helena
We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.

*Zapatoria Puerto Varas.He is located in the back corner of a market like building across the street from the Santa Isabella on San Bernardo street. San Bernardo & Del Salvador. I payed extra (10mil total) to have them finished and ready to go that day

=Transport to and from Route=

* December 2025
Bus company Rio Puelo leaves every day at 8:00 from the Bus Terminal in Puerto Montt (booth #47) to Cochamo and onwards. We were there at 7:40 and by 7:42 the bus was already almost completely full on a Monday morning. So it might be a good idea to arrive early. Their buses leave from "gates" (andenes) 38-40. It seems there are one or two other companies that also have salidas at 12:00 and 15:00 though I'm not sure they always exist, the day before (Sunday) the 15:00 bus was cancelled. Better double check. The booths of the other companies that have buses are next to the booth of Rio Puelo.

* February 2023 / Gerald
Bus lago puelo - El bolson:
According to the timetable the bus is leaving from the lake every full hour from 7am till midnight

* January 2023 Frank
To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas you can walk on the road or get the bus to Segundo Corral then from Lago Inferior about 1.5KM from Segundo Corral there is a ferry to Paso Bolson (Chilean border control).The government subsidised ferry runs Monday-Friday only from 8-12 & 2PM-6PM & is only 2000 pesos. You need to radio the ferryman to arrange pickup, easily done in Segundo Corral.

*2023 / Anna & Christopher
We decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard (+56958694897),we were charged 5000 p.p.

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

*2023 / Martin & Helena
From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake.

*Northbound and southbound hiking is feasible. However, due to the controlled private southbound access through the La Junta área, hiking in that direction is only possible with a camping reservation, or by arriving at the checkpoint before 10am. A northbound traverse may therefore be preferred. For hikers generally heading south, it is possible to take the single ticket, half-day bus-ferry-bus combination south from Cochamó to Puerto Urrutia, hike the 120km north to Cochamó, then return to Puerto Urrutia and resume the section southwards from there.

*Crossing the border is typically straightforward, however it is not permitted to camp on the 12km between the border posts. So if you arrive too late to cross, it is necessary to camp at the border post and cross the next day. In this situation, Chilean officials will stamp your passport with the next day’s date so you don’t need to wait for the office to open that morning.

*Southbound access to the popular La Junta area is controlled at a private checkpoint and only granted to those with a prior camping reservation, or those arriving before 10am and therefore early enough to make it on to the free and unmanaged El Arco campsite 23km away. Reservations for La Junta can be made online at cochamo.com, but there may not be availability and the process may take several days, so hiking this section southwards may not be possible.Therefore, an option for hikers generally heading south is to take the bus-ferry-bus combination from Cochamó across Lago Tagua Tagua and on to Puerto Urrutia, hike 120km north back to Cochamó, then take the bus-ferry-bus south again and hike the remainder of the section southwards from Puerto Urrutia.

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT22 - Cochamó]]

=Images=

[[Archivo: | ]]

{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse"
|+'''GPT22: Cochamó'''
| colspan="4" style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| GPT22: Cochamó
| colspan="2" style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Hiking
| colspan="2" style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Packrafting
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"|Group
| colspan="2" | D: Lagos Chilenos
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Total
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|'''160.6 km'''
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|'''51 h'''
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| '''136.6 km'''
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"|'''35 h'''
|-
| style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"|Region
| colspan="2" | Chile & Argentina: Los Lagos (X) & Chubut
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Trails (TL)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|137.9 km
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|85.9%
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 20.3 km
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"|14.9%
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Start
| colspan="2" | Cochamó
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Minor Roads (MR)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|10.8 km
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|6.7%
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 1.8 km
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 1.3%
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Finish
| colspan="2" | Lago Puelo (Puerto)
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Primary Roads (PR)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|9.7 km
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|6.0%
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 2.8 km
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 2.0%
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Status
| colspan="2" | Published & Verified
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Cross-Country (CC)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|2.2 km
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|1.4%
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 0.5 km
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 0.4%
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Traversable
| colspan="2" | Dec - Apr (Maybe: Sep, Oct, Nov, May)
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Bush-Bashing (BB)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|-
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|-
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| -
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"|-
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Packraft
| colspan="2" | Very Useful
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Ferry (FY)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|(1.8 km)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|(1.1%)
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| -
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"|-
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Connects to
| colspan="2" | GPT21, GPT23
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Investigation (I)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|-
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|-
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| (1.9 km)
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| (1.4%)
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Options
| colspan="2" | 268 km (9 Options & Variants)
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Exploration (EXP)
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|-
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|-
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| -
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"|-
|-
|
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Hiking
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Packrafting
| rowspan="4" style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"|
| colspan="2" style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Total on Water
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| '''111.1 km'''
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| '''81.4%'''
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Attraction
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|4 (of 5)
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 5 (of 5)
| colspan="2" style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| River (RI)
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 62.5 km
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 45.7%
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Difficulty
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|4 (of 5)
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 4 (of 5)
| colspan="2" style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Lake (LK)
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 32.4 km
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 23.7%
|-
| style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"|Direction
|style="background-color:#ffbfbf;"|Both ↓↑
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"|Both ↓↑
| colspan="2" style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Fjord (FJ)
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"| 16.3 km
|style="background-color:#c2edfc;"|11.9%
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Comment
| colspan="7" | Hiking: Flip-Flop recommended
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Character
| colspan="7" | Packrafting: Flip-Flop recommended
|-
|style="background-color:#bfbfbf;"| Challenges
| colspan="7" | Valdivian Rain Forest, Sea Coast, Farmland, Settlers, River Packrafting, Lake Packrafting, Fjord Packrafting, Partly Overrun
|}

[[File:profile GPT22.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]

[[File:profile GPT22-p.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]

<gallery>
File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520254.jpg|
File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520443.jpg|
File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282465.jpg|
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File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447503.jpg|thumb|
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File:GPT_16_Cochamó_104321335.jpg|thumb|
File:Bahia ralun.jpg|thumb|
File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447491.jpg|thumb|
File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447496.jpg|thumb|
</gallery>

[[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]

GPT21 (Lago Todos Los Santos)

2026-01-04T11:00:10Z

Kris&Stiina:

GPT21 (Lago Todos Los Santos)

2026-01-04T10:59:04Z

Kris&Stiina:

GPT20 (Volcan Antillanca)

2026-01-04T10:45:02Z

Kris&Stiina:

GPT19 (Volcan Puyehue)

2026-01-04T10:37:52Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

= How to a add new entry =
You need to be logged in to save your edits (and on mobile view, you need to be logged in to start editing).

Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format:


<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

If you are packrafting, put the above info into HTML tags like this (if you follow a hiking route for part of the way, highlight only "packrafting", as above):


<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''YYYY-MMM-DD / X days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Your name'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>.

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

=Overview=

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.28.12 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Var. D + H / Kris, Stiina and Bailey'''

We connected sections 19, 20 and 21 from Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue) to Port {21} [29.4/204] (El Callao) - 5 walking days in total.

Day 1 - We got a late 4pm lift with a friend to Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue), as mentioned earlier it is now a big construction site, seemed like a construction of a new bridge.
Two angry dogs and a cow with two calves right at the gate before Hector’s place where the RR continues. Even though dogs made a lot of noise nobody came out and we didn’t want to open and go through the gate because of the dogs and the cornered cow with the calves. So we turned to variant D and there was the new, black, freshly painted gate. The gaps between the babed wire on the side were generous enough so that we could get through without climbing the gate. 100m further there was another gate, older looking with signs prohibiting entrance and there being surveillance cameras. There was a phone nr to call but no phone signal, but there also was a gap between fence posts that one could squeeze through which we did.
Our initial plan was to rejoin the RR via variant E but we needed water and saw some potential water on satellite and also marked as water on the osm so we continued along variant D it also seemed to be joining back the RR later on and the distance was more or less the same.
And we found a big stream in a ravine with a road passing over it but the stream was 15m down in a canyon impossible to get to, however 30m further on: -40.43197, -72.11723 there was a very very small flowing stream that we managed to get water from.
As we walked on a car came towards us and stopped, a slightly agitated guy stepped out and immediately asked us how did we had managed to get through the gates. When we explained the situation he said it will cost us 10k CLP pp to go through here, since we were kind of trespassing and were caught we said we will pay no problem after which he softened up and became a lot friendlier. He is the owner of the land Enrique Nuñez and his phone nr is +56 988 171 134. He said that it is not a problem for people to pass through his property as long as they let him know and pay I guess - he put up the gate so that people with cars couldn’t pass. Also the road going through has been recently “maintained” and a 4x4 could get up it so he said if you come with a car he can also let you through. Afterwards he told us that we can camp wherever we want and told us about the wildlife cameras on the property that he has managed to capture different animals on, such as pumas and wild hogs. He also mentioned the termas and that there is a water somewhere nearby them, but we weren’t exactly sure where the thermas were, except for the coordinates provided by Peggy. He also said something about building or there being a refugio somewhere.
We camped here -40.44411, -72.12758 by some old storage shed with lots of empty motor oil containers inside. You can hear a stream nearby but we couldn’t find a way to get to it it’s still down in a canyon.

Day 2 - In the morning we wanted to find some more water for the day without going back to where we found it yesterday. Again I could see on the satellite image that there should be some further up along the variant D which there was here -40.44985, -72.11917 there is also a gully with water 100m before but with a bit more downclimbing over the logs.
The confusing part was this junction that isn’t mentioned along the variant D -40.44735, -72.12289. The main MR follows the OSM trail up to where there are the supposed termas, however the variant D traverses back to RR along a lesser traveled path. Since the potential water gullies that we saw on the sat were along the variant D we followed it instead of going up the road.
Once we rejoined the RR about 5km later there is another trail junction here -40.48121, -72.13715 where the OSM trail from variant D joins the RR. At the junction the OSM trail is marked with big blue markers on the trees and I would say if I was going NOBO that’s the trail I would take instead of the RR. I think the variants should be updated here and someone should double confirm about the exact location of the termas and whether there is drinking water nearby. According to Enrique the water is somewhere down on the right side.
The junction is where the two questionable water points are, Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] and the one a bit further but since we had enough and the waypoints were off trail somewhere we didn’t go to investigate.

The geyser/fumarole area you could smell from a distance, very cool area though as mentioned before don’t go too close the ground is kind of soft.
Overall the high volcanic plateau was very beautiful, especially the dark contrasting lava fields. And the walking was a bit tough going with a lot of small runnels and gullies carved by water that needed to be crossed, slanted ground, slippery because of small rocks on top of a packed soil making the ball bearing effect.
There was a snowmelt puddle here -40.50745, -72.17575 with enough snow around to keep it for at least a month a legit water point, also there was a possible campsite nearby.
The best water source that we found all day was here: -40.56294, -72.14272 it seemed like a spring since it was very cold and coming directly from the ground, not from a snowmelt above because there wasn’t any snow above.
After that travering the west side of Volcán Puyehue, pretty much every gully had water, but all of them were very silty in the late afternoon due to the snowmelt above.

When we got to Water {19} [71.9/1610] the water was also full of sediment. Bailey still went for the summit of Puyehue while me and Stiina felt a bit tired and took the variant H and descended to the Refugio El Caulle, which is where we all camped for the night. No water in the ditch below the refugio but there was a very small stream in a gully below the trail about 600m before the refugio.
The refugio itself was decent, not too much trash in or around, in bad weather definitely a good place for an overnight. Dry toilet about 100m from the refugio down towards the gully, the toilet was also pretty clean.

Day 3 - Though the morning was sunny clouds started rolling in while we were getting ready. Bailey already took off around 7:00 in the morning because he had a bus to catch from Entre Lagos to Bariloche in the evening, we just said goodbye and kept snoozing.
For my morning knees the trail felt pretty steep going down at first but once they warmed up it got better, good trail overall and the water was where it’s marked.
A woman came out from El Caulle asked about our plans we told her that we are heading to Anticura and also that we already paid on the other side of volcano to Enrique, she said all good and we could pass without paying anything. We saw Tia Olivia’s place, there was a sign about bread and empanadas but we didn’t go there, we went straight to the restaurant which is at the end of variant B (section 20). We got there by 11 and the restaurant was still closed. The chef inside said they need to still prep some food and they will open in half an hour so we waited because we wanted to have lunch there.
Nice place, the young waitress working there had only her third day on the job and was quite overwhelmed and appeared a bit clueless about everything and everything understandably took her very long time especially once other people started arriving so we spent there a lot more time than we intended, I hope she is a quick learner. (Only mentioning it in case you plan to stop there for a quick lunch, to take into account that it might take a bit longer).
Overall it seemed like a popular place for all the car tourists passing by coming to and from Bariloche. The road had very decent traffic and I think getting a hitch should be relatively easy going either way. Quite a few big trucks though so the road walk wasn’t the nicest.

After the lunch we went back to the junction and across the road started the section 20 via variant A.

(Continued in Section 20)

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

* ''2025-12-15 to 2025-12-18 / 3,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR (Variant D), OH4 (up and down), OH1 / Nimrod + Shai + Shmuel + Shay''

15/12
Restaurante El Caulle → Refugio El Caulle

We paid 15000 CLP per person at Santiago hut.

The initial section of the ascent was muddy and relatively flat. The final section was steeper and slippery due to heavy rain.
Several water sources were available along the way; water was collected as there was none at the refuge.
Dense fog developed near the top.
Reached the refuge, which was littered with trash.
Overnight stay at the refuge.

Distance: 8.46 km
Elevation gain: 1,077 m
Elevation loss: 35 m

16/12
Refugio El Caulle → 40.5285946°S, 72.1719636°W

Morning ascent to the summit over snow-covered volcanic terrain, with steeper slopes near the top.
At the crater, conditions included snow and strong winds with limited visibility. Decided against doing 4B option.
The descent was rapid, including sliding on snow in sections.
Continued hiking through cloud cover with multiple ascents and descents over snowfields, some with deep post-holing.
Observed colorful geothermal features and geysers.
Strong winds and cloud cover persisted at higher elevations, limiting views.

Camped near a river despite potential risk.

Distance: 18 km
Elevation gain: 1,688 m
Elevation loss: 1,515 m

17/12
40.5285946°S, 72.1719636°W → 40.4629860°S, 72.1160620°W

Started the day with rain. Wet conditions throughout, including steep ascents and descents on a faint, rarely used trail.
Water availability was limited until reaching the river.
Reached hot springs in rainy conditions and stopped for an extended rest.
Continued toward geothermal fields with notable geysers, then descended into forested terrain.
The campsite was established on the trail due to lack of better options, water availability remained limited.

Distance: 24.8 km
Elevation gain: 1,037 m
Elevation loss: 1,616 m

18/12
40.4629860°S, 72.1160620°W → 40.3861952°S, 72.0805632°W

Freshly painted black gate about 100 meters from where Variant D and RR meet, after debating we decided to cross it. and when back a bit to hector house, talked with Erwin and filled some water.

Got a ride from the main road.

Distance: 13 km
Elevation gain: 184 m
Elevation loss: 858 m

* '''2025-12-16 to 2025-12-19 / 3,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR OH4a (turned around) OH1 OH2 / Isabelle and Sander'''
Impressive Puyehue vulcano! Made long days to squeeze trip in between bad weather but still had a lot of rain and wind on day 2. All indicated water points had water. Paid 15.000 each to a young woman who called Santiago when we showed up at the lodge at the start of the RR. We came by bus from Osorno and the bus driver helped to directly transfer to a bus to anticura so that was very smooth. At the end we walked option 2 until Pocura, hitchhiking no luck, when a bus showed up around 14h45 all the way to Rio Bueno.

Two important additions to what has been said before:

1. OH4a over the crater rim. We did it nobo with our backpacks, some steep parts but fine and quite some recent snow. Clouds and wind came in at the end of the day so we only saw the crater for some magical minutes. When reaching the northern part where the tracks go down again we bumped into quite steep snow/icefield. With strong wind and clouds we had very bad visibility and couldn’t see an alternative route. Would be a very bad place to fall so we turned around and were back at the RR after 20 o’clock and very tired. Actually on satellite images you can see the build up of snow at that point. Can imagine the size can fluctuate lots depending on weather.

2. When arriving at hectors place on our third day we followed the last km the gravel road of 19D but a large brand new locked gate with lots of barbed wire has been erected. Calling Erwin’s number as below wasn’t working neither we had enough internet for WhatsApp. Barking dogs but no one answered our ‘hola!’s. We climbed back to the RR and on the way took some water at a little stream around -40.43132, -72.11323. When following the RR to hectors house it seemed no one was there. The dogs came loudly barking, still no one came and the only way to calm the dogs was to keep walking further and we slipped through a locked gate with barbed wire and the dogs left. We continued a few km and a nice person at the next house advised us a camping spot on a communal space after a gate which you can open around -40.40713, -72.10952 and there should be clean water. We actually didn’t camp there because he underestimated it at 200 meters, but after 800 meters still didn’t see a gate and we found many other nice spots. Next day we found out it was just 100 meters further haha. Theres a beautiful river there as well!

We actually met Nimrod and friends on their way down to hectors place. Maybe they met someone who could explain the new gate?

* '''2025-11-30 to 2025-12-04 / 4.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / RR / Options 01 and 04A, Variant H / Antoine Bocquier '''

A section full of various landscapes, from Valdivian jungle to tall-tree forest, volcanic hills, lava fields, (amazing) hot spring, volcano climb & crater. Pretty happy for my first GPT section, even with mixed weather (the clouds have some charm down here).

Attractivity: 5
(Mostly the volcanic area and variety of environments)
Difficulty: 3
(Long section road, long ascent, loose rocks on inclined sections, water)

Water: overall not too tricky to find for now, even on the volcanic plateau I could find some every hour at the bottom of melting snow packs.

Snow: the trail was snow-free, just a few passages when ascending/"skiing" down the crater rim

Day 1 (11km)
Bus from Futrono (13.15, ~3k CLP), I stoped at Puerto Maqueo (few km south after Puerto Maihue). Started packrafting around 16.00, about 2hrs with light tailwind. Beautiful views.
Climbed up on the road and found a big clearing on the side (around -40.34426, -72.00433) as the night fell, in front of the cow fields. Flat and nice view.

Day 2 (30km)
In the morning the neighbours came by to check and were nice & welcoming after chatting.
Long ascent on the gravel road with a too heavily loaded backpack... I hitchhiked on 3km with some workers going to the bridge on Rio Nilahue. The landscape gets better in the next valley, I saw Nero and Hector on the road, and reached their house where Erwin opened the gate. He recorded my details in a register and asked for 5k CLP for using their trail (I don't think this was the case before). I also refilled water at the house. Navigation is easy but a bit overgrown (I cleared a bit my sticks). The forest gets much more interesting higher up, huge and scattered trees.
I didn't check the recorded water (?) spots but found ponds in a small canyon at -40.48596, -72.14169 (I wouldn't rely on it later in the season). Very good camping spots at the end of the tree line.

Day 3 (11km)
Short day going to the hot spring on option 1. Combined with a nice and varied route, I'd say it's a must! The green valley with its river is surprising after the barren land (including an exciting geothermal area). The hot spring was such as treat after the rainy misty day!

Day 4 (20km)
Hot spring to Puyehue crater top (01-RR-04A). Best day, mostly sunny with insane views and funny up-down maze. It felt a bit like Iceland and Lappland in places. I stayed a bit more east than 01, staying high up and following ridges down to the new lava field (black). The sun is quite burning up there, even with sunscreen. Reached the bottom of the volcano, refilled water at melting snowpack and decided to climb it and tent on top (04 option / summit), despite the clouds, as the weather in the morning may clear up. Steep 400m elevation climb, strenuous when the ground is super loose with small gravel... The rocky section is faster to climb at some point. I found a flat ground 15m from the summit, slightly protected by rocks, with moderate winds.

Day 5 (17km)
Still in the clouds in the morning... But on my way down on the ridge, it opened up for some seconds and the view was magical with sun spots flowing across the huge crater filled with snow. Worth the climb and patience! I went down a bit earlier than the track (not ascending again around ~2100m) and it was ok to catch up the track. Variant H, perfect, less elevation.
All the way down to Anticura, I stayed at Lodging $$$ (camping 18k CLP, nice cabanas 70k CLP (same price for 1 or 2, can accommodate up to 6). Restaurant was good and not too expensive (14-18k CLP for fish or meat main).

* '''2025-11-19 to 2025-11-22 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / RR / Options D and E / Daniel.s'''

Coming from GPT 18 I did all my food shopping in Curriñe and put in on a calm Lago Maihue at S 40° 15.151', W 072° 00.692'.

I crossed the lake to paddle the western shoreline and camped at S 40° 19.810', W 072° 00.785'. There was a storm forecast for the night and I found a disused MR just behind the beach to "fasten down the hatches". It also connects by foot to the RP hiking section.

Day 2 I prepared for a long and tedious road hike, but got a lift to Bridge, Gate {19} [15.6/319] (Locked Gate Fundo Carren, Rio Chilcoco) very soon, and only 2 minutes later another lift all the way to Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue).

ATTENTION!!! THE ROAD SECTION BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS IS ONE BIG CONSTRUCTION SITE FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS! So camping at Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue) like some did before is impossible as of now.

Since I arrived early I started hiking uphill said hello to Hector (he did not open the path through his land yet) and hiked all the way to Water ? {19} [53.7/1344] where I camped.
!!! BOTH WATER SOURCES CARRY VERY LITTLE WATER ALREADY AND ALL SNOW IS GONE UNTIL YOU REACH THE TREELINE!!!

DAY 3 I hiked across the plateau, very little snow (trail as in GPS is virtually snow free) except for the section along the crater, which was still mostly covered. After Pass {19} [69.9/1764] there's very little snow again. The last water before the refugio is as indicated. I continued from the refugio down to fill my water at Water {19} [76.1/844] and camped shortly after on the first flat spot I found.

Day 4 it took only one hour to reach the main road at Lican and I was lucky enough that 10 minutes later the bus to entre Lagos passed by (2k clp, weekdays ~7:30, Saturday and Sunday ~9:00 am)

* '''2025-01-18 to 2025-01-120 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Thijmen Scholten'''.

- To get to llifen from Puerto fuey will take half a day at least.

- Lake Maihue was calm even though I started at 11

- Road walking after the lake is boring may better hitchike.

- Near the bridge over the river Nilahue is good camping and fishing spot.

- There is another campspot with water from river halfway up to Neri and hector

- The gate from Neri house was closed but you can yell or call Erwin bustos : +56973064535. He lives with them now

- First part from Neri's house is overgrown after that you enter a beautiful old growth forest with huge trees

- Hot springs are nice! Plus is usefull for water. If you are tired: around ,4 km before the hot springs you can camp with water . So you don't have to Cary your backpack to the hot springs .

* Geysers are beautiful just watch out where you step and the vulcanic landscape is beautiful

* Water sources differ per month. The orange ones (the not sure ones) were dry but I found other water sources. And there was still plenty of snow 19th of January.

* You need a good hat and long sleeves against the sun. I covered my whole body but I burned my hands badly.

* The refugio has no water so fill up before if you plan to camp there

- You can summit the Vulcano next morning without your gear.

- Second water source on the way down did not have water

- If you want to skip section 20 you have to hitchike. There is only a bus in the morning

==Season 2024/25==
* '''2025-03-10 to 2025-03-16 / 6 Days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + 2A / Tim + Magdalena'''

In an effort to do GPT19 without all the road walking we ascended from the south on the RR and chose option 2A to descend to Parque Futangue Sector Riñinahue. TLDR: DO NOT DO THIS, check Natalie+Tomás reports for much better alternatives with little roadwalking.

It's arduous, monotonous, VERY slow climbing over multiple km's of boulder field with crumbling, loose rocks. We both had a few very close calls with rocks crumbling away under us, moss sliding off the boulders and even huge boulders tipping away under our feet. We expected the 6km (as the crow flies) to take us maybe 5 hours of walking. We actually needed around 15 hours over two days. (Our speed was 200-500 Meter/hour according to our GPS) Luckily we had just enough food. You might think surely there's some parts with gravel or sand making for faster walking? But no, absolutely not. All water, sand and gravel is disappearing between the boulders. The water resurfaces for a while at 1040m of elevation, but then the basin is immediately covered by 2-3m high bushes. In the dry parts, we had to make some long detours to get water.

Once on the MR in Futangue there's a very well fenced off bridge at S 40.41942°, W 072.25140°. The fence is meant to keep guests inside the main area of the park, only guided tours go further.
We climbed over the 3m high fence. It would be impossible to get your backpack over alone and if they lock it a bit more tightly it would be completely impossible. I don't think the river in the canyon below is fordable.

The option to descend to Futangue will be removed in future GPT track files as I understand it.

Much more enjoyable and safer connections to the west of Puyehue are possible, as described by Natalie + Tomás. We also met a guided group on horses going over a pass to the west, probably the same way as them.

*'''' 2025-03-13 to 2025-03-16 / 4 days / Hiking/ NOBO / RR, 02A, 02C, 01 / Peggy

Having already completed this section in SOBO some time ago, I will just point out a few important things.

At Lican, it is possible to eat at señora Olivia’s place (on the main road, house with a sign saying “pan amasado, empanada, hospedaje”) and to stay overnight for 20k.

At the start of the trail, Santiago asked me for 10k (for the maintenance of the path leading to the refuge and for the refuge itself) and my personal information (name, surname, and passport number). He also asked me to send him a message via WhatsApp once I had reached the other side.

I camped a little above the water source at km 71.8. Incredible view of Tronador and the Antillanca, Casablanca, Puntiagudo, and Osorno volcanoes. Best avoided in case of wind (be careful, the wind can pick up during the night…).

I found water here (40.562969S, 072.142607W), but it wasn’t there less than a month before (rain and snow from the past week).

I highly recommend option 02A along the ridges. It is magnificent, with exceptional views. No navigation issues, even though everything is in BB and almost without footprints (this option is rarely taken). Some steep climbs and/or descents at the beginning and end. I would recommend doing it in SOBO for the views, as you walk towards the volcano, but in NOBO, as I did, it also works as long as you stop often and turn around!

For the hot springs, the exact point is here: 40.46720S, 72.13322W. Often crowded on weekends (people arriving on horseback). A bit dirty near the springs 😢 (empty alcohol bottles). But the pool is worth it!

On the way back down to the RR, before reaching Neri and Hector’s place (km 45.4), I found water here (40.435404S, 072.114426W) and here (40.434905S, 072.114245W). I camped nearby, hidden in the forest.

The entire section through the forest is very beautiful, enchanting.

I was preparing to descend to join section 18 via the RR, hoping to hitch a ride. But seeing many trucks coming down from the other side, I finally asked one of them for a ride and made my way down with several trucks/cars and some walking until Llifen, then Maihue. Not sure it was the best option.

*'''2025-02-19 to 2025-02-21 / 2.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR +OH 02 / chloe and Mathieu
We took the bus from Osorno to termas de Puyehue at 3PM. From there we hitchhiked to the camping Catrue (18000 for one tent).
Day 1 : we walked along the road until the Santiago's property where we had to pay 15000 per person. Then we started walking in the valdivian forest, until the refugio where there wasn’t water. We met Sophie and Gaspar and decided to walk together. Water at every points indicated on Locus because there was patchs of snow. We camped closed to the water point S 40° 34.596', W 072° 08.064'
We decided to climb the volcano and we didn’t follow exactly the OH 04A but we prefered to take the steepless route on the right. Amazing wiew at the top, no difficulty to climb.
Day 2 : we followed the RR, and no water until the Hector and Neri's property so you have to be careful and carry lot of water. We slept there and for 5000 per personn we could have water and use, a hot shower and use his stove to cook.
Day 3 : RR and option 02 up to Rininahue. Gravel road then paved road, quite boring. There we hitchhiked up to Futrono where we took a bus to Valdivia. Bus every hours.

*'''2025-02-19 to 2025-02-22 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+OH D / Dorota'''

Day 1: I took a bus at 2 p.m. in Llifen to Rupumeica Bajo. The first day I started at 4 p.m so it was short. I spent the night at about km 24 of RR near the river (-40.35916, -71.98513). After camp 31.4, there is no possibility to put up a tent. There was a bus at 8.30 going down from Rupumeica.

Day 2: It was a little boring, but I decided not to hitchhike. I put up a tent at km 1.5 of variant D but without water. At the beginning of variant D, there is a gate where there is information about cámaras.

Day 3: I continued variant D and at km 3.5 of variant D, where you have three options, I continued straight. It was a really good way through the forest. At point -40.47719, I found something like a refugio and inside were bottles with water. I was lucky because at point 53.5 and 53.7 there was no water. Night at the plateau at km 68 with water from snow. A little windy but not too much.

Day 4: The water was bad, so unfortunately I did not climb the volcano. I reached point 81.4 km at 1 p.m so a day was very short.

*'''2025-02-19 to 2025-02-24 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / 02, RR, D, 01, 04A, 04B / Peggy

I wanted to start with the 02A, but upon arriving, I realized I was entering the Futangue park (15k entrance fee) where I was not allowed to camp or go any further. Maybe I should have lied, but with a tortoise-like backpack, it felt complicated to say I was just out for a day hike!

So, I took the 02, which is a PR (public route) up to Venados.

Until the D variant, there are 3 water points: 40.237656S, 072.051233W (hole in a pipe), 40.239298S, 072.054975W (both are close to each other), and 40.244853S, 072.066878W with the possibility of camping (check if the water is easily accessible?).

On the 01, up to the hot springs, there’s water at a spot used as a campsite with access to the river and a campfire (40.239298S, 072.106674W).

The hot springs, as mentioned before, are located about 500m before the point on the map. There should be several spots. I personally found a source of boiling water and lay down in the warm river, alternating between the scalding hot and lukewarm, surrounded by plants, flowers, and bumblebees! :)

The 01 that continues from the hot springs along the ridge is definitely worth it. I really liked it.

Throughout this section, navigation is very straightforward, even in BB (bush bashing).

I had planned to climb the Peyehue volcano and do a crater loop the next day, but with the weather forecast predicting bad conditions, I decided to take the 04A with my big backpack to avoid having to go back down. It was an intense climb, tortoise-style! But the splendid view of the crater made the difficult ascent worth it. I descended a bit before the track of the 04A descent, cutting across to the RR.

There’s water at the point marked on the map at km 71.8, and it’s possible to camp there, though the ground is very soft and wet. I preferred to head to the El Caulle refuge, where I met an Israeli and an Englishwoman. It’s a sheltered place with lots of wood around for a fire, either outside or inside in the stove. There are also dry toilets. For water, it might be a good idea to bring some from the last water point in SOBO at km 71.8, but there’s also a small "estero" behind the dry toilets, down in the ravine (be careful on the descent and ascent!).

The next day, I woke up early to climb the volcano via the 04B, but about 200m from the crater, I had to give up due to the intense wind.

The weather turned to rain and strong winds, so I stayed another night at the refuge with my new friends.

Then, having caught a cold from my adventure on the volcano in the wind and a "walk" down to get water at km 71.8 (!) I stayed alone for another day and night, which gave me the chance to see and understand the sign on one of the windows: "estero" with an arrow, and I went to that water source!

'''2025-Feb-05 to 2025-Feb-10 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, option 1 & 2 / Chris & Diana
'''
Wikiexplora deleted our log, as two were editing the same section parallel which it cant handle. Therefore a bit more streamlined next try...

Bus via Lago Ranco to Riñanahue. Schedule: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087840261554
Camped at lovely calm site for 7kCLP pp
maps.app.goo.gl/b1rKAqLmmXtf6gQm8, +56 9 7511 3562

There is a super nice supermarked with most one could wish for incl. local cheese.

Bus to Pichico at approx 12:00 (apparently started in Rio Bueno?).
Otherwise Uber Riñinahue:
+56920616903
+56973752096
+56998506088

Started our hike at los vernados, tried to avoid hectors property but due to lack of water had to return. Everyone super lovely & nice. Shower & camping for 15kCLP total. The dogs arent dangerous (two young ones chained, one old one Pelao just barks and can barely walk). All of em cuties once you are unlocked as an amigo by Erwin.
Erwin: +56973064535
Hectors son hector parra raddatz: +56 9 9390 0644
Avoiding could be: camp at last good spot at [S 40.408118 W 072.111271] with water. Take option that crosses back to RR, mid way you cross another stream, thats the last for a while.
Didnt check both water ? Marks.
First water after that is [S 40.491149 W 072.157324] shortly before the crossing to the hotsprings (fed by snowfield).
In between at [S 40.487550 W 072.148084] 4 condors and an eagle chilling. Many feathers there suggest they like chilling there, so approaching this spot carefully could yield nice pictures.

At hot spring there is on the right hand side of the valley close to/in the riverbed 3 holes with cold freshwater.

Entel coverage at the highest "peak" before descending to the plateau and the final traverse along the volcan, where option [03d] splits off, therefore at marking gpt19-03d end.

Until first water ? mark at the volcano there is only occasionally some driplets from snowfields. Second water ? Mark didnt yield water for us.

After the "final" water mark before the refugio there is one more stream, a bit closer. At the refugio itself we didnt see water, chilenos said there is some a bit up, inside the "valley"-ish crevasse. We didnt check.

On descend first water mark had water, second didnt. In the valley there is some again.
The camping ground at the end of the trail looks really good, might be nice for a night.
Hitchhiking a bit difficult because cars are plenty and fast but managed after half an hour straight to Osorno.

Wonderful diverse section with many great highlights but requires a bit water planning and carrying liters over long distances. 10/10 recommend!

Volcano warnings: sernageomin.cl

Forrest fire warnings: conaf.cl/incendios/situacion-actual-y-pronostico-de-incendios/

* '''2025-02-02 to 2025-02-05 / 3 days / Packrafting & Hiking / SOBO / RP, RR, Option D, Option E, RR , Option 1, RR, Option 4 (Puyehue ascent), RR / Lucie and Thomas '''

Transportation:
On Sunday we took the bus at 1:15pm from Futrono to Rupumeica (only other bus at 8pm). No bus on Sunday to Rininahue.
Week days:
Futrono-Rupumeica at 1:15pm, 4:45pm, 5:45pm, 7pm y Futrono-Rininahue at 12:30pm, 4:10pm, 6:30pm.
Saturday:
Futrono-Rupumeica: 1:15pm, 4:45pm, 5:45pm.
Futrono-Rininahue: 12:30pm.

Afternoon day 1:
From Rupumeica bajo, a boat was supposed to leave at 3:45pm to Carran (Melipue on OSM) or 3:10pm from Maqueo but we didn't see it. We had planned anyway to packraft lago Maihue following the second part of RP which we did as weather conditions were great. We went into the water at -40,31745, -71,99077 (beach) until Carran.
Hiked following the RP until it meets RR at the road. During this part, we were kindly reminded that the area was private by the owner (the path itself seemed okay).
Hitchhicked until bridge over Nilahue where we filled up water. Important: Nilahue is the last water until the volcanic plateau at this period.
Camped at -40,40128, -72,09428 (hidden from the road but no view and no water).

Day 2:
RR with option D & E to avoid the barrier and dogs. Entering the park we found this phone contact: +56 963659730 but didn't get any answer. Didn't see anyone.
First water of the day at -40,49031, -72,16550 (small, melting snow). The second and proper one (river) started at -40,48767, -72,17619.
Continued on RR until taking option 1 to the hot springs which are definitely worth the extra miles !

Day 3:
We followed the east part of option 1 (very scenic) until reaching RR which we followed until Puyehue summit ascent. We slept next to Refugio El Caulle which does not have water indeed. Water can be found at -40,61123 -72,14355 (~40min back and forth from the refuge) if you forget to fill before like us.
Wonderfull views all along the day !

Day 4 morning :
Way down to 215 following RR, where we did not managed to hitchhike (if you need a taxi you can call Juvenal from Entre Lagos +56 931078640)

'''2025-Jan-24 to 2025-Jan-27 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, option 1 / Nimrod & Tamar
'''

Snow - a few patches but was doable for us without spikes.
Water -
-water? [53.7/1344] was a small dirty pond. A few hundred meters after this waypoint there is currently a lot of water from snow melt.
-on the way to hot spring on option 01 there is currently a lot of water.
-after the hot spring in option 1, last water was at (-40.54266, -72.16335). Next water currently at (-40.59190, -72.13565).

Random Cool things along the way-
-Chaura berries- were flourishing! Delicious!! Different taste for each bush
-condor- saw one up close before the pass near the volcan. he sat on the ground also! Such a huge creature! Maybe has a nest there.
-geyser- look for the waves in the water forming from boiling.

Transportation:
We skipped from the end of section 10. Took a few buses: Gulalli-Los Angeles-Valdivia-Futrono-Rupameica Bajo.
Valdivia to Futrono there is a bus approx once an hour.
From Futrono to Rupameica Bajo we took a bus at 16:40.
The final stop is at waypoint X [13.3/144].
We camped on the beach at approx ( -40.31745, -71.99078). We were alone on the beach although it was weekend.

In details:
1st day:
The MR was nice and at parts was not maintained and was more like a trail until approx km 18. After that it becomes a maintained road and for us boring.
We hitchhiked with the first vehicle we saw and he took us to (-40.38622, -72.08066).
We hiked to refuge [45.4/537] and camped there. We paid 5000 clp each and wrote our details.
Neri kindly offered to use their shower.

2nd day:
The trail head from the refuge is overgrown and we used the GPS to find and follow the first 100 meters. Later it becomes better but the whole trail is an overgrown MR, which made it a beautiful hike. There were a few fallen trees which blocked the trail but it wasn't hard to find the trail around them.
We checked both water points at km 53. There were small dirty ponds and we collected water from [53.7/1334]. We regretted doing it because a few hundred meters later there are tons of small streams from melting snow, staring at ( -40.48990, -72.15184).
Geyser at ( -40.49555, -72.16049) was really nice.

We took option 01 to the hot springs. The CC/TL was clear and easy.
The hot RIVER starts 500 meters before the waypoint. We checked the waypoint but the water was less warm then upstream, so we camped upstream and had warm night bath.
The temperature was perfect for us.

3rd day:
We took another bath in the morning and started hiking late.
There was rain forecast so we stopped early and camped at (-40.325713',-072.097432'). There was a small water stream from melting snow.
There was also another "geyser" on a hill close to where we camped.
The night was horrible! It was very windy and the sand didn't hold the tent pegs. Our tent almost broke from the wind in the middle of the night so we had to put big rocks on the pegs. Finally the wind died and we and our tent survived :)

4th day:
Woke up to a cloudy day so we understood we are not going to climb the volcano.
We connected back to the RR.
On the RR there were sometimes poles marking the trail but there was no trail to follow. There were some snow patches on the route that slowed us down but were not hard to cross.
There was only snow but no water at water waypoints at km 68.6 and 69.2.
We collected water at (-40.59190, -72.13565).
There was water at the waypoint at 71.8 as well. Approximately after this waypoint there are patches of grass which make the trail more visible and easy to hike.
We finished late so we decided to stay in Lican. Cabaña for 2 cost us 40000 clp. We had a burger for 2500 CLP.
Took a bus in the morning to Osorno at 7:30- the host helped us with calling the bus in advance so it will know to stop (there's only one bus a day).

The whole area is magical! As if witches live under the ground and boil thier potions, while above the souls of ice roam between the lava fields.

* ''' 2025-JAN-11 > 13 / 3 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / RR > 19-01 > 19-02C > 19-02A > RR > 19-04A > 19-04B > 19-04 > RR / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT14+GPT15+GPT16+GPT17+GPT18+GPT19
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : rare ou absente
| Neige : oui
| Intérêt : 5/5
| Difficulté : 4/5
| Danger : manque d'eau

Route et gravel road en plein soleil. Comme l'altitude est faible il fait très chaud. J'ai réussi à faire de l'auto-stop sur 10km seulement. Il y a beaucoup de taons malheureusement. Le soir je n'ai pas trouvé d'eau au début de la 19-D alors je suis allé au km 45,4 pour avoir de l'eau et camper. Ca m'a couté 5000CLP. Je déconseille le camping ici car il n'y a aucun service. Le lendemain montée au plateau. Le sentier n'est pas toujours en bon état mais ça se fait bien. Au plateau, la 19-01 est super et il y a plein d'eau. Sur la 19-02C il y avait aussi de l'eau car la neige fond. J'ai campé dans un petit cratère sur la 19-02A au point 40.520467° S 72.208066° W car il y avait un lac. J'ai bien fait de m'arrêter car un brouillard épais est arrivé quand j'ai monté ma tente à 17h30, et 1h plus tard il pleuvait. Ma première pluie depuis mon départ de Santiago il y a 47 jours. Le sentier de crête est vraiment magnifique et facile car le sol est très compact. Dernier jour, aucun taon. Il n'y a pas d'eau et je rempli ma bouteille de neige. Par chance il y a des nuages et il fait frais. La fin de la montée du volcan et le tour du cratère sont plutôt difficile car le sable est mou et la progressisn est lente. La rando est magnifique. La descente du volcan se fait bien. Ski sur la premiere partie, puis chemin très érodé après le refuge El Caulle. Je suis allé à Osorno en auto-stop. Les horaires Osorno<->Anticura sur google sont faux.
JAN-14>JAN-15 : Repos Osorno
J'ai commandé sur Amazon un filtre pour ma gourde, des pointes pour mes bâtons et des chaussures (taille 47) car introuvable en magasin. J'ai écrit l'adresse de la poste comme étant mon adresse. Mes 3 colis sont en dépôt 5 jours ouvrés dans une agence Chilexpress dans le centre ville. J'ai bien tout reçu.

*'''2025-JAN-12 to 2025-JAN-15 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH (Var. 03 + 03-A) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel'''

The stage begins mostly along a road, which had relatively heavy traffic on Sunday evening. Around Lake Maihue, there is a fence, but there are gaps with paths leading to the beach. Swimming in the lake was very pleasant. The water was warmer than we expected.

On the first evening, we camped at the ford over Rio Hueinahue [10.9/116] at coordinates -40.31647, -71.97186. There is a nice abandoned campsite here with a dry toilet, tables, and several fire pits. The ford [10.9/116] we crossed in the morning is long, but the current isn’t strong, and the water isn’t deep. After the ford, we didn’t follow the trackfiles but instead took the trail directly west (there’s a marked path in OpenStreetMap data), which turned out to be easy and without any issues, except for a gate at the connection to the road.

We considered taking Variant C but decided to stay on the RR and didn’t regret it. Passing through wild forests along a deeply cut path forming tunnels with leafy ceilings was worth the extra elevation gain. The rest of the route to Los Venados (km 39) is uneventful, and the trail moves quickly.

At kilometer 39.1, we chose Variant 03. Along the way, there are several gates, some for cattle but primarily marking the boundary of the private nature reserve Centrafuerte. The most prominent gate is at coordinates -40.39993, -72.08501, and it should be there a phone number to call for access to the reserve. We missed the number, climbed over the gate, and met the reserve staff later. The entry fee is 12,000 CLP per person, and entry is limited to 20 people per day. We had no issues with the limit, but in peak summer (February), it’s said to fill up quickly.

The trail is comfortable and well-maintained. It passes through a dead forest where all the trees dried out due to the 2011 eruption and the subsequent pyroclastic flow. The MR doesn’t follow the track files toward the end and ends at coordinates -40.510827, -72.118630, where there’s a shelter with tables, seating, toilets, and an information board with a satellite map of the area. Close to this spot are the hot springs (-40.510952, -72.123191)—bathing is directly in the stream, with a very pleasant water temperature. There’s also a simple shelter for changing clothes.

From the hot springs, we continued along the ridge between streams, and after a slightly wild and steep climb, we joined OH 03-A, which we followed to the connection with the RR.

The first flowing water after crossing the volcanic plain was at coordinates -40.59190, -72.13565.

The Refugio [73.8/1378] is in good condition—clean and well-maintained, with a stream running below it.

The final descent passes through beautiful Valdivian rainforests.

From the end of the stage, we hitchhiked to resupply in Entre Lagos. At the edge of the town, there’s a large supermarket called Iguazu. Hitchhiking required patience, but in the end, it wasn’t a problem.

* '''2025-01-05 to 2025-01-0 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO/ Completely new option, RR / Natalie & Tomáš'''

Day one: Lago Ranco to under ridge - 17km

Through OSM, satellite and some records on Wikiloc, we were convinced an approach to Puyehue from the west existed. It looked appealing as it had a better "road to hike ratio", and extended the already scenic area. And of course a reason to paddle to Lago Ranco to resupply with better food (see separate Packraft post). Unfortunately, the total length of road walking is not shortened that much if you do not find a ride or order a taxi. The first 17 km is PR and MR. Taxis are not expensive in Chile so we arranged a pickup at our accommodation in Lago Ranco with Don Christian (Whatsapp at +56 9 5703 5726). He arrived on time and drove us to -40.38520, -72.44823, where a locked gate stopped us three km from our original goal. He asked for 17mil but we paid him 20mil even though it was in the end just 15 km (the price was technically 1000 per km). We met nobody going up and are unsure about access arrangement, the huge equestrian property after the gate seemed to belong to a wealthy landowner. Perhaps you can find out how to request permission if it becomes a problem. The first roughly 7 km is a not a very nice MR, it has been recently "improved" (we met a nice herd of luxury horses though). Five km in, a very solid gate screaming "money" is being built - it might create an obstacle in the future, but it should be possible to climb over it or go around. After 7 km, the road stops being passable by car. For hikers, it is actually a well passable but eroded and somewhat overgrown logging road made of logs, it has a feeling of a trail. The uphill was a struggle. We bought too much food, were lugging our packraft, and together with insects (tabaños and some new biting flies) and heat, we had to take many breaks. The bugs got so bad that we even built a tent for lunch. At -40.38520, -72.44823, there is an old refuge that would protect you from elements, which probably used to be the logging operation. Our first water was at -40.41466, -72.34625. The trail is being used, there were recentish cut marks and very fresh footprints. Also the place seems popular with beer drinking people as there was sadly a number of beer cans along the otherwise very pretty route. About here: -40.41708, -72.32830 you leave the old road and join a trail along the ridge, which is even prettier. There was quite a stream here: -40.43144, -72.30571 and from then on, water was plentiful. However, there are still large snowfields, so maybe it dries out towards the end of summer. Shortly after the stream we passed a four-tent group of Chileans at a perfect camping spot: -40.43223, -72.30665, who made the fresh footprints (so probably access is somewhar permissive). We did not speak to them and camped at -40.43400, -72.30895, which is even more sheltered.

Day two: Under ridge to thermas - 19km

Setting off at 9:30, we followed the faint trail marked with cairns to a pass over the ridge. The other side of the ridge was to a big extent under snow and we sometimes had to make detours to find side crossings over the many streams, so our progress was slower than expected. If one day our tracks get used, note that we were avoiding snow bridges. The rock here is different from later so some water should last until end of the season. Tabaños were again quite annoying. Between the snow, the trail was largely visible. After reaching a lowpoint slightly under 1300m, we started to climb, soon walking almost exclusively on snow. On such a hot day and with the reflection, being on snow feels like in an oven. Scenery kept being exceptionally pretty (and we have walked most of the GPT). We reached a ridge where 02A starts going down at around six. There was less snow here and we got faster. With less snow, you might want to take some water before you get over 1500m. We reached 02C around eight. Natalie was not as highly motivated by the evening walk to the termas and wanted to save her energy. So, I gave her our tent and set off for them. She ended up doing the ridge of 02a and the crater circuit the next day, see below, “Nat's notes”. It took me two hours to the hot springs after we split. You do not want to cut for the turnoff and in general want to keep a bit east from 02C to keep the high ground for the first two kilometres. Then follow the trackfiles. When going up the last ridge, you can veer left and aim through a lateral ridge for altitude 1550m and save some elevation, it is quite doable. You can then shortcut the way to the actual position of the thermas (see Tobias) down a miniridge that has some trees on it. Just keep to the trees (there are grass passages in between) and it is doable. Thermas are like Volcan Chillan on GPT8 - a hot stream with a pool, perfect temperature, a bliss. I arrived shortly before ten without needing to use a headlamp.

Day three: Thermas to refugio - 25km

I followed 01 to the OSM mark called "geyser" which is actually just a series of big loud impressive fumaroles. Above the thermas, there are few more smaller hotspring on the left, but not useful for anything. About one km after the thermas, there is steam on the left - fumaroles and sulphur, you will see it a few more times but still pretty. Avoided the last hill through here: -40.49220, -72.16946, but it probably does not pay the saved 40m of elevation. OSM route better than RR around the fumaroles (ground around them unstable). Again walking in an oven over the snow, skirting the new lava is pretty (though do not expect many views), just keep in mind it is unstable and ideally keep some distance (5-10m), I saw a significant rockfall from it that could kill you if you were in the wrong time at the wrong place. It is slow going. There is one more fumarole next to the lava flow, go around from the right despite the footsteps you might see there. Was happy to see Natalie's footprints once 01 connected, knowing she was hours ahead thanks to inReach. Took 04A, as others said: aim for the top, contour lines are misleading and traversing does not make sense plus you would lose out on the views. Saw Natalie on top of the highest point, but she did not hear me. Only then I realized there is a gap in the trackfiles and the mountain cannot (cliffs) be climbed from this side. Going down on 04A was indeed skiing (the snowfield is mapped as glacier, but if it is glacier, I could not see any crevasses, which might not have been the most responsible off me). Variant H is a trail. Met Natalie at refugio where in the evening water was still flowing, but in the morning it had stopped.

Day four - Refugio to primary road - 8 km

Easy going down, surprisingly little tabanos, second water not existent, met nobody down, so paid nothing, hitched an empty tour bus to Entre Lagos to ressuply almost immediately.

Nats Notes: Ridge of 02A & Rim circuit

The following morning I made an easy CC to the ridge on 02A. The snow was rock hard in the morning (7:30am, around 9 am the snow became "crunch-able" - that being a warm and sunny day). So, a warning to early birds. Getting up the ridge was easy thanks to the consolidated pumice. Beautiful views of the snowy plateau and the volcanoes to the south. For the first time I felt like I could gallop along the ridge because the terrain was so easy. There are ups and downs but they are less in number and larger in scale.
Along 02A, after coming off the ridge there was some surprise fumaroles and a large crater (not on RR but very close). Picture perfect with Puyehue behind it. The route takes you along a sulphur like rim that felt uncomfortably active, warm and hollow.
To get to the Crater circuit I wanted to gain the rim further north of 04A to save time. So after 02A ridge I Cc'd which at first was continuous with 02A and the RR. Left the RR around here -40.55454, -72.14794 but overall I think it would have been easier to stay on the RR for longer. Found my first water source @ -40.56451, -72.12754 . It is underneath the crater like depression north of the 04A accent route, very "crunchy", lots of sand/grit.
I began my ascent to a low point on the ridge north of 04A and east of the crater like depression besides it. I did not like the final 200+ meters. I was expecting soft ground but instead got something just slightly better than "kitty-litter" (the term for small grit on slab/hard ground). Sometimes the ground was soft. There was a snow slope but the snow was harder than I would have liked, glad I did not have to go down it. At the top, views were fantastic as expected. It was windy but not "body pushing" wind. Looking back I was glad to have bypassed 04A. The circuit posed few issues, there were some snow slopes, but soft enough for kicking. I would not recommend doing this without micro spikes if the snow is NOT soft (ie early morning). If one wants a super easy way up to the rim, or needs and emergency escape, the slopes up the NE of the crater are very easy, starting around here (40.57497, -72.10480). I had to laugh at myself from time to time. I felt a bit out of place with a lifejacket and couple of paddles sticking out of my bag...
The last push for the true summit had some snow on easy/mod slopes. Once again I wouldn't recommend it if the snow was not soft. There was a beautiful camp spot (no water but snow) halfway up this last push (-40.59310, -72.11426).
Although very happy to have reached the final summit, my happiness strangely turned a little sad. As I marveled at the landscape that has become my friend over the last three years, I realized this was probably the last time I would see it at this magnitude. So much time has been spent with Tomáš investigating and executing ways up and down these mountains, it seems crazy that I may never look upon them again. So, that was a weird thought but overall it was very beautiful. I waited over an hour on top, I thought Tomáš was planning on going to this peak but when I found out he was on the other peak I made my way down to the cute camping spot at the Refugio, stopping to drink some water from a creek along the way (likely not running in the morning). The way down from the regular summit is easy and there is basically a path that sees regular traffic. I would recommend taking this way if you do not like climbing steep slopes, rather than the other alternatives.

* '''2024-12-02 to 2025-01-03 / 2 days / Packrafting/ SOBO/ Lago Maihue (sort of 07), New: Rio Calcurrupe, Lago Ralco, / Natalie & Tomáš'''

Day one: The lake and river, 27 km

We started paddling at 8am with little waves and wind, then got to the end of the lake at 11. The river is not hard. It has a few rapids that are maybe 1+, but we managed. It has a lot of water, so wood is not much of an issue. The valley is very pretty. It flows nicely, with a lunch in the middle, it took us 4 hours to get down. We took out at Puerto Llifén around 5, traversing somewhat wavy Lago Ralco for a bit. There were some people on a quite and nice small beach. We were lucky to catch a bus to town. It has two fruit and vegetable shops and looked decent for ressuply (also good Entel internet). We went to Anita's rstaurant and after finishing eating, we asked for a driver as it was late and we wanted an early start the next day. She went nextdoor and came with an older gentleman who drove us 4 km for 4000 CLP to -40.23159, -72.26019, about one km from river end. Near the road end are some nice camping spots. There were some fishermen but nobody cared that we built our tent.

Day 2: Lake Ranco, 22 km

We woke up at 4:30 to use the calm morning hours. Shortly after dawn we were on the water and already had some waves and some low-lying clouds. The sunrise was beautiful (maybe the prettiest ever for Tomáš, who, being an owl, has not seen many sunrises in his life). Clouds moved in and the water calmed down (a local later confirmed this is the usual pattern, so probably the lake tends to be calm before noon). Went east of Llahuapi island, paddled two more km to mainland's peninsula. With lake being very calm, we went straight for Piedra del diablo, which we reached after three hours. The rock is well worth the visit. After a short rest, we paddled around the corner (2km) to town Lago Ranco, arriving at 12:40, giving us a half-day of rest and a good base for re-supply. Nat highly recommends the nut/bulk store just north of Conception street (Mr Manny; -40.3213804, -72.4739571). It is attached to a fabric store and likely looks closed. Just walk inside the fabric store and ask the friendly owner you'd like to buy some frutos secos. The nuts and dried fruit were of surprisingly good quality.

Overall, this is an attractive variant that can be recommended instead of RP for packrafters. Lago Ranco (good Entel internet) is an ok ressuply point with slightly pricy accomodation, but we negotiated a room for 50,000 CLP.

* '''25-01-01 - 25-01-03 / 3 days / SOBO / RP, RR, variants D+E, OH1,a, OH4a,b / Volker'''

Day 0: I combined gpt 17+18+19. The day after my arrival in Currine, down from the 18, was a little bit rainy with better forecast for the next, but mainly for the days to follow. So I didn‘t hurry up and after resupply in Currine just took the boat over Laguna Maihue. There is a confusion with the names. The „port“ (the spot where the boat is leaving) close to Maihue (2,5km) is not called Puerto Maihue, but Maqueo. The boat goes to Rupumeica (Ru) and Carran (Ca), the route from Carran to join the RR is included only in the Packraft files. Time table for the boat for SOBO hiking: Mo, Th, Fr: from Maqueo either to Ru or Ca or both: 8.00 a.m. and 3.10. p.m., Sa+Su: 3.10. p.m., Tu+We no service. The crew on the boat told me, you find lodges in Ru and Ca if you ask, but I camped in Ca on the beach, very nice!
Day 1: On a cool morning very easy MR walking on RP. The bridge at 15,6/31 is no longer maintained, the road bypasses it, easy access to water 100m from the junction with RR. The indicated camp at the lake at 35,4 may be lost, there is a new sign saying, that one can buy land around the lake. At Los Venados I met Clara, who also walked the 19 SOBO, so we did this section together. We took variant D to avoid a barbed wire fence and dogs, then E to rejoin the RR. No water at the indicated spots at 53,5, only from snow-patches. Camp at S 40.481514° W 72.137545°
Day 2: Very easy walking, 25% on snow, now enough water. The volcanic chimney at 56,1 is very impressive and the hot spring on OH1 (500m before the indicated spot) a place to be. Highly recommended!
Day 3: Blue sky, very, very scenic all the day long! We took OH01a to rejoin RR. The whole day the trail was mostly covered by snow (75%), so it was CC walking with easy navigation. Very few water, just flushy snow. Rather difficult to find a camp spot not covered by snow, flat and not too exposed to the wind. One at S 40.572582° W 72.135206° met at least the first 2 conditions. To secure your tent you will find some (but few) heavier rocks on the slope of Volcan Puyehue.
Day 4: Steep CC ascent on Volcan Puyehue, on OH4a. if you stay 200m to the right of the indicated way, it‘s less steep and using the rocks in the upper part makes the ascent less physical. At the crater at 8.45 a.m. We did the tour around the crater (OH4b, highly recommended!) and arrived on the southern summit at noon (mostly on gravel, some parts on snow). Then steep but easy down to the refuge (water!), then fhe steep RR down to Anticura (close to no water at the indicated spots). Several gates on the last km, none has to be climbed. Arrived at 4.30, and hitchhiked to Entre Lagos for resupply and to organise a oossible boat transfer on Lagos Todos for gpt 21.

*'''31Dec2024 - 3jan2024 / hiking SOBO / OH2 - RR - varD-E - RR - OH1 - RR - OH4A-B / 4days / Clara (joined Volker on the way)'''

Skip section 18 :
Took me about half a day taking multiple buses (puerto fuy - panguipulli - los lagos - paillaco - futrono - llifen), maybe a bit longer on WE with less buses.

At llifen there is a camping/cabañas/hospedaje (15k for hospedaje)
From there you can hitchhike to curriñe/P maihue (maybe there is a bus)
Easy hitchhike to riñinahue to go for OH2. Also bus (first one at 8.10 am from llifen)

OH2 is not MR but PR almost all the way to los venados. When I arrive at 9am there were multiple cars, easy to hitchhike the begining, and I was even lucky to get a ride until RR. You have phone coverage here. Joined Volker at los venados.

GPT19 was one of the nicest section I did so far !!!

Water : demand some planning.
I think we took our last water on a little stream a bit after los venados and then no more on the way up. At points water ? 53.5 and 53.7, there is just snow for now, not melting.
Then snow up on the plateau that you can melt while walking but few stream.

OH1 : lot of fresh flowing water along the way and at the hotspring. Just snow on CC over the ridge.
Then on RR lots of snow.

Water 68.6 : we found a little stream flowing at few meters (go up along the river).

The water points after the refuge on the way down were almost dry.

Camp :
- water? 53.7 Almost flat spot with snow close to it, you can melt it but it's pretry much dirty. Inside the forest, wet.

- hot springs on OH1. So nice, perfect to camp and rest. Carefull the waypoint is not at the good place as said precedently.

- -40.57269,-72.13537. not wind protected. If more wind, maybe there are flat more protected spots before on RR. Really nice sunset.

Snow : a lot of snow walking on the plateau, it's physical but nothing hard or dangerous.

Navigation :
-From los venados around km37 easy trail to follow.
VarD-E to avoid the dogs at a fence but still 2 gates easy to cross on the variants.

-Until the hotsprings on OH1, it's trail sometimes marked with plots and rubans, easy to follow even with the snow.
Stop at the geyser (cross RR - OH1), really nice to observe !!

-After hotsprings it's CC on a really nice ridge with beautiful landscapes all along. Not hard but deserve good wether conditions I think.
Then go back on RR still CC going up and down on soft volcanic sand or snow. Easy to navigate.

-OH4A-B (cratere + summit Puyehue) : we climbed up somewhere between OH4A and the river flowing at point 68.5, not really following the tracks but we arrive almost at the same point at the end. The line was logic, steep, sometimes soft volcanic sand but no snow.
OH4B : so nice tour of the cratere, must do if you have time + weather conditions. Long and physical as it's going up and down on volcanic sand or snow, sometimes steep.
Summit is breathtaking.

Refuge : dry toilets there. Possible to camp around or sleep inside. Still water flowing down for now. Lots of tabaños.

Then skip section 20 : easy to hitchhike to entre lagos from Lican.

* '''Start 2024-12-27 // 3 days // hiking NOBO RR / Mara & Tobias

Amazing section, water in large parts (still a lot of snow up there), no difficulty’s with tabanos. Startet at 10 a.m. by the road, payed the entrance fee to pedro, hiked up to the refugio (still water there!) and continued to -40.57248, -72.13322 where we camped. Went up to the crater to see the sunset. Next day we walked straight to the termas. Position in the trackfiles22 is incorrect. The hot springs are 600 meter upstream at -40.46720 -72.20680. Camped there. Next day we went down in bad weather and luckly got a lift to Rininahue, where we rest and get ready for GPT18.

* '''Start 2024-11-25/ 5d / Hiking SOBO RR / Mo'''

From Currine to Rupumeica is a roadwalk but a bus is available, then a dirt road leads to Rupumeica Alto where a MR T567 leads to Los Venados, I hitchhiked, but there should be a bus. Then a MR leads to Puyehue, Neri and Hector had a locked fence and 3 barking dogs so I took OH to the right (fence, CCTV) where you will find water. The MR becomes a nice trail and then at the time higher than 1400m snow. I went to the hot spring on the plateau, I can recommend it. After Puyehue and also the plateau is easy walking on slopes, CC, trails. The refuge has 1 cover, melting water at the time and protects from wind, not completely. In the valley Olivia made a nice breakfast.

==Season 2023/24==

* '''2024-Apr-08 to 2024-Apr-12 / 3.5 days / SOBO / RR B 01 04A 04B / Matthias de Austria'''

No Tabanos, flies, mosquitos, snowfields, fords. Cool weather, sunny with morning frost. Small parts of 04B east of the summit where icy. Lack of water in large parts. I filled up in the little valley on the way to the hot spring, afterwards I found no water anymore until 76. 1km. Water 53.5, 53.7 and 75.4km were dry.

Bus from Currine to Rupumeica Bajo, last stop at X 13.3km.

One of the best sections, I loved it. The long road walking in the northern parts is boring, but the hike afterwards through the woods is nice and the volcanic plateau amazing. Lot's of volcanic activity, and the detour to the hot spring is strongly recommended. I camped close to it, and stayed in the refuge, which has an oven for cold nights and offers weather protection, but is just a very simple hut with a table and bench and sleeping possibilities around.

* '''From 2024-02-29 to 2024-03/02 // 3 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + Option 4 (summit) + Option 4B (cratere) + Variant D // Quentin Clavel'''

Anticura - Refuge - Puyehue summit - Cratere - volcanic plateau - geyser - Rio nilahue Lago maihue - Puerto maihue

After basic ressuply in Anticura, at "Tia Olivia" at Lican, point "Food, Lodging {19} [81.4/345]" but it's really in case of emergency. She's a very nice lady and has in stock Bread, cheese, big bottle of coca cola, some juices and frost empanadas that she warmup.

I was in emergency so I resupply there, but just to keep in mind it's not a minimarket or so, just a tiny tiny resupply possibility. Olivia is a charm we discussed a lot, and she even took from her personal reserve pasta and biscuits that make the next section easier in term of food !

After this resupply I just go for a big climb to the Refuge Without Water {19} [73.8/1378] first, mostly in the forest, then to the Summit {19-04} [2.0/2198] (Volcan Puyehue). On the way to go, only one fence to pass, then the track is well marked, even for the summit, lot of cairns helps you to find the way.

It's slippery and tuff ascent to the summit, but you just can't go around and avoid the absolute breathtaking crater ! I've done the option 4B, which is the hike all around the cratere, quite physical with all the ups and downs, but again, absolutely amazing ! For sure it was one of my highlight of this GPT so far !

Then the volcanic plateau was stunning too. Idk if it was because I was tired or something else, but the distances seems to me huge. You have the feeling that what you see is very close and you need a lot of time to go. It's a lot of ups and downs again, but scenery is amazing, the old lavas are incredible, and these geysers where here to finish the show. I had such a great time !

And then, you suddenly go on a forest which is a huge contrast, continuing long way down to the gravel. I was not checking my GPS and took the most obvious track, which is not even an option on the GPT files, anyway the track leeds me to the variant D, and I was able to refill my water, even if I was happy to find some Frome snowmelt on the volcanic plateau.

Continuing the way to the beautiful lake Maihue. Still always impressed how we can pass threw a lot of various landscapes in that so small amount of time !

Crossing Rio hueinahue wasn't a problem, if it would have been, there's always the option to continue the road and cross it on the bridge, on variant B, adding only 4 kilometers.

The gravel along the lake was very busy as it was the end of the day and everyone came back from the beach, fishing, boat cruise or anything else.

A lot of opportunities to sleep in camping, on the area of Maqueo/Puerto Maihue, even to eat on small restaurant/food truck and small minimarket (but there's a bigger minimarket further on next section)

* '''2024-Jan-23 to 2024-Jan-25 / 2.5 days /Option2 + RR+VarD+E+A / Matthias '''

The route:
(Osorno-) Riñiñahue(Lago Ranco) - Volcano Puyehue - Anticura (-GPT20)

Getting there:
There are busses from Osorno to Rio Bueno and from RioBueno to Lago Ranco every 30 minutes, some direct connections also.
From Lago Ranco to Riñiñahue buses 12:30 and 14:50 on weekdays.

My impression:
Biggest challenge were by far the tabaños, which gave me the speed for long hiking distances, because in the valleys I could not even stand still to take a photo without being attacked ferociously.
The plateau before vulcano Puyehue is spectacular with the geysers and lava flows. Ascent from north on RR a bit boring. Long stretch of MR and little views.
Hiking is easy but tedious on the plateau (loose vulcanite ash). Several easy snowfields, the gully at 53.5 is tricky to cross though, but can be bypassed upstream.

Water:
Requires planning your water resources!
Last water on way up to plateau as mentioned by others about where Var E starts from Var D. Either you follow D 200m further and Dobson bushbashing to the left or on E shortly after start but also not very easy to reach.
Water at km 53.5 and 53.7 now dry (I could get a liter out of a puddle), also km 68.6 and 69.2 are dry! Also no water near the hut, but plenty in between pass km 69.9 and about a km before the hug. On the plateau there is some melting water, but mostly it is very muddy.

* '''2024-Jan-25 to 2024-Jan-28 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {19-01} - RR - {19-04A?} - ski off trail - RR - {19-H} - RR / Lilian'''

Camp beside the lake + Hot spring + Geyser + Volcano + Skiing = GPT19

Do you have any reasons to reject this section?

I take a bus at Maihue on 8:15pm. Arrive Rupumeica Bajo on 9pm, 1500 CLP. When i take off the bus, the driver told me there are some nice spots good for camping and swimming beside the lake, so i go west at x RR [13.3/144].

You can walk 1.2km to Puerto Rupameica "port[4.9/90], arrive the beach, then turn right walking on the beach to find a good spot for camping, but lot of car drivers thinks the same idea. So that beach is a little noisy and crowded even in weekdays night.

If you look at satellite map, there is a side road at (-40.31429, -71.98794), it is behind barbed wire fence, but a friendly locked gate at left side, climb over it then follow the road go down to the beach. Some nice camping spots on a grassland covered by bushes and trees with fire ring, good wind protection and privacy just before the beach.

Also you can camping at the beach, but the cabins and people at Hueinahue can easily look at you(too close). So i follow the beach to walk towards the lake's inlet shore. Lastly I camped at (-40.31074, -71.99001), beside the only tall tree(it doesn't covered me anything). I cleared a spot for a small single person tent, with 180° views of Lago Maihue. Bushes at back covered me for privacy.

RR km3.9 : tiny shop and food truck, (-40.32258, -71.96776)

X[13.3/144] : bus stop, i saw a bus arrive here at 9.10am. Then steep climb up on a good condition dirt road, but hot.

Km16.0 : junction of RR and {19-C}, {19-C} is in a better condition, so i go for it. But i recommend you keep going on RR, and NOT NOT NOT go by {19-C}.

Everything is good also i find a black pipe can fill water in bottles at (-40.33101, -71.98693) until {19-C} km1.4. Trail becomes very confusing, lot of side trail, cow path mix together, easy to walk on the wrong one.

Then the trail at (-40.33851, -71.98185) already taken back by forest, i still find some trace for trail(aluminium cans, wood cutting,etc), but it is not easy also not safe to walk. You need to walk on some groups of old blowdowns to (-40.33873, -71.98182) and rejoin the trail. The blowdowns itself or the gap between them, have a lot of big holes can eat your whole leg, most of the holes are covered by bushes and the blowdowns are a little slippery...

Then start climbing up at (-40.33909, -71.98165). All the ladders and wooden step are broken, also become a tarp for slide down. You need to climb up a loose sandy, muddy, grassy, steep slope that covered by lot of leaves. I have a feeling I'm still in GPT18 but in snow conditions climbing a overgrown snow slope...

At (-40.33978, -71.98141) rejoin a good condition dirt road, although it is shown in OSM, but I didn't see anything look like a road even a clear trail before climb up, so maybe south of the road also taken back by forest at some point. ( or the road going to some place that i don't know and not shown on map)

Then joined RR on a good condition dirt road.

I didn't see food truck at km23 that Martin & Helena said, maybe still not the season, or not open on weekdays noon.

Bridge[25.3/358] : Río Melipue flowing with lot of not clear water, a little yellow.

Then is a HOT, HOT HOT road walk steep up and down with lot of flies entangled in you, most of the time without tree shades, recommend hitch much more as you can. This part is not fun.

Km26.3 : junction of a private park, Parque Huishue. Some nice young care takers stay in the cabin behind the gate, they are very friendly and give me some water.

Camp[31.4/514] : good camping spot, don't camp too close to the lake(muddy). Lake with clear water. When you see the barbed wire fence, keep going 30-40m, you can go around some small blowdowns to get in easily.

Then my luck come, a friendly family give me a ride to Los Venados. Thank you save me from the hot nightmare. It is the second car i saw going west in the whole day.

Then my luck come the second time, Hector and Neri is at home(settle,food,refuge[45.4/537])! They help me refill my bottles with some priceless water! Huge thank you to them!

From km45.45, the road becomes a single track trail between some tall grass until km47.9, then it turns back to an old dirt road but lot of blowdowns, have to find a side trail for going around or just climb over them. And sometimes the road is flat and wide is good for camping.

Km53.1 : looks like is the old dirt road end, becomes a real trail, a broken old sign here too. Flat spot can fit 3 tents here. Some more flat spots just keeping forward, but need to take some minutes to clear out some sticks.

Water?[53.5/1330] : confluence point of three stream, but just muddy, no water.

Water?[53.7/1344] : because the water spot at 53.5 is dry, so i didn't check this one.

Km54.8 - km55 : camping spot at both side of the trail, also some more on dry riverbed.

Looks like Jens came here on a cloudy early morning, i found lot of water spot upon here.

At least 7 snow patches is melting beside RR and you can collect water from them, i just list out the biggest 3. These three snow patch still in a good size, i think can stand for 1-2 weeks more.

(-40.48984, -72.15159) : flowing good with a tiny waterfall (4sec/L) and puddle, you can dip bottles in puddle directly. Rocks in good shape for sitting nearby, so nice lunch spot with water here.

(-40.49050, -72.15348) : flowing good but stream is flat, collectable.

(-40.49142, -72.15752) : this patch is bigger also is flowing better than the first one, with tiny waterfall too! (3sec/L), easy to collect.

If these three are all melted completely, (-40.49351, -72.16296) have a huge snow patch as now, maybe this one can be a backup water source.

Km55.3 : view point for 6 volcanoes at left side, climb up to a tiny hilltop(-40.49068, -72.15235), if you are an exposed camping fans, flat spot can fit 2 tents 20m south of here for you.

Km56 : Geyser time! Explore this area, take your time. Follow the trail on OSM is a little better views of geyser than RR, also is safer i think.

After geyser then i go for {19-01} to hot spring.

{19-01} Km0.9, also a nice viewpoint on the tiny hilltop (-40.48937, -72.16603).

Km1.95 - km3.95 : walking in a green valley, lot of stream flowing with clear water, you can step over or rock hopping all of them, but mostly you will wet feet at last, because the trail crossing on a wet meadows(flowing water) and you have no way to go around. Also lot of camping spots you can find beside the trail in this area, but some of them still a little wet, maybe after one month will be perfect.

Km5.0 : go down into a valley that look dry, better collect water at here(upstream) or the previous valley, because downstream in this valley is hot spring water.

Km6.0 : alga in stream, and water temperature changes!

Km6.2 : camping spot(no wind protection) can fit 3-5 tents at right side, with an amazing hot spring pool(-40.46710, -72.20664)! PERFECT temperature with a pool can soak all your body inside when you sit down in the water. HIGHLY RECOMMEND camping here and take the hot spring before night, you can soak in the pool with a beautiful sunset too!

When i was enjoying the hot spring, a helicopter fly to here and landing, then some locals comes to join me too! Looks like it is a famous spot for them.

Hot spring water flowing all the way to downstream, so you can soak in it at the point you like. But temperature is dropping when it flowing, hot spring[6.8/1415] becomes warm water, good for noon under the hot sun, but not enough for night or early morning soaking. Trail leads you to hot spring[6.8/1415], then no more trail.

Then the ridge walk(OH-CC-A[6.8+6.5]) is fun and no difficulty, just climb up, go down and enjoy the views. Some snow patches, go around or walk on it easily.

Km7.45 : water spot(-40.46983, -72.21372), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.

Km8.7 : water spot(-40.47824, -72.20501), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, i saw water flowing when i was on trail but didn't get close to check.

Km11.25 : water spot(-40.49723, -72.19122), flowing low with clear water by a huge snow patch melts, i dig a puddle for dipping my bottles. Good water!
Then rejoin RR.

RR km59 - km62.4 : go around lava fields, not difficult but lot of up and down, also need to go around some snow patches.

RR km60.6 : water spot(-40.52296, -72.17607), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.

Km60.8 : climb the tiny hill(-40.52470, -72.17420) at left side, viewpoint of Volcán Cordon Caulle and its lava fields.

Km61.1 : water spot(-40.52673, -72.17332), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.

Km61.8 : flat spot(-40.53143, -72.16976) can fit 2 tents with views of Volcán Puyehue.

Km62.7 : small geyser(-40.53782, -72.16450).

Km63.3 : better route going up to 1610m hilltop. Take the small valley at (-40.54327, -72.16187), climbing up gently, then turn right at (-40.54309, -72.16096), follow the valley all the way go to the top. I saw 3 cairns along this route.

Km65.4 : water spot(-40.55234, -72.14982), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect. I didn't see any more clear water for a while on trail after this one.

Km67.6 : snow patches. Walking on it and going to other side of valley. Then you can follow the GPX track or like me, walking on snow patch valley (-40.56967, -72.13232) avoid step over many gaps here, go to the junction of climbing Volcán Puyehue.

Climbing Volcán Puyehue on {19-04A} is a not easy route, steep climbing up on a losse tiny stones slope about 40°, when you get higher, it becomes more steep. Tired cilmb up, then i think it is a little dangerous to going back down at the same way, because too steep.

I didn't follow GPX track, because it looks really steep, i start climbing up beside a stick (-40.57372, -72.13363) at RR km68.25, then towards a little south(-40.57842, -72.12614) of the peak going up. Then join the ridge for last climbing up to the top. At about 1950m-2000m , you'll find some step trace that can follow all the way to top and easier to step on, but the ground becomes much loose when going up more. You also can follow them to going down after the summit.

Enjoy the views of crater, it is melting, but a blue lake in the middle, so beautiful!

At the top, {19-04A} is impossible to connect to south on the rim as now, because is blocked by a snow wall, but you can going down a little, go around it climb up again to the rim, if you really want.

From some observation at high, I find a SKIING ROUTE that can ski down all the way to pass[69.9/1764]. (This route is ski by shoes, not sit down and slide.)

It starts on 2110m(-40.57839, -72.12569), join snow slope here. Then skiing to SSW, water spot at 2035m(-40.58039, -72.12646), it is melting by the super huge snow slope you just ski down, i think it can stand at least one month or more. The water spot have a tiny waterfall, easy to collect. Fresh, clear, cold and taste good! I love this water!

Then step on the snow again at 2030m(-40.58108, -72.12689), now ski to SW, to 1945m(-40.58436, -72.12988), then 1900m(-40.58484, -72.13278), then 1835m(-40.58634, -72.13552)(it have a gap about 20m no snow), lastly ski to rejoin RR at km69.8. But i saw nothing there , so i ski a little bit more and find some walking trace at 1770m(-40.58640, -72.13791), looks like parallel to RR. I took about 35min from the start of skiing to here, including refill water bottles and finding the way on map.

I camped at (-40.58964, -72.13953), a little flat with some rocks that i can hold my tent on a sandy ground. A little off trail, but super amazing views of Volcán Casablanca, Volcán Puntiagido, Tronador, Lago Puyehue and Río Golgol, with a fantastic sunset moment!

From km70.4, you'll find a trail and cairns along RR, some of the trail is already landslide away and still covered by snow patches, but most of them is easy to follow.

Km70.55 : (-40.59245, -72.13560) flowing good by a super huge snow patch melts, milky but easy to collect. A black pipe leads water to other place too.

Km70.7 : water spot(-40.59349, -72.13423), flowing low with a tiny waterfall by a huge snow patch melts, clear and easy to collect.

Km71.6 : flat spot(-40.60105, -72.13406) can fit 2 tents. Someone camped here before, built a tiny rock wall, but too tiny I don't think it can provide wind protection in a really windy condition.

Km71.9 : junction. It is impossible to climb up or go down by {19-04A} at here as now, a huge snow wall about 60° block the way. Lot of water is flowing at here, main stream is not too clear, but you can find clear water from some smaller one. Upstream 15m for rock hopping dry feet crossing.

Then i took {19-H} going down, because RR looks like need to walking on some loose sandy slope. At (-40.60459, -72.13491) i find a clear trail that leads all the way to rejoin RR at km72.75. No landslide, no loose rocky or sandy, just walking on a grass slope easily.

Then RR is a clear trail in good condition to follow and walk.

Refuge[73.8/1378] : refuge with picnic table and fire ring, good spot for lunch and overnight.

Then RR still easy to follow but a little steep and a little slippery, i almost slipped down in several times.

Water[75.4/992] : flowing low with clear water, easy to collect. After here, trail conditions become better, no more slippery.

Water[76.1/884] : flowing very low with clear water, have some small puddles at upstream. A spot for climbing break, log seats and tree shades here.

Km77.9 : trail becomes dirt road, cars parking at here, some grassland flat spot with fire ring nearby.

Then all the way road walking go down to Licán and Anticura. Didn't met any people charge me for entrance fee.

I didn't see any shops nearby, just a restaurant at (-40.66624, -72.17463), you can go through their gate(-40.66843, -72.17218) to there. They provide good food and fast wifi. I look at their board, looks like they accept USD and EURO at here. (I don't know can money exchange or not)

* '''2024-01-18 to 2024-01-21: Fangwen and Tobi / 4 days RR + Option 04A + Option 01 + Option 03 / NOBO hiking.'''

Great section with great views! Very enjoyable. Not much to add to the other reports. We took the bus to the intersection with the Puyehue hot springs, hitchhiked from there (not a great spot for hitchhiking, but it works). Didn't see anyone at the trailhead and hence didn't pay. We passed by a small steam on the way up, but I would not be surprised if it sometimes dries out. The first night, we stayed by the hut. A small stream made it's way to the hut in the evening, so we got lucky and could refill. Second day, we climbed up to the scenic crater via option 4a. The ascent through loose scree was a bit tiresome, but made for an awesome shoe-skiing descent. The "Water ?" at km68.6 was a snow covered stream, but we were able to get some water from a melting snowfield. We camped at km64.6. The next day we went via an interesting ridge hike to the hot springs (option 1), which is a river in a nice valley. There are multiple spots to get into the river, upstream is hotter. But it was a hot day, and the tabanos were relentless, so we moved on to camp in the next valley, at S 40° 29.078', W 072° 10.870' or roughly at {19-01} [3.0]. This is a beautiful valley with good access to drinking water (not sure about the hot springs -- I wouldn't drink that water).
Just before rejoining the regular route, we marveled at the volcanic gas vents at S 40° 29.651', W 072° 09.651', or 100m W of km56.1. Even if you are not going to the hot springs (which you should!), make sure not to miss them.
The descent was relatively unspectacular. We accidentally took an unintended route down (19-D I think?), but it wasn't an issue. Our plan was to hitchhike from km37.4 out to Lago Ranco, but it took over an hour to find a ride, since only few cars passed by.

* '''2024-Jan-12 to 14 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / Argentina, completely new option, Villa Lago Meliquina to Villa Traful / Natalie & Tomáš'''
[Note 2024 November: This is not in the GPT yet at all, but it is in our suggestions in the 2024 Track files. This is a part of an alternative Argentinian route connecting GPT16 all the way to GPT21. In our opinion, for hikers it is probably better as it involes a lot less roadwalking and is very scenic (and the roadwalking there is is mostly easily hitchable). It might be slightly mode difficult than the RR. This is especially useful when coming from the Villarica traverse. What follows is roughly what corrresponds to GPT19, previous log is in GPT18, next in GPT20. Look also at Hannes von S report who followed us: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1763867210785824/.

Our pictures: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1758304798008732/.
Our second Facebook post (Natalie somehow wrote it down twice): https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1732579750581237/]

Summary: Starting in Laguna Meliquina and hitching to Lago Filo Hua Hum, we traversed up and over to Laguna Trufal, took a boat to Trufal proper.

From Laguna Filo Hua Hum we crossed up and over via Cerro Escuadra ridge and towards Sendero las Mellizas trail. There was some minor scrambling. For crossing Lago Trufal we organized to be taken back on a day tripper boat coming from Trufal by the help of settler, Felipe. However, thanks to Tomášs' curiosity, he found a good trail along the lake that takes you to the end of Lago Trufal, thereby avoiding the need for a boat. If you want, the boat company info is here; Eco Traful, (0294) 15-4201952. It cost 25mil each cash, we bargained it down to 20mil each (extortion). The ridge and plateau were mostly CC and there was only some minor BB from the ridge down to Mellizas (if you find the settler trail). It could possibly be done in 1 long day, it took us 1.5days, not counting the extra day spent with Felipe. Technically you are supposed to register with parks but there is no actual name for the trail so not sure how you would; https://www.nahuelhuapi.gov.ar/zonas_habilitadas.html.

1) Meliquina to Laguna Filo Hua Hum:
We were lucky and got a hitch directly from the tourist stand in Meliquina to the camping spot on Laguna Filo,-40.50075, -71.29960. If no hitch, it is a ~ 20km road walk but hitching should be easy. Possibly the river could be packrafted. There is a small creek near the camping to fill up on, take a lot as there is no water until after Cerro Mesa, which could potentially be dry in late summer months. There is technically a water source we found before the climb up to Cerro Escuadra near a large grass pasture but you will have to walk off route to get to it and once again in late summer months it may not be there.
2) Laguna Filo Hua Hum to Cerro Escuadra, Mesa and the plateau:
From camping Laguna Filo there is a good trail to start off with from the back of camp, it is even marked in yellow: -40.50075, -71.29960. However after a view point the trail becomes less clear, you can take a short cut up a steep hill after the view point or keep following the trail even though it can disappear from time to time [November 2024: The trail is now on OSM]. Eventually the trail takes you to a very large grass pasture beneath the climb for Cerro Escuadra, camping paradise if it wasn't for the wind. We camped early here once we found a water source (-40.52378, -71.30019), as camping on the ridge would be very windy and dry. I believe this cow pasture is the link to Felipe the settler on lake Traful, where there could be a much more direct way to the other side, open for exploration [some exploration options based on scoutin Google Earth are in the suggestions].

From the cow pasture, you make your way to the ridge, a good trail at first but then once on the ridge proper, it disappears. I went left to side hill the difficult looking ridge top that lay ahead and Tomáš of course continued the ridge proper. After this, it is an easy walk along a broad ridge connected to the peak. The peak is not so much a peak but a large plateau, easy walking. Eventually the plateau ends via a cliff drop so you must find our scramble to the right, we made cairns but forgot to make a waypoint, it is roughly somewhere here -40.53296, -71.30956 . From here there will be about 3 ledge systems you have to scramble along and down but only the very first one is possibly class three (low) [SAC T4 if at all, not exposed]. When you get down you can admire the look back and wonder how you got down! From there you can either stay low and avoid Cerro Messa and a slightly ugly scree or snow descent by aiming around here -40.53743, -71.32863, you may find the start of Felipe's horse trail here as well. The other option is to climb Cerro Mesa and exit i's steep ridge here -40.53812, -71.32576, then cross down and to the right to connect to the rest of the ridge/water source. The descent here is steep but surprisingly soft, if there is snow I advise against it, it is not hard to go around the other way. The rest of the ridge has a magnitude of colors and minerals. It is a small section but if you look at your feet and not the sky you will see lots of different gem like rocks (and/or copper). Personally I think Felipe might be sitting on a gold mine! Speaking of Felipe, this is where we first met him, he appeared out of nowhere and I felt star-struck, if you meet him you will know what I mean, his posture and attire look as if he left the scene of an old Argentinian cowboy movie. He explained to me that he lived down by Lago Trufal and that this was his land and I should have a park registration, but didn't care so much about the park stuff. He was caring and let me continue even though the route I explained to him didn't make any sense.

Going forward you will be on Felipe's trail for a bit and see a green patch ahead that may or may not have water. If it should, it could also serve as a camp spot -40.55045, -71.33970.
From this grass patch you can follow Felipe's trail if you can see it, it goes through and around some rock structures and then up to a very large plateau. The plateau is marked with some cairns, the area just before the plateau can be marshy. The plateau itself has some ancient looking cairns, but basically you need to aim for this ridge outcrop over top of a cow pasture here -40.56308, -71.33350. The cow pasture below could also be good camping.

3) Plateau to Lago Traful/Felipe's house:
Originally we had planned to follow this outcrop and bushbash to the lakes, maybe this could still be done but the bush looks awful and to our surprise we found a trail in good shape below the ridge outcrop. From the ridge outcrop there is another "grey" like ridge that runs perpendicular and into a forest. If you follow this grey ridge it shall take you to the start of a pretty well maintained trail. Take this trail down and into the trees, after it passes over to the left of a tree ridge, it becomes easy to loose as tree fall has created numerous small trails in bad condition. We found the best one (or not, who knows) and followed it down some more until we crossed two creeks. After the second creek the trail totally vanished so we went back to the first creek and walked "down the creek bed". We walked down the creek bed for maybe 1km, it was not hard or dangerous adn not bush-bashy. We eventually found a trail again somehow and followed it all the way down into the valley where there is a large fence separating Laguna Verde from Laguna de los Juncos. There is some nice camping under the forest at the bottom before you hit the gate. However, although technically you are supposed to have a guide, there are petroglyphs in pretty good shape here -40.61891, -71.31079. Night and rain was approaching so we walked to the flat part between Laguna Verde and Blanca to set up camp, just after a puesto. You will have to grab water from the stream near the petroglyphs for camp.

Not knowing how the boat situation would evolve, we left camp very early in hopes to catch a boat that had dropped of day trippers for the day at the drop off point here -40.63958, -71.34857. Luckily, bcs the standard trail near the end is slightly overgrown we took a different way to the beach and this is how we met Felipe again. He has one of the most beautiful properties I have seen so far, ancient wood craftsmanship throughout, lots of little animals and also numerous expedition tents permently set up for some type of turismo I assume. His settlement is here. He told us that there would not be any boats that day due to high winds but he could arrange a boat for us the next day, he also offered his place to camp and out some wood on the fire for a hot shower. With a glorious free day in front of us I chose to go back to bed and Tomáš went back to Sendero las Mellizas to explore.

On his trip he found a good trail that followed the shoreline all the way to the start of Laguna Trufal, thereby avoiding the need for a boat. After he got back from that exploration he went on to explore the other side of Las Mellizas we did not see, towards Lago de los Juncos. Once again he found another path that seemed to follow the river there, towards the end of Lago Traful, thereby meaning one could even take that route, but will need to be verified [November 2024: Hannes did verify it. Also all these trails are in OSM now].
The next day, although he did not ask for it, we paied Felipe 10mil for camping and gave him half of a melon Tomáš had been carrying in his bag for the trip, Felipes wife was very happy! Felipe walked with us to a different boat pick up location and sure enough a boat came and took us on their way back. It was a fun ride but not free. As expected it would not be cheap, since the boat is run by a tourism company we payed 20 thousand each once back in Trufal. The company information is listed above. There was no cell phone reception at Felipe's but there was reception on the ridge outcrop before the trail took us down to the lakes, maybe you can arrange something there or take the lake trail to the end of the lake and avoid the boat.
Trufal proper was nothing special: Bad internet. The main mini supermarcet was okay, it definitely met our needs but nothing fancy. It had veges/fruit, fresh baked bread loafs and good cheese and deli meat. There was an expensive restaurant near the trailhead we took after our resupply that had very good sandwiches and empanadas. The sandwich (10 thousand) was served on foccacia bread and was enormous.
The park office was closed. so we just started hiking that afternoon without reservation/paying.

* '''2024-01-08 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + option 4a/ Jens '''

From what people have written before, I thought I would find a more impressive stretch. Up to Neri and Hector's house it is a gravel road in the forest with no views.

There is a bus from Currine at 2pm that goes all the way to Rupumeica Bajo. There may be more buses, I didn't ask.

Up to km 45 (Hector's house) there is a good water supply. Starting from the house ( their friend Erwin housitting, offered water).
I only found water at the marked spot at about km 55. There was only a very small stream, more like a puddle that might dry up soon.

There was no water around the volcano until about 5 km from the refuge.
The refuge has no water. The small stream next to it dried up a few kilometres before. Bring water from there if you want to stay overnight.

I climbed the volcano on the west side (option 4a). It was scree all the way up. I thought about turning back more than once, but the view was worth it. The descent on the other side was a bit easier. I "skied" down the snowy slopes.

* '''2023-Dec-18 / 5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + RR (Variant D, E) / Lauren & Sebastian'''

First things first: This section was absolutely spectacular!

Water: We filled our 3L of water each whenever we could and didn’t need to worry; snow from 1350m

We started packrafting at GPT19 start point but had to abandon Lago Maihue after 2km, as head winds were too strong. We hiked south on RH until a bus took us to Rupumeica Bajo. We stayed at the campsite ($) at -40.3143, -71.9913. The owners live in the house across the road.

The next morning we crossed with the packraft to wp Lake {19} [9.6/90]. From there it is a long but enjoyable hike along MRs to wp Bridge {19} [37.3/296] where we camped for the night. Recommend to hitchhike this part if you can, as the heat and heavy backpack (due to full food supplies), made this road walking tiring - and you will need your strength and endurance later!
There is a water point at -40.3757, -72.0647.

The next day we went along RR and met Hector and Neri on our way to their place. They were heading out in their truck but we had a short and lovely chat with them. We passed the two locked gates on Option D and connected by Option E back on RR. We camped at -40.4721, -72.1247 at 1100m, a nice flat spot in the upper part of the forest. It is less than an hour from wp Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] where we refilled the next morning.

Breaking out of the forest into the plateau was breathtaking. Snow was mushy and walkable with trail shoes and hiking poles. Progress is slow. Keep a close eye on your gps to avoid backtracking. It took us 2 days to cross the plateau and we camped a night there with initially windy conditions that eased. There are a few good flat spots around the halfway mark on the plateau. Snow also gradually decreases after the pass and trail visibility improves. We then stayed a night at wp Refuge Without Water {19} [73.8/1378]. There is water at the refuge now, but filling up at one of the water points further up felt easier and more accessible to us.

From the refuge down to the end of GPT 19 is steep at first, but good and easily findable trail (approximately 3 hours).

* '''2023-12-04 to 2023-12-07 / 4 days / Packrafting / SOBO /RR (Option 04A) / Roman'''

Hitchhiked to started packrafting here Port {19} [2.9/103] (Puerto Maqueo) easy access to water. Very good conditions (10:00 am). Went on land and followed the RR. Very good condition. Like in 02/23 locked gate and no one around at Hector and Neri’s place. Pitched tent at -40.480692, -72.135769. Snow starts at 1350m. Water was available. I would recommend having sunglasses (preferably glacier sunglasses), suncream, and a hat. The next 2 days were hiking on snow with constant snow exposure. The snow was a bit slushy but manageable. The trail was due to the snow not visible but you can just follow the GPS. Went from the RR via Option 04A to the Volcano and back. Slept at the Hut. Water was available due to the melting of snow. The way down is easy. Hitchhiked to Entre Lagos.

Overall: good trail, nice views no major challenges would definitely recommend it.

Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW

* '''2023-Nov-29 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH-02A + OH-02 + RR (Variant D, E and G) / Tom Pieper'''

I first attempted to make my way to the plateau by Option 02A. This is not possible as the entire lower trail lies within the private park Parque Futangeu. The entrance fee would be $15.000, camping is forbidden and access to the upper parts is blocked by private property of one of the park owners. Park is strictly fenced and has a guarda del parque. So this is definetly no Option for ascent but maybe for leaving the plateau NOBO. I easily catched a ride on Option 2 to the RR. The gate to Neri and Hectors place was locked, therefore i passed the two locked gates on Option D and connected by Option E back on RR. As others mentioned water is scarce all the way up, but a little creek can be easily accessed from Option D just 200 m after Option E has branched (S 40° 25.785' W 072° 06.839'). Good camping spots when Option G reenters RR. Saw wild boar nearby. Snow starts apruptly at 1300 m within the forest. Mystic atmosphere but hard walking. Lots of patagonian woodpeckers around. Snow increases gradually and I decided to leave my backpack near the Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] which was nearly covered by snow but provides already fresh water. At the rim of the plateau (1550 m) the views were spectacular but the plateau is impassable right now as it has meters of snow there. So I returned back the same way to Rininahue.

* '''Recommendation Jan Dudeck in November 2023: Based on the STRAVA Global Heatmap'''
(https://www.strava.com/heatmap#12.18/-72.09488/-40.50378/hot/all) the Route GPT19 Option 3 is open and used again (we got severely stuck in bamboo in November 2013). This route might be slightly faster but makes access to the hot spings "Hot Spring {19-01} [6.8/1415]" a big detour. Due to the river crossing this route is only recommended northbound in December while the snow on the plateau is melting. This places the river crossing at the beginning so it's easy to return to the regular route if the river ford is not manageable. This Route GPT19 Option 3 might be beneficial when the weather window of decent weather for crossing the plateau is rather short.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-FEB-10 - 2023-FEB-13 / 3 days / hiking / RR + volcan summit + termas - round trip from south / Louis, Rémi & Noé :'''

I wanted to precise one thing that I haven't understand : Santiago has a restaurant, near the road and a refuge (waypoint refuge no water). You have to check in at the restaurant to pay the 15k CLP /pers. This price includes a night in the refuge (there is nobody in there), access to volcano and a night at the camping near the restaurant (with cold shower for free).

Day 1 - Refugio El Caulle - 8km - +1000m/-0m First day going up to the refuge. We took the bus from Osorno, the only one going to Anticura leaves at 6pm but you have plenty of others going to Termas de Puyehue (going to Aguas Calientes). From there, 15km of hitchike, very easy. Then, the rise until the refuge in a beautiful and green forest. There is water upward the refuge, 15min walk.

Day 2 - Volcan Puyehue + camp El Domo - 13km - +1300m/-1100m The caldeira of the volcano is superb ! the path is well traced until the summit. Then, we did the round of it and went down on the opposite side. We camped at the "El Domo" camp, located on Santiago's map, around km XX. Water is available just before it.

Day 3 - Termas - 17km - +700m/-900m Under the rain, it's not easy to navigate on the volcanic plateau. I would say that a navigation device is mandatory. Hot springs are very enjoyable after such a day under the rain. There is drinkable water before the hot springs (1km).

Day 4 - Back to Restaurant El Caulle on RR - 32km - +1300m/-2400m A long day, even longer under the rain but doable. The restaurant was closed when we arrived (a Monday at 7pm). Santiago selled us basic food (pasta, sauce, eggs (a bit expensive)) and he opened the doors of his barn for us to sleep dry. The only bus going down from here to Osorno leaves at 7:30am.

* '''2023-Feb-04 to 2023-Feb-07 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin & Helena'''

Great section, after a lot of forrest trails it was nice to see again something totally different and quite similiar to the landscape of GPT06. We were a little irresponsible with the water so better plan carefully.

The beginning around the lake is just road walking with quite a lot of traffic, depending on the weekday, but its better to avoid it, we didn’t feel always safe with more cars passing by. There should be ferry that goes on the other side of the lake. Good restaurant at around km 2-3, the one with empanadas to go in the house above the restaurant (reealy good). We camped behind a gate at km 5.7, below one of the miradors. At Hueinahue we went down to the beach we have seen from the road, hoping to buy some food, but nothing was there except of crowds of people. We crossed the river to get back on the road, but it would have been better to return back really. MR continues for the next almost 30km, but its quite nice walking through forrest and around settlements. Food truck with empanadas and some drinks at km 23 was a nice surprise, but might be there only in summer. Great place to camp by laguna at km 31, but its shores are all muddy.

Bridge at km 37 is the last reliable source of water so keep it in mind! When we got to the start of option 03, there was only locked gate and no one around at Hector and Neri’s place. Because of that we went with 03, and after 2 locked gates joined the CC variant and back on the RR. There is probably some tiny stream at the CC part but not easily accessible. The way up on the RR already was relatively easy with a few fallen trees that you can always walk around. We were hoping to find some water at km 53.5 or the one next to it but it was all dry already, just like many creeks that we have seen over the treeline. This became a problem for us, and the first water we found was at the big plateau you have to descent to in order to continue to the lava field and further. We didnt turn left at the beginning but continued straight to a few snowfields that are still big enough and on a hot day we could gather water from the snowmelt. From that point its about half a day to the next water (close to the start of descent down to the refugio and valley) so again good to take as much as you can. We didn’t have to pay anything at the end of the section as someone told us, this might be the case only in NOBO direction, or it was because we went there later in the evening. We camped on a yard of family living across the road for 5k CLP, they sell some basic food and its possible to have a shower there as well. Bus to Osorno and Entre Lagos as well leaves early in the morning around 7 AM we think but rather ask.

Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka

* '''2023-JAN-28 - 2023-JAN-30 / 3 days / hiking / NOBO / Yannic & Mirjam'''

Much has already been explained in great detail, so we will be brief: We saw no one at the entrance and therefore walked through without paying an entrance fee. The two water streams in the forest are dry and there is no water directly at the refugio. However, there are still snowfields about 1-2 km further up from the refugio which provide enough water. There was still enough water at 68.6. After that, there were still isolated snowfields, but partly further away from the trail. We spent the night between the lava rocks at S 40.53312 / W 72.16869, as there were still snowfields there, which we used for drinking water. After that, there was no more water until we reached Neri and Hector's house. The two of them were so nice and filled up our water. They charged an entrance fee of 5,000 CLP per person. Because of language barriers, we weren't sure if it was voluntary or because we couldn't show a ticket from the other entrance. Anyway, we paid and moved on. Hitchhiking to Rininahue went quite well once you are on the bigger Minor Road T-851.

* '''2023-JAN-26 - 2023-JAN-29 / 4 days / hiking / SOBO / Riñinahue (option 2) - Volcán Puyehue (option 4B) - Licán / Anna & Christopher'''

From Panguipulli we took a bus at 8:40 am to Los Lagos (on a thursday). From there we took another bus to Paillaco at 11:30 am and got off at the cruce Reumén/Futrono. The connecting bus to Futrono passed there around 12:20 pm. From Futrono we took a bus to Llifén at 13:15 pm. From there we hitchhiked until the junction of Option 2 with the RR at km 37 approx. and arrived there around 17:00 pm. On the way up to Los Venados there is one accessible creek approx. 2,5 km before Los Venados. When we arrived there the gate following the RR was locked. As we didn't wanted to dry camp (we didn't fill up our bottles at the creek) we tried to get access to the river following variant D. It's definitely not possible to get water there, the forest is too dense and its getting too steep to climb down. So we went back and luckily after a while Hector and Neri arrived. They offered us to stay at their Refugio the night as it was already quite late.

The way up to the plateau is a good path. We collected some water from the northern "water?" waypoint around km 53,5. As Véronica mentioned there are only some shallow pools, but with clear water. On the plateau there are still some creeks from the snowmelt, but not that many so better carry some water. Around km 65 we saw in the valley on the left hand side a nicely flowing creek (off the RR) and decided to camp there. Its a detour of about 15-20min.

The next day we woke up to a clear blue sky and therefore decided to climb the volcano and to take the surrounding variant. On the ascent we didn't follow the GPS, which was a bad idea, as we ended up in a steep scree traverse/sketchy rock climbing. So it took us a lot of time to reach the ridge. Once there we enjoyed the amazing views! Walking around the crater got more and more tiring with all the ups and downs, but it's worth it! It was our favorite section so far. We collected some snowmelt water on the descent and camped at the Refugio (no water there).

The path down from the Refugio is in good conditions. From Licán we got a ride directly to Puerto Montt.

* '''2023-Jan-05 / 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank'''

I came from GPT18. Before Lago Maihue there are a couple of small shops & a restaurant. As you go around Lago Maihue on the road there are a lot of $ campsites, then the road climbs high above the lake before dropping to Rio Hueinahue. I forded the river easily & went down to Camping Rupimeca at the lake, about 1KM off route. Good cheap campsite, no electricity but they will charge your phone at the house. Next day I continued to Hector & Neri's house but they weren't around. I went in on the alternative route which goes right on a road just before Hector & Niri's place. It's marked private with two locked gates but there was no one there. Stream near the road but difficult to access - running in a gully & blocked by vegetation. After several attempts I was able to access the stream higher up & camped nearby. Just before the alternative route rejoins the RR from Hector & Niri's house there is a stream, if you drop down right a few hundred metres from RR onto the alternative route here you can get water. The water sources marked near the treeline were tiny stagnant pools & they are a bit off trail. However, in early January there was plenty of water above treeline from snowmelt. Did the spectacular traverse in one long day. The snowfields could be traversed or avoided fairly easily. Fill up with water before you descend to the hut. There was no water at the hut & on the trail out to the road the marked water sources were only tiny trickles. Carry a few litres of water up to the hut if you are NOBO. There was no one at the entrance & I hitched out to Entre Lagos.

* '''6 to 8 of January 2023 / Véronica / GPT19 RR SOBO / via GPT19-02 / 2.5 days
Route: Riñinahue - Los Venados - Refugio El Caulle - summit of Volcán Puyehue - Anticura'''

I loved seeing the drastic change in landscape and ecosystems on this section, from the life-filled rainforest to the stark desert-like altiplano.

From Panguipulli, I took the first bus to Los Lagos, which left at 8:40 a.m. There was no bus from Los Lagos to Futrono, so I hitchhiked instead. Then from Futrono I took a bus to Llifen, then hitched the rest of the way to Riñinahue. I wanted to start this section from Riñinahue (Option 2) in order to shave off some of the road walking on the Regular Route. I was lucky and caught a ride all the way to the bridge at km 37.3 over Río Nilahue. Getting to the trail took most of the day. I began to hike south on the regular route around 5 p.m.

I met Neri and Hector, very kind people. At first Hector was apprehensive about letting me hike onward because I was alone. But after explaining how far I'd walked and showing him my GPS and SPOT device, he agreed to let me through the park. I wrote down my name and contact info in the book/registry he keeps with Neri. I dry camped about a kilometer beyond their house.

After Hector and Neri's place, the path stops being MR and becomes TR through the lush Valdivian rainforest. Trail is in good condition. There are a few blowdowns, but they are relatively easy to go around, climb over, or crawl under.

The "water ?" waypoint north of the trail before the treeline is just a few shallow pools of stagnant water. It was cold and clear though, so I collected 2 litres for the upcoming Puyehue plateau. I didn't investigate the other "water ?" to the south. I definetly didn't have to carry that much, because I soon discovered the plateau still has many snow patches, and so there are lots of little snowmelt trickles pretty regularly. This may no longer be the case in a few weeks though.

The altiplano is desolate and beautiful, very reminiscent of Section 6. I found there was a decent path and footprints to follow up until the junction at km 56.1. There are impressive azufreras there! Afterwards it's all cross-country. I had no navigation issues. I found the terrain got more physically demanding the closer I got to the volcano, and climbing in and out of steep-walled dry arroyos was tiring.

The "water ?" at 68.6 km was flowing nicely. The next "water ?" at 69.2 km was non-accessible, because the ravine where it is located is currently covered by a giant snowfield. You'd have to go down quite a bit to get to where the water trickles out. There will be water there a long time, I'd say.

The "pass" waypoint was confusing to me, because I saw nothing there that looked like a pass. It's just a long traverse on the mountainside. About a kilometer south of this "pass" though, a trail reappears and it lasts all the way to the refugio El Caulle.

The weather was looking a bit unsettled, cloudy and windy, and I didn't know if it would rain or not, so I did a long day and camped at the refugio (the volcanic flank is quite exposed). I collected lots of water at the waypoint at km 71.8, so I didn't check to see if the spring below the refugio was running or not.

Early the next morning, the weather looked good, so I left most of my gear at camp and climbed Puyehue following Option 4. There are cairns most of the way up, and other footsteps/tracks to follow. It gets a bit steep in some places, but nothing too crazy. Poles definitely helped and having a light backpack too. The 800-m climb is definitely worth it! Amazing to see the surrounding mountains and valley clouds in the early morning light. Like Quetrupillan, the crater of Puyehue is filled with snow and ice. The climb from the refugio to the summit took me 1h45 min, including a short water/breakfast break on the way up. Downhill was easier and less sketchy than I expected, and that took an hour.

From El Caulle down to the road is a clear path, sometimes steep, down through the forest. The two water sources there were pretty much dry, just a bit of stagnant and muddy water. It has been very dry this past month, almost no rain. I crossed the gates at Santiago's house at the end, I didn't see anyone and no one charged me entry for the park. I hitched easily to Entre Lagos and will be skipping down to GPT22.

==Season 2021/22==

==Season 2020/21==

* '''2021-Dec-19 / Molly and Melissa / GPT21 Northbound - RR + ascent of summit:'''
4 days - skipping some of the gravel road along the lake

We went from Osorno to Puyehue, as the bus driver said that no buses went any further. From there we were quickly able to hitch a ride to Lican which is the start of the minor road. It's a couple of kilometres before Anticura. It would also be possible to walk, from Puyehue to Lican is about 10 km. We walked up to the restaurant and met a man who lives close by, he told us Santiago wasn't home, but he could take our payment. As others have written, Santiago wants to know the names and approximate schedule of everyone going towards the volcano. We slept at his camp site as well, it has flushing toilets and showers in a shed, it doesn't cost extra.

Volcán Puyehue:

In short: Snow is no longer a problem, but there is still enough to create little streams, so carrying 1-1,5 L of water each was fine for us. Beautiful but tough. Navigation is okay when using the GPS.

The first of the little streams marked as water on the GPS while climbing up through the forest was dry, the other was still running. We passed the refugio, which has quite a few bunk beds without mattresses. From there the path towards the volcano is quite clear through the grass, and is marked with frequent cairns further up so the navigation here is quite easy all the way to the top. We left our bags on the main route which was a good decision, it was very steep with very loose small volcanic rocks. The view from up there was amazing. When continuing past the volcano, there is a trail for about three kilometres more, but after that it's pure cross country. With the GPS it's not that hard to navigate, but clear weather is necessary and the terrain is tough, especially when passing between the lava fields. We found that the Locus Maps showed a different route than the GPS. We still found quite a few streams, especially when still near the volcano, if there's snow there's probably still some water. The snow is no problem for walking though. The first water? was pretty big and will probably last some time, but the second was really small, but there are several other streams as well. There's also more water in the afternoon when more snow has melted. All in all climbing from the camping, climbing the volcano and traversing the plateau took us two days of walking. It could be done in less, but would be tough. We got quite sunburned even though we used sunscreen, it's very exposed!

We had no trouble with finding the trail on the other side, it already starts being clear before reaching the forest. After that it's mostly just easy walking on gravel roads. When going northbound there is an alternative route around Hector and Neri's place that seems easier, we opted for the overgrown route to their house because we wanted to see if we could buy some bread, they didn't sell any though, but we had a nice chat with Hector as he let us through their locked gate. They later drove us about a kilometre when they passed us. The gravel road was a bit tedious and very hot, and hard to find good camping spots. The one marked on the GPS was behind a fence and some dense vegetation, but a little earlier it was possible to go through a gate to a little lake. We were told that there were many pumas and that we couldn't drink the water from the lake, we drank from a little stream going to the lake instead, and we didn't see any pumas.

Rio Hueinahue:

We were able to cross the river without problems, it went to mid- thigh height and we are both around 160 cm tall. The current wasn't too strong either. We have had quite a few warm, dry days before.

On the road along the lake we were passed by a bus going to Valdivia which we jumped on happily, so coming off the trail could not have been easier. It passed through Maihue and Futrono as well.

* '''2021-Dec-03 / Alex Abramov / GPT19: Volcán Puyehue. Northbound.'''

The "Plateau" still has a LOT of snow.

==Season 2019/20==

* '''Feb 2020 / Matthieu / RR + ascent of the summit + OH to the Hot Springs, Northbound'''

Great section, amazing views, no technical difficulties with the trails and cross country.

- '''Fees''' : In this sense you have to pay the entry of the private property in Lican, at the camping/restaurant of the base of the volcano (10 000 CLP). The owner is called Santiago and is really nice, he gives you all the informations necessary for places to camp and water supply. I could take a photo of the touristic map too, which normally you have to pay for. Going southbound I don´t think that you have to pay something to enter the parc.

- '''Water supply''' :
NO WATER at the first refuge down the volcano, you got to go a little bit further up and west.
All the west flank of the volcano is full of little stream coming from the snow. On this part no difficulties. "Water 12?" wasnt working when I was though, but there was a last stream after before going west to the desert ( at the div 128).You have a good half day of walking without water, so take some supply with you. The water comes back just before the div 126, on a place which looks like a dry lake, with little streams coming down some frozen snow.
There is another part without water, that begins a little after Div 126 until the refuge of Neri and Hector. I personnaly thought easy to find water in the forest and got really thirsty because of that. There was nobody in the refuge, so I could find water a few meters after the north gate of the house, following a little trail that went on the right side, directly in the forest and to the river. (A little bit of bush bashing at the end, next to the river).
Further on the road down there was some other rivers and there and good camping sites. You join the real road at bridge 63 and no problems of water after.

- '''Optionnal roads''' :
For the ascent of the volcano, I personnaly , on advice of Santiago, let my tent along the river "Water 145", souther from the waypoint. There are some flat places nice for the tent. From here you can go straight to the top, no technical difficulties.

For the Hot springs (nice experience, but the valley is full of tabaño at this season, so prefer arriving at the sunset to enjoy the water after !) : To go to the valley, I took a path that was on the touristic map but not on the GPT tracks. AFter the dry lake just before div 126 I followed the RR tracks up the hill, going east, and after I quitted the trqcks to go down directly to a little canyon, seeming to be a dry river. Really interessant path, and really easy, all flat in the canyon.It goes directly north and join the OH-TL-1901#001, making a triangle with the GPS tracks. There is a couple of hours walking after, in a nice green valley (plenty of water) until the hot springs. To enjoy the hot springs, I would recommend not to go (as I did) to the waypoint that will drive you in the closed canyon. The rocks in water are full of foam, and the feeling is really not good. I found a good place to camp and bath going back the next day, with traces of camping. About 300m before the waypoint hot springs, Just after the OH track makes a sort of right angle, the river take a shape of sharp angle and there is sand in the found of the river to sit and enjoy without slipping (GPS point of this site :S40°28.036' / W072°12.519'). To go back I followed the OH tracks until the RR, passing by the Geysers.

- '''Rivercrossing''' : one, the Rio Hueinahue. The GPS tracks are a good place to cross, going there the rocks before a rapid The river is very large thow, and the rocks slippery. When I passed I had maximum water a little bit above the knees. It is easier to see the good path in the river arriving southbound, because the road is up the river,but it is not so clear going northbound, If you are not confident with rivers, there are bridges up the road, not very far. Better not take useless risks.

- '''Ressupply locations''' : Nothing in Rupumeica. Little shops in Maqueo and Maihue. A lot of camping sites, free and payable, along the Lago Maihue.

* '''2020-Feb-19 / Martina & Ivo / Regular route southbound (start: km 37, end: Anticura)'''

2.5 days. Actually we wanted to hike from Riñinahue, so we took a random Bus in Osorno (09:20) to Río Bueno, where there was a connecting Bus to Lago Ranco, where there was another connecting Bus to Riñinahue, and this one continued - to our astonishment - to the bridge over Río Nilahue, where the optional route meets the regular route. We found water in the forest at both waypoints "water?", but we went after a period of heavy rain. The "water?" before the pass is still flowing and there is a lot of snow left to keep it flowing. The section was unexpectedly physically demanding but extremely beautiful! In Anticura we found accommodation, but we didn't look for resupply, which is probably not so easy...

* '''10-02-2020 / Ty/ RR SOBO/ 3 Days'''
I got lucky and got a ride all the way up to Los Venados. I went around Hectors house and camped up before tree line. There’s a bit of water still up there, just a few strong trickles though. I thought they would stay running for a while. Then for day 2 I went to the refuge, with a slight detour to the rim of the volcano. Definitely recommend. The “water?“ at RR-CC-A@19-68.0+3.7 seemed to have plenty in it at the time as well. At the rim a cloud came in and made navigation pretty tricky, but easily managed. Nice refuge with campsites outside. Spring still running. Tables and everything! Overall, an amazing section. From the end I hitched up to Antillanca optional Start for the next section.

* '''16-01-2020 / Arnaud Debilly / Southbound 4 / full days'''

We ressuplied in Curiñe, with a minimatket there.
To avoid the 15 first kilometers we took the bus from puerto Maihue to Rupumeica Bajo. We slept in the cabañas of Carmen Panguilef (+56 984 54 83 03) in rupumeica bajo who is very welcoming and a proud mapuche.
Then the road ends and starts the path to cross the pass to rupumeica alto. Then you follow the minor road until los Venados. The road is blocked by barriers that we crossed easily. At los Venados the path is clearly private and is along the house of Hector. We met him and his wife and they easily let us go through.
We overcarried water because we feared the lack of drinkable water. Until almost the treeline, you can hear little rivers not too far from the path. We also drunk melted snow at the top so we had enough.
Later in the season, it might be drier (I assume, those little rivers come from the snow melting). The last real rio is just before los venados.
After the forest, the volcanic terrain is very easy to walk in and the landscapes are wonderful.
We saw many smokes from the volcanic activity but seemed not dangerous.
Check the status of the volcano before to go (www.sernageomin.cl).
Following the track, it is easy to go between the lava field.
Campsites are absolutely great, with an amazing view on the vulcano.
We felt an earthquake (5,2) that has been localized near san martin de los andes in Argentinia but it made nothing dangerous with the volcano, luckily.
We have had a perfect blue sky without wind during the 2 days on top, it could not have been better.
The refugio El Caulle, at the start of the downhill can be a good protection for a bad weather. We found a little spring, to resupply water in the dry rio just under the refugio.
On the volcanic terrain, a bad weather changes everything and it must be really difficult and unpleasant to finish this section with rain, snow or wind and without the view.
It was for us the most wonderful section we have had until today.

* '''January 2020 / The Puyehue Traverse - GPT19'''

Okay. This is my first conditions report. I walked the Puyehue Traverse with my parents over the last week. It is basically the last part of GPT19, starting on the rd to Héctor y Neri's (Los Venados)(phone beforehand to secure permission : +569 81868927). Let me know if I should structure it differently in the future.

Getting to the Los Venados from Osorno
We caught the bus first to Rio Blanco, another to Largo Ranco. We then lucked out that the Riñinahue bus happened to be passing through! I think this is only once a day and goes all the way to the turn off to Cruce Pichico (3.8km from the turnoff to Los Venados). Again we were lucky and managed to hitch a ride (with two anthropologists!). A car past telling us they (Héctor and Neri) weren't home so we took the bypass - not sure if this is private or not? We made camp by some water for the night.

Up into the park
There is more water available if you're willing to walk off the main track. Numerous times I heard water off to the sides. The first water close to the track was after you pass the national park sign where marked in the section pts. Then above the treeline there are better sources available from the snow melt (better and more numerous later in the day). From the geothermal site we side tripped into the valley for a day and came back along the ridge to the SW. The valley has a lot of streams and some great camp spots. You could even do a shortish 2hr detour to camp in the treeline here. We took some slight variations to the optional hiking route.

Passing the recent lava flow
Rejoining the RR at a lake we followed the wall around camping a night part way along. (met four French ppl hiking the GPT here). There is snow, but no really good water sources until you get to the points marked at the base of Volcán Puyehue (first one here -40.59224, -72.13547).

Climbing the volcano
In short. We didn't. We woke to rain and retreated to the refugio. We spent the day cleaning it. So much rubbish! Carried a load down but there is a lot more if anyone feels like it. It snowed overnight. There was snow down to the refugio at 1400m but only persisted to maybe 1600m. We couldn't see the top of the volcano and in the afternoon, with food running low, decided to bail. The hut has a dunny.

Getting back into Osorno
After waiting three hours for a bus we ended up hitching a ride in una camión. He told us we would have been waiting a long time. Maybe one bus a day. Not really sure. But getting there early is a good idea. Coming down you could camp where the rd starts if you want to save money on lodging. We then caught a bus back into Osorno.

* '''24-Jan-2020 Tom & Maddie'''
Regular route SOBO starting from 37km, 1 day and nero.
Incredible section! We had no particular issues. It is possible to collect some water along the traverse after Hector and Neri’s property, however no reliable water sources are available until after the pass. There are some small streams flowing from the snow at the top so finding water is not impossible. We carried 3L per person and it was the right amount of water, including a side trip to the summit not on a track listed in the files. I would recommend doing the whole traverse in one day due to the limited water and the exposed nature of the area. Good weather is preferable, not just for the amazing views but also for safety reasons. The refuge at the other end of the pass is quite nice and a good place to spend the night.

=Resupply and Accommodation=

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==
*Recommend (Nov 2024 Mo) after finishing: Cabanas in Entre Lagos, really nice people, cabana and price: Janeth +56963133356

*Small supermarket in Curriñe opening times in April 2024:
Lunes a sabado: 9:00-13:30, 15:00-20:00
Domingos y festivos: 10:00-13:00, 17:00-20:00
Shop owner Antonio might be able to find accomodation with a lovely local family for 10k peso a night per person.

* Small supermarket and frutaria in Curriñe in between section 17 and 18. Has everything for a resupply. Haven't checked for gas.

*Nothing in Rupumeica. Little shops in Maqueo and Maihue. A lot of camping sites, free and payable, along the Lago Maihue.

* 2023 -round trip from south / Louis, Rémi & Noé :
Santiago has a restaurant, near the road and a refuge (waypoint refuge no water). You have to check in at the restaurant to pay the 15k CLP /pers. This price includes a night in the refuge (there is nobody in there), access to volcano and a night at the camping near the restaurant (with cold shower for free).

To Restaurant El Caulle on RR - 32km - +1300m/-2400m. The restaurant was closed when we arrived (a Monday at 7pm). Santiago selled us basic food (pasta, sauce, eggs (a bit expensive)) and he opened the doors of his barn for us to sleep dry. The only bus going down from here to Osorno leaves at 7:30am.

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==
*2025 / Antoine
Futrono: several supermarkets, most open on Sundays. But they didn't have screw-type gas canisters. I was lucky to find one at Ferretería O'Higgins Futrono +56 9 6122 5722 (opened just for me, nice guy)
Anticura accomodation:Lodging $$$ {19} [83.4/364]).
Camping (18k CLP, rudimentary, basic showers/WC) and cabanas (with kitchenette, up to 6, 70k CLP onsite (2025)).
Restaurant is nice. About 14-18k CLP for meat/fish main.

*2025 / Peggy
Cabañas en Entre Lagos: Contact Janet (+56963133356)

*2023 / Anna & Christopher
Stayed at Hector qnd Neri Refugio for the night.

*2020 / Martina & Ivo
In Anticura we found accommodation, but we didn't look for resupply, which is probably not so easy...
*2024 / Quentin Clavel
There's basic ressuply in Anticura, at "Tia Olivia" at Lican, point "Food, Lodging {19} [81.4/345]" but it's really in case of emergency. Olivia is a very kind woman and has in stock Bread, cheese, big bottle of coca cola, some juices and frost empanadas that she warmup.

I was in emergency so I resupply there, but just to keep in mind it's not a minimarket or so, just a tiny tiny resupply possibility. Olivia is a charm we discussed a lot, and she even took from her personal reserve pasta and biscuits that make the next section easier in term of food !

There's a possibility to eat at the restaurant of the lodge/cabanas/camping, KM0,00 of the section (Lodging $$$ {19} [83.4/364]). Nice food, good atmosphere. About 14-18k CLP for meat/fish main.
They also have camping (18k CLP, rudimentary, basic showers/WC) and cabanas (with kitchenette, up to 6, 70k CLP onsite (2025)).

End of the section is easy to find camping / small mini market and even restaurant/food truck (in between Maqueo and Puerto Maihue (if you go further in Curriñe, there's bigger minimarket, easier o resupply there).

*2020 / Arnaud Debilly
We ressuplied in Curiñe, with a minimatket there.
We slept in the cabañas of Carmen Panguilef (+56 984 54 83 03) in rupumeica bajo who is very welcoming and a proud mapuche.

WATER :
NO WATER at the first refuge down the volcano, you got to go a little bit further up and west. "Water 12?" wasnt working when I was though, but there was a last stream after before going west to the desert ( at the div 128).You have a good half day of walking without water, so take some supply with you. The water comes back just before the div 126, on a place which looks like a dry lake, with little streams coming down some frozen snow.
There is another part without water, that begins a little after Div 126 until the refuge of Neri and Hector. I personnaly thought easy to find water in the forest and got really thirsty because of that. There was nobody in the refuge, so I could find water a few meters after the north gate of the house, following a little trail that went on the right side, directly in the forest and to the river. (A little bit of bush bashing at the end, next to the river). Further on the road down there was some other rivers and there and good camping sites. You join the real road at bridge 63 and no problems of water after.

=Transport to and from Route=
* 2025 / Antoine B
Night bus Santiago to Futrono (22.20 - ~11.00, 20k CLP), then bus towards Rupumeica (not sure where it ends) at 13.15 (Sunday), ~ 3k CLP

* 2025 / Peggy
If you don't want to do the Gpt20, you can contact Janet to organize a ride to Las Gaviotas (+56963133356) she has also cabañas in Entre Lagos

*2024 / Matthias de Austria
Bus coming from Futrono to Rupumeica, stop in Curriñe, next to GPT01 end, at 14:15, 17:30, 18:45, 20:00. No buses in the forenoon! Don't know about buses on weekends.
Direct bus to Valdivia, passing through Futrono, from Curriñe at 6:55 and 8:55. In the afternoon there's another bus to Futrono.

*2023 / Martin & Helena
Bus to Osorno and Entre Lagos as well leaves early in the morning around 7 AM we think but rather ask.

* 2023 / Anna & Christopher
From Panguipulli we took a bus at 8:40 am to Los Lagos (on a thursday). From there we took another bus to Paillaco at 11:30 am and got off at the cruce Reumén/Futrono. The connecting bus to Futrono passed there around 12:20 pm. From Futrono we took a bus to Llifén at 13:15 pm. From there we hitchhiked until the junction of Option 2 with the RR at km 37 approx.

*2021/ Molly and Melissa
We went from Osorno to Puyehue, as the bus driver said that no buses went any further. From there we were quickly able to hitch a ride to Lican which is the start of the minor road.

*2020 / Arnaud Debilly
To avoid the 15 first kilometers we took the bus from puerto Maihue to Rupumeica Bajo.

*2021 / Molly and Melissa
On the road along the lake we were passed by a bus going to Valdivia which we jumped on happily, so coming off the trail could not have been easier. It passed through Maihue and Futrono as well.

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

*You have to pay the entry of the private property in Lican, at the camping/restaurant of the base of the volcano (10 000 CLP). The owner is called Santiago.
* (2025-12-01) Erwin asked 5k CLP to use the RR trail at Neri & Hector's house (they were not present and from other reports it seems like they didn't ask for that fee).

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT19 - Volcán Puyehue]]

=Images=

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GPT19 (Volcan Puyehue)

2026-01-04T10:35:32Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

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<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

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=Overview=

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.28.12 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Var. D + H / Kris, Stiina and Bailey'''

We connected sections 19, 20 and 21 from Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue) to Port {21} [29.4/204] (El Callao) - 5 walking days in total.

Day 1 - Lift with a friend to Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue), as mentioned earlier it is now a big construction site, seemed like a construction of a new bridge.
Two angry dogs and a cow with two calves right at the gate before Hector’s place where the RR continues. Even though dogs made a lot of noise nobody came out and we didn’t want to open and go through the gate because of the dogs and the cornered cow with the calves. So we turned to variant D and there was the new, black, freshly painted gate. The gaps between the babed wire on the side were generous enough so that we could get through without climbing the gate. 100m further there was another gate, older looking with signs prohibiting entrance and there being surveillance cameras. There was a phone nr to call but no phone signal, but there also was a gap between fence posts that one could squeeze through which we did.
Our initial plan was to rejoin the RR via variant E but we needed water and saw some potential water on satellite and also marked as water on the osm so we continued along variant D it also seemed to be joining back the RR later on and the distance was more or less the same.
And we found a big stream in a ravine with a road passing over it but the stream was 15m down in a canyon impossible to get to, however 30m further on: -40.43197, -72.11723 there was a very very small flowing stream that we managed to get water from.
As we walked on a car came towards us and stopped, a slightly agitated guy stepped out and immediately asked us how did we had managed to get through the gates. When we explained the situation he said it will cost us 10k CLP pp to go through here, since we were kind of trespassing and were caught we said we will pay no problem after which he softened up and became a lot friendlier. He is the owner of the land Enrique Nuñez and his phone nr is +56 988 171 134. He said that it is not a problem for people to pass through his property as long as they let him know and pay I guess - he put up the gate so that people with cars couldn’t pass. Also the road going through has been recently “maintained” and a 4x4 could get up it so he said if you come with a car he can also let you through. Afterwards he told us that we can camp wherever we want and told us about the wildlife cameras on the property that he has managed to capture different animals on, such as pumas and wild hogs. He also mentioned the termas and that there is a water somewhere nearby them, but we weren’t exactly sure where the thermas were, except for the coordinates provided by Peggy. He also said something about building or there being a refugio somewhere.
We camped here -40.44411, -72.12758 by some old storage shed with lots of empty motor oil containers inside. You can hear a stream nearby but we couldn’t find a way to get to it it’s still down in a canyon.

Day 2 - In the morning we wanted to find some more water for the day without going back to where we found it yesterday. Again I could see on the satellite image that there should be some further up along the variant D which there was here -40.44985, -72.11917 there is also a gully with water 100m before but with a bit more downclimbing over the logs.
The confusing part was this junction that isn’t mentioned along the variant D -40.44735, -72.12289. The main MR follows the OSM trail up to where there are the supposed termas, however the variant D traverses back to RR along a lesser traveled path. Since the potential water gullies that we saw on the sat were along the variant D we followed it instead of going up the road.
Once we rejoined the RR about 5km later there is another trail junction here -40.48121, -72.13715 where the OSM trail from variant D joins the RR. At the junction the OSM trail is marked with big blue markers on the trees and I would say if I was going NOBO that’s the trail I would take instead of the RR. I think the variants should be updated here and someone should double confirm about the exact location of the termas and whether there is drinking water nearby. According to Enrique the water is somewhere down on the right side.
The junction is where the two questionable water points are, Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] and the one a bit further but since we had enough and the waypoints were off trail somewhere we didn’t go to investigate.

The geyser/fumarole area you could smell from a distance, very cool area though as mentioned before don’t go too close the ground is kind of soft.
Overall the high volcanic plateau was very beautiful, especially the dark contrasting lava fields. And the walking was a bit tough going with a lot of small runnels and gullies carved by water that needed to be crossed, slanted ground, slippery because of small rocks on top of a packed soil making the ball bearing effect.
There was a snowmelt puddle here -40.50745, -72.17575 with enough snow around to keep it for at least a month a legit water point, also there was a possible campsite nearby.
The best water source that we found all day was here: -40.56294, -72.14272 it seemed like a spring since it was very cold and coming directly from the ground, not from a snowmelt above because there wasn’t any snow above.
After that travering the west side of Volcán Puyehue, pretty much every gully had water, but all of them were very silty in the late afternoon due to the snowmelt above.

When we got to Water {19} [71.9/1610] the water was also full of sediment. Bailey still went for the summit of Puyehue while me and Stiina felt a bit tired and took the variant H and descended to the Refugio El Caulle, which is where we all camped for the night. No water in the ditch below the refugio but there was a very small stream in a gully below the trail about 600m before the refugio.
The refugio itself was decent, not too much trash in or around, in bad weather definitely a good place for an overnight. Dry toilet about 100m from the refugio down towards the gully, the toilet was also pretty clean.

Day 3 - Though the morning was sunny clouds started rolling in while we were getting ready. Bailey already took off around 7:00 in the morning because he had a bus to catch from Entre Lagos to Bariloche in the evening, we just said goodbye and kept snoozing.
For my morning knees the trail felt pretty steep going down at first but once they warmed up it got better, good trail overall and the water was where it’s marked.
A woman came out from El Caulle asked about our plans we told her that we are heading to Anticura and also that we already paid on the other side of volcano to Enrique, she said all good and we could pass without paying anything. We saw Tia Olivia’s place, there was a sign about bread and empanadas but we didn’t go there, we went straight to the restaurant which is at the end of variant B (section 20). We got there by 11 and the restaurant was still closed. The chef inside said they need to still prep some food and they will open in half an hour so we waited because we wanted to have lunch there.
Nice place, the young waitress working there had only her third day on the job and was quite overwhelmed and appeared a bit clueless about everything and everything understandably took her very long time especially once other people started arriving so we spent there a lot more time than we intended, I hope she is a quick learner. (Only mentioning it in case you plan to stop there for a quick lunch, to take into account that it might take a bit longer).
Overall it seemed like a popular place for all the car tourists passing by coming to and from Bariloche. The road had very decent traffic and I think getting a hitch should be relatively easy going either way. Quite a few big trucks though so the road walk wasn’t the nicest.

After the lunch we went back to the junction and across the road started the section 20 via variant A.

(Continued in Section 20)

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

* ''2025-12-15 to 2025-12-18 / 3,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR (Variant D), OH4 (up and down), OH1 / Nimrod + Shai + Shmuel + Shay''

15/12
Restaurante El Caulle → Refugio El Caulle

We paid 15000 CLP per person at Santiago hut.

The initial section of the ascent was muddy and relatively flat. The final section was steeper and slippery due to heavy rain.
Several water sources were available along the way; water was collected as there was none at the refuge.
Dense fog developed near the top.
Reached the refuge, which was littered with trash.
Overnight stay at the refuge.

Distance: 8.46 km
Elevation gain: 1,077 m
Elevation loss: 35 m

16/12
Refugio El Caulle → 40.5285946°S, 72.1719636°W

Morning ascent to the summit over snow-covered volcanic terrain, with steeper slopes near the top.
At the crater, conditions included snow and strong winds with limited visibility. Decided against doing 4B option.
The descent was rapid, including sliding on snow in sections.
Continued hiking through cloud cover with multiple ascents and descents over snowfields, some with deep post-holing.
Observed colorful geothermal features and geysers.
Strong winds and cloud cover persisted at higher elevations, limiting views.

Camped near a river despite potential risk.

Distance: 18 km
Elevation gain: 1,688 m
Elevation loss: 1,515 m

17/12
40.5285946°S, 72.1719636°W → 40.4629860°S, 72.1160620°W

Started the day with rain. Wet conditions throughout, including steep ascents and descents on a faint, rarely used trail.
Water availability was limited until reaching the river.
Reached hot springs in rainy conditions and stopped for an extended rest.
Continued toward geothermal fields with notable geysers, then descended into forested terrain.
The campsite was established on the trail due to lack of better options, water availability remained limited.

Distance: 24.8 km
Elevation gain: 1,037 m
Elevation loss: 1,616 m

18/12
40.4629860°S, 72.1160620°W → 40.3861952°S, 72.0805632°W

Freshly painted black gate about 100 meters from where Variant D and RR meet, after debating we decided to cross it. and when back a bit to hector house, talked with Erwin and filled some water.

Got a ride from the main road.

Distance: 13 km
Elevation gain: 184 m
Elevation loss: 858 m

* '''2025-12-16 to 2025-12-19 / 3,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR OH4a (turned around) OH1 OH2 / Isabelle and Sander'''
Impressive Puyehue vulcano! Made long days to squeeze trip in between bad weather but still had a lot of rain and wind on day 2. All indicated water points had water. Paid 15.000 each to a young woman who called Santiago when we showed up at the lodge at the start of the RR. We came by bus from Osorno and the bus driver helped to directly transfer to a bus to anticura so that was very smooth. At the end we walked option 2 until Pocura, hitchhiking no luck, when a bus showed up around 14h45 all the way to Rio Bueno.

Two important additions to what has been said before:

1. OH4a over the crater rim. We did it nobo with our backpacks, some steep parts but fine and quite some recent snow. Clouds and wind came in at the end of the day so we only saw the crater for some magical minutes. When reaching the northern part where the tracks go down again we bumped into quite steep snow/icefield. With strong wind and clouds we had very bad visibility and couldn’t see an alternative route. Would be a very bad place to fall so we turned around and were back at the RR after 20 o’clock and very tired. Actually on satellite images you can see the build up of snow at that point. Can imagine the size can fluctuate lots depending on weather.

2. When arriving at hectors place on our third day we followed the last km the gravel road of 19D but a large brand new locked gate with lots of barbed wire has been erected. Calling Erwin’s number as below wasn’t working neither we had enough internet for WhatsApp. Barking dogs but no one answered our ‘hola!’s. We climbed back to the RR and on the way took some water at a little stream around -40.43132, -72.11323. When following the RR to hectors house it seemed no one was there. The dogs came loudly barking, still no one came and the only way to calm the dogs was to keep walking further and we slipped through a locked gate with barbed wire and the dogs left. We continued a few km and a nice person at the next house advised us a camping spot on a communal space after a gate which you can open around -40.40713, -72.10952 and there should be clean water. We actually didn’t camp there because he underestimated it at 200 meters, but after 800 meters still didn’t see a gate and we found many other nice spots. Next day we found out it was just 100 meters further haha. Theres a beautiful river there as well!

We actually met Nimrod and friends on their way down to hectors place. Maybe they met someone who could explain the new gate?

* '''2025-11-30 to 2025-12-04 / 4.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / RR / Options 01 and 04A, Variant H / Antoine Bocquier '''

A section full of various landscapes, from Valdivian jungle to tall-tree forest, volcanic hills, lava fields, (amazing) hot spring, volcano climb & crater. Pretty happy for my first GPT section, even with mixed weather (the clouds have some charm down here).

Attractivity: 5
(Mostly the volcanic area and variety of environments)
Difficulty: 3
(Long section road, long ascent, loose rocks on inclined sections, water)

Water: overall not too tricky to find for now, even on the volcanic plateau I could find some every hour at the bottom of melting snow packs.

Snow: the trail was snow-free, just a few passages when ascending/"skiing" down the crater rim

Day 1 (11km)
Bus from Futrono (13.15, ~3k CLP), I stoped at Puerto Maqueo (few km south after Puerto Maihue). Started packrafting around 16.00, about 2hrs with light tailwind. Beautiful views.
Climbed up on the road and found a big clearing on the side (around -40.34426, -72.00433) as the night fell, in front of the cow fields. Flat and nice view.

Day 2 (30km)
In the morning the neighbours came by to check and were nice & welcoming after chatting.
Long ascent on the gravel road with a too heavily loaded backpack... I hitchhiked on 3km with some workers going to the bridge on Rio Nilahue. The landscape gets better in the next valley, I saw Nero and Hector on the road, and reached their house where Erwin opened the gate. He recorded my details in a register and asked for 5k CLP for using their trail (I don't think this was the case before). I also refilled water at the house. Navigation is easy but a bit overgrown (I cleared a bit my sticks). The forest gets much more interesting higher up, huge and scattered trees.
I didn't check the recorded water (?) spots but found ponds in a small canyon at -40.48596, -72.14169 (I wouldn't rely on it later in the season). Very good camping spots at the end of the tree line.

Day 3 (11km)
Short day going to the hot spring on option 1. Combined with a nice and varied route, I'd say it's a must! The green valley with its river is surprising after the barren land (including an exciting geothermal area). The hot spring was such as treat after the rainy misty day!

Day 4 (20km)
Hot spring to Puyehue crater top (01-RR-04A). Best day, mostly sunny with insane views and funny up-down maze. It felt a bit like Iceland and Lappland in places. I stayed a bit more east than 01, staying high up and following ridges down to the new lava field (black). The sun is quite burning up there, even with sunscreen. Reached the bottom of the volcano, refilled water at melting snowpack and decided to climb it and tent on top (04 option / summit), despite the clouds, as the weather in the morning may clear up. Steep 400m elevation climb, strenuous when the ground is super loose with small gravel... The rocky section is faster to climb at some point. I found a flat ground 15m from the summit, slightly protected by rocks, with moderate winds.

Day 5 (17km)
Still in the clouds in the morning... But on my way down on the ridge, it opened up for some seconds and the view was magical with sun spots flowing across the huge crater filled with snow. Worth the climb and patience! I went down a bit earlier than the track (not ascending again around ~2100m) and it was ok to catch up the track. Variant H, perfect, less elevation.
All the way down to Anticura, I stayed at Lodging $$$ (camping 18k CLP, nice cabanas 70k CLP (same price for 1 or 2, can accommodate up to 6). Restaurant was good and not too expensive (14-18k CLP for fish or meat main).

* '''2025-11-19 to 2025-11-22 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / RR / Options D and E / Daniel.s'''

Coming from GPT 18 I did all my food shopping in Curriñe and put in on a calm Lago Maihue at S 40° 15.151', W 072° 00.692'.

I crossed the lake to paddle the western shoreline and camped at S 40° 19.810', W 072° 00.785'. There was a storm forecast for the night and I found a disused MR just behind the beach to "fasten down the hatches". It also connects by foot to the RP hiking section.

Day 2 I prepared for a long and tedious road hike, but got a lift to Bridge, Gate {19} [15.6/319] (Locked Gate Fundo Carren, Rio Chilcoco) very soon, and only 2 minutes later another lift all the way to Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue).

ATTENTION!!! THE ROAD SECTION BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS IS ONE BIG CONSTRUCTION SITE FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS! So camping at Bridge {19} [37.3/296] (Rio Nilahue) like some did before is impossible as of now.

Since I arrived early I started hiking uphill said hello to Hector (he did not open the path through his land yet) and hiked all the way to Water ? {19} [53.7/1344] where I camped.
!!! BOTH WATER SOURCES CARRY VERY LITTLE WATER ALREADY AND ALL SNOW IS GONE UNTIL YOU REACH THE TREELINE!!!

DAY 3 I hiked across the plateau, very little snow (trail as in GPS is virtually snow free) except for the section along the crater, which was still mostly covered. After Pass {19} [69.9/1764] there's very little snow again. The last water before the refugio is as indicated. I continued from the refugio down to fill my water at Water {19} [76.1/844] and camped shortly after on the first flat spot I found.

Day 4 it took only one hour to reach the main road at Lican and I was lucky enough that 10 minutes later the bus to entre Lagos passed by (2k clp, weekdays ~7:30, Saturday and Sunday ~9:00 am)

* '''2025-01-18 to 2025-01-120 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Thijmen Scholten'''.

- To get to llifen from Puerto fuey will take half a day at least.

- Lake Maihue was calm even though I started at 11

- Road walking after the lake is boring may better hitchike.

- Near the bridge over the river Nilahue is good camping and fishing spot.

- There is another campspot with water from river halfway up to Neri and hector

- The gate from Neri house was closed but you can yell or call Erwin bustos : +56973064535. He lives with them now

- First part from Neri's house is overgrown after that you enter a beautiful old growth forest with huge trees

- Hot springs are nice! Plus is usefull for water. If you are tired: around ,4 km before the hot springs you can camp with water . So you don't have to Cary your backpack to the hot springs .

* Geysers are beautiful just watch out where you step and the vulcanic landscape is beautiful

* Water sources differ per month. The orange ones (the not sure ones) were dry but I found other water sources. And there was still plenty of snow 19th of January.

* You need a good hat and long sleeves against the sun. I covered my whole body but I burned my hands badly.

* The refugio has no water so fill up before if you plan to camp there

- You can summit the Vulcano next morning without your gear.

- Second water source on the way down did not have water

- If you want to skip section 20 you have to hitchike. There is only a bus in the morning

==Season 2024/25==
* '''2025-03-10 to 2025-03-16 / 6 Days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + 2A / Tim + Magdalena'''

In an effort to do GPT19 without all the road walking we ascended from the south on the RR and chose option 2A to descend to Parque Futangue Sector Riñinahue. TLDR: DO NOT DO THIS, check Natalie+Tomás reports for much better alternatives with little roadwalking.

It's arduous, monotonous, VERY slow climbing over multiple km's of boulder field with crumbling, loose rocks. We both had a few very close calls with rocks crumbling away under us, moss sliding off the boulders and even huge boulders tipping away under our feet. We expected the 6km (as the crow flies) to take us maybe 5 hours of walking. We actually needed around 15 hours over two days. (Our speed was 200-500 Meter/hour according to our GPS) Luckily we had just enough food. You might think surely there's some parts with gravel or sand making for faster walking? But no, absolutely not. All water, sand and gravel is disappearing between the boulders. The water resurfaces for a while at 1040m of elevation, but then the basin is immediately covered by 2-3m high bushes. In the dry parts, we had to make some long detours to get water.

Once on the MR in Futangue there's a very well fenced off bridge at S 40.41942°, W 072.25140°. The fence is meant to keep guests inside the main area of the park, only guided tours go further.
We climbed over the 3m high fence. It would be impossible to get your backpack over alone and if they lock it a bit more tightly it would be completely impossible. I don't think the river in the canyon below is fordable.

The option to descend to Futangue will be removed in future GPT track files as I understand it.

Much more enjoyable and safer connections to the west of Puyehue are possible, as described by Natalie + Tomás. We also met a guided group on horses going over a pass to the west, probably the same way as them.

*'''' 2025-03-13 to 2025-03-16 / 4 days / Hiking/ NOBO / RR, 02A, 02C, 01 / Peggy

Having already completed this section in SOBO some time ago, I will just point out a few important things.

At Lican, it is possible to eat at señora Olivia’s place (on the main road, house with a sign saying “pan amasado, empanada, hospedaje”) and to stay overnight for 20k.

At the start of the trail, Santiago asked me for 10k (for the maintenance of the path leading to the refuge and for the refuge itself) and my personal information (name, surname, and passport number). He also asked me to send him a message via WhatsApp once I had reached the other side.

I camped a little above the water source at km 71.8. Incredible view of Tronador and the Antillanca, Casablanca, Puntiagudo, and Osorno volcanoes. Best avoided in case of wind (be careful, the wind can pick up during the night…).

I found water here (40.562969S, 072.142607W), but it wasn’t there less than a month before (rain and snow from the past week).

I highly recommend option 02A along the ridges. It is magnificent, with exceptional views. No navigation issues, even though everything is in BB and almost without footprints (this option is rarely taken). Some steep climbs and/or descents at the beginning and end. I would recommend doing it in SOBO for the views, as you walk towards the volcano, but in NOBO, as I did, it also works as long as you stop often and turn around!

For the hot springs, the exact point is here: 40.46720S, 72.13322W. Often crowded on weekends (people arriving on horseback). A bit dirty near the springs 😢 (empty alcohol bottles). But the pool is worth it!

On the way back down to the RR, before reaching Neri and Hector’s place (km 45.4), I found water here (40.435404S, 072.114426W) and here (40.434905S, 072.114245W). I camped nearby, hidden in the forest.

The entire section through the forest is very beautiful, enchanting.

I was preparing to descend to join section 18 via the RR, hoping to hitch a ride. But seeing many trucks coming down from the other side, I finally asked one of them for a ride and made my way down with several trucks/cars and some walking until Llifen, then Maihue. Not sure it was the best option.

*'''2025-02-19 to 2025-02-21 / 2.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR +OH 02 / chloe and Mathieu
We took the bus from Osorno to termas de Puyehue at 3PM. From there we hitchhiked to the camping Catrue (18000 for one tent).
Day 1 : we walked along the road until the Santiago's property where we had to pay 15000 per person. Then we started walking in the valdivian forest, until the refugio where there wasn’t water. We met Sophie and Gaspar and decided to walk together. Water at every points indicated on Locus because there was patchs of snow. We camped closed to the water point S 40° 34.596', W 072° 08.064'
We decided to climb the volcano and we didn’t follow exactly the OH 04A but we prefered to take the steepless route on the right. Amazing wiew at the top, no difficulty to climb.
Day 2 : we followed the RR, and no water until the Hector and Neri's property so you have to be careful and carry lot of water. We slept there and for 5000 per personn we could have water and use, a hot shower and use his stove to cook.
Day 3 : RR and option 02 up to Rininahue. Gravel road then paved road, quite boring. There we hitchhiked up to Futrono where we took a bus to Valdivia. Bus every hours.

*'''2025-02-19 to 2025-02-22 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+OH D / Dorota'''

Day 1: I took a bus at 2 p.m. in Llifen to Rupumeica Bajo. The first day I started at 4 p.m so it was short. I spent the night at about km 24 of RR near the river (-40.35916, -71.98513). After camp 31.4, there is no possibility to put up a tent. There was a bus at 8.30 going down from Rupumeica.

Day 2: It was a little boring, but I decided not to hitchhike. I put up a tent at km 1.5 of variant D but without water. At the beginning of variant D, there is a gate where there is information about cámaras.

Day 3: I continued variant D and at km 3.5 of variant D, where you have three options, I continued straight. It was a really good way through the forest. At point -40.47719, I found something like a refugio and inside were bottles with water. I was lucky because at point 53.5 and 53.7 there was no water. Night at the plateau at km 68 with water from snow. A little windy but not too much.

Day 4: The water was bad, so unfortunately I did not climb the volcano. I reached point 81.4 km at 1 p.m so a day was very short.

*'''2025-02-19 to 2025-02-24 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / 02, RR, D, 01, 04A, 04B / Peggy

I wanted to start with the 02A, but upon arriving, I realized I was entering the Futangue park (15k entrance fee) where I was not allowed to camp or go any further. Maybe I should have lied, but with a tortoise-like backpack, it felt complicated to say I was just out for a day hike!

So, I took the 02, which is a PR (public route) up to Venados.

Until the D variant, there are 3 water points: 40.237656S, 072.051233W (hole in a pipe), 40.239298S, 072.054975W (both are close to each other), and 40.244853S, 072.066878W with the possibility of camping (check if the water is easily accessible?).

On the 01, up to the hot springs, there’s water at a spot used as a campsite with access to the river and a campfire (40.239298S, 072.106674W).

The hot springs, as mentioned before, are located about 500m before the point on the map. There should be several spots. I personally found a source of boiling water and lay down in the warm river, alternating between the scalding hot and lukewarm, surrounded by plants, flowers, and bumblebees! :)

The 01 that continues from the hot springs along the ridge is definitely worth it. I really liked it.

Throughout this section, navigation is very straightforward, even in BB (bush bashing).

I had planned to climb the Peyehue volcano and do a crater loop the next day, but with the weather forecast predicting bad conditions, I decided to take the 04A with my big backpack to avoid having to go back down. It was an intense climb, tortoise-style! But the splendid view of the crater made the difficult ascent worth it. I descended a bit before the track of the 04A descent, cutting across to the RR.

There’s water at the point marked on the map at km 71.8, and it’s possible to camp there, though the ground is very soft and wet. I preferred to head to the El Caulle refuge, where I met an Israeli and an Englishwoman. It’s a sheltered place with lots of wood around for a fire, either outside or inside in the stove. There are also dry toilets. For water, it might be a good idea to bring some from the last water point in SOBO at km 71.8, but there’s also a small "estero" behind the dry toilets, down in the ravine (be careful on the descent and ascent!).

The next day, I woke up early to climb the volcano via the 04B, but about 200m from the crater, I had to give up due to the intense wind.

The weather turned to rain and strong winds, so I stayed another night at the refuge with my new friends.

Then, having caught a cold from my adventure on the volcano in the wind and a "walk" down to get water at km 71.8 (!) I stayed alone for another day and night, which gave me the chance to see and understand the sign on one of the windows: "estero" with an arrow, and I went to that water source!

'''2025-Feb-05 to 2025-Feb-10 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, option 1 & 2 / Chris & Diana
'''
Wikiexplora deleted our log, as two were editing the same section parallel which it cant handle. Therefore a bit more streamlined next try...

Bus via Lago Ranco to Riñanahue. Schedule: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087840261554
Camped at lovely calm site for 7kCLP pp
maps.app.goo.gl/b1rKAqLmmXtf6gQm8, +56 9 7511 3562

There is a super nice supermarked with most one could wish for incl. local cheese.

Bus to Pichico at approx 12:00 (apparently started in Rio Bueno?).
Otherwise Uber Riñinahue:
+56920616903
+56973752096
+56998506088

Started our hike at los vernados, tried to avoid hectors property but due to lack of water had to return. Everyone super lovely & nice. Shower & camping for 15kCLP total. The dogs arent dangerous (two young ones chained, one old one Pelao just barks and can barely walk). All of em cuties once you are unlocked as an amigo by Erwin.
Erwin: +56973064535
Hectors son hector parra raddatz: +56 9 9390 0644
Avoiding could be: camp at last good spot at [S 40.408118 W 072.111271] with water. Take option that crosses back to RR, mid way you cross another stream, thats the last for a while.
Didnt check both water ? Marks.
First water after that is [S 40.491149 W 072.157324] shortly before the crossing to the hotsprings (fed by snowfield).
In between at [S 40.487550 W 072.148084] 4 condors and an eagle chilling. Many feathers there suggest they like chilling there, so approaching this spot carefully could yield nice pictures.

At hot spring there is on the right hand side of the valley close to/in the riverbed 3 holes with cold freshwater.

Entel coverage at the highest "peak" before descending to the plateau and the final traverse along the volcan, where option [03d] splits off, therefore at marking gpt19-03d end.

Until first water ? mark at the volcano there is only occasionally some driplets from snowfields. Second water ? Mark didnt yield water for us.

After the "final" water mark before the refugio there is one more stream, a bit closer. At the refugio itself we didnt see water, chilenos said there is some a bit up, inside the "valley"-ish crevasse. We didnt check.

On descend first water mark had water, second didnt. In the valley there is some again.
The camping ground at the end of the trail looks really good, might be nice for a night.
Hitchhiking a bit difficult because cars are plenty and fast but managed after half an hour straight to Osorno.

Wonderful diverse section with many great highlights but requires a bit water planning and carrying liters over long distances. 10/10 recommend!

Volcano warnings: sernageomin.cl

Forrest fire warnings: conaf.cl/incendios/situacion-actual-y-pronostico-de-incendios/

* '''2025-02-02 to 2025-02-05 / 3 days / Packrafting & Hiking / SOBO / RP, RR, Option D, Option E, RR , Option 1, RR, Option 4 (Puyehue ascent), RR / Lucie and Thomas '''

Transportation:
On Sunday we took the bus at 1:15pm from Futrono to Rupumeica (only other bus at 8pm). No bus on Sunday to Rininahue.
Week days:
Futrono-Rupumeica at 1:15pm, 4:45pm, 5:45pm, 7pm y Futrono-Rininahue at 12:30pm, 4:10pm, 6:30pm.
Saturday:
Futrono-Rupumeica: 1:15pm, 4:45pm, 5:45pm.
Futrono-Rininahue: 12:30pm.

Afternoon day 1:
From Rupumeica bajo, a boat was supposed to leave at 3:45pm to Carran (Melipue on OSM) or 3:10pm from Maqueo but we didn't see it. We had planned anyway to packraft lago Maihue following the second part of RP which we did as weather conditions were great. We went into the water at -40,31745, -71,99077 (beach) until Carran.
Hiked following the RP until it meets RR at the road. During this part, we were kindly reminded that the area was private by the owner (the path itself seemed okay).
Hitchhicked until bridge over Nilahue where we filled up water. Important: Nilahue is the last water until the volcanic plateau at this period.
Camped at -40,40128, -72,09428 (hidden from the road but no view and no water).

Day 2:
RR with option D & E to avoid the barrier and dogs. Entering the park we found this phone contact: +56 963659730 but didn't get any answer. Didn't see anyone.
First water of the day at -40,49031, -72,16550 (small, melting snow). The second and proper one (river) started at -40,48767, -72,17619.
Continued on RR until taking option 1 to the hot springs which are definitely worth the extra miles !

Day 3:
We followed the east part of option 1 (very scenic) until reaching RR which we followed until Puyehue summit ascent. We slept next to Refugio El Caulle which does not have water indeed. Water can be found at -40,61123 -72,14355 (~40min back and forth from the refuge) if you forget to fill before like us.
Wonderfull views all along the day !

Day 4 morning :
Way down to 215 following RR, where we did not managed to hitchhike (if you need a taxi you can call Juvenal from Entre Lagos +56 931078640)

'''2025-Jan-24 to 2025-Jan-27 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, option 1 / Nimrod & Tamar
'''

Snow - a few patches but was doable for us without spikes.
Water -
-water? [53.7/1344] was a small dirty pond. A few hundred meters after this waypoint there is currently a lot of water from snow melt.
-on the way to hot spring on option 01 there is currently a lot of water.
-after the hot spring in option 1, last water was at (-40.54266, -72.16335). Next water currently at (-40.59190, -72.13565).

Random Cool things along the way-
-Chaura berries- were flourishing! Delicious!! Different taste for each bush
-condor- saw one up close before the pass near the volcan. he sat on the ground also! Such a huge creature! Maybe has a nest there.
-geyser- look for the waves in the water forming from boiling.

Transportation:
We skipped from the end of section 10. Took a few buses: Gulalli-Los Angeles-Valdivia-Futrono-Rupameica Bajo.
Valdivia to Futrono there is a bus approx once an hour.
From Futrono to Rupameica Bajo we took a bus at 16:40.
The final stop is at waypoint X [13.3/144].
We camped on the beach at approx ( -40.31745, -71.99078). We were alone on the beach although it was weekend.

In details:
1st day:
The MR was nice and at parts was not maintained and was more like a trail until approx km 18. After that it becomes a maintained road and for us boring.
We hitchhiked with the first vehicle we saw and he took us to (-40.38622, -72.08066).
We hiked to refuge [45.4/537] and camped there. We paid 5000 clp each and wrote our details.
Neri kindly offered to use their shower.

2nd day:
The trail head from the refuge is overgrown and we used the GPS to find and follow the first 100 meters. Later it becomes better but the whole trail is an overgrown MR, which made it a beautiful hike. There were a few fallen trees which blocked the trail but it wasn't hard to find the trail around them.
We checked both water points at km 53. There were small dirty ponds and we collected water from [53.7/1334]. We regretted doing it because a few hundred meters later there are tons of small streams from melting snow, staring at ( -40.48990, -72.15184).
Geyser at ( -40.49555, -72.16049) was really nice.

We took option 01 to the hot springs. The CC/TL was clear and easy.
The hot RIVER starts 500 meters before the waypoint. We checked the waypoint but the water was less warm then upstream, so we camped upstream and had warm night bath.
The temperature was perfect for us.

3rd day:
We took another bath in the morning and started hiking late.
There was rain forecast so we stopped early and camped at (-40.325713',-072.097432'). There was a small water stream from melting snow.
There was also another "geyser" on a hill close to where we camped.
The night was horrible! It was very windy and the sand didn't hold the tent pegs. Our tent almost broke from the wind in the middle of the night so we had to put big rocks on the pegs. Finally the wind died and we and our tent survived :)

4th day:
Woke up to a cloudy day so we understood we are not going to climb the volcano.
We connected back to the RR.
On the RR there were sometimes poles marking the trail but there was no trail to follow. There were some snow patches on the route that slowed us down but were not hard to cross.
There was only snow but no water at water waypoints at km 68.6 and 69.2.
We collected water at (-40.59190, -72.13565).
There was water at the waypoint at 71.8 as well. Approximately after this waypoint there are patches of grass which make the trail more visible and easy to hike.
We finished late so we decided to stay in Lican. Cabaña for 2 cost us 40000 clp. We had a burger for 2500 CLP.
Took a bus in the morning to Osorno at 7:30- the host helped us with calling the bus in advance so it will know to stop (there's only one bus a day).

The whole area is magical! As if witches live under the ground and boil thier potions, while above the souls of ice roam between the lava fields.

* ''' 2025-JAN-11 > 13 / 3 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / RR > 19-01 > 19-02C > 19-02A > RR > 19-04A > 19-04B > 19-04 > RR / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT14+GPT15+GPT16+GPT17+GPT18+GPT19
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : rare ou absente
| Neige : oui
| Intérêt : 5/5
| Difficulté : 4/5
| Danger : manque d'eau

Route et gravel road en plein soleil. Comme l'altitude est faible il fait très chaud. J'ai réussi à faire de l'auto-stop sur 10km seulement. Il y a beaucoup de taons malheureusement. Le soir je n'ai pas trouvé d'eau au début de la 19-D alors je suis allé au km 45,4 pour avoir de l'eau et camper. Ca m'a couté 5000CLP. Je déconseille le camping ici car il n'y a aucun service. Le lendemain montée au plateau. Le sentier n'est pas toujours en bon état mais ça se fait bien. Au plateau, la 19-01 est super et il y a plein d'eau. Sur la 19-02C il y avait aussi de l'eau car la neige fond. J'ai campé dans un petit cratère sur la 19-02A au point 40.520467° S 72.208066° W car il y avait un lac. J'ai bien fait de m'arrêter car un brouillard épais est arrivé quand j'ai monté ma tente à 17h30, et 1h plus tard il pleuvait. Ma première pluie depuis mon départ de Santiago il y a 47 jours. Le sentier de crête est vraiment magnifique et facile car le sol est très compact. Dernier jour, aucun taon. Il n'y a pas d'eau et je rempli ma bouteille de neige. Par chance il y a des nuages et il fait frais. La fin de la montée du volcan et le tour du cratère sont plutôt difficile car le sable est mou et la progressisn est lente. La rando est magnifique. La descente du volcan se fait bien. Ski sur la premiere partie, puis chemin très érodé après le refuge El Caulle. Je suis allé à Osorno en auto-stop. Les horaires Osorno<->Anticura sur google sont faux.
JAN-14>JAN-15 : Repos Osorno
J'ai commandé sur Amazon un filtre pour ma gourde, des pointes pour mes bâtons et des chaussures (taille 47) car introuvable en magasin. J'ai écrit l'adresse de la poste comme étant mon adresse. Mes 3 colis sont en dépôt 5 jours ouvrés dans une agence Chilexpress dans le centre ville. J'ai bien tout reçu.

*'''2025-JAN-12 to 2025-JAN-15 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH (Var. 03 + 03-A) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel'''

The stage begins mostly along a road, which had relatively heavy traffic on Sunday evening. Around Lake Maihue, there is a fence, but there are gaps with paths leading to the beach. Swimming in the lake was very pleasant. The water was warmer than we expected.

On the first evening, we camped at the ford over Rio Hueinahue [10.9/116] at coordinates -40.31647, -71.97186. There is a nice abandoned campsite here with a dry toilet, tables, and several fire pits. The ford [10.9/116] we crossed in the morning is long, but the current isn’t strong, and the water isn’t deep. After the ford, we didn’t follow the trackfiles but instead took the trail directly west (there’s a marked path in OpenStreetMap data), which turned out to be easy and without any issues, except for a gate at the connection to the road.

We considered taking Variant C but decided to stay on the RR and didn’t regret it. Passing through wild forests along a deeply cut path forming tunnels with leafy ceilings was worth the extra elevation gain. The rest of the route to Los Venados (km 39) is uneventful, and the trail moves quickly.

At kilometer 39.1, we chose Variant 03. Along the way, there are several gates, some for cattle but primarily marking the boundary of the private nature reserve Centrafuerte. The most prominent gate is at coordinates -40.39993, -72.08501, and it should be there a phone number to call for access to the reserve. We missed the number, climbed over the gate, and met the reserve staff later. The entry fee is 12,000 CLP per person, and entry is limited to 20 people per day. We had no issues with the limit, but in peak summer (February), it’s said to fill up quickly.

The trail is comfortable and well-maintained. It passes through a dead forest where all the trees dried out due to the 2011 eruption and the subsequent pyroclastic flow. The MR doesn’t follow the track files toward the end and ends at coordinates -40.510827, -72.118630, where there’s a shelter with tables, seating, toilets, and an information board with a satellite map of the area. Close to this spot are the hot springs (-40.510952, -72.123191)—bathing is directly in the stream, with a very pleasant water temperature. There’s also a simple shelter for changing clothes.

From the hot springs, we continued along the ridge between streams, and after a slightly wild and steep climb, we joined OH 03-A, which we followed to the connection with the RR.

The first flowing water after crossing the volcanic plain was at coordinates -40.59190, -72.13565.

The Refugio [73.8/1378] is in good condition—clean and well-maintained, with a stream running below it.

The final descent passes through beautiful Valdivian rainforests.

From the end of the stage, we hitchhiked to resupply in Entre Lagos. At the edge of the town, there’s a large supermarket called Iguazu. Hitchhiking required patience, but in the end, it wasn’t a problem.

* '''2025-01-05 to 2025-01-0 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO/ Completely new option, RR / Natalie & Tomáš'''

Day one: Lago Ranco to under ridge - 17km

Through OSM, satellite and some records on Wikiloc, we were convinced an approach to Puyehue from the west existed. It looked appealing as it had a better "road to hike ratio", and extended the already scenic area. And of course a reason to paddle to Lago Ranco to resupply with better food (see separate Packraft post). Unfortunately, the total length of road walking is not shortened that much if you do not find a ride or order a taxi. The first 17 km is PR and MR. Taxis are not expensive in Chile so we arranged a pickup at our accommodation in Lago Ranco with Don Christian (Whatsapp at +56 9 5703 5726). He arrived on time and drove us to -40.38520, -72.44823, where a locked gate stopped us three km from our original goal. He asked for 17mil but we paid him 20mil even though it was in the end just 15 km (the price was technically 1000 per km). We met nobody going up and are unsure about access arrangement, the huge equestrian property after the gate seemed to belong to a wealthy landowner. Perhaps you can find out how to request permission if it becomes a problem. The first roughly 7 km is a not a very nice MR, it has been recently "improved" (we met a nice herd of luxury horses though). Five km in, a very solid gate screaming "money" is being built - it might create an obstacle in the future, but it should be possible to climb over it or go around. After 7 km, the road stops being passable by car. For hikers, it is actually a well passable but eroded and somewhat overgrown logging road made of logs, it has a feeling of a trail. The uphill was a struggle. We bought too much food, were lugging our packraft, and together with insects (tabaños and some new biting flies) and heat, we had to take many breaks. The bugs got so bad that we even built a tent for lunch. At -40.38520, -72.44823, there is an old refuge that would protect you from elements, which probably used to be the logging operation. Our first water was at -40.41466, -72.34625. The trail is being used, there were recentish cut marks and very fresh footprints. Also the place seems popular with beer drinking people as there was sadly a number of beer cans along the otherwise very pretty route. About here: -40.41708, -72.32830 you leave the old road and join a trail along the ridge, which is even prettier. There was quite a stream here: -40.43144, -72.30571 and from then on, water was plentiful. However, there are still large snowfields, so maybe it dries out towards the end of summer. Shortly after the stream we passed a four-tent group of Chileans at a perfect camping spot: -40.43223, -72.30665, who made the fresh footprints (so probably access is somewhar permissive). We did not speak to them and camped at -40.43400, -72.30895, which is even more sheltered.

Day two: Under ridge to thermas - 19km

Setting off at 9:30, we followed the faint trail marked with cairns to a pass over the ridge. The other side of the ridge was to a big extent under snow and we sometimes had to make detours to find side crossings over the many streams, so our progress was slower than expected. If one day our tracks get used, note that we were avoiding snow bridges. The rock here is different from later so some water should last until end of the season. Tabaños were again quite annoying. Between the snow, the trail was largely visible. After reaching a lowpoint slightly under 1300m, we started to climb, soon walking almost exclusively on snow. On such a hot day and with the reflection, being on snow feels like in an oven. Scenery kept being exceptionally pretty (and we have walked most of the GPT). We reached a ridge where 02A starts going down at around six. There was less snow here and we got faster. With less snow, you might want to take some water before you get over 1500m. We reached 02C around eight. Natalie was not as highly motivated by the evening walk to the termas and wanted to save her energy. So, I gave her our tent and set off for them. She ended up doing the ridge of 02a and the crater circuit the next day, see below, “Nat's notes”. It took me two hours to the hot springs after we split. You do not want to cut for the turnoff and in general want to keep a bit east from 02C to keep the high ground for the first two kilometres. Then follow the trackfiles. When going up the last ridge, you can veer left and aim through a lateral ridge for altitude 1550m and save some elevation, it is quite doable. You can then shortcut the way to the actual position of the thermas (see Tobias) down a miniridge that has some trees on it. Just keep to the trees (there are grass passages in between) and it is doable. Thermas are like Volcan Chillan on GPT8 - a hot stream with a pool, perfect temperature, a bliss. I arrived shortly before ten without needing to use a headlamp.

Day three: Thermas to refugio - 25km

I followed 01 to the OSM mark called "geyser" which is actually just a series of big loud impressive fumaroles. Above the thermas, there are few more smaller hotspring on the left, but not useful for anything. About one km after the thermas, there is steam on the left - fumaroles and sulphur, you will see it a few more times but still pretty. Avoided the last hill through here: -40.49220, -72.16946, but it probably does not pay the saved 40m of elevation. OSM route better than RR around the fumaroles (ground around them unstable). Again walking in an oven over the snow, skirting the new lava is pretty (though do not expect many views), just keep in mind it is unstable and ideally keep some distance (5-10m), I saw a significant rockfall from it that could kill you if you were in the wrong time at the wrong place. It is slow going. There is one more fumarole next to the lava flow, go around from the right despite the footsteps you might see there. Was happy to see Natalie's footprints once 01 connected, knowing she was hours ahead thanks to inReach. Took 04A, as others said: aim for the top, contour lines are misleading and traversing does not make sense plus you would lose out on the views. Saw Natalie on top of the highest point, but she did not hear me. Only then I realized there is a gap in the trackfiles and the mountain cannot (cliffs) be climbed from this side. Going down on 04A was indeed skiing (the snowfield is mapped as glacier, but if it is glacier, I could not see any crevasses, which might not have been the most responsible off me). Variant H is a trail. Met Natalie at refugio where in the evening water was still flowing, but in the morning it had stopped.

Day four - Refugio to primary road - 8 km

Easy going down, surprisingly little tabanos, second water not existent, met nobody down, so paid nothing, hitched an empty tour bus to Entre Lagos to ressuply almost immediately.

Nats Notes: Ridge of 02A & Rim circuit

The following morning I made an easy CC to the ridge on 02A. The snow was rock hard in the morning (7:30am, around 9 am the snow became "crunch-able" - that being a warm and sunny day). So, a warning to early birds. Getting up the ridge was easy thanks to the consolidated pumice. Beautiful views of the snowy plateau and the volcanoes to the south. For the first time I felt like I could gallop along the ridge because the terrain was so easy. There are ups and downs but they are less in number and larger in scale.
Along 02A, after coming off the ridge there was some surprise fumaroles and a large crater (not on RR but very close). Picture perfect with Puyehue behind it. The route takes you along a sulphur like rim that felt uncomfortably active, warm and hollow.
To get to the Crater circuit I wanted to gain the rim further north of 04A to save time. So after 02A ridge I Cc'd which at first was continuous with 02A and the RR. Left the RR around here -40.55454, -72.14794 but overall I think it would have been easier to stay on the RR for longer. Found my first water source @ -40.56451, -72.12754 . It is underneath the crater like depression north of the 04A accent route, very "crunchy", lots of sand/grit.
I began my ascent to a low point on the ridge north of 04A and east of the crater like depression besides it. I did not like the final 200+ meters. I was expecting soft ground but instead got something just slightly better than "kitty-litter" (the term for small grit on slab/hard ground). Sometimes the ground was soft. There was a snow slope but the snow was harder than I would have liked, glad I did not have to go down it. At the top, views were fantastic as expected. It was windy but not "body pushing" wind. Looking back I was glad to have bypassed 04A. The circuit posed few issues, there were some snow slopes, but soft enough for kicking. I would not recommend doing this without micro spikes if the snow is NOT soft (ie early morning). If one wants a super easy way up to the rim, or needs and emergency escape, the slopes up the NE of the crater are very easy, starting around here (40.57497, -72.10480). I had to laugh at myself from time to time. I felt a bit out of place with a lifejacket and couple of paddles sticking out of my bag...
The last push for the true summit had some snow on easy/mod slopes. Once again I wouldn't recommend it if the snow was not soft. There was a beautiful camp spot (no water but snow) halfway up this last push (-40.59310, -72.11426).
Although very happy to have reached the final summit, my happiness strangely turned a little sad. As I marveled at the landscape that has become my friend over the last three years, I realized this was probably the last time I would see it at this magnitude. So much time has been spent with Tomáš investigating and executing ways up and down these mountains, it seems crazy that I may never look upon them again. So, that was a weird thought but overall it was very beautiful. I waited over an hour on top, I thought Tomáš was planning on going to this peak but when I found out he was on the other peak I made my way down to the cute camping spot at the Refugio, stopping to drink some water from a creek along the way (likely not running in the morning). The way down from the regular summit is easy and there is basically a path that sees regular traffic. I would recommend taking this way if you do not like climbing steep slopes, rather than the other alternatives.

* '''2024-12-02 to 2025-01-03 / 2 days / Packrafting/ SOBO/ Lago Maihue (sort of 07), New: Rio Calcurrupe, Lago Ralco, / Natalie & Tomáš'''

Day one: The lake and river, 27 km

We started paddling at 8am with little waves and wind, then got to the end of the lake at 11. The river is not hard. It has a few rapids that are maybe 1+, but we managed. It has a lot of water, so wood is not much of an issue. The valley is very pretty. It flows nicely, with a lunch in the middle, it took us 4 hours to get down. We took out at Puerto Llifén around 5, traversing somewhat wavy Lago Ralco for a bit. There were some people on a quite and nice small beach. We were lucky to catch a bus to town. It has two fruit and vegetable shops and looked decent for ressuply (also good Entel internet). We went to Anita's rstaurant and after finishing eating, we asked for a driver as it was late and we wanted an early start the next day. She went nextdoor and came with an older gentleman who drove us 4 km for 4000 CLP to -40.23159, -72.26019, about one km from river end. Near the road end are some nice camping spots. There were some fishermen but nobody cared that we built our tent.

Day 2: Lake Ranco, 22 km

We woke up at 4:30 to use the calm morning hours. Shortly after dawn we were on the water and already had some waves and some low-lying clouds. The sunrise was beautiful (maybe the prettiest ever for Tomáš, who, being an owl, has not seen many sunrises in his life). Clouds moved in and the water calmed down (a local later confirmed this is the usual pattern, so probably the lake tends to be calm before noon). Went east of Llahuapi island, paddled two more km to mainland's peninsula. With lake being very calm, we went straight for Piedra del diablo, which we reached after three hours. The rock is well worth the visit. After a short rest, we paddled around the corner (2km) to town Lago Ranco, arriving at 12:40, giving us a half-day of rest and a good base for re-supply. Nat highly recommends the nut/bulk store just north of Conception street (Mr Manny; -40.3213804, -72.4739571). It is attached to a fabric store and likely looks closed. Just walk inside the fabric store and ask the friendly owner you'd like to buy some frutos secos. The nuts and dried fruit were of surprisingly good quality.

Overall, this is an attractive variant that can be recommended instead of RP for packrafters. Lago Ranco (good Entel internet) is an ok ressuply point with slightly pricy accomodation, but we negotiated a room for 50,000 CLP.

* '''25-01-01 - 25-01-03 / 3 days / SOBO / RP, RR, variants D+E, OH1,a, OH4a,b / Volker'''

Day 0: I combined gpt 17+18+19. The day after my arrival in Currine, down from the 18, was a little bit rainy with better forecast for the next, but mainly for the days to follow. So I didn‘t hurry up and after resupply in Currine just took the boat over Laguna Maihue. There is a confusion with the names. The „port“ (the spot where the boat is leaving) close to Maihue (2,5km) is not called Puerto Maihue, but Maqueo. The boat goes to Rupumeica (Ru) and Carran (Ca), the route from Carran to join the RR is included only in the Packraft files. Time table for the boat for SOBO hiking: Mo, Th, Fr: from Maqueo either to Ru or Ca or both: 8.00 a.m. and 3.10. p.m., Sa+Su: 3.10. p.m., Tu+We no service. The crew on the boat told me, you find lodges in Ru and Ca if you ask, but I camped in Ca on the beach, very nice!
Day 1: On a cool morning very easy MR walking on RP. The bridge at 15,6/31 is no longer maintained, the road bypasses it, easy access to water 100m from the junction with RR. The indicated camp at the lake at 35,4 may be lost, there is a new sign saying, that one can buy land around the lake. At Los Venados I met Clara, who also walked the 19 SOBO, so we did this section together. We took variant D to avoid a barbed wire fence and dogs, then E to rejoin the RR. No water at the indicated spots at 53,5, only from snow-patches. Camp at S 40.481514° W 72.137545°
Day 2: Very easy walking, 25% on snow, now enough water. The volcanic chimney at 56,1 is very impressive and the hot spring on OH1 (500m before the indicated spot) a place to be. Highly recommended!
Day 3: Blue sky, very, very scenic all the day long! We took OH01a to rejoin RR. The whole day the trail was mostly covered by snow (75%), so it was CC walking with easy navigation. Very few water, just flushy snow. Rather difficult to find a camp spot not covered by snow, flat and not too exposed to the wind. One at S 40.572582° W 72.135206° met at least the first 2 conditions. To secure your tent you will find some (but few) heavier rocks on the slope of Volcan Puyehue.
Day 4: Steep CC ascent on Volcan Puyehue, on OH4a. if you stay 200m to the right of the indicated way, it‘s less steep and using the rocks in the upper part makes the ascent less physical. At the crater at 8.45 a.m. We did the tour around the crater (OH4b, highly recommended!) and arrived on the southern summit at noon (mostly on gravel, some parts on snow). Then steep but easy down to the refuge (water!), then fhe steep RR down to Anticura (close to no water at the indicated spots). Several gates on the last km, none has to be climbed. Arrived at 4.30, and hitchhiked to Entre Lagos for resupply and to organise a oossible boat transfer on Lagos Todos for gpt 21.

*'''31Dec2024 - 3jan2024 / hiking SOBO / OH2 - RR - varD-E - RR - OH1 - RR - OH4A-B / 4days / Clara (joined Volker on the way)'''

Skip section 18 :
Took me about half a day taking multiple buses (puerto fuy - panguipulli - los lagos - paillaco - futrono - llifen), maybe a bit longer on WE with less buses.

At llifen there is a camping/cabañas/hospedaje (15k for hospedaje)
From there you can hitchhike to curriñe/P maihue (maybe there is a bus)
Easy hitchhike to riñinahue to go for OH2. Also bus (first one at 8.10 am from llifen)

OH2 is not MR but PR almost all the way to los venados. When I arrive at 9am there were multiple cars, easy to hitchhike the begining, and I was even lucky to get a ride until RR. You have phone coverage here. Joined Volker at los venados.

GPT19 was one of the nicest section I did so far !!!

Water : demand some planning.
I think we took our last water on a little stream a bit after los venados and then no more on the way up. At points water ? 53.5 and 53.7, there is just snow for now, not melting.
Then snow up on the plateau that you can melt while walking but few stream.

OH1 : lot of fresh flowing water along the way and at the hotspring. Just snow on CC over the ridge.
Then on RR lots of snow.

Water 68.6 : we found a little stream flowing at few meters (go up along the river).

The water points after the refuge on the way down were almost dry.

Camp :
- water? 53.7 Almost flat spot with snow close to it, you can melt it but it's pretry much dirty. Inside the forest, wet.

- hot springs on OH1. So nice, perfect to camp and rest. Carefull the waypoint is not at the good place as said precedently.

- -40.57269,-72.13537. not wind protected. If more wind, maybe there are flat more protected spots before on RR. Really nice sunset.

Snow : a lot of snow walking on the plateau, it's physical but nothing hard or dangerous.

Navigation :
-From los venados around km37 easy trail to follow.
VarD-E to avoid the dogs at a fence but still 2 gates easy to cross on the variants.

-Until the hotsprings on OH1, it's trail sometimes marked with plots and rubans, easy to follow even with the snow.
Stop at the geyser (cross RR - OH1), really nice to observe !!

-After hotsprings it's CC on a really nice ridge with beautiful landscapes all along. Not hard but deserve good wether conditions I think.
Then go back on RR still CC going up and down on soft volcanic sand or snow. Easy to navigate.

-OH4A-B (cratere + summit Puyehue) : we climbed up somewhere between OH4A and the river flowing at point 68.5, not really following the tracks but we arrive almost at the same point at the end. The line was logic, steep, sometimes soft volcanic sand but no snow.
OH4B : so nice tour of the cratere, must do if you have time + weather conditions. Long and physical as it's going up and down on volcanic sand or snow, sometimes steep.
Summit is breathtaking.

Refuge : dry toilets there. Possible to camp around or sleep inside. Still water flowing down for now. Lots of tabaños.

Then skip section 20 : easy to hitchhike to entre lagos from Lican.

* '''Start 2024-12-27 // 3 days // hiking NOBO RR / Mara & Tobias

Amazing section, water in large parts (still a lot of snow up there), no difficulty’s with tabanos. Startet at 10 a.m. by the road, payed the entrance fee to pedro, hiked up to the refugio (still water there!) and continued to -40.57248, -72.13322 where we camped. Went up to the crater to see the sunset. Next day we walked straight to the termas. Position in the trackfiles22 is incorrect. The hot springs are 600 meter upstream at -40.46720 -72.20680. Camped there. Next day we went down in bad weather and luckly got a lift to Rininahue, where we rest and get ready for GPT18.

* '''Start 2024-11-25/ 5d / Hiking SOBO RR / Mo'''

From Currine to Rupumeica is a roadwalk but a bus is available, then a dirt road leads to Rupumeica Alto where a MR T567 leads to Los Venados, I hitchhiked, but there should be a bus. Then a MR leads to Puyehue, Neri and Hector had a locked fence and 3 barking dogs so I took OH to the right (fence, CCTV) where you will find water. The MR becomes a nice trail and then at the time higher than 1400m snow. I went to the hot spring on the plateau, I can recommend it. After Puyehue and also the plateau is easy walking on slopes, CC, trails. The refuge has 1 cover, melting water at the time and protects from wind, not completely. In the valley Olivia made a nice breakfast.

==Season 2023/24==

* '''2024-Apr-08 to 2024-Apr-12 / 3.5 days / SOBO / RR B 01 04A 04B / Matthias de Austria'''

No Tabanos, flies, mosquitos, snowfields, fords. Cool weather, sunny with morning frost. Small parts of 04B east of the summit where icy. Lack of water in large parts. I filled up in the little valley on the way to the hot spring, afterwards I found no water anymore until 76. 1km. Water 53.5, 53.7 and 75.4km were dry.

Bus from Currine to Rupumeica Bajo, last stop at X 13.3km.

One of the best sections, I loved it. The long road walking in the northern parts is boring, but the hike afterwards through the woods is nice and the volcanic plateau amazing. Lot's of volcanic activity, and the detour to the hot spring is strongly recommended. I camped close to it, and stayed in the refuge, which has an oven for cold nights and offers weather protection, but is just a very simple hut with a table and bench and sleeping possibilities around.

* '''From 2024-02-29 to 2024-03/02 // 3 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + Option 4 (summit) + Option 4B (cratere) + Variant D // Quentin Clavel'''

Anticura - Refuge - Puyehue summit - Cratere - volcanic plateau - geyser - Rio nilahue Lago maihue - Puerto maihue

After basic ressuply in Anticura, at "Tia Olivia" at Lican, point "Food, Lodging {19} [81.4/345]" but it's really in case of emergency. She's a very nice lady and has in stock Bread, cheese, big bottle of coca cola, some juices and frost empanadas that she warmup.

I was in emergency so I resupply there, but just to keep in mind it's not a minimarket or so, just a tiny tiny resupply possibility. Olivia is a charm we discussed a lot, and she even took from her personal reserve pasta and biscuits that make the next section easier in term of food !

After this resupply I just go for a big climb to the Refuge Without Water {19} [73.8/1378] first, mostly in the forest, then to the Summit {19-04} [2.0/2198] (Volcan Puyehue). On the way to go, only one fence to pass, then the track is well marked, even for the summit, lot of cairns helps you to find the way.

It's slippery and tuff ascent to the summit, but you just can't go around and avoid the absolute breathtaking crater ! I've done the option 4B, which is the hike all around the cratere, quite physical with all the ups and downs, but again, absolutely amazing ! For sure it was one of my highlight of this GPT so far !

Then the volcanic plateau was stunning too. Idk if it was because I was tired or something else, but the distances seems to me huge. You have the feeling that what you see is very close and you need a lot of time to go. It's a lot of ups and downs again, but scenery is amazing, the old lavas are incredible, and these geysers where here to finish the show. I had such a great time !

And then, you suddenly go on a forest which is a huge contrast, continuing long way down to the gravel. I was not checking my GPS and took the most obvious track, which is not even an option on the GPT files, anyway the track leeds me to the variant D, and I was able to refill my water, even if I was happy to find some Frome snowmelt on the volcanic plateau.

Continuing the way to the beautiful lake Maihue. Still always impressed how we can pass threw a lot of various landscapes in that so small amount of time !

Crossing Rio hueinahue wasn't a problem, if it would have been, there's always the option to continue the road and cross it on the bridge, on variant B, adding only 4 kilometers.

The gravel along the lake was very busy as it was the end of the day and everyone came back from the beach, fishing, boat cruise or anything else.

A lot of opportunities to sleep in camping, on the area of Maqueo/Puerto Maihue, even to eat on small restaurant/food truck and small minimarket (but there's a bigger minimarket further on next section)

* '''2024-Jan-23 to 2024-Jan-25 / 2.5 days /Option2 + RR+VarD+E+A / Matthias '''

The route:
(Osorno-) Riñiñahue(Lago Ranco) - Volcano Puyehue - Anticura (-GPT20)

Getting there:
There are busses from Osorno to Rio Bueno and from RioBueno to Lago Ranco every 30 minutes, some direct connections also.
From Lago Ranco to Riñiñahue buses 12:30 and 14:50 on weekdays.

My impression:
Biggest challenge were by far the tabaños, which gave me the speed for long hiking distances, because in the valleys I could not even stand still to take a photo without being attacked ferociously.
The plateau before vulcano Puyehue is spectacular with the geysers and lava flows. Ascent from north on RR a bit boring. Long stretch of MR and little views.
Hiking is easy but tedious on the plateau (loose vulcanite ash). Several easy snowfields, the gully at 53.5 is tricky to cross though, but can be bypassed upstream.

Water:
Requires planning your water resources!
Last water on way up to plateau as mentioned by others about where Var E starts from Var D. Either you follow D 200m further and Dobson bushbashing to the left or on E shortly after start but also not very easy to reach.
Water at km 53.5 and 53.7 now dry (I could get a liter out of a puddle), also km 68.6 and 69.2 are dry! Also no water near the hut, but plenty in between pass km 69.9 and about a km before the hug. On the plateau there is some melting water, but mostly it is very muddy.

* '''2024-Jan-25 to 2024-Jan-28 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {19-01} - RR - {19-04A?} - ski off trail - RR - {19-H} - RR / Lilian'''

Camp beside the lake + Hot spring + Geyser + Volcano + Skiing = GPT19

Do you have any reasons to reject this section?

I take a bus at Maihue on 8:15pm. Arrive Rupumeica Bajo on 9pm, 1500 CLP. When i take off the bus, the driver told me there are some nice spots good for camping and swimming beside the lake, so i go west at x RR [13.3/144].

You can walk 1.2km to Puerto Rupameica "port[4.9/90], arrive the beach, then turn right walking on the beach to find a good spot for camping, but lot of car drivers thinks the same idea. So that beach is a little noisy and crowded even in weekdays night.

If you look at satellite map, there is a side road at (-40.31429, -71.98794), it is behind barbed wire fence, but a friendly locked gate at left side, climb over it then follow the road go down to the beach. Some nice camping spots on a grassland covered by bushes and trees with fire ring, good wind protection and privacy just before the beach.

Also you can camping at the beach, but the cabins and people at Hueinahue can easily look at you(too close). So i follow the beach to walk towards the lake's inlet shore. Lastly I camped at (-40.31074, -71.99001), beside the only tall tree(it doesn't covered me anything). I cleared a spot for a small single person tent, with 180° views of Lago Maihue. Bushes at back covered me for privacy.

RR km3.9 : tiny shop and food truck, (-40.32258, -71.96776)

X[13.3/144] : bus stop, i saw a bus arrive here at 9.10am. Then steep climb up on a good condition dirt road, but hot.

Km16.0 : junction of RR and {19-C}, {19-C} is in a better condition, so i go for it. But i recommend you keep going on RR, and NOT NOT NOT go by {19-C}.

Everything is good also i find a black pipe can fill water in bottles at (-40.33101, -71.98693) until {19-C} km1.4. Trail becomes very confusing, lot of side trail, cow path mix together, easy to walk on the wrong one.

Then the trail at (-40.33851, -71.98185) already taken back by forest, i still find some trace for trail(aluminium cans, wood cutting,etc), but it is not easy also not safe to walk. You need to walk on some groups of old blowdowns to (-40.33873, -71.98182) and rejoin the trail. The blowdowns itself or the gap between them, have a lot of big holes can eat your whole leg, most of the holes are covered by bushes and the blowdowns are a little slippery...

Then start climbing up at (-40.33909, -71.98165). All the ladders and wooden step are broken, also become a tarp for slide down. You need to climb up a loose sandy, muddy, grassy, steep slope that covered by lot of leaves. I have a feeling I'm still in GPT18 but in snow conditions climbing a overgrown snow slope...

At (-40.33978, -71.98141) rejoin a good condition dirt road, although it is shown in OSM, but I didn't see anything look like a road even a clear trail before climb up, so maybe south of the road also taken back by forest at some point. ( or the road going to some place that i don't know and not shown on map)

Then joined RR on a good condition dirt road.

I didn't see food truck at km23 that Martin & Helena said, maybe still not the season, or not open on weekdays noon.

Bridge[25.3/358] : Río Melipue flowing with lot of not clear water, a little yellow.

Then is a HOT, HOT HOT road walk steep up and down with lot of flies entangled in you, most of the time without tree shades, recommend hitch much more as you can. This part is not fun.

Km26.3 : junction of a private park, Parque Huishue. Some nice young care takers stay in the cabin behind the gate, they are very friendly and give me some water.

Camp[31.4/514] : good camping spot, don't camp too close to the lake(muddy). Lake with clear water. When you see the barbed wire fence, keep going 30-40m, you can go around some small blowdowns to get in easily.

Then my luck come, a friendly family give me a ride to Los Venados. Thank you save me from the hot nightmare. It is the second car i saw going west in the whole day.

Then my luck come the second time, Hector and Neri is at home(settle,food,refuge[45.4/537])! They help me refill my bottles with some priceless water! Huge thank you to them!

From km45.45, the road becomes a single track trail between some tall grass until km47.9, then it turns back to an old dirt road but lot of blowdowns, have to find a side trail for going around or just climb over them. And sometimes the road is flat and wide is good for camping.

Km53.1 : looks like is the old dirt road end, becomes a real trail, a broken old sign here too. Flat spot can fit 3 tents here. Some more flat spots just keeping forward, but need to take some minutes to clear out some sticks.

Water?[53.5/1330] : confluence point of three stream, but just muddy, no water.

Water?[53.7/1344] : because the water spot at 53.5 is dry, so i didn't check this one.

Km54.8 - km55 : camping spot at both side of the trail, also some more on dry riverbed.

Looks like Jens came here on a cloudy early morning, i found lot of water spot upon here.

At least 7 snow patches is melting beside RR and you can collect water from them, i just list out the biggest 3. These three snow patch still in a good size, i think can stand for 1-2 weeks more.

(-40.48984, -72.15159) : flowing good with a tiny waterfall (4sec/L) and puddle, you can dip bottles in puddle directly. Rocks in good shape for sitting nearby, so nice lunch spot with water here.

(-40.49050, -72.15348) : flowing good but stream is flat, collectable.

(-40.49142, -72.15752) : this patch is bigger also is flowing better than the first one, with tiny waterfall too! (3sec/L), easy to collect.

If these three are all melted completely, (-40.49351, -72.16296) have a huge snow patch as now, maybe this one can be a backup water source.

Km55.3 : view point for 6 volcanoes at left side, climb up to a tiny hilltop(-40.49068, -72.15235), if you are an exposed camping fans, flat spot can fit 2 tents 20m south of here for you.

Km56 : Geyser time! Explore this area, take your time. Follow the trail on OSM is a little better views of geyser than RR, also is safer i think.

After geyser then i go for {19-01} to hot spring.

{19-01} Km0.9, also a nice viewpoint on the tiny hilltop (-40.48937, -72.16603).

Km1.95 - km3.95 : walking in a green valley, lot of stream flowing with clear water, you can step over or rock hopping all of them, but mostly you will wet feet at last, because the trail crossing on a wet meadows(flowing water) and you have no way to go around. Also lot of camping spots you can find beside the trail in this area, but some of them still a little wet, maybe after one month will be perfect.

Km5.0 : go down into a valley that look dry, better collect water at here(upstream) or the previous valley, because downstream in this valley is hot spring water.

Km6.0 : alga in stream, and water temperature changes!

Km6.2 : camping spot(no wind protection) can fit 3-5 tents at right side, with an amazing hot spring pool(-40.46710, -72.20664)! PERFECT temperature with a pool can soak all your body inside when you sit down in the water. HIGHLY RECOMMEND camping here and take the hot spring before night, you can soak in the pool with a beautiful sunset too!

When i was enjoying the hot spring, a helicopter fly to here and landing, then some locals comes to join me too! Looks like it is a famous spot for them.

Hot spring water flowing all the way to downstream, so you can soak in it at the point you like. But temperature is dropping when it flowing, hot spring[6.8/1415] becomes warm water, good for noon under the hot sun, but not enough for night or early morning soaking. Trail leads you to hot spring[6.8/1415], then no more trail.

Then the ridge walk(OH-CC-A[6.8+6.5]) is fun and no difficulty, just climb up, go down and enjoy the views. Some snow patches, go around or walk on it easily.

Km7.45 : water spot(-40.46983, -72.21372), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.

Km8.7 : water spot(-40.47824, -72.20501), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, i saw water flowing when i was on trail but didn't get close to check.

Km11.25 : water spot(-40.49723, -72.19122), flowing low with clear water by a huge snow patch melts, i dig a puddle for dipping my bottles. Good water!
Then rejoin RR.

RR km59 - km62.4 : go around lava fields, not difficult but lot of up and down, also need to go around some snow patches.

RR km60.6 : water spot(-40.52296, -72.17607), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.

Km60.8 : climb the tiny hill(-40.52470, -72.17420) at left side, viewpoint of Volcán Cordon Caulle and its lava fields.

Km61.1 : water spot(-40.52673, -72.17332), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.

Km61.8 : flat spot(-40.53143, -72.16976) can fit 2 tents with views of Volcán Puyehue.

Km62.7 : small geyser(-40.53782, -72.16450).

Km63.3 : better route going up to 1610m hilltop. Take the small valley at (-40.54327, -72.16187), climbing up gently, then turn right at (-40.54309, -72.16096), follow the valley all the way go to the top. I saw 3 cairns along this route.

Km65.4 : water spot(-40.55234, -72.14982), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect. I didn't see any more clear water for a while on trail after this one.

Km67.6 : snow patches. Walking on it and going to other side of valley. Then you can follow the GPX track or like me, walking on snow patch valley (-40.56967, -72.13232) avoid step over many gaps here, go to the junction of climbing Volcán Puyehue.

Climbing Volcán Puyehue on {19-04A} is a not easy route, steep climbing up on a losse tiny stones slope about 40°, when you get higher, it becomes more steep. Tired cilmb up, then i think it is a little dangerous to going back down at the same way, because too steep.

I didn't follow GPX track, because it looks really steep, i start climbing up beside a stick (-40.57372, -72.13363) at RR km68.25, then towards a little south(-40.57842, -72.12614) of the peak going up. Then join the ridge for last climbing up to the top. At about 1950m-2000m , you'll find some step trace that can follow all the way to top and easier to step on, but the ground becomes much loose when going up more. You also can follow them to going down after the summit.

Enjoy the views of crater, it is melting, but a blue lake in the middle, so beautiful!

At the top, {19-04A} is impossible to connect to south on the rim as now, because is blocked by a snow wall, but you can going down a little, go around it climb up again to the rim, if you really want.

From some observation at high, I find a SKIING ROUTE that can ski down all the way to pass[69.9/1764]. (This route is ski by shoes, not sit down and slide.)

It starts on 2110m(-40.57839, -72.12569), join snow slope here. Then skiing to SSW, water spot at 2035m(-40.58039, -72.12646), it is melting by the super huge snow slope you just ski down, i think it can stand at least one month or more. The water spot have a tiny waterfall, easy to collect. Fresh, clear, cold and taste good! I love this water!

Then step on the snow again at 2030m(-40.58108, -72.12689), now ski to SW, to 1945m(-40.58436, -72.12988), then 1900m(-40.58484, -72.13278), then 1835m(-40.58634, -72.13552)(it have a gap about 20m no snow), lastly ski to rejoin RR at km69.8. But i saw nothing there , so i ski a little bit more and find some walking trace at 1770m(-40.58640, -72.13791), looks like parallel to RR. I took about 35min from the start of skiing to here, including refill water bottles and finding the way on map.

I camped at (-40.58964, -72.13953), a little flat with some rocks that i can hold my tent on a sandy ground. A little off trail, but super amazing views of Volcán Casablanca, Volcán Puntiagido, Tronador, Lago Puyehue and Río Golgol, with a fantastic sunset moment!

From km70.4, you'll find a trail and cairns along RR, some of the trail is already landslide away and still covered by snow patches, but most of them is easy to follow.

Km70.55 : (-40.59245, -72.13560) flowing good by a super huge snow patch melts, milky but easy to collect. A black pipe leads water to other place too.

Km70.7 : water spot(-40.59349, -72.13423), flowing low with a tiny waterfall by a huge snow patch melts, clear and easy to collect.

Km71.6 : flat spot(-40.60105, -72.13406) can fit 2 tents. Someone camped here before, built a tiny rock wall, but too tiny I don't think it can provide wind protection in a really windy condition.

Km71.9 : junction. It is impossible to climb up or go down by {19-04A} at here as now, a huge snow wall about 60° block the way. Lot of water is flowing at here, main stream is not too clear, but you can find clear water from some smaller one. Upstream 15m for rock hopping dry feet crossing.

Then i took {19-H} going down, because RR looks like need to walking on some loose sandy slope. At (-40.60459, -72.13491) i find a clear trail that leads all the way to rejoin RR at km72.75. No landslide, no loose rocky or sandy, just walking on a grass slope easily.

Then RR is a clear trail in good condition to follow and walk.

Refuge[73.8/1378] : refuge with picnic table and fire ring, good spot for lunch and overnight.

Then RR still easy to follow but a little steep and a little slippery, i almost slipped down in several times.

Water[75.4/992] : flowing low with clear water, easy to collect. After here, trail conditions become better, no more slippery.

Water[76.1/884] : flowing very low with clear water, have some small puddles at upstream. A spot for climbing break, log seats and tree shades here.

Km77.9 : trail becomes dirt road, cars parking at here, some grassland flat spot with fire ring nearby.

Then all the way road walking go down to Licán and Anticura. Didn't met any people charge me for entrance fee.

I didn't see any shops nearby, just a restaurant at (-40.66624, -72.17463), you can go through their gate(-40.66843, -72.17218) to there. They provide good food and fast wifi. I look at their board, looks like they accept USD and EURO at here. (I don't know can money exchange or not)

* '''2024-01-18 to 2024-01-21: Fangwen and Tobi / 4 days RR + Option 04A + Option 01 + Option 03 / NOBO hiking.'''

Great section with great views! Very enjoyable. Not much to add to the other reports. We took the bus to the intersection with the Puyehue hot springs, hitchhiked from there (not a great spot for hitchhiking, but it works). Didn't see anyone at the trailhead and hence didn't pay. We passed by a small steam on the way up, but I would not be surprised if it sometimes dries out. The first night, we stayed by the hut. A small stream made it's way to the hut in the evening, so we got lucky and could refill. Second day, we climbed up to the scenic crater via option 4a. The ascent through loose scree was a bit tiresome, but made for an awesome shoe-skiing descent. The "Water ?" at km68.6 was a snow covered stream, but we were able to get some water from a melting snowfield. We camped at km64.6. The next day we went via an interesting ridge hike to the hot springs (option 1), which is a river in a nice valley. There are multiple spots to get into the river, upstream is hotter. But it was a hot day, and the tabanos were relentless, so we moved on to camp in the next valley, at S 40° 29.078', W 072° 10.870' or roughly at {19-01} [3.0]. This is a beautiful valley with good access to drinking water (not sure about the hot springs -- I wouldn't drink that water).
Just before rejoining the regular route, we marveled at the volcanic gas vents at S 40° 29.651', W 072° 09.651', or 100m W of km56.1. Even if you are not going to the hot springs (which you should!), make sure not to miss them.
The descent was relatively unspectacular. We accidentally took an unintended route down (19-D I think?), but it wasn't an issue. Our plan was to hitchhike from km37.4 out to Lago Ranco, but it took over an hour to find a ride, since only few cars passed by.

* '''2024-Jan-12 to 14 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / Argentina, completely new option, Villa Lago Meliquina to Villa Traful / Natalie & Tomáš'''
[Note 2024 November: This is not in the GPT yet at all, but it is in our suggestions in the 2024 Track files. This is a part of an alternative Argentinian route connecting GPT16 all the way to GPT21. In our opinion, for hikers it is probably better as it involes a lot less roadwalking and is very scenic (and the roadwalking there is is mostly easily hitchable). It might be slightly mode difficult than the RR. This is especially useful when coming from the Villarica traverse. What follows is roughly what corrresponds to GPT19, previous log is in GPT18, next in GPT20. Look also at Hannes von S report who followed us: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1763867210785824/.

Our pictures: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1758304798008732/.
Our second Facebook post (Natalie somehow wrote it down twice): https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1732579750581237/]

Summary: Starting in Laguna Meliquina and hitching to Lago Filo Hua Hum, we traversed up and over to Laguna Trufal, took a boat to Trufal proper.

From Laguna Filo Hua Hum we crossed up and over via Cerro Escuadra ridge and towards Sendero las Mellizas trail. There was some minor scrambling. For crossing Lago Trufal we organized to be taken back on a day tripper boat coming from Trufal by the help of settler, Felipe. However, thanks to Tomášs' curiosity, he found a good trail along the lake that takes you to the end of Lago Trufal, thereby avoiding the need for a boat. If you want, the boat company info is here; Eco Traful, (0294) 15-4201952. It cost 25mil each cash, we bargained it down to 20mil each (extortion). The ridge and plateau were mostly CC and there was only some minor BB from the ridge down to Mellizas (if you find the settler trail). It could possibly be done in 1 long day, it took us 1.5days, not counting the extra day spent with Felipe. Technically you are supposed to register with parks but there is no actual name for the trail so not sure how you would; https://www.nahuelhuapi.gov.ar/zonas_habilitadas.html.

1) Meliquina to Laguna Filo Hua Hum:
We were lucky and got a hitch directly from the tourist stand in Meliquina to the camping spot on Laguna Filo,-40.50075, -71.29960. If no hitch, it is a ~ 20km road walk but hitching should be easy. Possibly the river could be packrafted. There is a small creek near the camping to fill up on, take a lot as there is no water until after Cerro Mesa, which could potentially be dry in late summer months. There is technically a water source we found before the climb up to Cerro Escuadra near a large grass pasture but you will have to walk off route to get to it and once again in late summer months it may not be there.
2) Laguna Filo Hua Hum to Cerro Escuadra, Mesa and the plateau:
From camping Laguna Filo there is a good trail to start off with from the back of camp, it is even marked in yellow: -40.50075, -71.29960. However after a view point the trail becomes less clear, you can take a short cut up a steep hill after the view point or keep following the trail even though it can disappear from time to time [November 2024: The trail is now on OSM]. Eventually the trail takes you to a very large grass pasture beneath the climb for Cerro Escuadra, camping paradise if it wasn't for the wind. We camped early here once we found a water source (-40.52378, -71.30019), as camping on the ridge would be very windy and dry. I believe this cow pasture is the link to Felipe the settler on lake Traful, where there could be a much more direct way to the other side, open for exploration [some exploration options based on scoutin Google Earth are in the suggestions].

From the cow pasture, you make your way to the ridge, a good trail at first but then once on the ridge proper, it disappears. I went left to side hill the difficult looking ridge top that lay ahead and Tomáš of course continued the ridge proper. After this, it is an easy walk along a broad ridge connected to the peak. The peak is not so much a peak but a large plateau, easy walking. Eventually the plateau ends via a cliff drop so you must find our scramble to the right, we made cairns but forgot to make a waypoint, it is roughly somewhere here -40.53296, -71.30956 . From here there will be about 3 ledge systems you have to scramble along and down but only the very first one is possibly class three (low) [SAC T4 if at all, not exposed]. When you get down you can admire the look back and wonder how you got down! From there you can either stay low and avoid Cerro Messa and a slightly ugly scree or snow descent by aiming around here -40.53743, -71.32863, you may find the start of Felipe's horse trail here as well. The other option is to climb Cerro Mesa and exit i's steep ridge here -40.53812, -71.32576, then cross down and to the right to connect to the rest of the ridge/water source. The descent here is steep but surprisingly soft, if there is snow I advise against it, it is not hard to go around the other way. The rest of the ridge has a magnitude of colors and minerals. It is a small section but if you look at your feet and not the sky you will see lots of different gem like rocks (and/or copper). Personally I think Felipe might be sitting on a gold mine! Speaking of Felipe, this is where we first met him, he appeared out of nowhere and I felt star-struck, if you meet him you will know what I mean, his posture and attire look as if he left the scene of an old Argentinian cowboy movie. He explained to me that he lived down by Lago Trufal and that this was his land and I should have a park registration, but didn't care so much about the park stuff. He was caring and let me continue even though the route I explained to him didn't make any sense.

Going forward you will be on Felipe's trail for a bit and see a green patch ahead that may or may not have water. If it should, it could also serve as a camp spot -40.55045, -71.33970.
From this grass patch you can follow Felipe's trail if you can see it, it goes through and around some rock structures and then up to a very large plateau. The plateau is marked with some cairns, the area just before the plateau can be marshy. The plateau itself has some ancient looking cairns, but basically you need to aim for this ridge outcrop over top of a cow pasture here -40.56308, -71.33350. The cow pasture below could also be good camping.

3) Plateau to Lago Traful/Felipe's house:
Originally we had planned to follow this outcrop and bushbash to the lakes, maybe this could still be done but the bush looks awful and to our surprise we found a trail in good shape below the ridge outcrop. From the ridge outcrop there is another "grey" like ridge that runs perpendicular and into a forest. If you follow this grey ridge it shall take you to the start of a pretty well maintained trail. Take this trail down and into the trees, after it passes over to the left of a tree ridge, it becomes easy to loose as tree fall has created numerous small trails in bad condition. We found the best one (or not, who knows) and followed it down some more until we crossed two creeks. After the second creek the trail totally vanished so we went back to the first creek and walked "down the creek bed". We walked down the creek bed for maybe 1km, it was not hard or dangerous adn not bush-bashy. We eventually found a trail again somehow and followed it all the way down into the valley where there is a large fence separating Laguna Verde from Laguna de los Juncos. There is some nice camping under the forest at the bottom before you hit the gate. However, although technically you are supposed to have a guide, there are petroglyphs in pretty good shape here -40.61891, -71.31079. Night and rain was approaching so we walked to the flat part between Laguna Verde and Blanca to set up camp, just after a puesto. You will have to grab water from the stream near the petroglyphs for camp.

Not knowing how the boat situation would evolve, we left camp very early in hopes to catch a boat that had dropped of day trippers for the day at the drop off point here -40.63958, -71.34857. Luckily, bcs the standard trail near the end is slightly overgrown we took a different way to the beach and this is how we met Felipe again. He has one of the most beautiful properties I have seen so far, ancient wood craftsmanship throughout, lots of little animals and also numerous expedition tents permently set up for some type of turismo I assume. His settlement is here. He told us that there would not be any boats that day due to high winds but he could arrange a boat for us the next day, he also offered his place to camp and out some wood on the fire for a hot shower. With a glorious free day in front of us I chose to go back to bed and Tomáš went back to Sendero las Mellizas to explore.

On his trip he found a good trail that followed the shoreline all the way to the start of Laguna Trufal, thereby avoiding the need for a boat. After he got back from that exploration he went on to explore the other side of Las Mellizas we did not see, towards Lago de los Juncos. Once again he found another path that seemed to follow the river there, towards the end of Lago Traful, thereby meaning one could even take that route, but will need to be verified [November 2024: Hannes did verify it. Also all these trails are in OSM now].
The next day, although he did not ask for it, we paied Felipe 10mil for camping and gave him half of a melon Tomáš had been carrying in his bag for the trip, Felipes wife was very happy! Felipe walked with us to a different boat pick up location and sure enough a boat came and took us on their way back. It was a fun ride but not free. As expected it would not be cheap, since the boat is run by a tourism company we payed 20 thousand each once back in Trufal. The company information is listed above. There was no cell phone reception at Felipe's but there was reception on the ridge outcrop before the trail took us down to the lakes, maybe you can arrange something there or take the lake trail to the end of the lake and avoid the boat.
Trufal proper was nothing special: Bad internet. The main mini supermarcet was okay, it definitely met our needs but nothing fancy. It had veges/fruit, fresh baked bread loafs and good cheese and deli meat. There was an expensive restaurant near the trailhead we took after our resupply that had very good sandwiches and empanadas. The sandwich (10 thousand) was served on foccacia bread and was enormous.
The park office was closed. so we just started hiking that afternoon without reservation/paying.

* '''2024-01-08 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + option 4a/ Jens '''

From what people have written before, I thought I would find a more impressive stretch. Up to Neri and Hector's house it is a gravel road in the forest with no views.

There is a bus from Currine at 2pm that goes all the way to Rupumeica Bajo. There may be more buses, I didn't ask.

Up to km 45 (Hector's house) there is a good water supply. Starting from the house ( their friend Erwin housitting, offered water).
I only found water at the marked spot at about km 55. There was only a very small stream, more like a puddle that might dry up soon.

There was no water around the volcano until about 5 km from the refuge.
The refuge has no water. The small stream next to it dried up a few kilometres before. Bring water from there if you want to stay overnight.

I climbed the volcano on the west side (option 4a). It was scree all the way up. I thought about turning back more than once, but the view was worth it. The descent on the other side was a bit easier. I "skied" down the snowy slopes.

* '''2023-Dec-18 / 5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + RR (Variant D, E) / Lauren & Sebastian'''

First things first: This section was absolutely spectacular!

Water: We filled our 3L of water each whenever we could and didn’t need to worry; snow from 1350m

We started packrafting at GPT19 start point but had to abandon Lago Maihue after 2km, as head winds were too strong. We hiked south on RH until a bus took us to Rupumeica Bajo. We stayed at the campsite ($) at -40.3143, -71.9913. The owners live in the house across the road.

The next morning we crossed with the packraft to wp Lake {19} [9.6/90]. From there it is a long but enjoyable hike along MRs to wp Bridge {19} [37.3/296] where we camped for the night. Recommend to hitchhike this part if you can, as the heat and heavy backpack (due to full food supplies), made this road walking tiring - and you will need your strength and endurance later!
There is a water point at -40.3757, -72.0647.

The next day we went along RR and met Hector and Neri on our way to their place. They were heading out in their truck but we had a short and lovely chat with them. We passed the two locked gates on Option D and connected by Option E back on RR. We camped at -40.4721, -72.1247 at 1100m, a nice flat spot in the upper part of the forest. It is less than an hour from wp Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] where we refilled the next morning.

Breaking out of the forest into the plateau was breathtaking. Snow was mushy and walkable with trail shoes and hiking poles. Progress is slow. Keep a close eye on your gps to avoid backtracking. It took us 2 days to cross the plateau and we camped a night there with initially windy conditions that eased. There are a few good flat spots around the halfway mark on the plateau. Snow also gradually decreases after the pass and trail visibility improves. We then stayed a night at wp Refuge Without Water {19} [73.8/1378]. There is water at the refuge now, but filling up at one of the water points further up felt easier and more accessible to us.

From the refuge down to the end of GPT 19 is steep at first, but good and easily findable trail (approximately 3 hours).

* '''2023-12-04 to 2023-12-07 / 4 days / Packrafting / SOBO /RR (Option 04A) / Roman'''

Hitchhiked to started packrafting here Port {19} [2.9/103] (Puerto Maqueo) easy access to water. Very good conditions (10:00 am). Went on land and followed the RR. Very good condition. Like in 02/23 locked gate and no one around at Hector and Neri’s place. Pitched tent at -40.480692, -72.135769. Snow starts at 1350m. Water was available. I would recommend having sunglasses (preferably glacier sunglasses), suncream, and a hat. The next 2 days were hiking on snow with constant snow exposure. The snow was a bit slushy but manageable. The trail was due to the snow not visible but you can just follow the GPS. Went from the RR via Option 04A to the Volcano and back. Slept at the Hut. Water was available due to the melting of snow. The way down is easy. Hitchhiked to Entre Lagos.

Overall: good trail, nice views no major challenges would definitely recommend it.

Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW

* '''2023-Nov-29 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH-02A + OH-02 + RR (Variant D, E and G) / Tom Pieper'''

I first attempted to make my way to the plateau by Option 02A. This is not possible as the entire lower trail lies within the private park Parque Futangeu. The entrance fee would be $15.000, camping is forbidden and access to the upper parts is blocked by private property of one of the park owners. Park is strictly fenced and has a guarda del parque. So this is definetly no Option for ascent but maybe for leaving the plateau NOBO. I easily catched a ride on Option 2 to the RR. The gate to Neri and Hectors place was locked, therefore i passed the two locked gates on Option D and connected by Option E back on RR. As others mentioned water is scarce all the way up, but a little creek can be easily accessed from Option D just 200 m after Option E has branched (S 40° 25.785' W 072° 06.839'). Good camping spots when Option G reenters RR. Saw wild boar nearby. Snow starts apruptly at 1300 m within the forest. Mystic atmosphere but hard walking. Lots of patagonian woodpeckers around. Snow increases gradually and I decided to leave my backpack near the Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] which was nearly covered by snow but provides already fresh water. At the rim of the plateau (1550 m) the views were spectacular but the plateau is impassable right now as it has meters of snow there. So I returned back the same way to Rininahue.

* '''Recommendation Jan Dudeck in November 2023: Based on the STRAVA Global Heatmap'''
(https://www.strava.com/heatmap#12.18/-72.09488/-40.50378/hot/all) the Route GPT19 Option 3 is open and used again (we got severely stuck in bamboo in November 2013). This route might be slightly faster but makes access to the hot spings "Hot Spring {19-01} [6.8/1415]" a big detour. Due to the river crossing this route is only recommended northbound in December while the snow on the plateau is melting. This places the river crossing at the beginning so it's easy to return to the regular route if the river ford is not manageable. This Route GPT19 Option 3 might be beneficial when the weather window of decent weather for crossing the plateau is rather short.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-FEB-10 - 2023-FEB-13 / 3 days / hiking / RR + volcan summit + termas - round trip from south / Louis, Rémi & Noé :'''

I wanted to precise one thing that I haven't understand : Santiago has a restaurant, near the road and a refuge (waypoint refuge no water). You have to check in at the restaurant to pay the 15k CLP /pers. This price includes a night in the refuge (there is nobody in there), access to volcano and a night at the camping near the restaurant (with cold shower for free).

Day 1 - Refugio El Caulle - 8km - +1000m/-0m First day going up to the refuge. We took the bus from Osorno, the only one going to Anticura leaves at 6pm but you have plenty of others going to Termas de Puyehue (going to Aguas Calientes). From there, 15km of hitchike, very easy. Then, the rise until the refuge in a beautiful and green forest. There is water upward the refuge, 15min walk.

Day 2 - Volcan Puyehue + camp El Domo - 13km - +1300m/-1100m The caldeira of the volcano is superb ! the path is well traced until the summit. Then, we did the round of it and went down on the opposite side. We camped at the "El Domo" camp, located on Santiago's map, around km XX. Water is available just before it.

Day 3 - Termas - 17km - +700m/-900m Under the rain, it's not easy to navigate on the volcanic plateau. I would say that a navigation device is mandatory. Hot springs are very enjoyable after such a day under the rain. There is drinkable water before the hot springs (1km).

Day 4 - Back to Restaurant El Caulle on RR - 32km - +1300m/-2400m A long day, even longer under the rain but doable. The restaurant was closed when we arrived (a Monday at 7pm). Santiago selled us basic food (pasta, sauce, eggs (a bit expensive)) and he opened the doors of his barn for us to sleep dry. The only bus going down from here to Osorno leaves at 7:30am.

* '''2023-Feb-04 to 2023-Feb-07 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin & Helena'''

Great section, after a lot of forrest trails it was nice to see again something totally different and quite similiar to the landscape of GPT06. We were a little irresponsible with the water so better plan carefully.

The beginning around the lake is just road walking with quite a lot of traffic, depending on the weekday, but its better to avoid it, we didn’t feel always safe with more cars passing by. There should be ferry that goes on the other side of the lake. Good restaurant at around km 2-3, the one with empanadas to go in the house above the restaurant (reealy good). We camped behind a gate at km 5.7, below one of the miradors. At Hueinahue we went down to the beach we have seen from the road, hoping to buy some food, but nothing was there except of crowds of people. We crossed the river to get back on the road, but it would have been better to return back really. MR continues for the next almost 30km, but its quite nice walking through forrest and around settlements. Food truck with empanadas and some drinks at km 23 was a nice surprise, but might be there only in summer. Great place to camp by laguna at km 31, but its shores are all muddy.

Bridge at km 37 is the last reliable source of water so keep it in mind! When we got to the start of option 03, there was only locked gate and no one around at Hector and Neri’s place. Because of that we went with 03, and after 2 locked gates joined the CC variant and back on the RR. There is probably some tiny stream at the CC part but not easily accessible. The way up on the RR already was relatively easy with a few fallen trees that you can always walk around. We were hoping to find some water at km 53.5 or the one next to it but it was all dry already, just like many creeks that we have seen over the treeline. This became a problem for us, and the first water we found was at the big plateau you have to descent to in order to continue to the lava field and further. We didnt turn left at the beginning but continued straight to a few snowfields that are still big enough and on a hot day we could gather water from the snowmelt. From that point its about half a day to the next water (close to the start of descent down to the refugio and valley) so again good to take as much as you can. We didn’t have to pay anything at the end of the section as someone told us, this might be the case only in NOBO direction, or it was because we went there later in the evening. We camped on a yard of family living across the road for 5k CLP, they sell some basic food and its possible to have a shower there as well. Bus to Osorno and Entre Lagos as well leaves early in the morning around 7 AM we think but rather ask.

Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka

* '''2023-JAN-28 - 2023-JAN-30 / 3 days / hiking / NOBO / Yannic & Mirjam'''

Much has already been explained in great detail, so we will be brief: We saw no one at the entrance and therefore walked through without paying an entrance fee. The two water streams in the forest are dry and there is no water directly at the refugio. However, there are still snowfields about 1-2 km further up from the refugio which provide enough water. There was still enough water at 68.6. After that, there were still isolated snowfields, but partly further away from the trail. We spent the night between the lava rocks at S 40.53312 / W 72.16869, as there were still snowfields there, which we used for drinking water. After that, there was no more water until we reached Neri and Hector's house. The two of them were so nice and filled up our water. They charged an entrance fee of 5,000 CLP per person. Because of language barriers, we weren't sure if it was voluntary or because we couldn't show a ticket from the other entrance. Anyway, we paid and moved on. Hitchhiking to Rininahue went quite well once you are on the bigger Minor Road T-851.

* '''2023-JAN-26 - 2023-JAN-29 / 4 days / hiking / SOBO / Riñinahue (option 2) - Volcán Puyehue (option 4B) - Licán / Anna & Christopher'''

From Panguipulli we took a bus at 8:40 am to Los Lagos (on a thursday). From there we took another bus to Paillaco at 11:30 am and got off at the cruce Reumén/Futrono. The connecting bus to Futrono passed there around 12:20 pm. From Futrono we took a bus to Llifén at 13:15 pm. From there we hitchhiked until the junction of Option 2 with the RR at km 37 approx. and arrived there around 17:00 pm. On the way up to Los Venados there is one accessible creek approx. 2,5 km before Los Venados. When we arrived there the gate following the RR was locked. As we didn't wanted to dry camp (we didn't fill up our bottles at the creek) we tried to get access to the river following variant D. It's definitely not possible to get water there, the forest is too dense and its getting too steep to climb down. So we went back and luckily after a while Hector and Neri arrived. They offered us to stay at their Refugio the night as it was already quite late.

The way up to the plateau is a good path. We collected some water from the northern "water?" waypoint around km 53,5. As Véronica mentioned there are only some shallow pools, but with clear water. On the plateau there are still some creeks from the snowmelt, but not that many so better carry some water. Around km 65 we saw in the valley on the left hand side a nicely flowing creek (off the RR) and decided to camp there. Its a detour of about 15-20min.

The next day we woke up to a clear blue sky and therefore decided to climb the volcano and to take the surrounding variant. On the ascent we didn't follow the GPS, which was a bad idea, as we ended up in a steep scree traverse/sketchy rock climbing. So it took us a lot of time to reach the ridge. Once there we enjoyed the amazing views! Walking around the crater got more and more tiring with all the ups and downs, but it's worth it! It was our favorite section so far. We collected some snowmelt water on the descent and camped at the Refugio (no water there).

The path down from the Refugio is in good conditions. From Licán we got a ride directly to Puerto Montt.

* '''2023-Jan-05 / 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank'''

I came from GPT18. Before Lago Maihue there are a couple of small shops & a restaurant. As you go around Lago Maihue on the road there are a lot of $ campsites, then the road climbs high above the lake before dropping to Rio Hueinahue. I forded the river easily & went down to Camping Rupimeca at the lake, about 1KM off route. Good cheap campsite, no electricity but they will charge your phone at the house. Next day I continued to Hector & Neri's house but they weren't around. I went in on the alternative route which goes right on a road just before Hector & Niri's place. It's marked private with two locked gates but there was no one there. Stream near the road but difficult to access - running in a gully & blocked by vegetation. After several attempts I was able to access the stream higher up & camped nearby. Just before the alternative route rejoins the RR from Hector & Niri's house there is a stream, if you drop down right a few hundred metres from RR onto the alternative route here you can get water. The water sources marked near the treeline were tiny stagnant pools & they are a bit off trail. However, in early January there was plenty of water above treeline from snowmelt. Did the spectacular traverse in one long day. The snowfields could be traversed or avoided fairly easily. Fill up with water before you descend to the hut. There was no water at the hut & on the trail out to the road the marked water sources were only tiny trickles. Carry a few litres of water up to the hut if you are NOBO. There was no one at the entrance & I hitched out to Entre Lagos.

* '''6 to 8 of January 2023 / Véronica / GPT19 RR SOBO / via GPT19-02 / 2.5 days
Route: Riñinahue - Los Venados - Refugio El Caulle - summit of Volcán Puyehue - Anticura'''

I loved seeing the drastic change in landscape and ecosystems on this section, from the life-filled rainforest to the stark desert-like altiplano.

From Panguipulli, I took the first bus to Los Lagos, which left at 8:40 a.m. There was no bus from Los Lagos to Futrono, so I hitchhiked instead. Then from Futrono I took a bus to Llifen, then hitched the rest of the way to Riñinahue. I wanted to start this section from Riñinahue (Option 2) in order to shave off some of the road walking on the Regular Route. I was lucky and caught a ride all the way to the bridge at km 37.3 over Río Nilahue. Getting to the trail took most of the day. I began to hike south on the regular route around 5 p.m.

I met Neri and Hector, very kind people. At first Hector was apprehensive about letting me hike onward because I was alone. But after explaining how far I'd walked and showing him my GPS and SPOT device, he agreed to let me through the park. I wrote down my name and contact info in the book/registry he keeps with Neri. I dry camped about a kilometer beyond their house.

After Hector and Neri's place, the path stops being MR and becomes TR through the lush Valdivian rainforest. Trail is in good condition. There are a few blowdowns, but they are relatively easy to go around, climb over, or crawl under.

The "water ?" waypoint north of the trail before the treeline is just a few shallow pools of stagnant water. It was cold and clear though, so I collected 2 litres for the upcoming Puyehue plateau. I didn't investigate the other "water ?" to the south. I definetly didn't have to carry that much, because I soon discovered the plateau still has many snow patches, and so there are lots of little snowmelt trickles pretty regularly. This may no longer be the case in a few weeks though.

The altiplano is desolate and beautiful, very reminiscent of Section 6. I found there was a decent path and footprints to follow up until the junction at km 56.1. There are impressive azufreras there! Afterwards it's all cross-country. I had no navigation issues. I found the terrain got more physically demanding the closer I got to the volcano, and climbing in and out of steep-walled dry arroyos was tiring.

The "water ?" at 68.6 km was flowing nicely. The next "water ?" at 69.2 km was non-accessible, because the ravine where it is located is currently covered by a giant snowfield. You'd have to go down quite a bit to get to where the water trickles out. There will be water there a long time, I'd say.

The "pass" waypoint was confusing to me, because I saw nothing there that looked like a pass. It's just a long traverse on the mountainside. About a kilometer south of this "pass" though, a trail reappears and it lasts all the way to the refugio El Caulle.

The weather was looking a bit unsettled, cloudy and windy, and I didn't know if it would rain or not, so I did a long day and camped at the refugio (the volcanic flank is quite exposed). I collected lots of water at the waypoint at km 71.8, so I didn't check to see if the spring below the refugio was running or not.

Early the next morning, the weather looked good, so I left most of my gear at camp and climbed Puyehue following Option 4. There are cairns most of the way up, and other footsteps/tracks to follow. It gets a bit steep in some places, but nothing too crazy. Poles definitely helped and having a light backpack too. The 800-m climb is definitely worth it! Amazing to see the surrounding mountains and valley clouds in the early morning light. Like Quetrupillan, the crater of Puyehue is filled with snow and ice. The climb from the refugio to the summit took me 1h45 min, including a short water/breakfast break on the way up. Downhill was easier and less sketchy than I expected, and that took an hour.

From El Caulle down to the road is a clear path, sometimes steep, down through the forest. The two water sources there were pretty much dry, just a bit of stagnant and muddy water. It has been very dry this past month, almost no rain. I crossed the gates at Santiago's house at the end, I didn't see anyone and no one charged me entry for the park. I hitched easily to Entre Lagos and will be skipping down to GPT22.

==Season 2021/22==

==Season 2020/21==

* '''2021-Dec-19 / Molly and Melissa / GPT21 Northbound - RR + ascent of summit:'''
4 days - skipping some of the gravel road along the lake

We went from Osorno to Puyehue, as the bus driver said that no buses went any further. From there we were quickly able to hitch a ride to Lican which is the start of the minor road. It's a couple of kilometres before Anticura. It would also be possible to walk, from Puyehue to Lican is about 10 km. We walked up to the restaurant and met a man who lives close by, he told us Santiago wasn't home, but he could take our payment. As others have written, Santiago wants to know the names and approximate schedule of everyone going towards the volcano. We slept at his camp site as well, it has flushing toilets and showers in a shed, it doesn't cost extra.

Volcán Puyehue:

In short: Snow is no longer a problem, but there is still enough to create little streams, so carrying 1-1,5 L of water each was fine for us. Beautiful but tough. Navigation is okay when using the GPS.

The first of the little streams marked as water on the GPS while climbing up through the forest was dry, the other was still running. We passed the refugio, which has quite a few bunk beds without mattresses. From there the path towards the volcano is quite clear through the grass, and is marked with frequent cairns further up so the navigation here is quite easy all the way to the top. We left our bags on the main route which was a good decision, it was very steep with very loose small volcanic rocks. The view from up there was amazing. When continuing past the volcano, there is a trail for about three kilometres more, but after that it's pure cross country. With the GPS it's not that hard to navigate, but clear weather is necessary and the terrain is tough, especially when passing between the lava fields. We found that the Locus Maps showed a different route than the GPS. We still found quite a few streams, especially when still near the volcano, if there's snow there's probably still some water. The snow is no problem for walking though. The first water? was pretty big and will probably last some time, but the second was really small, but there are several other streams as well. There's also more water in the afternoon when more snow has melted. All in all climbing from the camping, climbing the volcano and traversing the plateau took us two days of walking. It could be done in less, but would be tough. We got quite sunburned even though we used sunscreen, it's very exposed!

We had no trouble with finding the trail on the other side, it already starts being clear before reaching the forest. After that it's mostly just easy walking on gravel roads. When going northbound there is an alternative route around Hector and Neri's place that seems easier, we opted for the overgrown route to their house because we wanted to see if we could buy some bread, they didn't sell any though, but we had a nice chat with Hector as he let us through their locked gate. They later drove us about a kilometre when they passed us. The gravel road was a bit tedious and very hot, and hard to find good camping spots. The one marked on the GPS was behind a fence and some dense vegetation, but a little earlier it was possible to go through a gate to a little lake. We were told that there were many pumas and that we couldn't drink the water from the lake, we drank from a little stream going to the lake instead, and we didn't see any pumas.

Rio Hueinahue:

We were able to cross the river without problems, it went to mid- thigh height and we are both around 160 cm tall. The current wasn't too strong either. We have had quite a few warm, dry days before.

On the road along the lake we were passed by a bus going to Valdivia which we jumped on happily, so coming off the trail could not have been easier. It passed through Maihue and Futrono as well.

* '''2021-Dec-03 / Alex Abramov / GPT19: Volcán Puyehue. Northbound.'''

The "Plateau" still has a LOT of snow.

==Season 2019/20==

* '''Feb 2020 / Matthieu / RR + ascent of the summit + OH to the Hot Springs, Northbound'''

Great section, amazing views, no technical difficulties with the trails and cross country.

- '''Fees''' : In this sense you have to pay the entry of the private property in Lican, at the camping/restaurant of the base of the volcano (10 000 CLP). The owner is called Santiago and is really nice, he gives you all the informations necessary for places to camp and water supply. I could take a photo of the touristic map too, which normally you have to pay for. Going southbound I don´t think that you have to pay something to enter the parc.

- '''Water supply''' :
NO WATER at the first refuge down the volcano, you got to go a little bit further up and west.
All the west flank of the volcano is full of little stream coming from the snow. On this part no difficulties. "Water 12?" wasnt working when I was though, but there was a last stream after before going west to the desert ( at the div 128).You have a good half day of walking without water, so take some supply with you. The water comes back just before the div 126, on a place which looks like a dry lake, with little streams coming down some frozen snow.
There is another part without water, that begins a little after Div 126 until the refuge of Neri and Hector. I personnaly thought easy to find water in the forest and got really thirsty because of that. There was nobody in the refuge, so I could find water a few meters after the north gate of the house, following a little trail that went on the right side, directly in the forest and to the river. (A little bit of bush bashing at the end, next to the river).
Further on the road down there was some other rivers and there and good camping sites. You join the real road at bridge 63 and no problems of water after.

- '''Optionnal roads''' :
For the ascent of the volcano, I personnaly , on advice of Santiago, let my tent along the river "Water 145", souther from the waypoint. There are some flat places nice for the tent. From here you can go straight to the top, no technical difficulties.

For the Hot springs (nice experience, but the valley is full of tabaño at this season, so prefer arriving at the sunset to enjoy the water after !) : To go to the valley, I took a path that was on the touristic map but not on the GPT tracks. AFter the dry lake just before div 126 I followed the RR tracks up the hill, going east, and after I quitted the trqcks to go down directly to a little canyon, seeming to be a dry river. Really interessant path, and really easy, all flat in the canyon.It goes directly north and join the OH-TL-1901#001, making a triangle with the GPS tracks. There is a couple of hours walking after, in a nice green valley (plenty of water) until the hot springs. To enjoy the hot springs, I would recommend not to go (as I did) to the waypoint that will drive you in the closed canyon. The rocks in water are full of foam, and the feeling is really not good. I found a good place to camp and bath going back the next day, with traces of camping. About 300m before the waypoint hot springs, Just after the OH track makes a sort of right angle, the river take a shape of sharp angle and there is sand in the found of the river to sit and enjoy without slipping (GPS point of this site :S40°28.036' / W072°12.519'). To go back I followed the OH tracks until the RR, passing by the Geysers.

- '''Rivercrossing''' : one, the Rio Hueinahue. The GPS tracks are a good place to cross, going there the rocks before a rapid The river is very large thow, and the rocks slippery. When I passed I had maximum water a little bit above the knees. It is easier to see the good path in the river arriving southbound, because the road is up the river,but it is not so clear going northbound, If you are not confident with rivers, there are bridges up the road, not very far. Better not take useless risks.

- '''Ressupply locations''' : Nothing in Rupumeica. Little shops in Maqueo and Maihue. A lot of camping sites, free and payable, along the Lago Maihue.

* '''2020-Feb-19 / Martina & Ivo / Regular route southbound (start: km 37, end: Anticura)'''

2.5 days. Actually we wanted to hike from Riñinahue, so we took a random Bus in Osorno (09:20) to Río Bueno, where there was a connecting Bus to Lago Ranco, where there was another connecting Bus to Riñinahue, and this one continued - to our astonishment - to the bridge over Río Nilahue, where the optional route meets the regular route. We found water in the forest at both waypoints "water?", but we went after a period of heavy rain. The "water?" before the pass is still flowing and there is a lot of snow left to keep it flowing. The section was unexpectedly physically demanding but extremely beautiful! In Anticura we found accommodation, but we didn't look for resupply, which is probably not so easy...

* '''10-02-2020 / Ty/ RR SOBO/ 3 Days'''
I got lucky and got a ride all the way up to Los Venados. I went around Hectors house and camped up before tree line. There’s a bit of water still up there, just a few strong trickles though. I thought they would stay running for a while. Then for day 2 I went to the refuge, with a slight detour to the rim of the volcano. Definitely recommend. The “water?“ at RR-CC-A@19-68.0+3.7 seemed to have plenty in it at the time as well. At the rim a cloud came in and made navigation pretty tricky, but easily managed. Nice refuge with campsites outside. Spring still running. Tables and everything! Overall, an amazing section. From the end I hitched up to Antillanca optional Start for the next section.

* '''16-01-2020 / Arnaud Debilly / Southbound 4 / full days'''

We ressuplied in Curiñe, with a minimatket there.
To avoid the 15 first kilometers we took the bus from puerto Maihue to Rupumeica Bajo. We slept in the cabañas of Carmen Panguilef (+56 984 54 83 03) in rupumeica bajo who is very welcoming and a proud mapuche.
Then the road ends and starts the path to cross the pass to rupumeica alto. Then you follow the minor road until los Venados. The road is blocked by barriers that we crossed easily. At los Venados the path is clearly private and is along the house of Hector. We met him and his wife and they easily let us go through.
We overcarried water because we feared the lack of drinkable water. Until almost the treeline, you can hear little rivers not too far from the path. We also drunk melted snow at the top so we had enough.
Later in the season, it might be drier (I assume, those little rivers come from the snow melting). The last real rio is just before los venados.
After the forest, the volcanic terrain is very easy to walk in and the landscapes are wonderful.
We saw many smokes from the volcanic activity but seemed not dangerous.
Check the status of the volcano before to go (www.sernageomin.cl).
Following the track, it is easy to go between the lava field.
Campsites are absolutely great, with an amazing view on the vulcano.
We felt an earthquake (5,2) that has been localized near san martin de los andes in Argentinia but it made nothing dangerous with the volcano, luckily.
We have had a perfect blue sky without wind during the 2 days on top, it could not have been better.
The refugio El Caulle, at the start of the downhill can be a good protection for a bad weather. We found a little spring, to resupply water in the dry rio just under the refugio.
On the volcanic terrain, a bad weather changes everything and it must be really difficult and unpleasant to finish this section with rain, snow or wind and without the view.
It was for us the most wonderful section we have had until today.

* '''January 2020 / The Puyehue Traverse - GPT19'''

Okay. This is my first conditions report. I walked the Puyehue Traverse with my parents over the last week. It is basically the last part of GPT19, starting on the rd to Héctor y Neri's (Los Venados)(phone beforehand to secure permission : +569 81868927). Let me know if I should structure it differently in the future.

Getting to the Los Venados from Osorno
We caught the bus first to Rio Blanco, another to Largo Ranco. We then lucked out that the Riñinahue bus happened to be passing through! I think this is only once a day and goes all the way to the turn off to Cruce Pichico (3.8km from the turnoff to Los Venados). Again we were lucky and managed to hitch a ride (with two anthropologists!). A car past telling us they (Héctor and Neri) weren't home so we took the bypass - not sure if this is private or not? We made camp by some water for the night.

Up into the park
There is more water available if you're willing to walk off the main track. Numerous times I heard water off to the sides. The first water close to the track was after you pass the national park sign where marked in the section pts. Then above the treeline there are better sources available from the snow melt (better and more numerous later in the day). From the geothermal site we side tripped into the valley for a day and came back along the ridge to the SW. The valley has a lot of streams and some great camp spots. You could even do a shortish 2hr detour to camp in the treeline here. We took some slight variations to the optional hiking route.

Passing the recent lava flow
Rejoining the RR at a lake we followed the wall around camping a night part way along. (met four French ppl hiking the GPT here). There is snow, but no really good water sources until you get to the points marked at the base of Volcán Puyehue (first one here -40.59224, -72.13547).

Climbing the volcano
In short. We didn't. We woke to rain and retreated to the refugio. We spent the day cleaning it. So much rubbish! Carried a load down but there is a lot more if anyone feels like it. It snowed overnight. There was snow down to the refugio at 1400m but only persisted to maybe 1600m. We couldn't see the top of the volcano and in the afternoon, with food running low, decided to bail. The hut has a dunny.

Getting back into Osorno
After waiting three hours for a bus we ended up hitching a ride in una camión. He told us we would have been waiting a long time. Maybe one bus a day. Not really sure. But getting there early is a good idea. Coming down you could camp where the rd starts if you want to save money on lodging. We then caught a bus back into Osorno.

* '''24-Jan-2020 Tom & Maddie'''
Regular route SOBO starting from 37km, 1 day and nero.
Incredible section! We had no particular issues. It is possible to collect some water along the traverse after Hector and Neri’s property, however no reliable water sources are available until after the pass. There are some small streams flowing from the snow at the top so finding water is not impossible. We carried 3L per person and it was the right amount of water, including a side trip to the summit not on a track listed in the files. I would recommend doing the whole traverse in one day due to the limited water and the exposed nature of the area. Good weather is preferable, not just for the amazing views but also for safety reasons. The refuge at the other end of the pass is quite nice and a good place to spend the night.

=Resupply and Accommodation=

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==
*Recommend (Nov 2024 Mo) after finishing: Cabanas in Entre Lagos, really nice people, cabana and price: Janeth +56963133356

*Small supermarket in Curriñe opening times in April 2024:
Lunes a sabado: 9:00-13:30, 15:00-20:00
Domingos y festivos: 10:00-13:00, 17:00-20:00
Shop owner Antonio might be able to find accomodation with a lovely local family for 10k peso a night per person.

* Small supermarket and frutaria in Curriñe in between section 17 and 18. Has everything for a resupply. Haven't checked for gas.

*Nothing in Rupumeica. Little shops in Maqueo and Maihue. A lot of camping sites, free and payable, along the Lago Maihue.

* 2023 -round trip from south / Louis, Rémi & Noé :
Santiago has a restaurant, near the road and a refuge (waypoint refuge no water). You have to check in at the restaurant to pay the 15k CLP /pers. This price includes a night in the refuge (there is nobody in there), access to volcano and a night at the camping near the restaurant (with cold shower for free).

To Restaurant El Caulle on RR - 32km - +1300m/-2400m. The restaurant was closed when we arrived (a Monday at 7pm). Santiago selled us basic food (pasta, sauce, eggs (a bit expensive)) and he opened the doors of his barn for us to sleep dry. The only bus going down from here to Osorno leaves at 7:30am.

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==
*2025 / Antoine
Futrono: several supermarkets, most open on Sundays. But they didn't have screw-type gas canisters. I was lucky to find one at Ferretería O'Higgins Futrono +56 9 6122 5722 (opened just for me, nice guy)
Anticura accomodation:Lodging $$$ {19} [83.4/364]).
Camping (18k CLP, rudimentary, basic showers/WC) and cabanas (with kitchenette, up to 6, 70k CLP onsite (2025)).
Restaurant is nice. About 14-18k CLP for meat/fish main.

*2025 / Peggy
Cabañas en Entre Lagos: Contact Janet (+56963133356)

*2023 / Anna & Christopher
Stayed at Hector qnd Neri Refugio for the night.

*2020 / Martina & Ivo
In Anticura we found accommodation, but we didn't look for resupply, which is probably not so easy...
*2024 / Quentin Clavel
There's basic ressuply in Anticura, at "Tia Olivia" at Lican, point "Food, Lodging {19} [81.4/345]" but it's really in case of emergency. Olivia is a very kind woman and has in stock Bread, cheese, big bottle of coca cola, some juices and frost empanadas that she warmup.

I was in emergency so I resupply there, but just to keep in mind it's not a minimarket or so, just a tiny tiny resupply possibility. Olivia is a charm we discussed a lot, and she even took from her personal reserve pasta and biscuits that make the next section easier in term of food !

There's a possibility to eat at the restaurant of the lodge/cabanas/camping, KM0,00 of the section (Lodging $$$ {19} [83.4/364]). Nice food, good atmosphere. About 14-18k CLP for meat/fish main.
They also have camping (18k CLP, rudimentary, basic showers/WC) and cabanas (with kitchenette, up to 6, 70k CLP onsite (2025)).

End of the section is easy to find camping / small mini market and even restaurant/food truck (in between Maqueo and Puerto Maihue (if you go further in Curriñe, there's bigger minimarket, easier o resupply there).

*2020 / Arnaud Debilly
We ressuplied in Curiñe, with a minimatket there.
We slept in the cabañas of Carmen Panguilef (+56 984 54 83 03) in rupumeica bajo who is very welcoming and a proud mapuche.

WATER :
NO WATER at the first refuge down the volcano, you got to go a little bit further up and west. "Water 12?" wasnt working when I was though, but there was a last stream after before going west to the desert ( at the div 128).You have a good half day of walking without water, so take some supply with you. The water comes back just before the div 126, on a place which looks like a dry lake, with little streams coming down some frozen snow.
There is another part without water, that begins a little after Div 126 until the refuge of Neri and Hector. I personnaly thought easy to find water in the forest and got really thirsty because of that. There was nobody in the refuge, so I could find water a few meters after the north gate of the house, following a little trail that went on the right side, directly in the forest and to the river. (A little bit of bush bashing at the end, next to the river). Further on the road down there was some other rivers and there and good camping sites. You join the real road at bridge 63 and no problems of water after.

=Transport to and from Route=
* 2025 / Antoine B
Night bus Santiago to Futrono (22.20 - ~11.00, 20k CLP), then bus towards Rupumeica (not sure where it ends) at 13.15 (Sunday), ~ 3k CLP

* 2025 / Peggy
If you don't want to do the Gpt20, you can contact Janet to organize a ride to Las Gaviotas (+56963133356) she has also cabañas in Entre Lagos

*2024 / Matthias de Austria
Bus coming from Futrono to Rupumeica, stop in Curriñe, next to GPT01 end, at 14:15, 17:30, 18:45, 20:00. No buses in the forenoon! Don't know about buses on weekends.
Direct bus to Valdivia, passing through Futrono, from Curriñe at 6:55 and 8:55. In the afternoon there's another bus to Futrono.

*2023 / Martin & Helena
Bus to Osorno and Entre Lagos as well leaves early in the morning around 7 AM we think but rather ask.

* 2023 / Anna & Christopher
From Panguipulli we took a bus at 8:40 am to Los Lagos (on a thursday). From there we took another bus to Paillaco at 11:30 am and got off at the cruce Reumén/Futrono. The connecting bus to Futrono passed there around 12:20 pm. From Futrono we took a bus to Llifén at 13:15 pm. From there we hitchhiked until the junction of Option 2 with the RR at km 37 approx.

*2021/ Molly and Melissa
We went from Osorno to Puyehue, as the bus driver said that no buses went any further. From there we were quickly able to hitch a ride to Lican which is the start of the minor road.

*2020 / Arnaud Debilly
To avoid the 15 first kilometers we took the bus from puerto Maihue to Rupumeica Bajo.

*2021 / Molly and Melissa
On the road along the lake we were passed by a bus going to Valdivia which we jumped on happily, so coming off the trail could not have been easier. It passed through Maihue and Futrono as well.

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

*You have to pay the entry of the private property in Lican, at the camping/restaurant of the base of the volcano (10 000 CLP). The owner is called Santiago.
* (2025-12-01) Erwin asked 5k CLP to use the RR trail at Neri & Hector's house (they were not present and from other reports it seems like they didn't ask for that fee).

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT19 - Volcán Puyehue]]

=Images=

[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354781.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354783.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354857.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354866.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354871.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354758.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354765.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354768.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354769.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354773.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]

GPT17H (Liquine)

2025-12-27T18:06:16Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

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Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format:

<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

=Overview=

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.25.12 to 2025.26.12 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris, Stiina and Bailey'''

Day 3 - (Continued from section 16)
After a few refreshments in Liquine we continued hiking all the way up to Laguna Corazon (Laguna Ancacoihue). Bailey managed to get a ride up to the junction with Variant C and saved himself a boring road walk.
We probably could have sneaked past and not pay the entrance fee but we went in at the reception and paid 3k CLP pp. The guy working/living there was very nice and filled up our water bottles.

We camped by the lake here -39.77618, -71.86933 where the official trail that is maintained ends, with sign stating that. The camp by the lake was very nice with some tables and benches. However there aren’t alot of places for tents - one proper space for 1 tent and then a few smaller spaces for one person tent. We had our 2 person tent and Bailey had his one person tent and we managed.
Further along the lake there is a campsite marked on the osm and it seems to have been an established campsite at some point, also with tables and benches, a fireplace and some flat places for the tents but a slightly more longer access to the lake.
To get to the further campsite and to pretty much continue on the RR don’t follow the gpx unless you enjoy a proper obstacle course with the final boss being a difficult barbed wire fence. Stay right on the coast of the lake behind the table with a bench and walk over some partially submerged logs which let you get to the other side of the barbed wire fence with a perfect trail immediately on the other side.
Lots of bird songs in the evening, no cows or cow poo anywhere. Water in the lake very clear and nice temperature, however the bottom of the lake very muddy and will murk up the water if you step in it.
As soon as the sun set the frog choir went mad and it was quite the performance they were putting on all night long until the sunrise. Bring earplugs if you’re a light sleeper.

Day 4 - We woke up in a cloud and it soon started raining. The rain continued until about midday and at some points it was borderline torrential rain, really heavy soaking is throughout.
Once past the barbed wire fence the trail was mostly very good, almost a minor road or an old bridleway. We took the RR all the way, though Variant D looked more groomed, Bailey took variant D (by accident) and confirmed it was good, the RR was just a bit more overgrown with some fallen tree obstacles and probably a bit slower, next time I would go with variant D.
Like mentioned in the comments before there were quite a few junctions along the way, leading who knows where (not on any of the map layers) so keep an eye on your nav. Following the red plastic/rubber “Huilo huilo” bird worked, though it would sometimes go a different way than the RR.
I think one could definitely camp by Lago Quilmo. There is a big and new looking nature sign by “Reserva Biologica Huilo Huilo” with different symbols, none prohibiting camping or fires. One of the symbols was Estacionamento, probably for whoever comes with a car there, fishermen?

The rain ceased around the time we got to the pass, right after the Bridge, Camp {17H} [25.0/1212], the bridge along the gpx had collapsed but someone had built a simple new bridge a bit lower down. That’s also when the mostly good trail ended and mostly eroded by rain trail started. It wasn’t great but it also wasn’t terrible.
The trail from Pozo de Oro to Puerto Fuy is mostly alright but also as mentioned before it is not exactly following the gpx, and had a few confusing junctions as to which way to go. Where the gpx goes a sharp down back towards the lake we went up along the gully and then once on the other side of it there is a confusing t-junction we went down for 20m and picked up a good also the correct trail. The rest was more or less straightforward, there was an easy to climb gate here -39.86952, -71.87945 and when we got to Puerto Fuy following the minor road which deviated from the gpx there was a closed get to enter the town but 50m along the fence towards the lake there was an opening to go through.
Puerto Fuy had plenty of small shops we found at least 5 and many places to eat, even a “food court” right across the harbour. We took 5pm bus to Panguipulli 4.5k CLP pp.

Continuing next the sections 19-22.

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

==Season 2024/25==

* '''2025-02-17 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR+own route / Dorota'''

From Reyehueico to Liquine I took lift. I needed to leave dog unfortunately. Liquine is very nice village with a lot of shops and cafaterias/bar. Laguna Corazón espectacular, paid entrance fee. Trail in forest very easy but there were not a lot of water beginning from laguna corazón. At Laguna Quilmo refugio was destroyed. All way from Liquine followed me another dog till Puerto Fuy. After Laguna Quilmo I took another route using osm, but I can not recommended because of lack of the water. In Puerto Fuy I took camp for 10.000 clp, big one with guard. A lot of place and river. Puerto Fuy has some shops but more bars and restaurantes. Next day decided took buses to reach stage 19. Buses: Puerto Fuy-Panguipulli-Los Lagos-Futrono-Liffen. I started at 9.00 and at 16 I was in Llifen. In bus stop at Los Lagos you can charge electrónica. At Llifen night in Posada de Tourista for 30.000 clp with breakfast (high sezon). Place very nice, WiFi. In liffen some shops and lot of restaurants.

* '''2025-02-17 to 2025-02-19 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Peggy

This short section is very easy. I arrived in Liquiñe via Route 16 in the afternoon. There are various options for food and shopping.

I left around 5 PM towards Laguna Ancacoihue (Laguna Corazón). I managed to get a ride to the entrance of the road leading to the lake. At that time, many tourist cars were going down, but few were going up, so I was lucky to be picked up by locals.

Laguna Corazón is definitely worth a visit. It is stunning, with lots of animal sounds. I arrived just as the last visitors were leaving. I didn’t pay an entrance fee because I didn’t meet anyone at the bottom, but otherwise, the cost is 3,000 CLP.

I set up my tent at the spot with tables (watch out for cows coming to drink!). There is another campsite further into the forest with a cooking area for making fires.

The trail down, which partially circles the lake, is beautiful and offers a great experience of the Valdivian forest. For me, this was the most scenic part of the hike.

I spent the second night at Pozo del Oro, where I arrived early. A woman was there for the afternoon. It’s a perfect spot for swimming, doing laundry, and making a fire in the evening. The place is pleasant and beautiful (a few ferries and boats passed by, but it’s not a highway!). However, like everywhere (including Europe!), there was a lot of toilet paper left behind.

The next morning, I headed down to Puerto Fuy, hoping to take the ferry to Route 18. However, all tickets were sold out for the day. The only option was to return at 5 AM the next morning to try and buy a ticket for later in the day. I decided to skip it and took a series of buses to Route 19 instead (Panguipulli–Los Lagos–Paillaco–Futrono–Llifén). I left Puerto Fuy around 1:30–2 PM and arrived in Llifén around 8 PM. The connections were smooth.

* '''2025-01-08 / 1 day / SOBO / RR Packrafting / Mara and Tobias

Beautiful floating! No dangerous streamers or rapids in the river. We boiled the water before drinking, since there are many cows and we saw settlers doing their laundry by the river. We could not cross Lago Neltume because of strong winds.

* ''' 2025-JAN-07 > 08 / 1 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / RR / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT14+GPT15+GPT16+GPT17+GPT18+GPT19
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : plutot rare
| Neige : non
| Intérêt : 2/5
| Difficulté : 0/5
| Danger : aucun

J'ai essayé de faire du stop mais personne ne s'est arreté alors j'ai acheté un peu de nourriture et suis allé dejeuner au restaurant a Liquine.
Il faut prendre la 17H-D au km 15,7 car la RR est en mauvais etat.
Le sentier est bien balisé et en parfait état partout ailleurs. Pas de refuge au km 18,2, il y a un pont au km 21,9, pas de place pour camper au km 25,0 ni au 27,5. Pas de porte au km 34,4. Ce n'est pas une rain forest, il n'y a pas de boue ni de zone humide. Il n'y a que de petites epiceries a Puerto Fuy.

*'''2025-JAN-04 to 2025-JAN-05 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / Var. 12-01, RR + OH (Var. B, C) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel'''

A simple and short section featuring wild and very dense Valdivian forests. Worth mentioning are two beautiful lakes, Lago Quilmo and Lago Pirihueico.

We left Carriñe Bajo around noon, heading toward Liquiñe via variant {17H-B}, where we resupplied at a shop. Liquiñe has several shops, all fairly well-stocked. We began ascending and, around kilometer 11, left the RR route for variant {17H-C}, rejoining the RR at Camp Without Water {17H} [15.8/917]. Lago Quilmo is truly beautiful and surrounded by dense forest. Surprisingly, there were no mosquitoes.

The trail to Lago Pirihueico is well-maintained and beautifully designed. For the first time, we even saw fir trees here. At Ford {17H} [21.9/994], we didn’t need to ford the river, as there’s a small bridge.

Upon arriving at the crystal-clear Lago Pirihueico, we found a lovely spot with a picnic table, fire pit, and a perfect bivouac area at coordinates -39.87309, -71.85218. The remainder of the route to Puerto Fuy follows a picturesque trail with occasional views of the lake.

*'''29Dec2024 - 30dec2024 / hiking SOBO / RR - varD - RR / 1.5 days / Clara'''

Bus from coñaripe to liquiñe 2x/day except sunday no one. You can ask schedules in the supermarkets of coñaripe.

Short and easy section, nice forest and lakes.

Camp :
- at km10 nice camping 6500/pers.

- Pozo de oro. Table, flat spot, nice to swim in the lake. Good water flowing in the river just beside.

(I don't know why there is no camp at laguna quilmo but seems to be used and should be nice to camp.)

Navigation : MR until km12, can hitchhike if lucky.
Then good trail or old road, often marked with red huilo-huilo birds, easy.

Then not hard to skip 18. Took me about half a day taking multiple buses (puerto fuy - panguipulli - los lagos - paillaco - futrono - llifen), maybe a bit longer on WE with less buses.

* '''24-12-26- 24-12-27/ 1,5 days / SOBO / RR/ Volker'''

The forest section - beautiful, short and smooth
Day 1: I took buses from Pucon to Villarica to Panguipulli to Liquine, arrived there in the late afternoon. I bypassed the entrance gate for Laguna Curazon by walking over the steep meadow to the left of the MR (though probably at 6.30 p.m. there was nobody anyway). Camped close to the end of this meadow, hidden from the farm below by a tree. Lovely place!
Day 2: Started very early to avoid possible conflicts as I camped so close to the farm. Laguna Curazon magic at 7 a.m. The first 50 around the lake a bit tricky, the water level is higher than on the OSM and you have to climb a small canyon and bypass a barbed wire fence to get on the trail. Very impressing trees, plants and a second lake. But use your device, there are many paths and MRs. Later you more or less walk the km down. 2 indicated „bridges“ either destroyed or very special „bridges“, nevertheless easy. Bridge at the indicated ford. Down at Laguna Perihueico I had enough time for swimming. But notice, that the way to Puerto Fuy is not along the lake, it‘s up and down, moreover I had some navigation problems. The track files do not correspond to the actual trail (partly ca. 70m away, first south, later north). Follow the signs with the red rubberbird („Huilo Huilo“). I took the 5 p.m. ferry (last one) to Perihueico. Didn‘t see a shop for resupply in Puerto Fuy, in Perihueico definitively just restaurants. Walked until the indicated camp spot on the beach at the end of the packraft route (first broken trees, soon easy MR) and camped there to start gpt 18 the next day.

* '''Start 2024-11-20/ 2d / Hiking SOBO RR / Mo'''

Resupply in Liquine, hot MR to trail to Laguna Corazon, then MR/trail that should be completely cleared to Puerto Fuy. Resupply in small supermarkets there. Camping should be possible at the beach. Ferry 2x/d.

==Season 2023/24==

* '''2024-Mar-29 to 2024-Mar-31 / 2 days / SOBO / B RR D / Matthias de Austria'''

Short and easy section. Some nice lakes and hiking through dense valdivian rain forest. No tabanos nor mosquitos, snowfields or wet feet fords. Parts might be muddy after heavy rainfall. Limited water beside lakes. No water at water? 20.3/942 no gate at 17.4/985

Gate 12.0/801: Entry fee 3k. Toilet there, waste bin and some benches with volcano view. Possible camp at -39.777226,-71.870598 close to laguna Ancacoihue/Corazon, which has quite sediment rich water.

Camped inside the hut at -39.797914,-71.848616 due to rainy forecast. No direct access to the lake there, but a 5min walk south at lake, no camp 18.2/978. Don't know why no camp here, I think there is plenty of space and no forbidden sign around. Possible to swim but first 2m grown shore, then suddenly very deep. Refuge 18.2/978 burned down.

First water from stream at -39.824602,-71.851464, there is also a bridge at -39.824787,-71.851347
Don't miss junction at -39.826732,-71.848505, you have to turn right to the bad road otherwise you will walk to laguna chan chan.

I put a log on ford 31.0/610 for dry feet crossing. Plenty of campsides around, fireplaces, a table...lake is the best for swimming, easy access, clean almost warm water end of March.

Next to water 34.0/646 a camp should be possible.

Shortly before Puerto Fuy don't follow the road, it leads to a locked gated at -39.870979,-71.889116. Or do so, then just walk a minute along the fence direction to the lake until there is a easy to walk through whole in the fence.

* '''2024-03-06 // 1 day // Hiking // NOBO // RR + variant B // Quentin Clavel'''

From Puerto Fuy, it's a smooth hike until liquine, where the trail is easy to follow.

At PK 13,7 you'll reach Laguna ancacoihue, that has been transformed into a tiny and cute touristic hike, because of the heart formed by this Laguna. So you'll probably see some people walking threw this "Laguna Corrazon" to/from the end of the gravel road PK 12.
During these 2 kilometers, the trail is very well marked and indicated, there's even ramps to helps you to go up/down. An amazing Mirador has been setup as well with sick view on the volcanoes Villarica end Lanin. Nice place indeed !

As I came nobo, I haven't had to pay anything, but probably going SOBO, you'll pass the entrance of this hike first (at the end of the gravel road) and have to pay to access here.

Then after 10 kilometers on a gravel road, you'll reach the asphalt and arrive in liquine.
I passed threw the "center" where there's at least one hospedaje, few minimarkets, place to eat and few thermals.

After a necessary stop at the panadería/café for some dulces and fresh fruits juice (Variant B, passing threw the city) I continued my way to the next section.

* '''2024-Jan-20 to 2024-Jan-21 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {17H-A} - {17H-B} - RR - {17H-D} - RR / Lilian'''

{17H-A} km0 : Settlement, shop[66.5/237] : small shop, a little pricey but good stock for resupply, very friendly. ( I think the shops in Liquiñe is much pricey too)

Km1.55 : two tiny shops here. (-39.70430, -71.86316)

Then i joined RR.

RR km0.95 : tiny shop. (-39.71282, -71.85403)

Km1.95 : tiny shop. (-39.72135, -71.85373)

Then i take {17H-B} keep going on the main road.

{17H-B} km0.55 : two small shop and one tiny shop just beside the "Liquiñe" waypoint. Lot of food resupply options, also some restaurants nearby.

Km1.3 : junction of RR and {17H-B}, a tiny shop here(-39.74016, -71.85511), if you want to cross Río Liquiñe to hot spring, it is the correct place. Ask the staff in shop, and they'll find somebody to row the boat for you.

RR ferry[5.7/237] : if noone here, ask at the tiny shop beside the road. As they said, looks like the earliest time for rowing boat is 9:30am, until maybe 8pm? Because i crossed here at 8pm. I'm not sure how much for the boat, maybe 500 CLP, but i paid 1000 CLP because I arrived here too late, and the guy need to go to some place else for finding the key to unlock the boat for me.

Walking on a clear path to Termas Punulaf. The price for camping in 2024 is 20,000 CLP. The hot spring looks like a swimming pool, that of course hot spring water, with perfect temperature. About the camping, picnic table, light, a line for hanging clothes, sandy spot, toilet and covered by a shelter.

Soaking the hot spring in early morning, sit beside the inlet for relaxing, it makes a good start of a new day!

It is the HIGHLIGHT of GPT16's ending or start of GPT17, don't miss it!

Km6.3 : tiny shop(-39.74271, -71.85464).

Lucky me, get two rides from X,shop[7.1/308] to gate[12.0/801] directly!

Km10.95 : bus stop, maybe bus comes to here?

Gate[12.0/801] : talk with a young guy at here, register some basic information but no fee need to pay, he also fill up my water bottle, thank you to him!

From here to km13.4(Laguna Ancacoihue), steep climb up but very easy to follow, just follow some red sticks to go, lot of benches for rest, handrail if you need and some nice viewpoint platforms. The viewpoint at (-39.77073, -71.86505), beautiful platform with Chile flag, background are Volcán Villarrica, Lanín and the valley of Liquiñe, such a amazing picture!

When you arrive Laguna Ancacoihue maybe a little confused where is the trail to go. Trail is under blowdowns now for a few meters. Walk a little close to the lake(no need wet feet) and go around the fence that covered by blowdowns, a nice trail(road) is beside the fence.

After you follow the road walking about 5-10 min, you'll find some Red Bird sign(Huglo Huglo) and white red print at tree. They'll leads you to the Lago Quilmo(km17.4), follow them! If you see a white red print "X", it means "this is a wrong way".

Km13.7 : camping spot with fire ring, log sests, benches, picnic table. Still some more flat spots in 100m south.

Km15.6 : junction of RR and {17H-C}, a white red print "X" and lot sticks are put on the way to north.

Km15.8 : junction of RR and {17H-D}, RR is blocked by many huge blowdowns, Red Bird and white red print is at {17H-D}, also the road looks clear, so go for it.

{17H-D} km0.1 : sky blue ribbon start, it'll leads you the way too.

Km1.45 : Junction. Red Bird and white red print at left side go around the lake at east side, sky blue ribbon at right follow RR at west side. Go for RR.

Rejoin RR, and there are some blowdowns on RR at here too, i think {17H-D} is replaced RR completely.

Gate RR[17.4/995] : no gate.

Km18.05 : an empty hut(-39.79772, -71.84869) without door and windows, wooden floor is in good condition and clean. Looks like can used for staying away from bad weather.

Refuge[18.2/978] : The cabin? Hut? Is already burnt down. Just leave a burn out area and and an empty small hut, but lot of trash and dirty inside. The hut at previous is much better.

Lake,no camp[18.2/978] : at least five fire pit here...in a very small area. Why don't people just use other's old pit? Burning another green area is fun?

The water condition at here is better than Laguna Ancacoihue.

Km18.45 : four way junction, met Red Bird and white red print agian, but we still follow the sky blue ribbon.

X[18.9/1016] : junction to Laguna Chan Chan, Red Bird and white red print on the way to Laguna Chan Chan, follow sky blue ribbon and turn right here.

X[19.9/927] : sky blue ribbon go right. New colour, orange ribbon go left for RR. No more sky blue ribbon on your hike.

Water?[20.3/942] : no water here.

Ford[21.9/994] : beautiful water! A bridge here now. Crystal clear swimming pool at just downstream, nice spot for hot day. Some huge blowdowns help you go down to the pool.

Km23.15 : Red Bird again, follow it and orange ribbon all the way to Pozo de Oro.

Bridge,camp[25.0/1212] : bridge for cars already broken, just left a exciting log here. Better turn right go down for board bridge crossing. I didn't see any flat or camping spot. Water flowing slowly.

Km25.9 : views of Volcán Mocho (very little).

Km26 : road turns to a single track trail gradually.

Bridge,camp[27.5/1026] : bridge for cars already broken too. Cross by a log bridge now. Water flowing good and slowly. Grassland can fit 1-2 tents before go down for the crossing.

After some forest tunnel, you'll arrive Pozo de Oro, camping spot can fit many tents covered by tall trees, with fire ring, benches and picnic table. Also it is close to the lake.

Ford[31.0/610] : dry feet crossing, another crossing after here 100m, above ankle, or you can log crossing at 30m downstream.

Lake,camp[31.1/672] : sandy spot can fit 1 tent under a tree with lake views, i met some friendly locals driving their boat to here when i camped at weekends. Sleep with the peacey lake wave is great!

Keep follow Red Bird and orange ribbon for a little more.

Km31.4 : three way junction, DON'T follow orange ribbon climb up at right side, going straight on left side.

Km31.5 : three way junction, RR is turn left going down, OSM have a trail going right climb up for short cut. RR is in better condition, but OSM one is also good condition and much shorter. It'll connect RR at km31.75. And Red Bird start here.

Km31.75 : four way junction, if you follow OSM trail, turn right and climb up. If you follow RR, go straight and climb up.

After about 300m, Red Bird and white red print again! You can follow them, but they are not so frequently like before, also will disappear after a while.

Water[34.0/646] : grassland can fit 1-3 tents before the beautiful water, it is flowing low but clear and taste good. After here, trail becomes a dirt road.

Km34.3 : The wooden platform that Coline & Hermann slept still in progress about 70%, have windows and door, already locked up.

Km34.5 : huge flat area beside the beach under some trees, (car) camping spot.

Bridge[34.9/630] : log bridge crossing, (car) camping spot about 50m before it.

Km35.0 - km35.2: Camping Gratis, huge beautiful grassland (car) camping spot, i saw about 20 cars and many tents at Sunday morning. Spot covered by trees is loved by cars, hiker better camping at km35.2, no trees and car campers don't like it.

Km35.3 : some more (car) camping spot here, close to beach.

About the ferry and time schedule in 2024,

Tourist information center (-39.87183, -71.88962), you can buy the ferry tickets to Puerto Pirehueico at here, 1150 CLP one way. They also help me charging the power bank, super thank you to them!

Ferry from Puerto Fuy to Puerto Pirehueico:
Monday(07:00,13:30,18:00), Tuesday to Thursday(09:00,13:30,18:00), Friday(07:00,12:30,17:00), Saturday and Sunday(08:00,12:30,17:00)

Ferry from Puerto Pirehueico to Puerto Fuy:
Monday(09:00,16:00,20:30), Tuesday to Thursday(11:30,16:00,20:30), Friday(09:00,15:00,19:30), Saturday and Sunday(10:30,15:00,19:30)

Resupply in Puerto Fuy,

(-39.87320, -71.89134), (-39.87307, -71.89179), (-39.87373, -71.89390), (-39.87373, -71.89551), (-39.87375, -71.89775) : five tiny shops, combine together it is enough to resupply.

It is a tourist town, so lot of accommodation here, cabins or campground. Also some nice restaurants too.

When you are waiting the ferry, you can go for a boat tour, kayak trip, or take a nap on the beach under a big tree(-39.87178, -71.88877) like me.

* '''2024-Jan-13 to 2024-Jan-14 / 1,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Yannick & Nolwenn'''

- Water : easy to find
- Camping spot : at km 31,1 really nice camp on the lac with a table
- Weather : Sunny and cloudy
- Resupply : we had ressuply in conaripe, also possible in Linquine
- Entry fee : at km 12 we had to pay 3000 pesos to use the track to the Laguna del Corazon
Easy section

* '''2024-05-01 / 1,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from Liquine Alto / Jens '''

Easy walk on forest road and single trail for the last 20km. I was a bit confused by the different trails. The right one was not always the most beaten one.
The ferry schedule at El fuy has changed. It is now 8 am. Timetable in the article of section 18.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-jan-27 to 2023-jan-29 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RH + Laguna Chan Chan / Coline & Hermann'''

After sleeping on a wooden platform nearby at work-in-progress house at some 1km after the gratis camping of Puerto Fuy (nice view on the lake, the city and the volcano Mocho Choshuenco), we walked northbound on the regular route of the GPT17.

It is also still possible to camp on a tiny beach which the trail reaches (Camp {18-F} [1.2/672]). From there, it took us time to find the trail, because it actually required to... walk on a tweenty meters long fallen tree !

It seems possible to avoid this, by following the path marked with red bird signs.

During the sloapse after, the road turns into a 4x4 road, where you may meet some cyclists going southbound – fast as arrows !

We arrived at the crossroad (the one either following the trail or going to the lake Chan-Chan) at the end of the day, after 1000m up in altitud, and found a place to sleep on the way up, inbeetween two rivers.

The next day, we stopped several hours at the beautiful volcano lake, where one's can make fire nearby the wooden tables. The clear water is not deep, which makes it perfect for sitting and refershing – surrounded by the mountains.

We went back on the GPT, and noticed that the refuge at the arrival to the lake Quilmo has burned.

It is less attractive to swim there because of the vegetation. It is even more the case for the lake which takes place north-east of the optional road of the GPT (OH-TL-V {17H-D} [0.0+1.5]). However, it was nice to see so many lakes during this section !

Actually, the last one – the laguna Anacoihue – was the cutest one. As you see on the map, it's in shape of a heart ! There is a camping place on the west side, where you can make fire and leave your stuff to walk to the "mirador" at the inner point of the heart (at the sunset, for example).

The next day, we walked the way down to Liquiñe in the morning. There are wooden sculptures, benches and games for (little and grown-up) kids, until one's reaches the plains. From there, we could see the volcano Villarica, which was smoking (so maybe avoid to go to the glacier Pichillancahue or even at the summit of the volczno, if you plan doing the GPT16-04 after... Or at least, have a look on RED).

We could easily resupply at Liquiñe and even found bottles of gas (Pro-Gas) in the "fereteria" some 200m down the main road (Ruta 201 CH), after it crosses the road leading to the Termas Trafipan, in front of a white building.

The hot springs marked on the map are now "infrastructured" (so to say), which means they are not for free anymore, but also that you can charge your phone (for free if asking) and/or spend the night (for 15 to 25mil pesos / person / night) and enjoy the swimming pools.

In fact, we were told (after) that there is a natural hot spring only known by inhabitants.

* '''2023-Jan-31 to 2023-Feb-01 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 17h-C / Maks & Gabi '''

Nice and easy trail even though the ascent on the beginning which follows dirty road with a lot of cars.
We took OH 17h-C which is not worth it, there is a new gate on the way, and when we tried to go through the forest there were lots of fences.
Than as written below the trail is marked and well maintained. We were doing RR, and it wasn't owergrown anywhere ( there is only one place somewhere around km 32 of RR when it's more worth to follow red bird sign than GPS navi, they are connecting once again after 100m)
We were sleeping at Camping gratis in Puerto Fuy, it was ok, but there is a lot of homeless dogs and it's quite a lot of people and noise during the night. Puerto Fuy is a quite big and there are many buses (almost every hour ) to Panguipulli.

* '''2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Jan-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Laguna Chan Chan / Will '''

Amazing section, don't skip it! Just make sure to take the openstreetmap route by Laguna Chan Chan instead of the main route.

I camped at the Termas de Punulaf after arriving via section 12. 15000 pesos, somewhat quiet, with some swimming pool style hot springs. Even a little restaurant. In the morning I walked along the field down to the river, where a kid rowed me across into town (500 pesos). Lots of shops for resupply.

The road walk up to the Laguna Corazon (aka Ankacoihue) trailhead would have been rough, thankfully I was blessed with a ride most of the way up. At the trailhead you'll find a nice lodge/cafe where I had to register and pay 2500 to hike to the lake. It's a cute trail, complete with benches and art and motivational signs. Great views of the valley.

After Laguna Corazon you'll end up on the Huilo Huilo trail, where you can follow the red bird trail markers all the way to Puerto Fuy along well maintained trail and dirt roads. Though the park's route seems to diverge from the main route twice, following variant D and the trail to Laguna Chan Chan.

Variant D looked to be a well maintained (slightly bland) road, vs the main route which is an old road in the process of being reclaimed by the forest. Currently the main route's still not bad walking.

The trail approaching Laguna Chan Chan from the north was a highlight: thin, slower, steeper, more intimate. It eventually merges onto a dirt road heading down from the lake and west. The main route here was a plain gravel road (I went the wrong way along it for a few km).

There's well maintained campsites with picnic tables and everything at Laguna Corazon/Ankacoihue, Laguna Chan Chan, and at Pozo de Oro near the end.

The ferry at Puerto Fuy was sold out all day by the time I got there around noon.

==Season 2021/22==

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / RR + Lago Chanchan / Matthieu '''

Another part of the Huilo Huilo parc, no entry fees in this sens. Nice for the forest walkers the like flowers and calm.
Tracks well maintained in the form of 4x4 roads, easy to follow (Little red plastic birds sticked on the trees).
I agree with Martina and Ivo on the attractivity of this section. There are a few lakes to see on the way, if you get off the RR, and it is worth the effort. The savage beach just a few kilometers after Puerto Fuy is a paradise to camp.
Liquiñe is a nice place to rest, with camping and thermal water. Lots of shops.

- Lago Chanchan :

Talking to chilean hikers there, the main attraction seems to be the Lago Chanchan, which is actually a lake in a volcano crater, with a little beach, and a wonderful place to camp. I took the detour to go.
From the waypoint "Refugio?" (which is actually the house of Juan, whose mission is just to take the names of the people going south, just for safety if they get lost. No fees, no stress. Juan is really nice and I could enjoy a nice coffee and discussion with him.), I came back going southbound to the Div 108. Then you take the little forest trail, that goes up gor 2-3 hours until the lake Chanchan. It is a little technical trail cutted in the bamboos, but in this sense easy to follow, following the little red birds. Just before the lake there is a Div where you arrive to a 4x4 trail. One road goes north to the lake, and the other one goes south to the "pozo del Oro", and I assume that this trail join the RR between "Bridge, camp2" and "DIV 110" I didnt explore it the next day thow, going back on my tracks by the little bamboo trail because I was initially going northbound. SO there is a path exploitable from the south part of the section, leaving the RR on a minor road, going to the lake Chanchan, and then going back to RR taking this little trail to the Div 108, making your experience really more attractive.

* '''2020-Feb-09 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina & Ivo '''

Here is our advertisement for this beautiful section: From Liquiñe alto to the beginning of the forest: great view to the volcanoes Villarica and Lanín. Nice trail to the enchanted Laguna Ankacoigüe. Then beginning of the Reserva Biológica Huilo-Huilo Sector Norte: stunningly huge trees and a sudden change of landscape, entering Valdivian rainforest for the first time. Only a short part of minor road between waypoint "lake, no camp" and the highest point of the section. The whole descent to Puerto Fuy is a attractive trail through pretty rainforest with views to the Volcán Choshuenco. 4 km before the village you find this pristine hidden lonely beach, perfect for a last rest before you arrive at busy touristy Puerto Fuy.

Our rating: 3

Don't skip ;-)

* '''2020-Feb-08 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank '''

I met Martina & Ivo on the route & agree with their above comments. This section was an unexpected highlight & the campsite on the lake was the best. When you reach the lake you cross a river then arrive at the campsite which you will probably have to yourself. Avoid the campsites near Puerto Fuy as there are lots of car campers there.

=Resupply and Accommodation=

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

Liquine: Panderia, pasteria, minishop and cafeteria at 39.741773,-71.855479. I said I take 10 eggs if they cook it hard, they do so for 1k. +3k for the eggs.

In Liquine there are a few small shops. There are also some open air markets, you can get breakfast & lunch there. They open around 10:30 AM. 2 restaurants in Liquine but neither of them was open when I was there (Feb 2020)

There are a few places advertising cabins on the road in to Liquine & as you leave Liquine southbound there are two cheap hotels.

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

=Transport to and from Route=

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

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT17H - Liquiñe]]

=Images=

[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228012.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT17H - Liquiñe]]
[[File:GP_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228017.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT17H]]
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GPT17H (Liquine)

2025-12-27T18:05:33Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

= How to a add new entry =
You need to be logged in to save your edits (and on mobile view, you need to be logged in to start editing).

Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format:

<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

=Overview=

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.25.12 to 2025.26.12 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris and Stiina, Bailey'''

Day 3 - (Continued from section 16)
After a few refreshments in Liquine we continued hiking all the way up to Laguna Corazon (Laguna Ancacoihue). Bailey managed to get a ride up to the junction with Variant C and saved himself a boring road walk.
We probably could have sneaked past and not pay the entrance fee but we went in at the reception and paid 3k CLP pp. The guy working/living there was very nice and filled up our water bottles.

We camped by the lake here -39.77618, -71.86933 where the official trail that is maintained ends, with sign stating that. The camp by the lake was very nice with some tables and benches. However there aren’t alot of places for tents - one proper space for 1 tent and then a few smaller spaces for one person tent. We had our 2 person tent and Bailey had his one person tent and we managed.
Further along the lake there is a campsite marked on the osm and it seems to have been an established campsite at some point, also with tables and benches, a fireplace and some flat places for the tents but a slightly more longer access to the lake.
To get to the further campsite and to pretty much continue on the RR don’t follow the gpx unless you enjoy a proper obstacle course with the final boss being a difficult barbed wire fence. Stay right on the coast of the lake behind the table with a bench and walk over some partially submerged logs which let you get to the other side of the barbed wire fence with a perfect trail immediately on the other side.
Lots of bird songs in the evening, no cows or cow poo anywhere. Water in the lake very clear and nice temperature, however the bottom of the lake very muddy and will murk up the water if you step in it.
As soon as the sun set the frog choir went mad and it was quite the performance they were putting on all night long until the sunrise. Bring earplugs if you’re a light sleeper.

Day 4 - We woke up in a cloud and it soon started raining. The rain continued until about midday and at some points it was borderline torrential rain, really heavy soaking is throughout.
Once past the barbed wire fence the trail was mostly very good, almost a minor road or an old bridleway. We took the RR all the way, though Variant D looked more groomed, Bailey took variant D (by accident) and confirmed it was good, the RR was just a bit more overgrown with some fallen tree obstacles and probably a bit slower, next time I would go with variant D.
Like mentioned in the comments before there were quite a few junctions along the way, leading who knows where (not on any of the map layers) so keep an eye on your nav. Following the red plastic/rubber “Huilo huilo” bird worked, though it would sometimes go a different way than the RR.
I think one could definitely camp by Lago Quilmo. There is a big and new looking nature sign by “Reserva Biologica Huilo Huilo” with different symbols, none prohibiting camping or fires. One of the symbols was Estacionamento, probably for whoever comes with a car there, fishermen?

The rain ceased around the time we got to the pass, right after the Bridge, Camp {17H} [25.0/1212], the bridge along the gpx had collapsed but someone had built a simple new bridge a bit lower down. That’s also when the mostly good trail ended and mostly eroded by rain trail started. It wasn’t great but it also wasn’t terrible.
The trail from Pozo de Oro to Puerto Fuy is mostly alright but also as mentioned before it is not exactly following the gpx, and had a few confusing junctions as to which way to go. Where the gpx goes a sharp down back towards the lake we went up along the gully and then once on the other side of it there is a confusing t-junction we went down for 20m and picked up a good also the correct trail. The rest was more or less straightforward, there was an easy to climb gate here -39.86952, -71.87945 and when we got to Puerto Fuy following the minor road which deviated from the gpx there was a closed get to enter the town but 50m along the fence towards the lake there was an opening to go through.
Puerto Fuy had plenty of small shops we found at least 5 and many places to eat, even a “food court” right across the harbour. We took 5pm bus to Panguipulli 4.5k CLP pp.

Continuing next the sections 19-22.

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

==Season 2024/25==

* '''2025-02-17 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR+own route / Dorota'''

From Reyehueico to Liquine I took lift. I needed to leave dog unfortunately. Liquine is very nice village with a lot of shops and cafaterias/bar. Laguna Corazón espectacular, paid entrance fee. Trail in forest very easy but there were not a lot of water beginning from laguna corazón. At Laguna Quilmo refugio was destroyed. All way from Liquine followed me another dog till Puerto Fuy. After Laguna Quilmo I took another route using osm, but I can not recommended because of lack of the water. In Puerto Fuy I took camp for 10.000 clp, big one with guard. A lot of place and river. Puerto Fuy has some shops but more bars and restaurantes. Next day decided took buses to reach stage 19. Buses: Puerto Fuy-Panguipulli-Los Lagos-Futrono-Liffen. I started at 9.00 and at 16 I was in Llifen. In bus stop at Los Lagos you can charge electrónica. At Llifen night in Posada de Tourista for 30.000 clp with breakfast (high sezon). Place very nice, WiFi. In liffen some shops and lot of restaurants.

* '''2025-02-17 to 2025-02-19 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Peggy

This short section is very easy. I arrived in Liquiñe via Route 16 in the afternoon. There are various options for food and shopping.

I left around 5 PM towards Laguna Ancacoihue (Laguna Corazón). I managed to get a ride to the entrance of the road leading to the lake. At that time, many tourist cars were going down, but few were going up, so I was lucky to be picked up by locals.

Laguna Corazón is definitely worth a visit. It is stunning, with lots of animal sounds. I arrived just as the last visitors were leaving. I didn’t pay an entrance fee because I didn’t meet anyone at the bottom, but otherwise, the cost is 3,000 CLP.

I set up my tent at the spot with tables (watch out for cows coming to drink!). There is another campsite further into the forest with a cooking area for making fires.

The trail down, which partially circles the lake, is beautiful and offers a great experience of the Valdivian forest. For me, this was the most scenic part of the hike.

I spent the second night at Pozo del Oro, where I arrived early. A woman was there for the afternoon. It’s a perfect spot for swimming, doing laundry, and making a fire in the evening. The place is pleasant and beautiful (a few ferries and boats passed by, but it’s not a highway!). However, like everywhere (including Europe!), there was a lot of toilet paper left behind.

The next morning, I headed down to Puerto Fuy, hoping to take the ferry to Route 18. However, all tickets were sold out for the day. The only option was to return at 5 AM the next morning to try and buy a ticket for later in the day. I decided to skip it and took a series of buses to Route 19 instead (Panguipulli–Los Lagos–Paillaco–Futrono–Llifén). I left Puerto Fuy around 1:30–2 PM and arrived in Llifén around 8 PM. The connections were smooth.

* '''2025-01-08 / 1 day / SOBO / RR Packrafting / Mara and Tobias

Beautiful floating! No dangerous streamers or rapids in the river. We boiled the water before drinking, since there are many cows and we saw settlers doing their laundry by the river. We could not cross Lago Neltume because of strong winds.

* ''' 2025-JAN-07 > 08 / 1 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / RR / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT14+GPT15+GPT16+GPT17+GPT18+GPT19
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : plutot rare
| Neige : non
| Intérêt : 2/5
| Difficulté : 0/5
| Danger : aucun

J'ai essayé de faire du stop mais personne ne s'est arreté alors j'ai acheté un peu de nourriture et suis allé dejeuner au restaurant a Liquine.
Il faut prendre la 17H-D au km 15,7 car la RR est en mauvais etat.
Le sentier est bien balisé et en parfait état partout ailleurs. Pas de refuge au km 18,2, il y a un pont au km 21,9, pas de place pour camper au km 25,0 ni au 27,5. Pas de porte au km 34,4. Ce n'est pas une rain forest, il n'y a pas de boue ni de zone humide. Il n'y a que de petites epiceries a Puerto Fuy.

*'''2025-JAN-04 to 2025-JAN-05 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / Var. 12-01, RR + OH (Var. B, C) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel'''

A simple and short section featuring wild and very dense Valdivian forests. Worth mentioning are two beautiful lakes, Lago Quilmo and Lago Pirihueico.

We left Carriñe Bajo around noon, heading toward Liquiñe via variant {17H-B}, where we resupplied at a shop. Liquiñe has several shops, all fairly well-stocked. We began ascending and, around kilometer 11, left the RR route for variant {17H-C}, rejoining the RR at Camp Without Water {17H} [15.8/917]. Lago Quilmo is truly beautiful and surrounded by dense forest. Surprisingly, there were no mosquitoes.

The trail to Lago Pirihueico is well-maintained and beautifully designed. For the first time, we even saw fir trees here. At Ford {17H} [21.9/994], we didn’t need to ford the river, as there’s a small bridge.

Upon arriving at the crystal-clear Lago Pirihueico, we found a lovely spot with a picnic table, fire pit, and a perfect bivouac area at coordinates -39.87309, -71.85218. The remainder of the route to Puerto Fuy follows a picturesque trail with occasional views of the lake.

*'''29Dec2024 - 30dec2024 / hiking SOBO / RR - varD - RR / 1.5 days / Clara'''

Bus from coñaripe to liquiñe 2x/day except sunday no one. You can ask schedules in the supermarkets of coñaripe.

Short and easy section, nice forest and lakes.

Camp :
- at km10 nice camping 6500/pers.

- Pozo de oro. Table, flat spot, nice to swim in the lake. Good water flowing in the river just beside.

(I don't know why there is no camp at laguna quilmo but seems to be used and should be nice to camp.)

Navigation : MR until km12, can hitchhike if lucky.
Then good trail or old road, often marked with red huilo-huilo birds, easy.

Then not hard to skip 18. Took me about half a day taking multiple buses (puerto fuy - panguipulli - los lagos - paillaco - futrono - llifen), maybe a bit longer on WE with less buses.

* '''24-12-26- 24-12-27/ 1,5 days / SOBO / RR/ Volker'''

The forest section - beautiful, short and smooth
Day 1: I took buses from Pucon to Villarica to Panguipulli to Liquine, arrived there in the late afternoon. I bypassed the entrance gate for Laguna Curazon by walking over the steep meadow to the left of the MR (though probably at 6.30 p.m. there was nobody anyway). Camped close to the end of this meadow, hidden from the farm below by a tree. Lovely place!
Day 2: Started very early to avoid possible conflicts as I camped so close to the farm. Laguna Curazon magic at 7 a.m. The first 50 around the lake a bit tricky, the water level is higher than on the OSM and you have to climb a small canyon and bypass a barbed wire fence to get on the trail. Very impressing trees, plants and a second lake. But use your device, there are many paths and MRs. Later you more or less walk the km down. 2 indicated „bridges“ either destroyed or very special „bridges“, nevertheless easy. Bridge at the indicated ford. Down at Laguna Perihueico I had enough time for swimming. But notice, that the way to Puerto Fuy is not along the lake, it‘s up and down, moreover I had some navigation problems. The track files do not correspond to the actual trail (partly ca. 70m away, first south, later north). Follow the signs with the red rubberbird („Huilo Huilo“). I took the 5 p.m. ferry (last one) to Perihueico. Didn‘t see a shop for resupply in Puerto Fuy, in Perihueico definitively just restaurants. Walked until the indicated camp spot on the beach at the end of the packraft route (first broken trees, soon easy MR) and camped there to start gpt 18 the next day.

* '''Start 2024-11-20/ 2d / Hiking SOBO RR / Mo'''

Resupply in Liquine, hot MR to trail to Laguna Corazon, then MR/trail that should be completely cleared to Puerto Fuy. Resupply in small supermarkets there. Camping should be possible at the beach. Ferry 2x/d.

==Season 2023/24==

* '''2024-Mar-29 to 2024-Mar-31 / 2 days / SOBO / B RR D / Matthias de Austria'''

Short and easy section. Some nice lakes and hiking through dense valdivian rain forest. No tabanos nor mosquitos, snowfields or wet feet fords. Parts might be muddy after heavy rainfall. Limited water beside lakes. No water at water? 20.3/942 no gate at 17.4/985

Gate 12.0/801: Entry fee 3k. Toilet there, waste bin and some benches with volcano view. Possible camp at -39.777226,-71.870598 close to laguna Ancacoihue/Corazon, which has quite sediment rich water.

Camped inside the hut at -39.797914,-71.848616 due to rainy forecast. No direct access to the lake there, but a 5min walk south at lake, no camp 18.2/978. Don't know why no camp here, I think there is plenty of space and no forbidden sign around. Possible to swim but first 2m grown shore, then suddenly very deep. Refuge 18.2/978 burned down.

First water from stream at -39.824602,-71.851464, there is also a bridge at -39.824787,-71.851347
Don't miss junction at -39.826732,-71.848505, you have to turn right to the bad road otherwise you will walk to laguna chan chan.

I put a log on ford 31.0/610 for dry feet crossing. Plenty of campsides around, fireplaces, a table...lake is the best for swimming, easy access, clean almost warm water end of March.

Next to water 34.0/646 a camp should be possible.

Shortly before Puerto Fuy don't follow the road, it leads to a locked gated at -39.870979,-71.889116. Or do so, then just walk a minute along the fence direction to the lake until there is a easy to walk through whole in the fence.

* '''2024-03-06 // 1 day // Hiking // NOBO // RR + variant B // Quentin Clavel'''

From Puerto Fuy, it's a smooth hike until liquine, where the trail is easy to follow.

At PK 13,7 you'll reach Laguna ancacoihue, that has been transformed into a tiny and cute touristic hike, because of the heart formed by this Laguna. So you'll probably see some people walking threw this "Laguna Corrazon" to/from the end of the gravel road PK 12.
During these 2 kilometers, the trail is very well marked and indicated, there's even ramps to helps you to go up/down. An amazing Mirador has been setup as well with sick view on the volcanoes Villarica end Lanin. Nice place indeed !

As I came nobo, I haven't had to pay anything, but probably going SOBO, you'll pass the entrance of this hike first (at the end of the gravel road) and have to pay to access here.

Then after 10 kilometers on a gravel road, you'll reach the asphalt and arrive in liquine.
I passed threw the "center" where there's at least one hospedaje, few minimarkets, place to eat and few thermals.

After a necessary stop at the panadería/café for some dulces and fresh fruits juice (Variant B, passing threw the city) I continued my way to the next section.

* '''2024-Jan-20 to 2024-Jan-21 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {17H-A} - {17H-B} - RR - {17H-D} - RR / Lilian'''

{17H-A} km0 : Settlement, shop[66.5/237] : small shop, a little pricey but good stock for resupply, very friendly. ( I think the shops in Liquiñe is much pricey too)

Km1.55 : two tiny shops here. (-39.70430, -71.86316)

Then i joined RR.

RR km0.95 : tiny shop. (-39.71282, -71.85403)

Km1.95 : tiny shop. (-39.72135, -71.85373)

Then i take {17H-B} keep going on the main road.

{17H-B} km0.55 : two small shop and one tiny shop just beside the "Liquiñe" waypoint. Lot of food resupply options, also some restaurants nearby.

Km1.3 : junction of RR and {17H-B}, a tiny shop here(-39.74016, -71.85511), if you want to cross Río Liquiñe to hot spring, it is the correct place. Ask the staff in shop, and they'll find somebody to row the boat for you.

RR ferry[5.7/237] : if noone here, ask at the tiny shop beside the road. As they said, looks like the earliest time for rowing boat is 9:30am, until maybe 8pm? Because i crossed here at 8pm. I'm not sure how much for the boat, maybe 500 CLP, but i paid 1000 CLP because I arrived here too late, and the guy need to go to some place else for finding the key to unlock the boat for me.

Walking on a clear path to Termas Punulaf. The price for camping in 2024 is 20,000 CLP. The hot spring looks like a swimming pool, that of course hot spring water, with perfect temperature. About the camping, picnic table, light, a line for hanging clothes, sandy spot, toilet and covered by a shelter.

Soaking the hot spring in early morning, sit beside the inlet for relaxing, it makes a good start of a new day!

It is the HIGHLIGHT of GPT16's ending or start of GPT17, don't miss it!

Km6.3 : tiny shop(-39.74271, -71.85464).

Lucky me, get two rides from X,shop[7.1/308] to gate[12.0/801] directly!

Km10.95 : bus stop, maybe bus comes to here?

Gate[12.0/801] : talk with a young guy at here, register some basic information but no fee need to pay, he also fill up my water bottle, thank you to him!

From here to km13.4(Laguna Ancacoihue), steep climb up but very easy to follow, just follow some red sticks to go, lot of benches for rest, handrail if you need and some nice viewpoint platforms. The viewpoint at (-39.77073, -71.86505), beautiful platform with Chile flag, background are Volcán Villarrica, Lanín and the valley of Liquiñe, such a amazing picture!

When you arrive Laguna Ancacoihue maybe a little confused where is the trail to go. Trail is under blowdowns now for a few meters. Walk a little close to the lake(no need wet feet) and go around the fence that covered by blowdowns, a nice trail(road) is beside the fence.

After you follow the road walking about 5-10 min, you'll find some Red Bird sign(Huglo Huglo) and white red print at tree. They'll leads you to the Lago Quilmo(km17.4), follow them! If you see a white red print "X", it means "this is a wrong way".

Km13.7 : camping spot with fire ring, log sests, benches, picnic table. Still some more flat spots in 100m south.

Km15.6 : junction of RR and {17H-C}, a white red print "X" and lot sticks are put on the way to north.

Km15.8 : junction of RR and {17H-D}, RR is blocked by many huge blowdowns, Red Bird and white red print is at {17H-D}, also the road looks clear, so go for it.

{17H-D} km0.1 : sky blue ribbon start, it'll leads you the way too.

Km1.45 : Junction. Red Bird and white red print at left side go around the lake at east side, sky blue ribbon at right follow RR at west side. Go for RR.

Rejoin RR, and there are some blowdowns on RR at here too, i think {17H-D} is replaced RR completely.

Gate RR[17.4/995] : no gate.

Km18.05 : an empty hut(-39.79772, -71.84869) without door and windows, wooden floor is in good condition and clean. Looks like can used for staying away from bad weather.

Refuge[18.2/978] : The cabin? Hut? Is already burnt down. Just leave a burn out area and and an empty small hut, but lot of trash and dirty inside. The hut at previous is much better.

Lake,no camp[18.2/978] : at least five fire pit here...in a very small area. Why don't people just use other's old pit? Burning another green area is fun?

The water condition at here is better than Laguna Ancacoihue.

Km18.45 : four way junction, met Red Bird and white red print agian, but we still follow the sky blue ribbon.

X[18.9/1016] : junction to Laguna Chan Chan, Red Bird and white red print on the way to Laguna Chan Chan, follow sky blue ribbon and turn right here.

X[19.9/927] : sky blue ribbon go right. New colour, orange ribbon go left for RR. No more sky blue ribbon on your hike.

Water?[20.3/942] : no water here.

Ford[21.9/994] : beautiful water! A bridge here now. Crystal clear swimming pool at just downstream, nice spot for hot day. Some huge blowdowns help you go down to the pool.

Km23.15 : Red Bird again, follow it and orange ribbon all the way to Pozo de Oro.

Bridge,camp[25.0/1212] : bridge for cars already broken, just left a exciting log here. Better turn right go down for board bridge crossing. I didn't see any flat or camping spot. Water flowing slowly.

Km25.9 : views of Volcán Mocho (very little).

Km26 : road turns to a single track trail gradually.

Bridge,camp[27.5/1026] : bridge for cars already broken too. Cross by a log bridge now. Water flowing good and slowly. Grassland can fit 1-2 tents before go down for the crossing.

After some forest tunnel, you'll arrive Pozo de Oro, camping spot can fit many tents covered by tall trees, with fire ring, benches and picnic table. Also it is close to the lake.

Ford[31.0/610] : dry feet crossing, another crossing after here 100m, above ankle, or you can log crossing at 30m downstream.

Lake,camp[31.1/672] : sandy spot can fit 1 tent under a tree with lake views, i met some friendly locals driving their boat to here when i camped at weekends. Sleep with the peacey lake wave is great!

Keep follow Red Bird and orange ribbon for a little more.

Km31.4 : three way junction, DON'T follow orange ribbon climb up at right side, going straight on left side.

Km31.5 : three way junction, RR is turn left going down, OSM have a trail going right climb up for short cut. RR is in better condition, but OSM one is also good condition and much shorter. It'll connect RR at km31.75. And Red Bird start here.

Km31.75 : four way junction, if you follow OSM trail, turn right and climb up. If you follow RR, go straight and climb up.

After about 300m, Red Bird and white red print again! You can follow them, but they are not so frequently like before, also will disappear after a while.

Water[34.0/646] : grassland can fit 1-3 tents before the beautiful water, it is flowing low but clear and taste good. After here, trail becomes a dirt road.

Km34.3 : The wooden platform that Coline & Hermann slept still in progress about 70%, have windows and door, already locked up.

Km34.5 : huge flat area beside the beach under some trees, (car) camping spot.

Bridge[34.9/630] : log bridge crossing, (car) camping spot about 50m before it.

Km35.0 - km35.2: Camping Gratis, huge beautiful grassland (car) camping spot, i saw about 20 cars and many tents at Sunday morning. Spot covered by trees is loved by cars, hiker better camping at km35.2, no trees and car campers don't like it.

Km35.3 : some more (car) camping spot here, close to beach.

About the ferry and time schedule in 2024,

Tourist information center (-39.87183, -71.88962), you can buy the ferry tickets to Puerto Pirehueico at here, 1150 CLP one way. They also help me charging the power bank, super thank you to them!

Ferry from Puerto Fuy to Puerto Pirehueico:
Monday(07:00,13:30,18:00), Tuesday to Thursday(09:00,13:30,18:00), Friday(07:00,12:30,17:00), Saturday and Sunday(08:00,12:30,17:00)

Ferry from Puerto Pirehueico to Puerto Fuy:
Monday(09:00,16:00,20:30), Tuesday to Thursday(11:30,16:00,20:30), Friday(09:00,15:00,19:30), Saturday and Sunday(10:30,15:00,19:30)

Resupply in Puerto Fuy,

(-39.87320, -71.89134), (-39.87307, -71.89179), (-39.87373, -71.89390), (-39.87373, -71.89551), (-39.87375, -71.89775) : five tiny shops, combine together it is enough to resupply.

It is a tourist town, so lot of accommodation here, cabins or campground. Also some nice restaurants too.

When you are waiting the ferry, you can go for a boat tour, kayak trip, or take a nap on the beach under a big tree(-39.87178, -71.88877) like me.

* '''2024-Jan-13 to 2024-Jan-14 / 1,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Yannick & Nolwenn'''

- Water : easy to find
- Camping spot : at km 31,1 really nice camp on the lac with a table
- Weather : Sunny and cloudy
- Resupply : we had ressuply in conaripe, also possible in Linquine
- Entry fee : at km 12 we had to pay 3000 pesos to use the track to the Laguna del Corazon
Easy section

* '''2024-05-01 / 1,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from Liquine Alto / Jens '''

Easy walk on forest road and single trail for the last 20km. I was a bit confused by the different trails. The right one was not always the most beaten one.
The ferry schedule at El fuy has changed. It is now 8 am. Timetable in the article of section 18.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-jan-27 to 2023-jan-29 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RH + Laguna Chan Chan / Coline & Hermann'''

After sleeping on a wooden platform nearby at work-in-progress house at some 1km after the gratis camping of Puerto Fuy (nice view on the lake, the city and the volcano Mocho Choshuenco), we walked northbound on the regular route of the GPT17.

It is also still possible to camp on a tiny beach which the trail reaches (Camp {18-F} [1.2/672]). From there, it took us time to find the trail, because it actually required to... walk on a tweenty meters long fallen tree !

It seems possible to avoid this, by following the path marked with red bird signs.

During the sloapse after, the road turns into a 4x4 road, where you may meet some cyclists going southbound – fast as arrows !

We arrived at the crossroad (the one either following the trail or going to the lake Chan-Chan) at the end of the day, after 1000m up in altitud, and found a place to sleep on the way up, inbeetween two rivers.

The next day, we stopped several hours at the beautiful volcano lake, where one's can make fire nearby the wooden tables. The clear water is not deep, which makes it perfect for sitting and refershing – surrounded by the mountains.

We went back on the GPT, and noticed that the refuge at the arrival to the lake Quilmo has burned.

It is less attractive to swim there because of the vegetation. It is even more the case for the lake which takes place north-east of the optional road of the GPT (OH-TL-V {17H-D} [0.0+1.5]). However, it was nice to see so many lakes during this section !

Actually, the last one – the laguna Anacoihue – was the cutest one. As you see on the map, it's in shape of a heart ! There is a camping place on the west side, where you can make fire and leave your stuff to walk to the "mirador" at the inner point of the heart (at the sunset, for example).

The next day, we walked the way down to Liquiñe in the morning. There are wooden sculptures, benches and games for (little and grown-up) kids, until one's reaches the plains. From there, we could see the volcano Villarica, which was smoking (so maybe avoid to go to the glacier Pichillancahue or even at the summit of the volczno, if you plan doing the GPT16-04 after... Or at least, have a look on RED).

We could easily resupply at Liquiñe and even found bottles of gas (Pro-Gas) in the "fereteria" some 200m down the main road (Ruta 201 CH), after it crosses the road leading to the Termas Trafipan, in front of a white building.

The hot springs marked on the map are now "infrastructured" (so to say), which means they are not for free anymore, but also that you can charge your phone (for free if asking) and/or spend the night (for 15 to 25mil pesos / person / night) and enjoy the swimming pools.

In fact, we were told (after) that there is a natural hot spring only known by inhabitants.

* '''2023-Jan-31 to 2023-Feb-01 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 17h-C / Maks & Gabi '''

Nice and easy trail even though the ascent on the beginning which follows dirty road with a lot of cars.
We took OH 17h-C which is not worth it, there is a new gate on the way, and when we tried to go through the forest there were lots of fences.
Than as written below the trail is marked and well maintained. We were doing RR, and it wasn't owergrown anywhere ( there is only one place somewhere around km 32 of RR when it's more worth to follow red bird sign than GPS navi, they are connecting once again after 100m)
We were sleeping at Camping gratis in Puerto Fuy, it was ok, but there is a lot of homeless dogs and it's quite a lot of people and noise during the night. Puerto Fuy is a quite big and there are many buses (almost every hour ) to Panguipulli.

* '''2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Jan-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Laguna Chan Chan / Will '''

Amazing section, don't skip it! Just make sure to take the openstreetmap route by Laguna Chan Chan instead of the main route.

I camped at the Termas de Punulaf after arriving via section 12. 15000 pesos, somewhat quiet, with some swimming pool style hot springs. Even a little restaurant. In the morning I walked along the field down to the river, where a kid rowed me across into town (500 pesos). Lots of shops for resupply.

The road walk up to the Laguna Corazon (aka Ankacoihue) trailhead would have been rough, thankfully I was blessed with a ride most of the way up. At the trailhead you'll find a nice lodge/cafe where I had to register and pay 2500 to hike to the lake. It's a cute trail, complete with benches and art and motivational signs. Great views of the valley.

After Laguna Corazon you'll end up on the Huilo Huilo trail, where you can follow the red bird trail markers all the way to Puerto Fuy along well maintained trail and dirt roads. Though the park's route seems to diverge from the main route twice, following variant D and the trail to Laguna Chan Chan.

Variant D looked to be a well maintained (slightly bland) road, vs the main route which is an old road in the process of being reclaimed by the forest. Currently the main route's still not bad walking.

The trail approaching Laguna Chan Chan from the north was a highlight: thin, slower, steeper, more intimate. It eventually merges onto a dirt road heading down from the lake and west. The main route here was a plain gravel road (I went the wrong way along it for a few km).

There's well maintained campsites with picnic tables and everything at Laguna Corazon/Ankacoihue, Laguna Chan Chan, and at Pozo de Oro near the end.

The ferry at Puerto Fuy was sold out all day by the time I got there around noon.

==Season 2021/22==

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / RR + Lago Chanchan / Matthieu '''

Another part of the Huilo Huilo parc, no entry fees in this sens. Nice for the forest walkers the like flowers and calm.
Tracks well maintained in the form of 4x4 roads, easy to follow (Little red plastic birds sticked on the trees).
I agree with Martina and Ivo on the attractivity of this section. There are a few lakes to see on the way, if you get off the RR, and it is worth the effort. The savage beach just a few kilometers after Puerto Fuy is a paradise to camp.
Liquiñe is a nice place to rest, with camping and thermal water. Lots of shops.

- Lago Chanchan :

Talking to chilean hikers there, the main attraction seems to be the Lago Chanchan, which is actually a lake in a volcano crater, with a little beach, and a wonderful place to camp. I took the detour to go.
From the waypoint "Refugio?" (which is actually the house of Juan, whose mission is just to take the names of the people going south, just for safety if they get lost. No fees, no stress. Juan is really nice and I could enjoy a nice coffee and discussion with him.), I came back going southbound to the Div 108. Then you take the little forest trail, that goes up gor 2-3 hours until the lake Chanchan. It is a little technical trail cutted in the bamboos, but in this sense easy to follow, following the little red birds. Just before the lake there is a Div where you arrive to a 4x4 trail. One road goes north to the lake, and the other one goes south to the "pozo del Oro", and I assume that this trail join the RR between "Bridge, camp2" and "DIV 110" I didnt explore it the next day thow, going back on my tracks by the little bamboo trail because I was initially going northbound. SO there is a path exploitable from the south part of the section, leaving the RR on a minor road, going to the lake Chanchan, and then going back to RR taking this little trail to the Div 108, making your experience really more attractive.

* '''2020-Feb-09 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina & Ivo '''

Here is our advertisement for this beautiful section: From Liquiñe alto to the beginning of the forest: great view to the volcanoes Villarica and Lanín. Nice trail to the enchanted Laguna Ankacoigüe. Then beginning of the Reserva Biológica Huilo-Huilo Sector Norte: stunningly huge trees and a sudden change of landscape, entering Valdivian rainforest for the first time. Only a short part of minor road between waypoint "lake, no camp" and the highest point of the section. The whole descent to Puerto Fuy is a attractive trail through pretty rainforest with views to the Volcán Choshuenco. 4 km before the village you find this pristine hidden lonely beach, perfect for a last rest before you arrive at busy touristy Puerto Fuy.

Our rating: 3

Don't skip ;-)

* '''2020-Feb-08 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank '''

I met Martina & Ivo on the route & agree with their above comments. This section was an unexpected highlight & the campsite on the lake was the best. When you reach the lake you cross a river then arrive at the campsite which you will probably have to yourself. Avoid the campsites near Puerto Fuy as there are lots of car campers there.

=Resupply and Accommodation=

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

Liquine: Panderia, pasteria, minishop and cafeteria at 39.741773,-71.855479. I said I take 10 eggs if they cook it hard, they do so for 1k. +3k for the eggs.

In Liquine there are a few small shops. There are also some open air markets, you can get breakfast & lunch there. They open around 10:30 AM. 2 restaurants in Liquine but neither of them was open when I was there (Feb 2020)

There are a few places advertising cabins on the road in to Liquine & as you leave Liquine southbound there are two cheap hotels.

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

=Transport to and from Route=

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

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT17H - Liquiñe]]

=Images=

[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228012.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT17H - Liquiñe]]
[[File:GP_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228017.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT17H]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228020.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228022.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228023.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228025.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228034.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228011.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228013.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228015.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228016.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]

GPT16 (Volcan Quetrupillan)

2025-12-27T18:03:22Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

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<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

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<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''YYYY-MMM-DD / X days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Your name'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>.

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

=Overview=

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.23.12 to 2025.25.12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Opt. 4 (Villarica Traverse) + Opt. 2 + RR / Kris and Stiina, Alex and Tim, Bailey'''

Day 1 - Morning transfer from Pucón to Ski center parking lot with Hans.
His site: travelaid.cl and phone nr. +56 9 7744 6664
Passing the ranger station 8am there was nobody there to check us in, but Hans managed to do it on his way back.
We were 5 GPT hikers together which is quite unusual for the GPT but a nice change once in a while to have it a bit more social on this otherwise very solitary trail.

We drove through the cloud and could appreciate the Volcán Villarrica and some sunshine as we set off. But as the day progressed it got more overcast and cold once again, especially in the windier places.
Does it seem to be a bit more rainy and cold summer this year?
Due to ample amounts of rain the days prior, water was not an issue.
A well established straightforward trail all the way.
We camped here: -39.46092, -71.83637 about 2km before Park Ranger {16-04} [31.9/996] (Chinay).

Day 2 - Despite there being no rain in the forecast the day was rainy, cold and miserable at times.
We stopped by the park ranger in the morning for a toilet break. He asked if we are all good and we had to write down our names.
Most of the day we spent in a cloud without any views. The ridge before the plateau was pretty cold with the rain on the open bits, but luckily there were also plenty of bushes for wind shelter along it.
Once we got to the plateau of Volcán Quatrupillán and joined the Option 2 the weather improved a bit but we were still in a cloud until the Pass {16-02} [2.5/1924].
After that the cloud lifted a bit and the views improved.
As we got to our planned camp by Laguna Azul the weather kept improving and later in the afternoon even the sun came out so we could dry all of our wet stuff. The camp was nice and sheltered from the wind. Some trash here and there especially where everyone went for the toilet but not too bad. Water in the lake was clear and not too cold.

Day 3 - The sun was finally back and it was warm once again. Alex an his son Tim departed in a different direction. Bailey took off while me and Stiina were still faffing around getting ready and we only saw him again in the evening when we camped together again.
Don’t expect any road to appear here: Road End {16} [44.6/1288]. It does start but later and for us was it was very muddy due to all the recent rain.
No bridge here: Settlement, Bridge {16} [58.5/440] (Huichahue), it seems to have collapsed. There is a log across that might be tricky when wet, but we managed fine otherwise ford seemed easy.
We got a hitch to Liquine from around: Camp {16} [62.0/486] which pretty much seemed where the road got really dull and boring. We drove along the road - variant B
There is a gate here: -39.69204, -71.85995 but Bailey said he could open it and walked through without any issues.
Since it was 25th of December we were lucky that a few shops were still open, but unfortunately everything else was closed, no restaurants or cafes for us.
After some refreshments we continued on to section 17…

(Continued in section 17)

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

* '''2025-12-06 to 2025-12-12 / 6 Days / Hiking / SOBO / OH4 (extra stop Pucon) OH1 OH2 / Isabelle & Sander'''
As our first hike in Chile we incredibly enjoyed the vulcanic landscape and the Auracaria/Nothofagus forests. Because of bad weather, a problem with our gps and food we made an extra stop in between. All trails very clear, just some remarks that might be of use to others:
+ We camped our second night next to the Rio Llancahue (OH4) which was grey from erosion of vulcanic rocks but was clear in the morning and easily went through our water filter.
+ we walked down OH2 to Coñaripe, but the trail after Termas Geometricas has a big sign ‘forbidden entry’. Two men from the Termas told us it’s private property and didn’t let us go and we took the road back. It seems the development of more Termas and Cabañas has made it more difficult. So we changed plans, stayed on the mountain and are camping at El Ranchi de Palito, 20k two people, there’s no one else and it is pouring rain so he let us stay in some kind of common room with a fire place, electricity and WiFi. Very kind! Also serves food.
+ Many cool flowering plant species now up on the vulcanic plateau. Also, on the villarica traverse we met two people shooting drone footage for a new BBC documentary called Home and it is coming out in a few years. It’s about a top secret animal, but we’re guessing it starts with a P and ends with uma.

* '''2025-12-04 to 2025-12-09 / 6 Days / Hiking / SOBO (east, then south) / Villarica Traverse + RR / Michel & Lisa'''

Day 1

Had a late start since someone (not gonna tell you who xD) lost their spork and so we had to wait until the outdoor Stores in town opened at 10.
Paid the entry fee for Villarica sector norte in advance online (10200CLP pp). Took a taxi up to the Centro de ski, although our taxi driver was hesitant at first due to bad road conditions he eventually agreed to take us up for 18000CLP. The road was fine and there were no problems at all in his standard sedan with 700'000km on it. Stopped at the CONAF office en route (not the center de visitantes) and registered - pretty straight forward. Show your proof of payment, get a tag for onto your backpack (so guarda parques can see you've registered for the Villarica Traverse) and write down your name and contact info in the list.
At the centro de ski we had to walk the first ~1.5 km to the start of the trail (i.e. where the track file starts as well). From there it's pretty easy walking on a well maintained trail. Only got as far as lagunitas XYZ where we camped (-39.44708, -71.98718). Water is clear but lots of algae growth in the lower of the two.
There was no water whatsoever between the centro de ski and this place (-39.43584, -71.99550) that is shown as a source of water on the OSM map as well (the lack of water surprised us somewhat as we are early in the season and had expected meltwater to result in some water availability). However, if you read the last entry about the traverse, there can be more water.

Day 2

Had a slow morning and late start, enjoying the calm and quiet in the forest close to the beautiful laguito. Filtered some water from the lagunita and treated it with micropur tablets on top, just to be sure. Turned out to be fine that way.
Estero Ñilfe had really grey water, just like 6 years ago when I was last here. Back then we drank it and were okay but I was glad not having to drink it again. Would definitely avoid that if you can. Then it was really sunny and dry for a while. The next water we found was Estero Tralco which was almost equally grey and therefore not good for drinking, though probably also not deadly. Continued all the way to Estero Aihue where the water is crystal clear and really cold (7 °C). Found a not really level campspot closeby, if you search longer you might be able to find something better. The ground is mostly pretty soft so we put rocks on all tent pegs. Lots of fine dust that gets everywhere which was a bit annoying. But the views are stunning here so it's worth it!

Day 3

Woke up to an almost full moon just above Volcán Villarrica and a calm, cloudless sunrise. People in the valley must have missed it due to the cloud cover visible from up here. :P
Next water source was at Río Pichillancahue (Llancahue on my map [-39.46842, -71.85767]). Shortly after that the trail joins a dirt road. We checked out the Chinay (marked as China on my map, lol) Camping [-39.45935, -71.82974] that turned out to be an abandoned camping with huts and lots of defunct infrastructure. Weird. We continued to the guardaparque [km 31.9] where there was nobody. Continued along the road until the trail turns off again, walked it for about 5 minutes where we found a wonderful camp [-39.45839, -71.81611] just next to the river. Sun, shade, water, it has it all! B-) only the tábanos are a bit of a lastima.

Day 4

Started earlyish to do as much in the shade as possible, which turned out to be a good idea. Water at [-39.46171, -71.82039] where one could also camp (but I wouldn't recommend it, it's dark and completely forested) and at [-39.47165, -71.82632] where you should definitely fill up. Then nothing until the end of the forest at [-39.50218, -71.76623] where there's a small stream and a couple of camping possibilities with reasonably flat ground. We continued on until [-39.51272, -71.75385] where we camped on nice flat ground next to the trail. A pretty tough day with our heavy backpacks but the views up here are again amazing! The area here with a few meandering streams is really beautiful. The only downside today were the tábanos everywhere and the extreme heat.
We apologize for all the dead tábanos en route and confess we had a little competition going on. If you find a few dead ones on the ground, it'll be a spot where we had a break (of which there were plenty). Lisa won 47 to 36, if you were curious. xD
------
Well. It seems mother nature, karma or whoever was not happy with the trail of dead tabanos we left behind. At least if you believe in this kind of stuff. Just after sunset a group of 7-8 bulls showed up and mooed loudly, walked in our direction. They seemed to have lost a buddy of theirs and we were kind of on their trail. Or they were curious or both. Anyways, some of them came really close and they were absolutely massive, which both scared us, especially since they were very vocal as well. After a while they continued on over the hill and we thought they had left, but they came back after about 10 minutes and so we decided to pack our stuff together and left in a hurry, back over the creek and to a slightly less flat camp spot with no grass [-39.51135, -71.75112] where we thought they wouldn't follow us. At least that was true. But then a gust pulled out one of the tent pegs in the middle of the night and our air mattress had a puncture. So... Not a great night! >:~|

Day 5

We woke up to a somewhat cloudy sky and stronger winds. After packing up we hiked to Laguna Azul which is really pretty, especially seen from the pass above. Great spot for a break. The camp at the laguna is really a bit dirty (trash, pots and pans left there) and smelled of fish so we didn't stop for long. If you want to stop there, continue to the ford where there's nobody and it's not dirty/trashy at all. We continued, joining the RR of the GPT which first is a trail and later develops into an abandoned road. Many a fallen tree on the trail/road which have to be climbed or walked around. The trail/road is frequented by dirt bikes so there's always a pretty good trail. I'm not sure what Road end [44.6/1288] wants to indicate as the road only starts much further down, where the RR actually becomes MR, i.e. X [49.6/997]. There are lots and lots of really good camp spots along the MR, not just where it's indicated [52.2/794]. But they're all without water access. We decided to search for an option with water and finally found a place which had a really nice flat grassy spot: [-39.631233, -71.834371]. It looks like it's used as pasture for cows, but there were none present when we were there (yay, if you read about our experience the night before). You can walk down an old, unused road towards a broken bridge (about 500m, maybe 5-10 min) where there's access to the river. The river is rather difficult to access since its banks are steep (everywhere, not just at this spot). But at the bridge it's possible, if slightly complicated. If you don't feel comfortable climbing down over some fallen trees and rocks to the water, this might not be your spot. We quite liked it. The punctured mattress was fixed in little time, shining a headlamp through it from behind while checking the front really helps to find small punctures! There was a big thunderstorm at night which kept us awake again, at times it got pretty close (600m?) but mostly stayed up in the mountains.

Day 6

After another night of bad sleep thanks to the thunderstorm, we skipped breakfast in order to get going soon. Just before reaching the settlement [58.5/440] we had to cross a deep trench (about 2-3 m deep, 2-3 m wide) that cut through the road and there was only a wooden plank which was a bit scary to cross over. You might find a way around the trench though. The river after we had to ford, the bridge seems to be gone.
After the settlements came rather boring road walking and we were happy to be picked up by a local who drove us all the way to the road towards Liquiñe. We went to the shop across the road [66.4/237] which had a nice selection (even some veggies!) and stocked up for 17P.

==Season 2024/25==

*'''2025-03-10 to 2025-03-13 / 3.5 days hiking / NOBO / Villarica Traverse (OH 04 + OH 02 + RR + OH A + OH 01) / MiaimZelt'''

Summary: Very pleasant stage with nice trails, posing no real difficulties. Didn't met a lot of people.

Day 1: Took a Uber for 10k to the Centro de Ski. It was raining and it's necessary to walk the last 2km to the beginning of the starting point of the trail. Started on monday, although the NP Villarica us officially closed. Prepaid the fee online for tuesday.
Trail was very easy, but the first 3 hours were hard because of rain and the cold. Camping options for example here: -39.435913, -71.993726 and -39.447416, -71.987115 (sheltered). Camped here exposed but with brilliant views: -39.472071, -71.957839. Water was easy to find, but don't take it from Ñilfe - very dirty. The small streams were the best. Met only one guy on horseback.

Day 2: Sunny wether all day long. Again easy hiking, met a group on the way down. Water at Río Pichillancahue was clean. Needed to register at CONAF Sector Quetrupillán and showed my payment. Take water before ascending, the next sourse comes here: -39.471659, -71.826306. The next 3 hours i didn't see water before this point: -39.503012, -71.764707. Camped there at the last possibility with shelter from the wind before Laguna Azul.

Day 3: Sunny, but very windy. Great views at Pass {16-02} [2.5/1924]. Hiked CC until i could see the milky lagoon nearby. At Laguna Azul i met local people camping and fishing with campfire at this spot. He gave me Piñones but asked strange questions, prefered to carry on. Ford {16} [36.6/1652] was posible dry feet. Water was greyish, better take from the small stream directly after the small pass before Laguna Blanca. Laguna Blanca was incredible! Camped near Lake, Camp {16-01} [33.6/1456], but wasn't the best choice because of tons of condensation. It's better to camp in the forest.

Day 4: The next km had a lot of fallen trees - very often it's necessary to walk around or climb over them, but always doable. Came across some streams. Hiked on the trail until Sector Puesco Park Ranger {16-01} [22.8/731]. Here i had to sign again and waited to get a hitch. Lot's of cars, but it took some time until someone stopped.

*'''2025-02-23 to 2025-02-26 /4 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH02 + OH04 (villarica Traverse) / Chloe and Mathieu

We took the bus from Valdivia to Coñaripe at 2:2PM and slept there at the Küñul Pukuñil campground, really nice owner and 8000p per person.

Day 1 : we hitchhiked up to "settlement, shop{16}[66.5/237] and started walking from there. Gravel road easy to walk. We pitched our tent at the camp without water 52.3 but there are many places all around to camp. Good water spot at 51.1.

Day 2 : we walked up to Laguna Azul, easy trail in the bamboo and Araucarias forest. Then we took option 2, still some snow at the pass but easy to cross. We camped at S 39° 30.550', W 071° 45.530'. Lovely spot with water.

Day 3: the route up to the park ranger 31.9 is easy but no water in between. We refill there. Then we walked on the option 04 where there are no much water. Water from Rio Llancahue is dirty. The next clean water was at Estero Aihue (S 39° 28.618', W 071° 53.171') where we camped.

Day 4 : we continued until Villarica ski station. No clean water all along, hopefully we had enough water for the whole day. No public transportation at the station so we hitchhiked up to Pucon.

* '''2025-02-13 to 2025-02-16 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Vulcan Villarica+OH4+OH2+RR / Dorota'''

Day 1: After finishing stage 15, I took a micro from Curarreuhe to Pucón. I have found a good hostel, Raiz, for 15000 clp in a room of 6 persons, but you need to pay cash to avoid IVA. In Pucón, I bought shoes, but only for men. For women, there is no big choice. It is a very touristic place. I have decided to make a volcán Villa Rica with an agency. When I was buying shoes, a woman said to me that she was trying alone (she is from Pucón) and paid "multa". I paid 150.000 clp. The price includes full equipment (shoes, icepeak, crampones, jacket, trousers, gaiters, gloves, casque, backpack, mask, parque fee, and transport and equipment for sliding down it). They took my backpack, so after that, I could start Travesía Villarica from the Ski station in Pucón. Important: the ranger said to me that Puesco is closed because of a fire. I took water from "banos" near the Ski station and made camp at km 1 of OH4.

Day 2:
Continued Travesía, very spectacular views of volcanoes and valleys. I did not have problems with water, but very often it was dirty. In the forest trail, it was clear.
Water:
6.5 km Zanjón Vaipoi - dirty
12 km Estero - dirty
16 km clean water
Camp at km 26 - Río Pichillanchahue. Place for one tent.

Day 3:
I met two people from Czechia. They went from Nobo. The The Ranger had not allowed them to go to Laguna Azul. Then I met a family from Chile who were doing Travesía from Puesco. They bought tickets before closing Puesco, so they were allowed to start from there. The The Ranger was very polite. I was not registered officially on the trail. But when I was doing Volcan Villarica with an agency ranger who was there, he took my datos and made me a photo, so the ranger at point 31.9 km knew me. Of course, it is not standard:) After 31.9 km, the trail was going up significantly. In the forest, the trail was clear. I took water at km 36.5, then till km 42, there was no water. After the trail was following a ridge with views and then again, no views. I camped at km 43 in the place where there is a table "Mirador of Quetropillán". Water was near. It was an amazing place. There was no wind but very cold.

Day 4:
On the km of 44.5 of option OH4, I joined option OH2. In the morning, at the height of 1800 m n.p.m. small streams were frozen. After passing there, there were some patches of snow very easy to pass. Laguna Azul espectacular, but I have met people on motocross there. Here I joined variant RR (km 40.2). Ford near Laguna was very easy to cross. In the forest trail, it was clear, sometimes I needed to go around fallen trees. At km 59.9, near a destroyed bridge, there was something like a bridge, but I crossed the river a few meters after, in the deepest place, the water level was to the knee of my height ( 1.64).
Then till the village Reyehueico, there was no place for a tent. In the shop of the village, there were a lot of things to buy. I asked the owner to put my tent in his garden. He agreed. He gave me a table and I had water. He allowed me also to take my dog, who followed me. The dog was sleeping in my tent.

* '''2025-02-07 to 2025-02-11 / 4.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH 04 (Villarica Traverse), OH 03 (Volcán Quetrupillán), OH 02, RR / Peggy

I started from Molco, where I had spent the night, following a trail along the Río Correntoso (note: this river is dry). It took me about 3-4 hours to reach the ski station.

Villarica Traverse

I really enjoyed this traverse. The first part alternates between lava fields and forests, offering beautiful views of Villarica. Be mindful of water sources—rivers in the first kilometers are dry. The first water source I found was at -39.42548, -71.98709, but the water was whitish and carried volcanic sediments. A better water source was available from a faucet at km 36.3.

There's a beautiful forest section before reaching the park ranger station (31.9/996). Afterward, the trail climbs through a stunning forest of araucarias and other trees I couldn't identify. There are two notable water sources:

Km 24.1, which appears on maps (Locus and others).

-39.288052, -071.492708, where a small spring is located. This spot is also a great place to camp if there's no wind, with a breathtaking view of Villarica. This water source isn't marked on maps but was indicated by the park ranger.

Volcán Quetrupillán

The OH 03 connecting to the volcano is marked as CC but is quite manageable. There was still a lot of snow on the ascent, making it pleasant and easier to climb. The summit offers incredible views of the crater and surrounding volcanoes (Villarica, Lanín, Mocho, and Choshuenco).

There are two routes to the top. I first followed the GPT route to the crater, but when I tried to climb higher, I stopped due to a steep, slippery section that made me uncomfortable. On the way down, I decided to try the other route (further left) and managed to reach the highest point, crossing snowfields and finishing with a steep, rocky slope.

I camped by a beautiful green lake on my way down toward Laguna Azul, but I barely slept because of the strong wind. Thankfully, my tent held up!

The next day was spectacular—I was completely alone. Even at Laguna Azul, where there's an excellent, wind-sheltered campsite, I saw no one. Laguna Blanca was absolutely stunning! A must-see!

Descent to Curarrehue

I followed the RR down to Curarrehue. I camped near the Estero Huililco on private property, being respectful of the place (as always, of course).

From -39.238782, -71.394307, there are several gates and enclosures to pass through, but the path remains accessible. A local man told me that the trail the track follows had been closed by "los indígenas", and he wasn’t sure if it was still passable. However, I had no issues. Just follow the GPS track carefully at intersections.

* '''2025-01-28 to 2025-01-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option 1, RR, Option 3 (Quetrupillan ascent), RR / Lucie and Thomas '''

We came by a bus Temuco 8am - Curarrehue ~11am. From there we easily hitch hiked to Puesco/Mirador (beginning of OH1 SOBO).
Day 1 afternoon: mirador to Laguna Arguntas. The path is generally very well marked. A couple of fallen trees on the path and we encountered several groups of cows. Almost not disturb by tabanos.
We stoped to camp on the west side of Laguna Arguntas where we camped. Tabanos were quite present until sunset. Better camp with water and view on Lanin 150m above.
We regularly found water al along option 1 until we reached the volcanic plateau, and last melted snow water at -39,56982 -71,682110
Day 2: Laguna Arguntas > RR to Laguna blanca and then Laguna Azul > Quetrupillan ascent where we camped at -39,49878 -71,72278 on the ridge (amazing sunset, stars and sunrise views, totally worth it if the weather is good).
Amazing and scenic views on the plateau, we highly recomand to hike up from the Laguna Azul at least until -39,53391 -71,73845.
End of Quetrupillan ascent following GPT track was easy given the afternoon melted snow. You can also pass by by the west of the summit and ascent by the more used NW path.
Day 3: Way down from Quetrupillan summit to the broken bridge at 58,6km following RR (very good camp site before the broken bridge).
Easy path, beautiful first part through araucaria forest, the rest through regular forest.
Day 4 morning: minor road during 10km (worth hitchhiking) until the crossing with 201.
We walked to Quilimo camping for the packrafting section 17P through rio Cua Cua.

* '''2025-01-22 to 2025-01-25 / 3 days / villaria traverse middle part hiking in-out / Steve Behaeghel & Katrijn + kids Lotta (9ys), Bosse (6ys), Pelle (3ys)

We did a 3 day trek starting at fundo porvenir (-39.476849 ; -71.786063) where we paid 15000CLP to leave our rental car with the very hospitable farmers (there is also a little campsite here with them). We did not buy a national park ticket and as expected we did not meet any ranger. We did only meet 4 small hiking groups during those 3 days.
We hiked up to the saddle between Villarica and Quetrupillan where we set up camp at (-39.476849 ; -71.786063) where there is still melting water from snow fields on Quetrupillan. A lot of fallen trees in the hike up via Estero Mocho.
From there we hiked up and back to Laguna Las Avutardas. Still some snow fields to cross above 1700m.
We hiked down via the alternative exit from the summit route of Quetrupillan.

* '''2025-01-09 to 2025-01-11 / 2.5 days / NOBO / RR / Mara and Tobias

Day 1 - walked 7.3 km from the Settlement, Shop {16} [66.5/237] to Bridge {16} [58.6/440] where we camped. Easy roadwalking, 2 hours. Day 2 - walked 24 km to Laguna Azul without difficulties. The trail is in a good condition, since people with motorbikes cross the park illegally. There were 6 other persons on the camping. Very beautiful spot. Day 3 - 32 km to Catripulli. Last Kilometres we got a lift. I sank up to my knees in the mud at Laguna Blanca. Watch your steps! We count 8 people on motorcycles that day. There are several Conaf signs indicating that motorcycles are illegal in the national park. Anyway, it was a nice section with various vulcanic rock formations, stunning views and beautiful araucarian forests!

* ''' 2025-JAN-05 > 07 / 2,5 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / RR > 16-A > RR > 16-02 > 16-03 > 16-02 > 16-02A > RR / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT14+GPT15+GPT16+GPT17+GPT18+GPT19
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : plutot rare
| Neige : oui beaucoup
| Intérêt : 5/5
| Difficulté : 3/5
| Danger : gouffres sur le sentier

J'ai fait quelques achats a Curarrehue. La montée se fait bien même si certaines clôtures ne sont pas facile a passer. Il y a un ford au point (39.470744° S 71.631158° W). Il n'y a pas autant de point d'eau que d'habitude, et moi qui aime marcher sans eau, c'etait parfois limite. Il y a encore beaucoup de neige dès 1600m. Je campe au lac a 1830m et il est en grande partie glacé et recouvert de neige.
Volcan Quetrupillan facile car beaucoup de neige ce qui evite les pierriers, puis grande boucle dans la forêt. Il y a de l'eau mais l'accès est difficile. Quasiment tout le chemin est en bon état, même si des moto-cross et des quad sont passés et l'ont abimés. Il y a des gouffres sur le chemin. Au km 58,6 le pont est detruit. Un arbre couché par les locaux permet de passer.

'''2025-Jan-07 to 2025-Jan-10 / 3.5 days / Hiking / Eastbound / OH04, OH02, RR, OH01 / Sean & Neele'''

TLDR - Had to pay entrance fee and was checked by a ranger in day 2, plenty of water at this time of year due to snow melt, still some snow patches but not a problem at all.

Got an uber to the ski resort. A ranger stopped our uber and made us pay 10k each entrance fee.

Camped at 22.1km

Park ranger 31.9km - no one here but met a ranger further up the climb

34.6km - met a ranger clearing the trail. He checked we'd paid entry.

36.3km - last water until 42.8km. Trail is a bit overgrown/lots of blow downs between these two.

Camped at 42.8km

Took option 2 to Laguna azul patches of snow around pass 2.5km but all manageable.

RR Ford 36.6km just a stream at this point dry feet crossing.

Took variant A - water on this section at the moment.

Option 01 - passes 40.4km and 39.1km little snow patches but never a problem.

Camped at the lake 33.6km

We got a hitch from CONAF Puesco to Curarrehue in about half an hour and took the bus from there to Pucon.

*'''2025-JAN-02 to 2025-JAN-04 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel'''

This tranquil section of the trail offers stunning highlights, including the plateau beneath Volcán Quetrupillán, featuring a two lakes and breathtaking views of Volcán Lanín.

Between kilometer 6 and the bridge at [14.3/500], there are several gates you’ll need to climb over. At the settlement near this bridge, locals kindly allowed us to refill our water from their tap. Note that at coordinates -39.4708371, -71.6312554, there is a ford that is not marked on the track files.

While ascending through the forest, we encountered many cyclists going down the trail on mountain bikes. Once above the tree line, the landscape changed dramatically, revealing the majestic Volcán Lanín. On the plateau, patches of snow still covered several hundred meters of the trail in some areas.

The first ford in the Los Ríos region [36.6/1652] can be crossed dry-footed by stepping on rocks. From the crystal-clear Laguna Azul, we descended again into the forest, largely dominated by araucaria trees.

A great camping spot can be found just past the gate at [51.8/805]. Note that the old bridge at [58.6/440] no longer exists. However, a temporary log bridge has been installed, allowing for a safe crossing of the river.

21-12-21- 24-12-24/ 4 days / WEBO / OH01, RR, OH03, OH04/ Volker

Day 0: I went for cherrypicking and skipped gpt13-15. Bus at Liucura (end of gpt12) to Victoria at 7 a.m., direct connection to Temuco and from there to Pucon. Pucon is very touristic, I didn‘t like it and continued to Currarehue - nice town, everything for resupply, I recommend Hostal Quechupehuen (25k with breakfast)

Day 1: Very good weather forecast for 2 days. So instead of the long RR I took OH01 from Puesco (few cars on the road this morning, a local offered to give me a ride for 10k, fair offer). He would have brought me to the point, where OH01 leaves the PR, but I got out at the entrance of the Nationl Park. I think it‘s fair to pay the entrance fee (10k), untouched nature has a value. You don‘t have to walk along the PR, go 500 m to the east and you will find a path, that brings you to OH01 at S 39.549907° W 71.576084°.
Relaxed walk to Laguna Las Avutardas (many broken trees on the last 2 km). On the way to the pass first 1/3 swamp, 1/3 snowfields, later most parts of the trail covered by snow (flushy in the afternoon). Very, very scenic, most impressive section after many very beautiful others) Camped 1km before Laguna Blanca.
Day 2: Started early and left the RR at the ford at 36,6 (few water, snow bridges, take care) to go CC on the snow (99%} in the direction of Quatrepillan. Joined OH03 at S 39.502659° W 71.730390° and left my backpack there. While I was approaching the summit, the sun had melted the surface of the snow, what alllowed for a secure ascent to the summit on the steep slope with mini-spikes (last 200m some easy rock climbing). No clouds, no wind, stayed more than an hour on the Seat of the Gods. Back on OH03, , then OH04 (Villarica Traverse). Camped at a protected place on the ridge before the trail starts to go down to the ranger station.
Day 3: From 1750m down to 1050m (no Ranger there), up to 1250m, down to 1150m, up to 1500m. After leaving the forest zone very easy and scenic. Camped at S 39.459022° W 71.978801°
Someone should explore, if it‘s possible to follow the „Panorama Route“ (Conaf signs and on the OSM) and from the point, where this trail touches the glacier of Volcan Villarica go CC downhill to rejoin OH04.

Day 4: Tried to get to the Villarica summit. The southern side is less steep than all others, but local hikers had told me, there are many cleavages, moreover you see a bergschrund from below. Instead of going to the ski station (down from 1600m to 1400 + the ups and downs, I left my backpack at S 39.454841° W 71.982446° and went CC. The plan was a traverse to join the normal route from the ski station at around 2400 m. But when I arrived at the first snowfields at around 1800m it turned out, that even at 11 a.m. the snow was very hard. Just impossible without crampons. So I went back to my backpack and completed OH04. No summit, but very scenic, saw a puma. Lots of people at the ski station, many organised tours to the summit, all with complete equipment (crampons, ice peak and helmet). Hitchhiked down to Pucon.

* '''22Dec2024 - 27dec2024 / hiking / OH4 - OH3 - OH2 - RR - varA - OH1 (Villarrica traverse + summit quetrupillan) / 4,5 days / Clara'''

From Pucon, took uber in the afternoon to get to pucon ski station. 10k. Didn't stop at conaf so didn't pay anything.

Camp :
- -39.42611,-7198716. (Zanjón Voipir). Close to good water flowing. Nice spot with great views, almost flat spot on confortable soft sand.
- estero aihue (-39.47717,-71.88487). So nice spot with view on 3 volcanoes : villarrica, mocho y lanin. Incredible sunset.
- end of OH1, just under quetrupillan. Crazy high wind comming during the night that broke one of my tent pole. Better to find a wind protected spot, even if sunset up there was incredible.
- laguna azul : a paradise with shade, beach around the lake, can swim, really nice camp.

So nice traverse with great views all along.

No navigation issues even if the trail is a bit overgrown between 34 and 42km on OH4 and even more when descending on OH1 on kms before and after laguna las avutardas. Often slowing down.

No one at the conaf quetrupillan as it was Christmas.

Snow : few patches but nothing problematic. On quetrupillan volcan, was possible without spikes during morning (snow not too strong and neither to melted). The end is really steep climbing on snow. So nice view up there. Easy ski descent.
Water : all rivers flowing well at this time with snow melting.

Return : Hitchhike to Pucon was a bit hard (lots of cars but no one stoping). You can go down to the conaf point after end of the trail, good spot to hitchhike, there is free wifi, water, possible camp spot (the guy of conaf that was sleeping here told us it was ok if we couldn't find a car) and buses 1 or 2 times per day.

* '''Start 2024-11-18/ 3d / Hiking SOBO RR / Mo'''

Bus Liquine from Santiago to Curarrehue, after short part PR, MR with quite some fences to jump over, snow starting higher than 1400m, hitched to Liquine on MR and PR after crossing. Some small supermarkets and restaurants in Liquine

==Season 2023/24==
* '''2024 Apr 10th to Apr 13th / 4 days / Eastbound / Hiking / Villarica Traverse (Opt 4 + Opt 2 + RR + Var A + Opt 1) / Maddi and Tom'''

Day 1:
Got an Uber right up to the ski centre so didn't pay the entrance fee. Started walking along the side of the volcano with high winds blowing us over every time we gained a ridge - seems we started on the same day as Michael and Kasia but we didn't see them unfortunately. Small trickles of water available at a few points along the route but filled up all our bottles for the night at the marked tap (-39.43584,-71.99555). We persevered through the high winds but still only made it about 15km for the day before setting up camp just beyond Estero Nilfe (not really any water in it) in the outcrop of trees. Plenty of little camp spots out of the wind, with awesome volcano views. Lucky the wind completely died off as we were setting up and we had an awesome fiery sunset over the lake. Went to bed and had an eerily quiet night. We couldn't work out why until we realised this was the first time we hadn't camped next to running water for 3 months.

Day 2:
Awesome sunny and windless day walking along the volcanic landscape. Water a bit scarce along here but managed to fill up from some smaller trickles until we got to Estero Aihue for lunch - plenty of water flowing. Steep descent down into the forest, crossing Rio Llancahue (plenty of running water) before getting to the 4WD track. Pichillanchue has no camping signs around now so not sure if it is still a camp spot. We continued up the road, did a quick side trip up to the glacier (probably not really worth it unless you haven't seen a glacier yet) then walked along the road to the CONAF office at Sector Quetrupillan. Set up camp just after the bridge (-39.45825,-71.81663) and had a very frosty night. Water available from stream under the bridge.

Day 3:
Really picturesque day walking up the ridgeline along Sendero Los Venados - probably our favourite day. Super clear views of all the volcanoes including our first glimpse of Lanin. Fill up with water before gaining the ridgeline as we didn't encounter any after the spring at (-39.47151,-71.82642) until our lunch spot (-39.50227,-71.76688). A few tree obstructions and some steep bits down into the valley but awesome views! Had lunch below Quetrepillan and was debating whether to climb it. By this point it was engulfed in cloud so we decided to continue on without the summit (very sad). Took the detour out to the cool green waterfall in the middle of the volcanic landscape. Then began the climb up and over to Laguna Azul. Some snowy patches but overall fine to walk along. Started getting very windy in the afternoon. Lots of tents at Laguna Azul (and lots of waste, pretty gross). We found a spot in the trees but had a very windy night.

Day 4:
Woke up to high winds and clouds so decided to leg it out of there. Good views on the descent to Laguna las Avutardas but Lanin unfortunately in cloud. Walked all the way out to the road and tried for a hitch for about an hour. First time on the GPT so many cars flew by us - normally we get a hitch straight away! Finally got a ride in the back of a pick up to Curarrehue where we got the bus back to Pucon.

* '''2024 Apr 10th to Apr 18th / 7 hiking days & 1 zero day / Eastbound / Hiking / Villarica Traverse (Opt 4 + Opt 2 + RR + Var A + Opt 1) / Michael and Kasia'''

TL:DR The Villarrica Traverse was one of our favorite sections this season; we were really happy we did it in the fall because the color change in the leaves was really beautiful; going eastbound it definitely gets more beautiful as you progress; we had less trouble finding water than we anticipated given previous reports; we caught a hitch all the way to the ski center and so did not pay an entry fee, and we also did not encounter any guardaparques during the 9 days in the park.

Camp points:

Night 1 - (-39.39748, -71.96793)

Night 2 - Estero Nilfe (-39.45876, -71.97840)

Night 3 - Rio Pichillancahue (-39.46861, -71.85707)

Night 4 - Camping Chinay (-39.45898, -71.83026)

Night 5 - below Quetrupian (-39.50221, -71.76620)

Nights 6 and 7 - Laguna Azul (-39.54443, -71.74855)

Night 8 - after river (-39.334752, -71.393837)

Water points - we found water often in this section. Around Volcan Villarrica we would sometimes see just a faint trickle across the path, but by going above or below the trail just a few meters we would find pools of clean water.

Day 1 April 10th

We left Pucón around 09:00. It was sunny, but pretty windy. We walked to Camino Al Volcán since it was more likely that cars on that road would be going to the park. It took two hitches, the second took us all the way to the ski center ticket office. This bypassed the CONAF office which is located at the bottom of the hill, so we did not pay or register. The ski center was closed and the road from the ski center ticket office to the beginning of the trail is gated off to cars, so it was about a 2 km road walk on a dirt road. Right at the entrance to the trail to the left are two buildings, one looked like a garage, the other a kitchen/dining room for the ski center workers. There were some people there working. I stopped and asked if they could fill a bottle of water for me and they did. We started on the trail, but the wind was very strong. We got about 1.5 km into the trail before we decided that we wouldn't make it very far since we were spending almost as much time standing and bracing ourselves against the wind as we did walking. We backtracked to (-39.39748, -71.96793), where we had spotted a somewhat wind-protected spot in a small forest. The site can accommodate 1 tent, and is a little on an angle, but not too bad. Wind protection wasn't amazing, but much better than being out in the open. We found water a little further on the trail. It looked like just a trickle coming across the path, but 3 or 4 meters above the trail there were a couple of pools of clear water deep enough to ladle out water with my mug. It was a cloudless night and a really amazing, long lasting sunset, and we could see the red glow of the volcano reflected in the smoke coming out

Day 2 April 11th

A sunny, windless day. There were nice views of the valley below and it was a walk through a classic volcanic landscape, up and down the various zajons, and through some forests. Overall a beautiful day. We also collected a lot of chaura, the little white, pink or red berries. I called them foam berries because they have a kind of airy consistency, but they were sweet and enjoyable, vaguely apple/strawberry flavored I guess. They aren't really filling, but we enjoyed eating something novel and wild harvested.

We camped at (-39.45876, -71.97840) at Estero Nilfe. There was a flat space big enough for one tent. It just barely fit our Durston X-Mid 2, but we managed to squeeze it in. The sunset view was absolutely amazing. The water in the estero was nearly gone for the season. I had to walk about 25 m up the gulch until I found a trickle like a faucet that wasn't fully turned off, and it was still cloudy. I would recommend filling up at (-39.45497, -71.98195) for drinking and cooking before heading there. This was our favorite campsite of the section, not necessarily because of the site itself, but the views. Highly recommended, but also recommended to get there early if going in high season.

Day 3 - April 12th

We had a nice sunrise in the morning. The landscape for the day was almost entirely volcanic until the end. Kasia was very taken by it and enjoyed it a lot. We had a very interesting experience as well. At about 14:00 we crossed a dry river bed at Estero Tralco. We were standing part way up the hill on the far side. We were listening to a sound that we couldn’t tell if it was wind or water. We were looking up the river bed and finally, about 30 m up we saw running water. We kept watching and the water started getting closer. Within 10 minutes the water had gone past us, and the river bed, which had been dry when we crossed it just minutes before, suddenly had a stream probably a meter wide and 6 cm deep. It was very impressive to see a stream just appear before our eyes.

The path down to Rio Pichillancahue was in the forest, steep but in pretty good condition. We camped at (-39.46861, -71.85707). There were flat spots with space for two tents above the path and another one or two below, with decent river access. There is a sign that says “No Camping”, but it obviously had been a campsite at some point. We arrived nearly at dark so no one was around.

Day 4 - April 13th

We had a slow start. A few hikers passed by as we were wrapping up camp. I was surprised when we arrived at the road. I had anticipated a road that was too damaged to drive on, but there were a variety of vehicles parked or driving on the road throughout the day (it was a weekend). There were also a fair number of hikers along the road as well.

At (-39.46156, -71.84584) we encountered a wooden cross standing in a clearing just off the side of the trail. It was unclear if it was a religious thing or art. A little further back there was a short path going down and a water spigot that worked. The water seemed good, though I would probably filter it.

We camped at Camping Chinay (-39.45898, -71.83026). There were 10 or 12 campsites with picnic tables and benches. There were also a number of buildings, several of them clearly intended to be bathrooms. There is no running water, but the river is just a short walk back toward the main path. I'm not sure what happened there, but my best guess would be that it was a concession that started to build a campground and went bankrupt and just abandoned the project. It was a good spot for the night.

Day 5 - April 14th

We passed the CONAF office around 7:30, we didn't see anyone there. We filled up water at the first river crossing. It was a cloudy, still morning. The trail up for the first few km was in good condition and easy to follow. There were a few more water points on the way up. The one marked with a sign saying ”Water 20 m” was the last one we saw until we camped that night. We didn't need water, but I went down to check it out. The path down was very steep and there wasn't really easy access to the stream which was piled over with blow downs. A mug or something small would be helpful to ladle water out. There was also a huge araucaria that had dropped a ton of piñones there and we spent nearly an hour collecting. It was the only really good piñones score that we encountered during the section.

Immediately after that were a few problematic blow downs. The trail went into and out of forest sections with some amazing views in between. By the time we reached the pass it was mostly clear. The pass had an almost 360 view, and from one point we could clearly see to the east Lanín and Quetrupian ahead of us, to the north Volcán Llaima in PN Conguillio just to the west of GPT13, to the west Volcán Villarrica behind us, and to the south Volcan Coshuenco and Volcan Mocho in RN Coshuenco adjacent to GPT18. We had lunch at the pass.

The route down was very steep in some parts, and at times felt a little sketchy until we were back in the forest. I would not want to be doing it on a windy day, and I would definitely budget a little extra time. There were some tricky blow downs on the way down as well. We arrived at a water point at (-39.50221, -71.76620), a stream, and decided to camp next to it. There was a clear, flattish spot and the remnants of a past campfire. There was one more possible campsite 100 m or so on that we saw the next day.

Day 6 - April 15th

We awoke to Quetrupian completely covered in fog. We got a slow start hoping that it would eventually clear, but it remained that way throughout the day. We passed by the Volcán Quetrupian camping spot and were glad we had stayed where we did the night before. It was completely barren and exposed other than a couple of low rock walls. It started to get windy as we made our way down to Laguna Azul. We had seen on the weather that it was supposed to start raining that evening and rain the whole next day, so we wanted to get a good campsite to sit it out. The Laguna was very pretty, but the camping area is, as others have mentioned, kind of trashed. Additionally it was not so easy to find a good spot. Most of the flattish areas were essentially the bottom of a bowl that would accumulate water fast, and there was a lot of cold wind coming directly off the lake. We found a spot around (-39.54443, -71.74855) near a small beach on the way towards RR going south that was more wind protected. We set up two ponchos to have an outdoor cooking and eating area and did some extensive trenching around the tent and built a low rock wall on the water side.

Day 7 - April 16th

Rain, wind and fog all day. The trenching turned out to be very useful. The rain was heavier and lasted longer than the weather prediction, and the trenches filled multiple times throughout the day. Some water found its way into the tent, but not too much. We managed to stay dry overall. We spent the day cooking and peeling piñones in the outdoor area. It was very wet and very windy, but we were grateful to have a fairly protected spot.

Day 8 - April 17th

There were clear skies and sun in the morning. We took extra time getting the wet gear as dried as we could, anticipating that we might not have a good opportunity later. Ford [36.6/1652 ] was dry foot crossable. The water was milky. On the way down to the branch in the trail toward Laguna Blanca there was a good, clear stream that looks like a permanent feature given all the plant growth around it. We dropped the packs and walked to Laguna Blanca. Kasia liked it very much. It didn’t do much for me. There were some great views on the way up to the passes.

Once over the second pass and back into Chile, there were absolutely stunning views in the evening light. The whole valley had a magical quality. Along the route down much of the landscape is essentially wetland, so it was a little slow going to not get our feet wet. We camped at (-39.334752, -71.393837) just on the other side of the river. The spot was above the path tucked away in the trees. It was a fairly large clear spot, though on somewhat of an angle. Going back out to the path, we had an exceptional sunset view over the mountains.

Day 9 - April 18th

We had an amazing sunrise in the morning. The route down continued to be wet and boggy in many places, requiring careful choice of footing. There were great views on the way down with the fall color. The trail through the woods above Laguna Las Avutardes was better, though there were some blow downs. We did not make the detour to the lake. There was a very nice forest further on with some very large trees. We hiked down to the highway and tried to hitchhike from the rest stop just across the street from the cafe, which was closed when we were there. After a bit with no luck we started hiking the highway down. After about 30 minutes a Mapuche man in a truck stopped without us even trying to hitchhike and offered us a ride to Currarehue which we gratefully accepted. He dropped us off on the main street in town and we caught a bus a few minutes later to Pucón.

* '''2024-Mar-24 to 2024-Mar-28 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / 04 02 RR B / Matthias de Austria'''

No snowfields, Tabanos, Mosquitos and only very easy fords. Clean water is limited in some parts. Water markers flowing. Laguna Azul nice for a swim.

Started in Pucon, going for 04 Villarrica Traverese, the one Uber on Sunday forenoon does not want the job up to the ski center, and hitchhiking is harder then expected on this sunny, blue sky sunday. So first lots of road hiking, got 3 short rides later on.
Rangerstation at -39.349925,-7196941 Entry fee is 8k, friendly ranger, you get a map, not that useful though. The ranger paints the possible campsites on it.

Water at -39.435836,-71.995461
Next clean water at -39.454973,-71.981950 camp here or take water for camp next to Estero Nilfe.

First camp at Estero Nilfe, very brown, sandy, fast stream: -39.458163,-71.978453, camp: -39.458755,-71.978396
Next water again very brown and sandy at -39.476059,-71.924327
Tiny stream of fresh clean water at -39.474726,-71.891417
Bigger clean stream at -39.477181,-71.886020
Further at -39.475188,-71.874056
Bridge over not so clear water at -39.467944,-71.857586
Next clean water at -39.461168,-71.832391

Second camp at ranger camp -39.456630,-71.817651 (noone around there). There are toilets, access to river 5m southeast at the bridge -39.457709,-71.816879
Soon next clean water at -39.461418,-71.819858 I think there is one more fresh water soon after, but not sure. Take a bit, there is non for a while until -39.502209,-71766203
Next at -39.507045,-71.754523

Few km after park ranger 04 31.9 on 04 is partly overgrown and lots of fallen trees, especially on ridge on downhill from ridge to the east. Third Camp nearby close to the waterfalls around -39.511782,-71.750506 some stonewalls for tents but no larger vegetation. Shortly after last water until lake azul. Amazing viewpoint south of pass 2.5/1924. Ford 40.3/1593 should be dry feet crossing now, I built some stone islands into the stream.

Quite dense forest afterwards, next possible camp where 02a ends, but not so nice and no water. Afterwards regulary patches of meadows but without water. Path at -39.652889,-71.843811 impassable but wacky lodge bridge at -39.652985,-71.843994, just a few meters west. Bridge at 58.6 is gone but easy ford a few douzen meters southeast. Camp after ford, asked the guy from the settlement, he is super chill and say I can choose wherevee I want to put my tent. Meadows full of shit though. Around 8-9pm massive blast of Bumm-Bumm music from the settlement, easy to hear even 200m away next to the river and with earplugs.

Gate at RR eastwards at junction B. Got a lift there to Liquiñe. Panderia, pasteria, minishop and cafeteria at -39.741773,-71.855479. I said I take 10 eggs if they cook it hard, they do so for 1k. +3k for the eggs.

Parts of Villarica Traverse is really beautiful. Southern parts of RR it's long, long boring road walking.

* '''2024-Mar-05 to 2024-Mar-08 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + summit Quetrupillan / Juliet and Martin '''

Day 1 Cararrehue to (-39.47055, -71.63177)

We left Cararrehue after sleeping in a campsite (altitude 360) for 7000 pesos per person. It's a good idea to stock up on water, as the rivers are milky. We filtered the water with our water bottles and it was fine. Lots of gates to climb. We slept in the forest near a river at the entrance to the national park. We recommend it.

Day 2 from (-39.47055, -71.63177) to Laguna Azul

We reached the laguna blanca, which is also milky. Magnificent. Great bivouac spot at laguna azul, which is finally transparent. Several places to shelter from the wind. There are a few people and garbage, but it's easy to get away from them and set up camp.

Day 3 ascent of Quetrupillan volcano

A long day's walk to the summit of Quetrupillan volcano and back. Lots of wind. Magnificent views, a must! We decided to do the grand tour, following the marked path (track on gaia) and not the GPT tracks after reading about other experiences on wikiexplora. We didn't encounter any technical difficulties. Long climb and very steep at the end. We recommend following the Gaia trail.
Back to laguna azul where we had left our gear to climb lighter.

Day 4 laguna azul a ruta 201 CH
We finally finished this section in one last day due to bad weather (continuous rain). Last day in the forest. No interest beyond that. We rejoined ruta 201 CH, where we were quickly picked up and hitchhiked to Conaripe. We stayed in Conaripe at the Hotel Chumay, which is very good and not too expensive.
There are buses in Conaripe, and we took one to Licanray as we'd missed the direct one to Panguipuilli, but it runs once a day. From Licanray we reached Panguipuilli and then Valdivia.

* '''From 2024-03-06 to 2023-03-08 // 2,5 day // Hiking // NOBO // RR + summit Quetrupillan // Quentin Clavel'''

After a long, smooth and easy to follow ascent, threw gravel road then nice and large forest track, and finally lovely little path, I reached the volcanic plateau.

It was very windy when I arrived at Laguna Azul, and I really hesitated to go up to the volcano Quetrupillan. I finally put my pant and jacket on, and start the climb, without my bag that I left at the campsite next to the Laguna.

Even if it's windy, I think the first part of the climb is definitely worth it, to have this amazing view on Villarica on one side and Lanin on the other ! Stunning !

Then I continue, but didn't follow the GPX track, and just cross country threw different snow patches, and loosing rocks area, to reach the crater (east part). I stayed there less than 2 minutes I guess, the wind was just that crazy that thought I'll be blown away.

The view up there is pretty nice, but from where I was on the crater, I've got the summit part in front of me that hide the Villarica volcán. Anyway, with these conditions it wasn't doable to go to the summit safely. So I just went down, sliding on volcanic little rocks and snow patches, lot of fun !

I found back my bag and spent the night at Laguna Azul campsite, enjoyed to be sheltered from the wind on this tiny forest.

Before leaving the area make sure to fill your water as you'll not have clear/clean water for a while.

The next day was very hard because of the harsh weather. It was rainy a lot, very windy and so cold. I even was into a snow storm on the volcanic plateau and all the length until the entrance on the forest. That wasn't fun at all ! I struggled a bit on the turn around laguna blanca, as the water from the heavy rain created some small rivers that I had to cross.

Then as the altitud decrease, snow became rain, and it finally stopped to turn into blue sky at the end of the day.

From the volcanic plateau, you'll alternate between forest trail, gravel road and asphalt road. Mostly very easy to follow. Few time you'll pass kind of residentially place, all the people that I met were absolutely lovely !

Between PK 12 and PK 8, you'll have few gates and fences to jump. I met Don Carlos at PK12, he's the owner of the property where you have to climb 2 fences and pass a gate, very nice and kind man, he even escorted me to pass the first gate and the fence and explained me the way very precisely.

Then after PK8, you reach a gravel road, it was longer for me because I stopped very regularly to eat looooot of blackberrys and plums that I found on the way. Finally, you'll reach the internacional road, and the city of currarehue.

Currarzhue is kind of a big city, where you'll find easily places to resupply (there's at least 4 supermarkets and 10 minimarkets), foodplaces and accomodation (cabanas, hospedaje and hostel (at the end of the city)). Didn't checked in all supermarkets, but there's a good chance to find Gaz in this city I reckon, if not in supermarkets, probably in ferretería ?

* '''2024-Feb-23 to 2024-Feb-25 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 02 +03 + B/ Joscha'''

Day 1: RR [0.0-34.6]

Bus from Pucon to Curarrehue leaves frequently from the terminal Vipu-Ray (-39.27753, -71.97265) and costs 2000 Pesos. I had to climb a locked wooden gate (8.6), locked barbed wire gates (10.1 and 11.4.) and barbed wire fence (9.8 and 11.7) while following the RR. Other than that the first 20 km are pretty easy to walk and relatively boring. There was a little stream next to RR at km 11.2. At km 15.7 and 18.3 it's possible to acces Estero Huililco. The RR crosses a small river at km 23.1, which is the last water source until Laguna Blanca. There is plenty of flat space for camping all around Laguna Blanca.

Day 2: RR [34.6-40.2] + to Volcan Quetrupillan and back on OH16-02 + OH16-03

There are still some big snow patches on OH16-03, but they can be avoided with some rock scrambling. Just before the Summit of Quetrupillan I had to use both my hands for climbing up. On the way down I took the OSM trail that leaves the RR at -39.49735, -071.72325 and rejoines the RR at -39.50155, -071.72667. It's pretty steep, but I didn't had to use my hands to climb down. But I had to maneuver around some snowfields to get back to the RR. There are a few water sources during the first 2 km of OH16-03. The view from Volcan Quetrupillan is amazing and the hike to the summit isn't to hard.

Day 3: RR [40.2-64.5] + OH16-B

The Bridge at km 58.6 is gone, but its an easy ford. Possible camping spot just south of water marker at km 44.2. I took OH16-B down to the main road and hitched from there to Conaripe. There is water at all water/ford markers on the whole RR.

Outside of the area around Volcan Quetrupillan the RR is pretty boring. A traverse from the ski area (OH16-4) over Quetrupillan to Puesco Norte (OH16-1) is the more scenic route.

* '''2024-Feb-02 to 2024-Feb-06 / 4.5 days / Hiking / Westbound / Villarrica traverse / Gerald'''

Since i came from Argentina i wanted to start at Puesco. In Curarrehue i couldn't find a Gascontainer with a screw. GYG had none and the Ferreterias have only the long one or the one without the screw.... But there is a bus going to Pucon every 20min for 2k.
Run out of time and camped at the Puesco Cervezeria. Nice beer and good spot next to the river. CONAF couldn't give me any information about water sources along the trail. If you start in Pucon they do incl. a Map....
I always found enough water, but i don't need that much. Camped at Laguna las Avutardes (bad weather was coming), Laguna Azul (really nice, almost no litter), Rio Pichillancahue (only spot for maybe 2 tents, water was cloudy but drinkable aber you let the soil (?) settle, in the morning it's cleaner) and 6km before the ski center since i wanted to see the volcano glowing at night. Camping on volcanic gravel was not smart but didn't damage my tent :)
I had a lot of luck with the weather, since i could descent right before the big rain. Beautiful trail, landscape is unreal. Just keep in mind if you wear trailrunner, the vulcanic rocks will eat them :)
In Pucon is a shoe repair shop between Uruguay and Peru street called "clinica de calzado". They seem more specialized in leather boots, but tried their best on my trailrunner. Have Frankenstein shoes now :)
There are tours going up to the volcano villarrica, but they are not allowed to summit right now. They charge around 100k. Maybe with some planing it is possible to get the gear from an tour operator at the ski station and continue the journey. In the area around Villarrica is cell reception.

* 2024-Feb-07 - 2024-Feb-10, NOBO, Hiking, 4 days, RR, 16-01, czimahi

from Liquiñe by road and the direction Trancas Negras; Join RR, Bridge 16 (5 - no bridge; night in camp without water. Next day to Laguna Azul and by 16-01 to laguna Avutardas (camp before 34,7) lots of water on the way till the last indicated. next day to Puesco camping on road (with artesanal beer), then going back to Conaf to 16-01. by the level of camp Puesco there is a bridge but closed by gate, easy to cross by left side, i decided not to go but then I was in that place, the way is just here. Just one spiny fence without any gate on the way.

If you go just the larger "road" for a car you will get join to the 16-01 which in some case is marked by some horse trail or something like this - I returned thinking I'm lost but I would get the route. In Trancura a car stopped me and took me to Curarrehue.

* 2024-01-28 to 2024-01-31: Fangwen and Tobi / 4 days Villarrica traverse

Like many others, we chose to do the scenic Villarrica traverse. We skipped the first day around the Villarrica mountain and started from CONAF Chinay (by taking an Uber -- until 1km before CONAF it's 2wd friendly). We left our stuff at the somewhat abandoned looking campsite at S 39° 27.571', W 071° 49.815' and went for a short hike up to Glaciar Pichillancahue. Nice, but not really a must in our opinion. The next day we hiked to the refreshing waterfalls at S 39° 30.715', W 071° 45.147' and camped there. The third day, we went up to the rim of the Quetrupillan volcano -- nice views! This involved hiking up some snowfields (but no technical gear was required). The peak itself involves scrambling up a short route. Not difficult but the rock is incredibly crumbly and so we turned around. Fun descent via buttsliding down the snowfields. Hike to the very scenic Lago Azul. We pushed on along the very scenic trail and camped at S 39° 33.759', W 071° 39.654', a bit after the getting back across the border to Chile from Argentina. The argentinian side would make for an awesome campsite with a great sunset too (in our case, there was also water from snowmelt), especially at S 39° 34.315', W 071° 40.548'. The fourth day was simply a hike out with a short stop at another lake. Easy hitchhike back to Pucón.

* '''2024-Jan-12 to 2024-Jan-16 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Villarrica Traverse / Alex & Lotti'''

We liked this hike a lot, especially the diversity of the landscape with the forests, volcanoes and lakes. We were happy that we did it in eastbound direction, because this way the landscape got more and more beautiful towards the end, and transportation to and from trail was easy.
Trail conditions were very good, only the trail from "Cafe Villarrica Traverse" to the Puesco CONAF office (part of Option 1) was overgrown and sometimes hard to find.

Camping:
Estero Nilfe (Beautiful view, no clean water), CONAF camp Chinay (weird abandoned construction site, but river close), Laguna Azul (beautiful campsite, but clearly used by many people, not much trash when we were there), Laguna Las Avurtardas (beautiful lake and campsite, lots of cow and horse shit, so water has to be filtered)

Transport to start:
We took an Uber to the Ski Center and paid 12000 pesos (more than what the driver asked for, but he had to wait for us while we did the registration at the CONAF office, so we paid a little extra).

Transport from end:
Bus at 5pm from the CONAF office in Puesco to Curarrehue, then bus to Pucon. (There is a river with nice swimming sites very close to the CONAF office to make waiting for the bus enjoyable)

* '''2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 5 days / Hiking / (eastbound?) / Villarrica traverse RR - {16-04} - {16-02} - {16} - {16-A} - {16-01} / Andrew'''

This was my favourite hike so far. I did it in 5 days, but I wish I'd added an extra day to do the 2 side trips mentioned by Nat and Tomas (Quetrupillan summit and glacier Pichillancahue). Notes for logistics if you're doing the traverse and plan to return to Pucon: Chili Kiwi hostel won't store bags during the high season while you hike, but Gecko hostel will (for $5.000 CLP).

Day 1 (trail start to Zanjón pino Huacho):

Two rides got me up to CONAF station. I registered for the hike, $10.000 CLP, and they gave me a map of the trail and a tag for my backpack. I only saw the park rangers once however in the final 2km of the trail. Officially no wild camping. I was eager (ok maybe impatient) to start so I started hiking up to the ski centre after about 15 minutes without success hitchhiking. In hindsight I wished I waited longer, as the 8km uphill to the ski centre is not that interesting. I ate lunch at the ski centre, refilled my water bottles, and started the trek.

Incredible landscapes, going back and forth between barren volcanic rocks spotted with wildflowers to tall grasses. I found a stream that looked clear at ( 39°24'57.16"S, 71°58'18.54"W), so I drank water from it. Otherwise no water until Zanjón pino Huacho where I camped.

Day 2 (Zanjón pino Huacho to near Chinay):

Started with Araucaria forests, and then back to volcanic landscapes. First glimpse of the twin peaks of Choshuenco/Mocho and later on Lanin. After Valle de Fuego, you up and down over a couple valleys, the last one had a stream and that's where I had lunch. Long uphill stretch, a stand of Araucaria trees, and then windings paths through tall grasses just above the treeline. Many day hikers walking up from Pichillancahue to the mirador del volcan. River Pichillancahue looked like it had some nice places to camp, but marked with no camping signs. With so many people going back and forth I decided to continue onwards. I camped at an official looking campground with a water spigot and a thunder box close to Chinay.

Day 3 (near Chinay to Quetrupillan waterfall):

After Chinay there is a long uphill but worth it for the views. Partway up the hill there's a sign for water 20 m downhill. Tricky to get to, but this is the last water for several hours. I was carrying 1.75L and that wasn't enough. Amazing views up high, then a slow descent. Found some muddy pools, and then finally a clear stream at (39°30'25.70"S, 71°45'15.91"W). Lots of blackflies, but there was a cool moment where a lizard crawled onto my shoes and started hunting them. Camped at Quetrupillán waterfalls, stunning landscapes and view of the fire from Villarrica at night.

Day 4 (Quetrupillan waterfall to Laguna Avutardas):

A couple spots where the trail is covered in snow and you need to find your own way down. Stopped at Laguna Azul for lunch. Sad to see the state of the campground there, so much trash. If you're doing the traverse make sure you don't start following the main GPT trail after the lake like I did. And then it's worth going back to the main trail even if you have to cross the river at a difficult spot. I tried to find another crossing, and then made my own way through the lava field which was difficult, would not recommend. Continued onwards, more snow. Laguna blanca was worth a detour. More amazing views, and then the last snowing section followed by a long muddy descent to Laguna Avutardas. Several other Villarrica traverse hikers camped on the beach.

Day 5 (Launa Avutardas to end):

Coldest night by far with frost on my tent in the morning! Easy hike to the road. First sighting of the park rangers. Hitchhiked back to Pucon.

* '''2024-Jan-17 to 2024-Jan-19 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {16-02} - {16-03} - {16-02} - RR - {16-B} / Lilian'''

I really enjoy GPT16, walking on the beach beside Laguna Blanca, climbing Volcán Quetrupillán, camping at outlet of Laguna Azul and soaking in hot spring at Liquiñe, they are all so lovely.

Volcán Quetrupillán still covered by lot of snow above 1930m. Also need to climb up a 40° snow slope and traverse to it's rim. Take your time.

RR km0 - km8.9 : dirt road walking.

Km8.0 : clear water flowing beside the road. (-39.38490, -71.63200)

Km8.3 : camping possibilities on grassland at uphill side with no fence.(-39.38470, -71.63648)

Km8.65 : locked gate with barbed wire fence, a house just behind the gate, better ask for the permission first.

Km8.9 : 4 way junction, dirt road become an old trail.

Km9.75 : crossing of barbed wire fence, no more gate here. 2 holes at fence , one is already covered by bamboo, another one is at (-39.38352, -71.64776), go through it you will connect to an dirt road at other side.

Km10.1 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. Open the gate at top, remains the lock there and big step over, my legs are too short, the barbed wire breaks a hole at my shorts here ;(

Km11.1 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. At right side there is a small gap let small people go through, but not for backpack, so climb it!

Km11.15 : bridge and a stream flowing good at right side(-39.39046, -71.65845), go over the bridge then you will find a side trail at right side to stream.

Km11.3 : bridge and a stream flowing good, but no way to go down.

Km11.35 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. Climb.

Km11.7 : crossing of barbed wire fence, no more gate here. Houses at (-39.39480, -71.66123), a dog continues barking when i was climbing the fence, make me so anxiety...

Km12.2 : finally, this gate can open it with the chain at middle. But i didn't know it can be opened before i saw the chain, so i climbed the gate...

FYI : RR follow the valley and Estero Huililco climbing up, but no clear water, because the river is milky.

Km16.5 : grassland(-39.42330, -71.65069) with no fence can fit many tents, but i think this spot is just for group hikers, because it is beside the road without any covers, every cars passing here must see you, it is not safe for solo hiker.

Km18.25 : camping spot can fit 2-3 tents with fire ring beside the river. Some trees and bushes here, very little privacy.

Km18.6 : bus stop here, and i don't know about the bus schedule.

Km18.65 - km19.2 : look like is a paid campground.

Km20.05 : dirt road junction, an old dirt road at left side, flat and without rocks, you can camp here if need. South of RR in this forest also lot spots for camping.

Km23.15 : crossing of a milky stream, just above ankle. It is the last reliable water until Laguna Blanca.

Km26.25 : junction of dirt road and trail, RR is turn to trail now, dirt road will end by damaged and huge blowdown, so turn left and climb up on the trail.

Km27 : information board( with Spanish and English). From the board, RR-CC-A[29.3+5.9] is the official route.

Km29.3 : junction of RR and {16-A}, RR at here is a clear trail, not CC. Easy to follow.

Km29.85 : water spot(-39.51775, -71.65871)! Tiny stream flowing low with fresh, clear and cold water by snow melts, easy to collect. No water at downstream, because it just flow some meters then seep into sand. Some more tiny streams also flowing low beside the trail or across the trail by snow melts, but i think this is the best one in some km.

Km30.6 : viewpoint of Lanín! Some snow patch nearby, flat and easy to walk on.

Km32.6 : Laguna Blanca, cross 2 chocolate stream, just above ankle, but the riverbed is muddy in some steps.

Km33.05 : a 80m snow patch, not steep, not difficult, but you'll drop into the lake if slide.

Km35.2 : junction of RR and {16-A}. Tiny stream flowing good with fresh, clear and cold water by snow melts beside the junction, easy to collect.

Km35.4 : steep snow slope at east side of the pass. Better go around it at right side (north). Tiny stream flowing good with clear water by snow melts, at west side of the pass too.

Ford[36.6/1652] : crossing of a milky stream, above ankle.

Km37.6 - km38 , km39.9 - km40.1 : snow patches, easily go around.

Then i go for {16-02} then {16-03} climbing Volcán Quetrupillán.

{16-02} km0.15 : small stream flowing good with clear water by snow melts, easy to collect.

Km1.65 : snow patch.

Km1.9 : junction of {16-02} and {16-03}, {16-03} maybe sometime have rock cairns, but i just find the trail when it is already very close to summit, so mostly CC go by yourself. {16-02} km2.1 to pass[2.5/1924], almost half is covered by snow, it becomes steep when get close to pass, be careful.

{16-03} km0.45 : snow slope steep go down, i go down at a little north, the slope is much shorter.

Km1.15 : due to lot of snow melts, the milky lake become larger than it shows on map. So walk a little east to go around.

Km1.3 : snow start, i recommend just walking on snow to trail junction waypoint at km2.1, it is gentle.

Km2.1 : tiny stream(-39.51478, -71.73556) flowing low with clear water just beside the trail junction (but i didn't see any trail here.)

Then the climbing is covered by lot of snow. You can walk on a dry rocky slope until km2.45, then choose continue finding dry slope to walk (but they are going around and around so the distance are a little longer and some puds, also sometimes block by snow wall), or climbing up on snow directly.

I climbed on the snow slope, because they are stable and not too steep, looks like better than following rock cairns on the dry slope.

When you arrive km3.7(-39.50145, -71.72655), look up to the mountain top. Of course the sharp peak at left is Quetrupillán, and your target is climbing up to the part at its right side, red colour and a little rocky one, that's the pass(-39.49857, -71.72277), also trail there.

Because most of the slope still covered by snow, so go a little southeast, you'll find a dry rock slope, parallel to GPX tracks. Not too much, but at least some places you can stand on easily and take a short break in climbing. Straight climb up the 40° snow slope to km4.05(2265m) (-39.50003, -71.72333), then traverse to the red part, trail is here(-39.49889, -71.72298). When it close to the red part, the snow slope becomes a little icy, kick step and be careful.

Arrive on the red, you can follow the loose rocky trail to the pass. You can continue climbing up to summit or walking on the rim for views.

After enjoying the moments for volcano, i slide down at here(-39.49886, -71.72313), a good way without rocks. Then skiing back to {16-02}. Lot fun!

I took 4.5 hours for climbing up and 2.5 hours for go down back to Laguna Azul. At my first plan, i want to go down to camp beside the waterfall at (-39.51315, -71.74967) then back to the Laguna Azul on next day, but it looks like lot of snow in the valley after the no trail's trail junction, also need a steep going down the pass. So i just take a round trip even i climbed Quetrupillán with my full backpack.

RR lake,camp[40.2/1597] : Laguna Azul, clear water. Can fit 3-4 tents under some short trees, with fire ring and wind protection, but a little crowded.

Ford[40.3/1593] : lake outlet, wet feet crossing, a beautiful camping spot can fit 1 tent just downstream 20m, another crossing point there too.

Camp[40.3/1601] : still covered by snow patch now.

Km41.7 : camping area with fire pit and log seats, covered by many trees.

X[49.6/997] : 4 way junction, some more junctions at south.

Water[51.1/871] : flowing low with clear water.

Km51.6 : 3 way junction, at left, a good road going down at east side of the valley. At right is RR, go down at west side of valley. Road is heavy damage just after the junction, be careful for crossing, the road is collapsing(-39.60354, -71.81894).

Km51.9 - km52.4 : a large beautiful grassland, nice camping spot. Start from here, the "road" becomes better condition.

X[55.6/618] : junction of RR and a good road, looks like coming from other sidecof valley.

Km57.75: grassland, camping spot.

Settlement, bridge[58.6/440] : the road is damaged before the "bridge", a board bridge (-39.65286, -71.84399) for human crossing. The bridge also is damaged, looks like washed away, so crossing at upstream (-39.65410, -71.84389), rock bar underwater, above ankle. This stream's water is flowing good with clear water. After crossing is a nice spot with lunch, well tree shade. Fire ring and log seats under a tree too, but it is in the area of settlement.

Camp[62.1/486] : i didn't notice the spot when i passed here, maybe I missed it.

Km64.5 : junction of RR and {16-B}, i take {16-B} because of shorter distance to main road, also no need to climb up 120m again as RR.

Settlement, shop[66.5/237] : small shop, a little pricey but good stock for resupply, very friendly. ( I think the shops in Liquiñe is much pricey too)

Then i walked all the way to Liquiñe, no bus and no luck(no successful hitch).

For resupply details read GPT17.

* '''2024-Jan-10 to 2024-Jan-12 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + option 4 +sendero glacier Pichillancahue ( we did a cross country after towards the East to go to the Morador Los volcanoes ) / Yannick & Nolwenn'''
- Water : easy to find
- Snow : still snow left on the Quatrupillen volcano but manageable to go up
- Camping spot : easy to find
- Weather : Sunny
- Resupply : in Pucon to start and in Conaripe at the end of the section

* '''2023-01-02/05 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + volcano Quetrupillán / Hermann & Coline'''

The GPT16 was a really nice experience !

Milagro, who hosted us in Liquiñe, gave us cherries and nuts for the travel ! With that, the sloapses up-hill felt less hard than it was for our legs.

We slept at the Camp Without Water {16} [52.3/794] the first night (and even found water nearby). We arrived at the Laguna Azul the next day.

We stayed there two days, so that I could walk up to the summit of Volcano Quetrupillán.

The ascension was okay. The sunny sky was a bit covered by clouds, but without wind. I just had a headhick after, because of the UVs reflecting on the snow (I guess). There are some places where one's can't avoid walking on it, so I took my time to "read" the landscape (underground rivers etc).

I left the GPT to take the optional road on Locus, that follows the crater at the end. It was scary at the top, but not dangerous.

On the way back, I started by following a group of men on a much easier way going westbound. Then, I went south and it was easy to follow the landlarks I had token outbound (the frozen lake for instance).

There was wind in the mid of the day and two chilians warned us that there would be snow in the night. Therefore, we spend the night at the Laguna Blanca : lot's of wind, but no snow there and even a new glacier river in the morning !

Thanks to the previous posts on Wikiexplora and also to Lukas and Tess we've meet on the way, we took enough water for the next 30kms down-hill. Actually, there was a river (probably due to the storm), even crossing the road at some point, but I'm not sure it was drinkable.

We went to Catripulli instead of Currarehue. We wanted to take a bus to Villarica – where there is a Scotiabank –, and to skip sections 14 & 15, so to join the GPT again at Icalma. This was a bad idea... There's no direct bus between Villarica and Melipeuco ; we had to first reach Temuco. Moreover, there's no bus from Melipeuco to Icalma, so we hitchhiked. (There were not many cars ; it took us a day.)

Food :
1. In Liquiñe, the shop just before the bridge is smaller and more expensive than the others (saying Milagro).
2. There are no piñones at the foot of the Araucanian tree, since the season starts in march (saying a woman who took us in her car).
3. In Catripulli, there's a shop with all you need and more – even argentinian cakes and Malta beers !

* '''2024-Jan-02 to 07 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Huella Andina plus new options / Natalie & Tomáš'''
[Note 2024 November: This is not in the GPT yet at all, but it is in our suggestions in the 2024 Track files. This is a start of an alternative Argentinian route connecting GPT16 all the way to GPT21. In our opinion, for hikers it is probably better as it involes a lot less roadwalking and is very scenic (and the roadwalking there is is mostly easily hitchable). It might be slightly mode difficult than the RR. This is especially useful when coming from the Villarica traverse. What follows is roughly what corrresponds to GPT16 to middle of GPT18, next log is in GPT18H. Look also at Hannes von S report who followed us:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1754087775097101/.

Our pictures: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1758304798008732/.]

In summary, we crossed the border into Argentina from Pucon and gained a ridge beneath Lanin's east face and traversed it towards a hiking trail in Argentina known as "Cara Sur Volcán Lanin". We then utilized the Huella Andina (HA) to end in San Martin. It took us ~5 days.

Day 1: Pucon-border-camp 1
From Pucon we took the Pullman Bus ("IGI LLAIMA") heading to San Martin, Argentina. It is the only company going to Argentina and leaves at 11:00am. I figured it would be the easiest way to cross the border and also the most likely way to keep food from being checked. It worked but it was slow and expensive (19 thousand CLP per person). They never ended up asking about food in the end, but the bus driver told us no fresh food was allowed and to make sure to have your PDI paper (a photo of it works too). The bus driver let us out at the National park guards for the Lanin park (we failed to explain we wanted to get off 2 km down the road). Luckily nobody at the park asked us what we were doing. We just continued walking on the road and got a hitch 2km to the start of the route. It took about 4hours to get from Pucon to the start, border time waits will vary. There just so happened to be a locked gate where we started and an old road, we jumped over it and prepared our things under some Aracaurias.

It looked as if there were many options for access but we decided against following any of the side ridge lines and instead aimed for a green bushy bowl at the top of a gentle valley in front of us. The valley is between a highly cliffy ridge to the right (the first one post Lanin) and a slightly rocky ridge on the left. There was an old road that took us to the base of the slope. The road goes along a circle, one might want to go directly cross country. Anyway, then we marched up the first steep slope through low shrubbery. On top we then made an ascending traverse to the left side of the valley, crossing through a fairly recent burn zone and a creek that runs in the middle. Despite the trees down, the walking was still pleasant, there were cow tracks here and there that we could follow. Looking from top of the first hill where the burnt Araucarias are, there was a nice non bushy c-shaped curve on the left of the creek that looked like it would take you in nicely.

To get to the top of the ridge (or green bowl as I say) you will have to cross some shrubbery but it was never terrible, only ~300m of rather easy bush bashing. However, getting from the creek to the shrubbery was rather steep. We followed a sloped washout, it was a mixture of steep rock (mostly solid) and hollow dirt, which seemed to enjoy engulfing your leg at times (postholing through dirt). I wouldn't worry about it too much, but to some it may be uncomfortably steep.
We made camp at the top of the ridge in a grassy plateau with water (-39.63637, -71.43107), unfortunately it was very windy.

Day 2 - Camp 1 - lanin Traverse - Lago Paimun
The next day we ascended a bit above camp and then followed underneath a ridgeline and made a long traverse with mild up and downs to the main pass before the ugly moraine part near one of Lanin's SE glacier's (-39.66646, -71.47695). The traverse before the moraine was easy, one could take many ways, the terrain was simple and there was lots of water. The moraine however had more obstacles and the hanging glacier up high made crossing in the mid day heat feel a bit intimidating. My main worry was crossing Arroyo Rucu Leufu near the end, my plan was to cross it high but since there was still solid snow covering it, we crossed it easily (breaking through was not a worry but if it happened it would have terrible consequences, therefore maybe aim to cross it higher than where we crossed, when snow is gone, fording should be easier). For the moraine crossing, one could traverse it high or low. My plan was to cross low where the moraine walls were less steep but we did a bit of both, Tomáš traversed closer to the 2000m mark and it was fine for him, I dropped down to see how the lower slopes were and I was happier on them. However if you go low you will have to climb back up no further than the moraine rib ~ here (-39.67443, -71.48657) as it is the one before Arroyo Rucu Leufu.
Once we hit the lookout trail on the other side the 10km decent went very fast. Apart from the unnecessary river crossing we did twice; the signage and gps are misleading and make you ford the river twice but there is a trail now that stays on the west side of the river, no need to cross. Near the end of the trail we took a dirt road on our right to get to camping Mawizache faster. I was told this camping had good food, but I wish we had just gone straight to the boat crossing and camped on the other side. However, bcs of this we never crossed the park entrance so noone ever ended up asking questions...

At Mawizache we had our first taste of bizarre Argentina currency exchange. The camping was an okay price (2mil each) but the dinner ended up costing us a lot more than expected. I had changed a 50us bill to Argentina pesos in Pucon but it was such a terrible rate (25000pesos for a 50, almost half of what I should have gotten) that I could not even afford to buy the dinner. Because of this we had to pay with a 50usd bill or 100usd bill bcs anything less cannot be exchanged in Argentina. We got the change back in pesos at a rate around ~1usd:650pesos. Long story short, it sorted itself out and it was nice to have a dinner on the lake, the trout and wine was excellent but she forgot to make two other dishes we ordered. We bought some white bread loafs from the man at the camping for 1mil each.

Day 3: Lago Paimun - Termas Camping
As for the next day, we crossed Lago Paimun by the little boat with a bell (-39.74619, -71.52482). It cost 3mil each bcs we were not staying at the campsite. Another reason we should have crossed the night before (hours for the boat bell system are 8-13:00 and 15:00-20:30). The camp there is run by a large family, they had bread and probably other food as well. We had to register our names and then the elder showed us the start of the Huella Andina trail behind her house.
The Huella Andina trail was signed and easy to follow. The first half of it on the way to the road was super fast and then near the end it became more slow and slightly grown over, but never terrible. Only one river ford.
The border road that this trail shoots you out on is closed for car traffic, it seemed. There is a barricade at the border checkpoint and no one stationed there. After the checkpoint the road becomes very much a "road" and seems to see a lot of vehicle traffic. We arrived at the hotsprings almost too early as there were a few groups. The hotsprings were once taken care of, now abandoned. There is this incredibly annoying wooden walkway that takes you to them (~800m) and then if you continue on it you get to the camping. The walkway is falling apart in places and there is a small suspension bridge that I hope does not collapse on somebody. We had dinner and got water by this suspension bridge and went back to the hotsprings when everyone was gone. The main one is bath water temperature (it is the largest and with a wooden patio like feature). There is another one maybe 30m before that is more dirty but warmer. The other ones that exist are way too hot, I think they are 60-70 degrees.
Instead of walking back we followed the broken walkway to the Termas camping and slept there. Didn't realize untill the morning it was payed camping, so we payed 2mil each.

Day 4: Termas- Achen Niyeu area -camp near pass
The road was not so bad, we got a hitch for the last 5km. Lots of cars going up to the hot springs but it was a bit too early for downward traffic. Laguna Verde is very popular and we thought they would charge us a day rate so we tried to cross the lagoon where it was narrow - that was a fail, too deep. They didn't charge us anyways so it was a waste of time but they did need us to register. Apart from trying to avoid Laguna Verde, it actually was a nice place in the end. The owners are a young and easy to get along with couple, their shop had lots of treats like pizza, bread, muffins and other basics. The rest of the day was slow for us as we were trying to plan an alternative ridge traverse but then the weather started to move in so we just hid our bags and went up Achen Niyeu quickly. The way down was probably the closest I will get to skiing this year. The plateau around Achen Niyeu was an incredibly beautiful volcanic landscape, easy to sit and admire for some time. Due to weather and Tomáš 's leg acting up we made an early camp in the trees on the other side of the pass. There is a tarped shelter set up where we camped, either for emergencies or for someone else (-39.88473, -71.54229).

Day 5 pass camp- bush camp
We may have missed the rain but we definitely had to deal with the consequences the next morning. The trail is still in good shape down from the pass but since it is still bushy and muddy in spots we got drenched from wet grass and leaves. The refugio Rincón de los pinos would have been a nice place to camp and so would have Auquinco. We went to Auquinco thinking it would be abandoned, but we wanted to see the state of the trail that supposedly goes around the lake, we were hoping there was a chance one could cross Lago Lolog to get to the other trails on the opposite side. It does not look like this is possible without weeks/months worth of machete work. There was a man, a citizen park-ranger or something like that, who was called Juan and based at Auquinco for the summer. He had a funny character and was very welcoming. He offered coffee and a place above his fire to dry our things and also told us no one has used those trails around the lake for at least 10 years.[November 2024: Tomáš has since removed that noexistent trail from OSM, it went west along the northern shore of Lago Lolog.] We enjoyed the pretty surroundings and then headed to the end of the trail near "bush camp" (40.0211644S, 71.3612525W) for our final night. The bush camp is just a few spots in the lake shore, no services, since it is free, but it is far nicer than the paid camping (7.5mil).
Next day we hitched back to San Martin easily.

* '''2023-29-12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / option 1 and 4 / Jens '''

Hitchhiked from Curarrehue to the trailhead of Option 1.

I didn't pay any entrance fees.

Lots of water until Villarrica volcano. Around the volcano good camping but little water. Water was clean.

Hitchhiked from the ski resort to Pucon. Lots of people in the resort for daywalks.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-Mar-01 to 2023-Mar-05 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH-01 & 02 + Quetrupillan summit + Villarica traverse / Martial.'''

Puesco - Pucón
Villarica traverse is indeed an interesting alternative for GPT16. The views on Volcanos are gorgeous and trail in good conditions for the all trip. My personal camping recomandations are Laguna azul, volcan Quetrupillan waterfall (on osm : -39.51160, -71.75365) and estero aihue (39.47713° S, 71.88582° W) or Zanjón pino Huacho for clean water access and sleep under the stars ✨ Although siphon water from the bucket in the zanjon was hard but should be better after recent rains.. Water from the various glaciar rivers is way cleaner in the morning to be drunk. An interesting combo for people in need for a treat would be stopping in Termas Geometricas wich looks to be one of the best attraction of the region.. (20mil or so)
I luckily was granted with nice weather for Quetrupillan climb wich for me is really worth-it. Hopefully you get a lucky ride for the long descent from the centro de ski to Pucón. Take plenty of water if you start nobo !

* '''2023-Feb-22 to 2023-Feb-26 / 4 days / Hiking / OH-01 +03 Villarrica traverse (West-bound?) / Natalie & Tomáš '''

We did not end up following the GPT but instead ended up doing the Villarrica Traverse (so options 01 and 03 of GPT and then some more). It was our last trip before flights back home so ending directly in Pucón made the most sense, just sad that our last hike wasn't actually on the GPT...

Thoughts: Really beautiful, surprisingly diverse and not as many people as expected. The busiest place was at Laguna Azul and the glacier lookout. We are both very happy to have walked it and since it was our last hike, it was a pleasure to be on trails that allowed one to reflect rather than think about the next step. Highlights were the ease of the trails, vistas, Araucaria sillouettes, a return to volcanic landscapes, the crater of Quetrupillan and the forest canopy.

Access: Bus from Curarrehue to Puesco leaves at 5pm, just once a day. It leaves from here;-39.36321, -71.58433 and is white and green. Probably easier to hitch as it only goes to Puesco (aka CONAF). It leaves Puesco to Curarrehue at 730am supposedly.

Description: The traverse is well documented and therefore I will only explain two different side trips. Note that if coming from Puesco the last section between Chinnay camping and the ski hill is scarce of water because most water available is recommended not to drink due to high levels of ash in the melting glacier. The two good sources are; estero aihue; 39.47713° S, 71.88582° W and Zanjón pino Huacho, which is actually just a tap over a bucket; 39.43604° S, 71.99502° W. There is also an app you can use to follow the traverse; https://villarricatraverse.cl/

Camping at Laguna Azul is crowded (in the minds of a GPT hiker) so one can camp on a different beach or up high in the trees on the south side of the lake. Wild camping is supposedly illegal but does not seem to apply for the section of the traverse between Chinnay and the ski resort, there are many bivy spots.

Side trips:
First side trip, Volcán Quetrupillan:
If one is doing the traverse and wants to summit Quetrupillan easily and quickly I recommend following the osm trail on the NW side of the summit, there is a good trail, however we both did something different. Tomáš was successful at making a traverse of the summit and I was not. From lake Azul we followed the GPT option03 until the base of the col where one goes straight up to the crater. I continued on the GPT trail and turned back ~2m from the true summit due to the terrible rock quality but at least the way to the crater was easy (if you are there know that the red dirt is soft and not that steep). Tomáš on the other hand went one ridge further south and was able to easily follow it up to the summit, traverse south on the summit and come down on the osm trail. He notes there were only two bits of simple scrambling but was still easy despite having his bag. After my failed attempt on the summit I just went straight down the West side of the mountain to hit the normal Villarrica traverse and met back up with Tomáš [November 2024: Tomáš'es version is now in OSM and also in our suggestions to the Track files].

Second side trip, glacier Pichillancahue to above "glacier mirrado" and back to normal trail (the route is on OSM):
When coming from Chinnay there is a very obvious trailhead for Glaciar Pichillancahue. Tomáš used this to make a small but high traverse to somewhere near Estero Aihue and therefore avoiding the last bit of road walking and elevation loss. I was lazy and hungry and opted to have lunch at the camping Pichillancahue instead which was a terrible decision because the water there was barely drinkable (ash and dirt) and Tomáš supposedly had nice clean water up top [November 2024: it is in OSM,though you do no want to follow it all the way going west; you want to stay higher and traverse a bit, it is included in our suggestions to track files].

If it wasn't for bad weather I think this traverse could be done easily in 3 days, even two if you are efficient. We took 4 because we had one morning of rain and were in no need of rushing and did the sidetrips. However it would have been nice to have one more free day to rent gear and try to climb Villarrica, but the information on whether or not the summit is open all the way to the top was very confusing. Locals told us it was closed but you could go up most of the way if you had gear but then again there was a mountain guide who said we could go, so it will be a mystery. We both would love to come back to this area with simple glacier gear and climb Villarrica and Lanin and also go back to Sollipulli to traverse its glacier. For now it will have to wait :).

* '''2023-Feb-02 t 2023-Feb-05 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / Quetrupillan + OH-01 / Yannic & Mirjam '''

Very beautiful and easy stage. We hitchhiked from Panguipulli to Liquine and then via option 16-B to the camp at Laguna Azul. Very pleasant path in the forest with a slow ascent.
We stayed at the lagoon for 2 days and made a day trip to the volcano. The trail was not always easy because of the strong wind and the occasional snowfields. East of option 16-03 there is another way marked on the map, a little more to the east could be good, because then you avoid the two big snowfields that you see at the top.

From Laguna Azul we continued via Laguna Blanca on the Villarica Traverse (Option 16-01) to Laguna Las Avutardas. The road is well maintained and the landscape after the second pass is fascinatingly different from the previous one. Very nice camping spot at the lagoon.
From the primary road we caught a car to Curarrehue and from there a bus to Pucon.

* '''2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Jan-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maks & Gabi '''

Started in Catripulli and hichhiked to 16km of RR. We found it as a good solution to skip road walking as it is not so attractive. Remember to take enough water with you because on ascent to Laguna Blanca there is only one silty river. This part is not so hard unless the temperature is high and you are walking like us in the midday. Probably the ascent road is going to be worst cos they are destroying the trail to build a road ( most probably - it doesn't look nice and it's quite annoying )
There is quite a new gate with old sign on 18,5km ( it looks like entrance to some private propertie with seperate plots), it was open so we just walked through and we didn't meet anyone to ask.

Plateau is really amazing, worth seeing and there are a lots of tiny streams near Laguna Blanca with clean water.
At Laguna Azul there are a lot of tourists sleeping there.
Descent was plesent until the road started.
The entire trail is well visible.
Down there there is community of mapuche, they are really nice and talkative. There is a chance that when going NOBO or sleeping on their land you will have to ask about permission to go through but it shouldn't be a problem.
We hitchhiked with one of them last 3 km of RR.

* '''2023-Jan-27 to 2023-Jan-29 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Quetrupillan / Will '''

I also came in through Catripulli. I caught two quick rides but was still left with three hours of hot uphill road walking. If you aren't worried about connecting footsteps I bet you could find a better start/end point. The other hikers out there (on the Villarrica traverse) were mostly ending at Puesco, I heard rumors of a bus there. Sounds like a much better route if the bus exists. This is marked as option 1.

Coming out of the woods the alpine section was beautiful but short. I spent two nights at Laguna Azul, taking a side trip up Quetrupillan. There were a lot of fun snowfields to navigate. My new shoes were grippy enough to get me through easily even though I didn't bring my trekking poles. Most of the water was chalky.

The final scramble up to the summit (after reaching the snow filled crater) was treacherous. Might not be worth it. I went up around the right because it looked like a more gradual climb but I had a few big solid looking boulders come loose and tumble down. The route straight up seems better.

Laguna Azul was bustling, both nights I was camped with a few Europeans doing the Villarrica traverse. Met a crazy dutch couple biking it. I even heard that there were some people visiting by helicopter, before I showed up.

At the end I walked down to Liquiñe, lots of food places along the road. I camped at the Termas de Punulaf (decent, 15000 pesos) before continuing onto section 17H (highly recommended!).

* '''2023-Jan-23 to 2023-Jan-24 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Anna & Christopher'''

Catripulli - Reyehueico
Short and easy section!

From Pucón we took a bus at 19:30 to Catripulli (Buses Currarehue, last one leaves at 21:00). From there we hitchhiked to km 18 of the RR. We camped next to Estero Huililco (silty water as the others mentioned).

The next accessible water source is the ford of Estero Huililco at km 23. The walking until the plateau is easy (dirt roads and good paths), no navigation issues at all.
Around Laguna Blanca there was still some clear water of the snowmelt. Here walking got a bit tougher due to the sand, but the plateau really is beautiful. After Laguna Blanca there is a good, visible path again until Laguna Azul. We camped at the Laguna and had the first rainy/stormy night.

Because of the bad weather we didn't climb the volcano the next day and went down directly. It's a good path the whole way. Around 4 km before Reyehueico we got a ride directly to Panguipulli :)

* '''2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-05 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica '''

Route: Catripulli - Laguna Blanca - Laguna Azul - summit of Volcán Quetrupillan - Reyehueico

I found this section beautiful, and quite easy, since most of the time you are on 4x4 tracks or well-maintained CONAF trails. No navigation issues whatsoever.

Pucón is a bustling hiking town, great place to get new gear/shoes and resupply. I stayed a few days at Chili Kiwi Hostel there, highly recommend! Buses from Pucón to Catripulli and Curarrehue are very frequent, I did not have to wait.

I started in Catripulli because the road walk is shorter from there. I was very lucky and ended up getting a ride (without even trying) up to the end of the gravel road beyond Rinconada, where a wooden gate marks the start of a lovely forest trail. As others have mentioned, Río Huililco is quite silty, and although the trail follows this river a while, I didn't collect any water there. The first night I camped at the treeline before the final climb to Laguna Blanca (before the start of the CC section). I found some good water in the ravine east of the trail, but it required some bushwhacking down a steep hill covered in vegetation.

The plateau up by Laguna Blanca is beautiful, there are multiple creeks feeding the lake — some of them are silty, but others are clear, just pure snowmelt. The cross-country section had a nice path running through most of it, so navigation was very easy. Between Laguna Blanca and Laguna Azul, there are still some snow patches, but they are easy to walk across or around.

I dropped most of my gear off at Laguna Azul to climb the volcano. I started around 11 a.m. and got back at 4 p.m., this included an almost hour-long break at the top to take in the spectacular views of Volcán Villarrica and Volcán Lanín. There's still a fair bit of snow on Quetrupillan, and instead of following the GPS I went up my own way to the rim, avoiding most of the snowfields. The crater is filled with snow, it's awesome! Coming back down, I half ran, half slid down a giant snow field, which was a lot of fun. That night I went for a swim and camped at Laguna Azul, a beautiful spot. For the first time on the GPT, there were other people (local tourists) camped with me there!

The rest of the trail down to Reyehueico is easy, downhill through a mature forest. Once you get to Trafún Chico, the trail becomes a gravel road. I was able to hitch the last couple kilometers to the main road, and get a ride to Panguipulli to resupply and head down to GPT19 after.

==Season 2021/22==

* '''2022-Jan-01 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + summit of Quetrupillan / Molly og Melissa '''

5 days - including a very short day due to bad weather
We were passed by a car on the gravel road shortly after Reyehueico. They told us that the place marked as camp on the GPS was closed, but we could camp on their land a little before on the place marked bridge. They wanted 5000 pesos per person, and there are no facilities, so we found it a little expensive but didn't want to discuss in the rain. They also sold us freshly baked bread which were huge and the best we have had so far, as well as sopaipillas. The gravel road here was pretty, but a lot of aggressive dogs who could easily crawl under their fences to follow us. We only had to climb one gate which seemed to be more to keep in cows than to keep out any hikers. At the waypoint gate there was nothing.
We camped right before the waypoint water before Laguna Azul.
At Laguna Azul there are two camp waypoints, the first is a little spot on the river bank, the second is the "real" camp with lots of spots in a little forest right next to the lake. It's nice, but there have been left a lot of garbage.

From there, you follow the Villarica traverse trail for some kilometres through very beautiful landscapes. When you reach the valley where Lago Blanco is (it really is white), you leave the trail for some fairly easy cross-country around the lake. On the far side, the whole valley was covered in water and we had to walk barefoot, but it was after three very rainy days.
Finding the path at treeline was a little difficult, but we just made sure to be right on the trail on the GPS and found it. Then followed a short trip through beautiful aucaria forest, followed by a gravel road. Here, we saw several "no entrar" signs meant for people going towards the national park, but there was no one around. We even asked for water while still in the no entrar-zone as we didn't know, and weren't told off. It was difficult to find a campsite, but at La Rinconada there was a house saying "Es bienvenido aquí", maybe you could ask there.
We accidentally walked to catripulli instead of currarehue as we missed the turn off and realized too late.

Water:
Until Laguna Azul, no problem. At Lago Blanco we didn't find any streams that weren't chalky, though we thought that some streams running down the mountain on the far right side might look better. We didn't investigate, though, as we thought we had enough. However, Estero Huilinco was the same, so we ended up asking at a house if we could get some water.

Summit:
We basecamped at Laguna Azul and followed the nicely marked trail up. Be aware that the summit route diverges after about a kilometre, with no trail to be seen. We followed the GPS for a while but decided to walk to the crater rim somewhere else, as the summit seemed more difficult and the height difference isn't that big anyway. The volcano itself looked a lot like Volcan Puyehue, but the views were different of course, and the crater had a lot more snow. It was great to spend an extra day above the treeline.

* '''2021-Dec-05 to 2021-Dec-07 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / Villarrica Traverse / Alex Abramov '''

We made Villarrica Traverse here. This traverse is an excellent variant to go in (out) to (from) GPT.

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Matthieu'''

From Liquiñe to Catripulli
Following the RR, I personnally never had to cross any barriers of barbed wire or closed portals. It is all an official CONAF trail.
I used Lago Azul as a base camp to do the ascent of the summit. Awesome place.
A little cheer to Ty, America and Sanita with who we had (I assume) the biggest GPT hikers camp of the year !

-The ascent:
Better use your head than your GPS, avoiding the snow to go up. The path I took was finally closed to the OH 002, going between the snow fields, but I never crossed any trail road.
The very end is quite steepy and the rocks easy to break, and you have to climb a little bit to arrive to the final cairn. Better do it with good weather conditions and without your big bag ! I wasnt confident with going down the same way, so at the cairn I just took directly west down the rocks and actually found a downhill of good sand, really easy to do, fast and safe. No climbing down this way. I joined my previous tracks after, near the OH 002.

-Water supply:
As Ty say, No water between the end of Lago Blanco and a little bit before the Estero Huililco. The track is easy and fast thow in the forest, and I didnt take more water supply going down.

I didnt do the final forest part just before Currarehue, hitchhiking to Catripulli.

* '''2020-Feb-27 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Catripulli Start & Optional end to Conaripe / Ty & America '''

We started at Catripulli because it was a bit shorter road walk compared to Curarrehue. Be aware of the big waterless start. You do have (mostly) friendly people on the road who are more than welcome to help with water. After Comunidad Rinconada (maps.me) don’t expect any water (besides the extremely chalky river water) all the way up to Laguna Blanco. Small Water falls on the right side of the lake have great clear water. We camped at Laguna Blanco by said falls a bit off the track file to find shelter from the wind. Then camped at Laguna azul the next day to summit the following morning. Beautiful place. Actual summit is sketchy, so we hiked to the rim and were perfectly content with that. I don’t recommend taking the optional OH-TL-V@16-02-#002 over the pass. It looked sketchy/snowy. The optional a bit further was perfectly fine. On the way down to conripe on OH-TL-V@16-02-#003 there is a good place to camp by water with plenty of wood ~1.5 km after the marked water source. We had luck hitching a ride from the termas at the bottom right to Conripe.

* '''2020-Feb-7 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina & Ivo '''

3 days for this amazing section. Trail in good condition, no navigation difficulties. At 39°23'11"S 71°37'48"W, where it says "se vende leña eucalyptus", we didn't climb the huge locked gate to our right but just continued the minor road. We passed two unlocked gates and got back to the regular route after 1km. Shortly afterwards we arrived at a high fence of seven strands of barbed wire, where we turned left into the forest, following an almost invisible path, and after 500m finally found a gate and got back to the regular route after 1km.

* '''2020-Feb-06 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank'''

Came from GPT15, resupplied @ 2 supermarkets in Curarrehue. Going up from Curarrehue they are logging in the forest but track still clear. Went over the fence with 7 strands of barb wire. Later there is a wooden gate saying 'No Entry Residents Only' went over it onto track, no one around. When you cross the Estero Huilico fill up with water. You can wade it but if you go down on the left about 20 metres there is a footbridge hidden in the forest. Later you are near the river but it is in a gorge with dense vegetation so it's not accessible. Made a dry camp high up in the forest before the lakes. Hardly any snow left on the route.

Near the end of the route there is no place to camp at 'Camp 119' but continue a little down the road & there is a tiny field just before 'Bridge 51' where you can camp. Just before it the road goes round in a loop, on the lower part of the loop are two houses next to each other. Ask there if it's OK to camp by the bridge. Just after the bridge I continued straight to the main road (marked bus, shop) to resupply. However, it's not necessary to do that, if you continue on the RR you will find shops in Liquine.

* '''2019-Nov-13 / 7 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR from Liquiñe to where the trail joins the S-947 / Sophie & Hendrik '''

We were 7 days on the trail, of which 2 were just camping out bad weather (23 walking hours) . First day we started late and went to what the first camp on the map. Next we went to the camp without water from the track files (We found some stream there. After filtering amd treading it with chloride we were able to drink it.) We stayed there one day, waiting for better weather. Next day we went to the Fort at Laguna Azul. However, we did not cross it until two days later, as we first waited for better weather conditions. Then we crossed the volcano and camped below the treeline on the other side. Last day we hiked to S-947 and hitchhiked to Pucón for some Food and a real bed.

What we liked: Sudden changes of landscapes, beautiful Araucaria forrest, remoteness (didn't meet people for 5 days), breathtaking views and scenes on the volcano, the snow was beautiful (obviously depends on the season), the many plushy chilean tarantulas on the north side.

What we did not like so much: The gravel roads on both ends of the section.

* '''2020-Jan-22 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom & Maddie'''

No issues, trail in good condition and cross country section is not hard to navigate. We took a bus out to Panguipulli at 08:00 on a weekday. We decided to skip 17 and 18. We then bussed to Los Lagos and then Futron and then to Rininahue. We then got a hitch back onto the regular route of 19 37km in. Less than 8hrs off the trail to skip 17/18.

* '''2020-Jan-31 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH-02 Start from Termas el Rincon (Conaripe) to Currarehue / Jean & Virginie'''

To start the option track (16-02) after el Rincon termas, we have to pass a gate closed but it was possible to pass on the left. We didnt see anyone inside.
After few kilometers on the minor road in good condition, we pass a small house where the guy explained us the track (turn on thé right at the arrow marked Laguna to get on the trail - track a little bit different from the gpt route but that join it further). After we went up on Quetrupillan volcano with amazing view. Trail in good condition and easy to navigate. This option join the regular route at the laguna Azul, nice site to camp. After the cross country section was not difficult to follow and the end until Currarehue was alternation of (a bit) overgrown trails and minor roads (+ some barbed wire).
Bus to Pucon every 20 min from Currarehue.

==Season 2018/19==

* '''2019-Nov-18 / Sophie & Hendrik'''

90% - 95% of the area from 1500m upwards are completely covered in snow. Think about snow shoes and be careful as there are melting streams covered and hidden by snow.
Also, unlike us, keep in mind that snow reflects the sun and can cause burns from below on your nose and chin.

==Season 2017/18==

* '''Kara Davis'''

Follow the main road, 199-CH, south out of Curarrehue until the gravel road turn off, S-981. After several kilometers, the road transitions to single track through a eucalyptus forest. Be careful to not follow one of the several other tracks that wind through the forest. The trail exits onto a gravel road, S-947, that follows Estero Huilico. Turn off onto a 4WD track, but be aware there are several other 4WD track spurs. The trail narrows into an obvious single track as you enter Parque Nacional Villarrica. Be prepared for the possibility of snow during this section at higher elevations. At treeline the trail ends and the cross-country traverse begins.
This cross-country traverse follows the volcanic landscape at the base of Volcán Quetrupillán. During high snow years, Laguna Blanca may be frozen and snow covered. Be aware that snowpack may make parts of the GPS route difficult, and keep safety in mind when choosing a route. Instead of following the recommended route which ascends through a chute, snowpack forced us to climb up to a pass further to the left and then rejoin the route. Depending on the time of year, Laguna Azul may also be frozen, but water is available at the stream crossing at the southern end. After beginning the descent into the forest, try and find a well maintained trail. The trail joins a dirt road, T-447, which continues until the paved highway, 201-CH, to Carringue.
Town: Carriringue.
Carriringue is a tiny town with a small market which offers snacks but is difficult to resupply out of. There are also several signs advertising Cabañas.

=Resupply and Accommodation=

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

*Pucón:
About 30 minutes bus ride off trail. A hiking tourism town that has everything a hiker might need. Very good resupply option in Pucón if you're doing the Villarica Traverse option: República Granel. They have a big selection of dry foods like nuts, seeds, fruit, spices, etc. Really valuable for hikers and not too expensive!

*Catripulli:
A little down the road from Currarehue. Has two small shops which probably sell pastas and other basic stuff

*Currarehue:
You can rent a cabin for 50 000 pesos (ask at supermercado Katty) (February 2025 - Peggy)

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

Quentin : Currarehue is kind of a big city, where you'll find easily places to resupply (there's at least 4 supermarkets and 10 minimarkets), foodplaces and accomodation (cabanas, hospedaje and hostel (at the end of the city)). Didn't checked in all supermarkets, but there's a good chance to find Gaz in this city I reckon, if not in supermarkets, probably in ferretería ?

You can buy bread and sopaipillas at the house right before the "bridge" waypoint just before Reyehueico.

A house in La Rinconada sells eggs

Some Aucaria trees

=Transport to and from Route=

2022-Jan:
Busses go from Panguipulli to Reyehueico on weekdays, and from Valdivia to Panguipulli (two hours bus ride) every day. Hitching was quite easy for us even though it was raining.

The bus from Currarehue through Catripulli to Pucón leaves approximately every 15 minutes on weekdays, and every 30 minutes on weekends - goes in both directions - about 30 minutes

(2020-Feb)

Bus Pucón - Curarrehue

Mo-Sa 11:00

Su 12:15

Operator Igi Llaima, Terminal, Palguín 550

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

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT16 - Volcán Quetrupillan]]

=Images=

[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_109172879.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|[[Volcán Lanín]] from GPT16]]
[[File:Quetrupillan 01.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|[[Volcán Quetrupillán]] from GPT16]]
[[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (1).jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 16]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226459.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226460.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226461.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226462.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226596.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_109173354.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_109172977.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_109173084.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226451.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]

GPT12 (Rio Rahue)

2025-12-20T18:30:50Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

= How to a add new entry =
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Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format:


<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

=Overview=
<div style="overflow: hidden">
=== Connecting to Section 12 ===
[[Archivo:GPT 11 to 12.jpg|450px|right|Connections between GPT11 and GPT12]]

November 2024 [Tomáš]: There are a number of different ways to connect Sections 11 and 12. The regular route is proven and works. Will alone and Tomáš and Natalie together found independently of each other almost identical traverse, that they liked [it is included in their suggestions in the 2024 Track files]. it is pure CC and the terain is not the easiest, but they think it is quite doable. There is one route option which appears to be unexplored, GPT11-04 (and possibly 11-03). Please edit this text on both sections 11 and 12 if you have any updates.

=== Optional Routes ===
A popular and scenic option on GPT12 is to go via the ridge near Cerro Dedos, GPT11-02 and GPT11-02B (it is somewhat confusingly part of Section 11). This ridge hike can be extended by walking up to Cerro Dedos, via GPT11-04, where Condors may be spotted. In bad weather, avoid the ridge.

=== Piñones ===
Along this section are many opportunities to harvest piñones (in the right season), which can extend your hiking food supply. This can be a particularily useful resource if hiking in NOBO direction: bring enough food for GPT12, and supplement your diet with piñones to extend your supplies to last for GPT11 and onward. Be sure to bring lots of gas, since piñones need to be boiled for roughly 20 minutes.
</div>

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.15.12 to 2025.17.12 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Opt. 2 / Kris and Stiina'''

We combined sections 10, 11 and 12 via some options. Butalelbún to Lonquimay. 5 days in total. 2 days for the Section 10. 1 day for Section 11 and 2 days for Section 12. Originally we planned to hike all the way to Liucura but due to an ankle injury we had to change our plans and finish this section in Lonquimay via option 2.

(Continued from Section 11)

In the afternoon of day 3 we joined the GPT 12 RR around here -38.13160, -71.08637 and started ascending right away on the steep trail towards Cerro Dedos.
Camp Without Water {11} [32.5+0.7/1706] was actually a really nice spot by an abandoned puesto and I believe the water could be found in the gully to the west. Because when we crossed it higher up there was a small stream flowing in it.

On the first part of the ascent the weather did seem to be improving and we thought we had made the right call to continue the day and to go high up again. However the higher we got the more we realized it was actually a mistake and we should have called it a day and camped already by lunch lower down in the valley, oh well, hindsight 20/20.
The slivers of clear sky had disappeared and it was fully overcast and the very cold wind was blasting us once again. From around 2000m elevation it was again miserable and very cold. Which was a real shame because the surrounding area was just stunningly beautiful, but because of our mistake we couldn’t take time to fully enjoy it.
The Hot Spring {11-02B} [1.2/2113] (Banos de Pelehue) was actually a nice area with smoking ground some sheltered campsites made from stone walls and a one really nice looking pool with an old showel next to it to excavate it deeper.
Would be an epic campsite in good weather!
But for us the cold wind was so intense that we didn’t linger around for too long. And only after the termas the really cold part of the ascent started, we were wearing all of the clothes that we had while walking uphill quickly and we were still cold, the wind was numbingly cold.
And it was a long 4km gradual ascent which would have been a delight in good weather.
We had some views below the cloud level which was roughly at 2400m but it was way too intense cold to enjoy any of them, we just kept moving to not freeze to death.
The last km before the pass -38.14220, -71.02670 got to borderline extreme the wind was so strong it was pushing us around like ragdolls and the cold was unbearable. The only other time we had wind so strong on the trail was in Patagonia on GPT40 Paso Huemul but even then it wasn’t nearly as cold as it was now.
Anyway, getting over the pass and starting the descent was a relief, since the wind was coming from the west most of it stayed on the other side of the pass.
Our goal was to get to Camp {12} [20.4/1625] (Banos Coyucos) but when we already got to the Camp {12} [17.0/1794] we were pretty tired and decided to settle there for the night which was another mistake. Even though the forecast didn’t promise freezing temperatures at night it did drop below 0C and our tent and all surroundings got covered in frost at night, and it was very damp and cold location, we had a rough night.

Day 4 - Finally the sun and the warmth was back, hallelujah! We enjoyed a slow morning partially because it was just nice and warm that we hadn’t experienced what felt like in a while and partially because we were just mentally and physically, really tired.
Luckily it seemed like an easy and straightforward day terrain wise, which it was.
Because of the 3 cold days we had eaten more of our food than we should’ve which meant we would have to ration it to make it last until Liucura what for now was still the goal.
Termas/Baños Coyucos - was a really nice campsite with tables and fireplace and even a dry toilet that unfortunately was locked. The termas needed some work though, the hot water coming from the mountain was mixing with the cold river. The barrier separating the two had seemingly eroded and needed to be restored. There was also some sort of a wooden roof over the shallow pool, so potentially even good in rain.

Almost for the whole day yesterday and still today we saw footprints of two people going in the opposite direction which we could only assume were two other GPT hikers? We figured out that we had probably missed them by a few hours while having lunch on GPT 10 before joining the GPT11 since they probably took the RR there not the 1C.
Also it had been 3 days since we last saw another person but just before lunch we met an ariero going up the valley and a bit later we met 3 Chilean hikers coming from an overnight camp by Laguna Mariñanqui.

All the fords on Rio Pulul were very easy. Tabanos had returned but not with the same force they had before the cold spell was upon the area.

After the lunch Stiina’s ankle had started to show some signs of discomfort, initially we thought it’s just the shoe that needs adjustment but by the time we got to X {12} [44.9/1048] it was clear that the next two days to get to Liucura would be very tough with the ankle pain that she had developed. Additionally to that our food situation wasn’t looking great, if it was only for the food we would have continued but it was also the ankle. So for once probably a smart decision was made to not continue all the way to Liucura and to make an exit on Option 2 to Lonquimay. We would sleep on it and see if there were any improvements the following day.
We forded Rio Rahue -38.34630, -71.15760 which was an easy, shallow ford with a pleasant water temperature.
We camped here: -38.34625, -71.15846 under some tall araucarias.

Day 5 - Stiina’s ankle was still painful so we continued with our Plan B - Option 2 to Lonquimay. An easy walk past quite a few groups of our favorite animal the bloody cow. No scary encounters but we were followed by a few to make sure we leave.

About a km before the raft crossing of Rio BioBio a car of official Chilean Ministry of Agriculture workers were passing and offered us a ride to Lonquimay, perfect, what a luck!

What they did was, they stopped by the last house before the raft -38.40919, -71.24454 and summoned a guy who would operate the raft and take us all across. Not sure how that would work coming from the other direction. And I would say the river did look crossable a bit downstream from the raft. We didn’t really talk to any of the workers or the guy because we were sitting outside in the back of a truck.

We got to Lonquimay for lunch and after that took a bus to Temuco for some rest and recovery time. Next we are off to attempt sections 16-22.

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

*'''2025-08-09: Track file update 2025 and investigation suggestions of Jan Dudeck'''

- Sadly, in March 2025 the hiker Tim Atkinson disappeared while hiking GPT12 in northbound direction. Several searches were conducted in April and May 2025 but Tim was not found. He was last seen near Kilometer 63 (-38.393870°, -71.022360°) hiking northbound (towards Kilometer 0). See also the Facebook post to Tim's disappearance.

Since none of the searches could locate Tim, an accident while hiking along the Regular Route seams less likely now. Possibly, Tim suffered a health issue while resting or camping in a more hidden location a bit off the trail. Therefore, all hikers that walk GPT12 are asked to keep their eyes open and scan for possible hidden camp sites a bit off the trail. Should someone spot a lone collapsed tent or other traces of Tim, then please record the precise location by GPS and report your observations to the Carabineros (Chilean Police) and Jose Herrera (+56998252577) who coordinated the search earlier in 2025.

- Regular Route: I rerouted the regular route between Kilometer 61 and 70 due to right-of-way conflicts in the upper valley Mitrauquen. This change bypasses several puestos where some hikers had been treated unpleasantly. I also rerouted the southern terminus near Liucura to avoid several new fences and gates. Now the final 2 km are on a minor road and a primary road.

- GPT12 Option 3D and 3E (Meseta de Malonehue): It would be useful when an experienced hiker investigates this connection that is not fully visible on satellite images. The Puesto {12-03D} [7.0/1789] makes it very likely that a trail in the forest connects this puesto with the road down in the valley but the forest hides this route on satellite images. If this route is good to walk and people along the route are not bothered by hikers then I consider rerouting the Regular Route once again to completely bypass the upper valley Mitrauquen.

==Season 2024/25==
*''' 2025-03-31 to 2025-04-6 / 6.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Lonquimay 05G, 02, 03, 03C, RR, varA, 01 / Peggy

I started in Lonquimay by taking a microbus that leaves from the bus terminal at 1:30 pm and dropped me off at the junction (km15.5), then I continued on section 02 to take the ferry. It doesn’t operate on weekends. I arrived around 2:15 pm, and a man had me cross 30 minutes later. He showed up to cross himself with others in his car. I don’t know if he’s the official operator.

I stopped early and camped between the RR and section 03 (I forgot to note the exact point). There is a stream running through, and if you go up it a bit you can find good spots.

Day 2, I took section 03. Water at 38.411909, 071.190373W. Easy climb through the forest to the plateau. I chose to go along the small ridge between the GPX track on the right and a track visible on Locus on the left (OSM), to the Lagunas Mezillas where I filled up on water not knowing if I’d find more lower down. With the cold, I don’t sleep next to a lake. Also, it was windy and even more was forecast for the evening. So I went down to the plateau just below and found a good spot sheltered from the wind among the Araucarias. I was also able to make a fire (I don’t have gas, I started with a wood stove but for the past few weeks I’ve been making campfires for cooking and warmth. Sometimes in the morning too). I ended up finding water (38.372273S, 071.122479W).

Day 3, I went down via 03C, which is easy if you stick to the trail. Not being sure about 03C (steep and lots of bamboo), I first chose 03A but quickly switched to the right. The descent goes well mixing BB and CC, less steep and more open than 03C, except for the end with lots of shrubs. I followed cow paths and had to crawl for a few meters at one point! But it worked out!

I eventually stopped at the puesto km37.7, which is in poor condition but gave me shelter from the rain. Here I got weak internet signal via Entel. Water nearby but needs filtering (between RR and the puesto). Lots of space to camp (I chose a spot sheltered in the grove to minimize cold. Temperatures below freezing).

Day 4, I took the RR via the Mariñanqui lagoon. Between the water point at km37.4 and the ford at km36.6, there’s a short steep and slippery section. To avoid it, you can go higher where there are already horse and cow tracks. At the lagoon, I tried to avoid the marshes by skirting around the right side at the end of the lagoon. There’s a trail, but it becomes more and more uncertain and I ended up crossing the marsh anyway. Beautiful forest crossing, easy fords but very cold water in April. In the evening, I reached the Baños Coyucos. I found the water lukewarm but nice for a basic wash. There is a place to camp, but I preferred to cross the stream at the baños and set up a bit further away on the other side. Gorgeous view of the valley. I set up behind bamboo as the wind was already strong and was forecast to increase during the night (I check the wind with my Garmin to know the speed and direction to set up my tent properly, especially when a cold night is coming – I’ve had my tent damaged by wind before). Bad surprise that evening: I had forgotten my tent stakes at the previous camp… Fortunately, I was surrounded by bamboo which worked perfectly for the night (and thankfully I had pitched my tent well because the wind was indeed strong that night).

Day 5, back to the puesto km37.7 where I had left my stakes… Same route as the day before, but with more wind! However, I was facing the right direction to charge my solar battery on my pack.

Day 6, same path as the two previous days except that I chose to take variant A, which avoids the Mariñanqui lagoon and goes through the upper part. It seems to be preferred by arrieros as it is well marked by horses (and cows). The view is beautiful over the mountains, especially in the second part. Water at (38.272804S, 071.111205W). A bit after that, the trail goes up a bit along a small stream (a bit tricky). Then here (38.244753S, 071.082081W) there’s a small river to cross (so water), and a small puesto that can be used in case of problem or bad weather. Here, I again met two arrieros I had seen two days earlier. Very friendly. Arrived back on the RR, in the valley of the puestos, I followed section 01 aiming to buy food at one of the puestos but they were all already closed… Luckily, I found someone and managed to get food at the last one (which doesn’t appear on the map, to the right of the ford km22.1). Thanks to Jaime. I slept above the ford.

Day 7, on the way to the Baños de Pelehue, I met a kind Chilean hiking couple (only the second time in 3 months). Then the Cerros Dedos (see section 11).

At this time of year, there are lots of piñones on the ground. I cook them on the fire in water in two rounds. They usually require several hours to cook (at this time of year, as they are already hard). So I experimented and found that two rounds of cooking works. I cook on the fire, so in the evening and in the morning if I make a fire, or on two consecutive evenings. The shell should open, at least most of them. Each time 30–40 min or more after it starts boiling. A technique shared by an arriero to make them cook faster (a Mapuche technique I was told): roast them a bit before putting them into boiling water. I haven’t noticed a difference yet, but I don’t have enough experience.

*''' 2025-03-01 to 2025-03-05 / 5 days (combined GPT 12 + 11)/ Hiking / NOBO /OH 02 + RR/ Chloe and Mathieu
We took the bus from Temuco to Lonquimay then we hitchhiked up to the camping Lolen (nice camping 8000p per person). We had to start from there because the ferry of option 2 is not working on weekends.

Day 1: we walked along the Ruta R 893 to join the option 2 after the Rio Biobio crossing. We continued on the gravel road of the OH02 until we join RR at km 44.9. There is a ford not mentioned just before but easy to cross.
The route in the valley of puesto [37.7+0.2/1367] is not always easy to follow so we kept looking at the GPS.
Camped at Laguna Mariñanqui.

Day 2 : we walked along the lake. Then we struggled to find our way in the wetlands at the north of the lake. Better to stick to the track on the GPS. Then we crossed 6 times the rio, no difficulties. Scenic gorges after. Many puestos wirh dogs in the valleys but we met noone.
We checked the hot spring at 20.5, not really hot so we didn’t go in. We slept at camp 17.0, nice area, many cows.

Day 3: we hiked until pass {11-04} [5.4/2385], no difficult but very windy. Then we went down to the Pelehue Hot spring. Really nice to take a bath, really worth it!
We walked up to the " Hot Spring ?{11} [32.0/1428]" where we camped. There is a hot spring, à bit dirty but nice anyway. Rhere is an other hotspring at S 38° 07.328', W 071° 05.140' but not possible to camp.

Day 4: we climbed the pass and for that we stayed in the bed river all along of the CC part. A bit long but not difficult when you stick to this route.
We went down to the Camp {11} [20.6/1317].

Day 5 : went straight to Guallalli and slept at Rominàs house. Took the bus next day to Los Àngeles at 5:30PM.

'''2025-02-20 to 2025-02-24 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR, / Adrien, Julien et Valentin"

Bus from Lonquimay to Liucura at 7:30 pm on Wednesday
We slept in the barn of Cabana Garcias for 5000 pesos (mention that you have a tent)

One hour after the pass with the famous big Araucaria at the first descent you will encounter a puesto with a meadow and a fence. Instead of crossing it, go along the barrier to the end, the magnificent cliffs overlooked by the araucaria on the right. Then cross the bush until you find the RR. Very easy and very beautiful. It allows you to avoid the mean dogs on the other side of the meadow.

Lots of araucaria seeds on the ground even though they were probably the last ones. 30 minutes to 1 hour of cooking. oil and salt and it's perfect

We had an argument with an Arriero who asked us for money to pass, well after Maximilliano, 6 kilometers before the Marinanqui lake but by telling him that we had authorization from the carabineros (which was not true) and from two other Gauchos we met beforehand, he ended up letting us pass.

We didn't do the last part of the cerro dedo because of pain of one of us and we cut to Ranquil from the terms, easy to Hitchhike the weekend. but the last part is apparently not to be missed.

Hitchhiking to Lonquimay (only the weekend cause of the Termas)

'''2025-02-14 to 2025-02-17 / 3,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR, Var H, Cerro Dedos ascent / Manon, Robin and Thomas'''

Resume :
- spectacular views concentrated in Cerro Dedos area and we really appreciated the section only from laguna Marinanqui
- before laguna Marinanqui : views from pass 57,2 and araucarias are great but dogs, dust and valley floor long path are a little bit tiring > If you don't need GPT 13 thru-hike connection, we highly recommand to consider option 2 or 4 to shorten south part of the section.
- tabanos situation is currently resolved
Day 1 afternoon : Liucura 104,3 > Water 87,6
Started at 15:30, we took variants P and S at the beginning to avoid barbed wire climbing (still one). We took water at puesto around 94,5 and we camped at the first water point (dusty and without sunset).
Day 2 : Water 87,6 > Pass 57,2
Doggy puesto day ! We took option H to avoid aggressive dogs which seem to be on the RR, but we had some anyway (without incident). Highlight of the day : we harvested and cooked our first pinones ! We camped at -38,360985 -71,054676 near great sunset views on Volcanos.
Day 3 : Pass 57,2 > Banos Cuyucos 20,5
Long day to reach hot spring aperitif and dinner, following RR. Laguna Marinanqui and following gorges are very scenic, banos cuyucos are great for 3 people.
Day 4 : Banos Cuyucos 20,5 > Cerro Dedos ascent > Banos de Pelehue (11-02B [1.2/2113])
Pleasure day with stunning views without long distance. The Pelehue hotsprings are really nice : 180° view, sunset, water temperature control (!), fumaroles,...
We continued with GPT 11 RR next morning, with the desire to to follow Natalie and Tomas new connection to section 10 close to argentina border (GPT 11 option 6 + GPT 10 option 3).

'''2025-02-12 to 2025-02-17 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option 1+RR+Option 2a / Chris & Diana'''

We had arranged with Maximiliano and Ana a pickup late at 9pm from Lonquimay, stayed at their house and were driven to the bus/police station the next morning. They offered 50kCLP for both drives, night in tent, some dinner & breakfast, 70kCLP if we wanted to stay indoor. We accepted tent option but after a fun & long dinner & tea, they invited us to the cabana nontheless. They are a super lovely couple, we had a lot of fun together :)
They operate a shop with everything a hiker needs (food, gas, even some clothes, but not too suitable but might be nice in emergencies) for fair prices.

A bit more info in Lonquimay:
Levanderia lonquimay
+56971265059
Histal Villa portales 32kCLP for 2 persons in a double bed (shared bedroom of 3 spots, cold water only)
Uber lonquimay
+56965791711,
+56982471202,
+56941761164,
+56974846335
Sweet little town, nice supermarkets, restaurants, even some small local giftshops at the main square/park.

Bus towards trail from lonquimay: monday, wednesday, friday at 05:30 and 15:00
From trail to lonquimay (via ranquil): monday, wednesday, friday 06:00/06:30, 16:00

Disclaimer: check our route, we only hiked 40% of the RR, therefore only valid for that bit!

Option 01: mostly rather boring MR/track, little descent into the valley. Easy and quick hike though.

RR:
Fords: all easy, last hour to the lake is full of fords we werent able to cross dry feet. Nothing above knee, no significant current.
Water: plenty along the way.
Snow: none.
Hotsprings: surprisingly they werent mentioned often in here. They are fairly nice, there are two, the one under the araucaria tree is the hotter and nicer one, fresh water better taken upstream of the other "first" one. The hotspring is populated a lot on the weekends, friday had a few dayhikers, the nights we enjoyed alone. People in the valley were super nice, explaining us a better way through the swamp.

Laguna mariñanqui was amazing to camp and bath in as well, lots of parrots swarming the skies and lots of piñones around adding a feast!

Option 02a:
Camped at S 38.364003 W 071.166101. Seemed like last obvious spot before Track & Puestos start. Some appletrees along the way.
We hitchhiked most of option 2 out to Lonquimay, it might be possible to Uber (see above) along here for NOBO folks who wanna cut it a bit short without missing the hotsprings and the pretty pass. We think we didnt see any bus houses/indication of public transport.
Track until approx S 38.382561 W 071.172255 (easy with 4x4, normal car might be a bit difficult)
MR until Ferry 12-02 [13.5], easy with normal car. Rather boring to walk.

Summary: nice and easy walk, not crazy scenic, but some pretty views in between. Piñones made it very special, they just started to fall from the sky, enhanced our couscous alot! More than any could gather.
Partly pretty dusty. Since its mostly along rivers, we always were able to get a bath.

* '''2025-02-03 to 2025-02-07 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 01+RR+Var H+RR+VarN+VarP / Dorota Szparaga'''

Day 1: I arrived from Lonquimay by micro at 5 p.m. and started from OH 1. Night at pass 4.6/1499.

Day 2: Day of fords but fortunately easy for my 1.64 height.
In valley after pass a lot of cows, goats. Two dogs but only barking.
Ford 7.5 - in exact point water above knee. I went a few meters upstream where water is lower.
Ford 28.7 till calf.
Fords Rio Pulul from 31.3 to 33.6 max to knee, but there were more than points in track.
Ford 35.4 dry feet.
Ford 36.6 dry feet.
Ford 41.5 dry feet.
Ford 45.5 above knee, current a bit strong.
Camp at 47.5.

Day 3 :
Ascent from 52 to 53 was very exhausting.
Camp at 57 before pass. Beautiful spot but strong wind. Water from lake.

Day 4:
Passes 57.2 and 57.4 free of snow. Part between 59 and 60 moody. I have met arrieros at camp 59.5 km. From km 62.4/62.9 I took varH and came back at km 68 of RR . In the next valley I have met a group of Mapuches. They were very reserved. I said hello and asked for the trail and said what I am doing here. Before puesto de Maxymiliano Lagos (71.4) the path is almost free of fallen trees after a tornado in November. I have bought fresh "tortilla" et Maksymiliano "puesto". Camp at Laguna Escondida at 76.2. I think that a better camp is on the other side.

Day 5:
At km 88 of RR I took varN than P till Liucura. Mostly MR. A lot of gates between puestos. At km 4.0/1314 settler (12-P) I advise taking the road not the track. I have met here one dog and need to cross under gates. After only some gates. In Liucura night at Hospedaje Normita. Very comfortable cabana for 20.000 clp. A lot of shops. I advise at point -38.64533,-71.08847. They have gas, chargers, cables and a lot of food.

* ''' 2025-JAN-11 to 2025-JAN-13 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + 12H / Alex '''
Cerro Los Dedos offers the best views along this section. Many puestos along the route were occupied, often with numerous dogs.Be prepared for swampy areas throughout the section. I recommend adopting Option 12H as the regular route due to its advantages.
At Camp {12-H} [1.5/1520], I arrived around 7 PM but found it unsuitable due to its location opposite a house and visibility from the road.
I continued up the steep climb and discovered a short side trail to the left after 20 minutes. This led to an untouched forest with sheltered campsites just 70 meters from fresh running water.
This is the best campsite in the entire section: no tabanos , no mosquitoes.
I have attached a GPX file for this new campsite here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G_nxx9NlRwpGVU_mvsp5RAYcwNFEy9tL/view?usp=sharing
The final 2 kilometers of Section 12 should be updated. The regular route trespasses through 3–4 private properties with barbed wire.
I followed RR-TL-V {12} [100.0/100.4+2.2] directly to the highway instead.

* ''' 2024-DEC-26 > 29 / 2,5 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / RR (option est au Laguna Mariñanqui) + passage flan est a la fin / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT09+GPT10+GPT11+GPT12+GPT13
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : facile
| Neige : oui
| Intérêt : 4/5
| Difficulté : 4/5
| Danger : hors piste sur pente raide, glissement de terrain, foret détruite

A 2100m a la premiere montée, ce ne sont pas des sources chaudes mais des sources de gaz qui font bouillir ce qui se trouve autour.
Par contre au point (38.190017° S 71.036036° W) il y a une source chaude que les locaux ont amenagée en piscine (l'eau est ferrugineuse). Les arrieros m'en ont parlé donc elle est accessible a tout le monde.
Dans la vallée du Cerro Rahue la piste n'est vraiment pas facile a suivre mais grâce a la trace GPS on la retrouve toujours. Il y a beaucoup de taons malheureusement, et sur le plateau a 2000m, c'est envahi de moustiques.
La montée en hors piste n'est pas une cinécure, vraiment dommage qu'il n'y ai pas de sentier car elle est dangereuse par mauvais temps. Premiere et seule journée nuageuse. La descente sous le Cerro Codihue se fait bien mais attention: 1) un gros éboulement a recouvert le sentier, et de la neige se trouve sous les roches. Ca forme des ponts qui sont tres dangereux. 2) une tornade a balayé la forêt. Elle est impossible a traverser mais facile a contourner en longeant le torrent.
Juste apres la foret, Maximiliano Lagos m'a très bien reçu malgré mon faible niveau d'espagnol.
Juste après le Laguna Escondida, Sonia Ramirez m'a bien accueilli également, j'ai pu assister a une capture de chevaux (pour castration).
A Liucura j'ai pu acheter un peu de nourriture mais le magasin n'a quasiment rien.

* ''' 24-12-15 - 24-12-19 / 4,5 days / SOBO / OH01, RR, OH-H\L\M\K / Volker '''

The Tabano section (first part only)
All water markers reliable - and many other spots, fords mostly easy

Day 1: Back in Ranquil after resupply in Lonquimay. The very friendly women from the Local Crafts Centre organised me a driver for 30k, which was really fair for a 1,5h ride. Started at 3 p.m., short walk on OH01 (well, I missed the hot spring on RR) over a pass, then down into the very beautiful valley. Camped after the ford OH1, 7,5, which was less easy than it seemed. The water is very deep, where it runs slowly, you have to cross the river there, where the stream is strong.

Day 2: An extraordinary beautiful valley, but… a terrible Tabano situation. Not 3-4 surrounded me as sometimes on previous sections, but 10-15 at all times. Worst at the northern bank of Laguna Marinanqui. Swimming? Forget it. All those, who are into survival, will find a rich meal. Haute Cuisine: the Tabanos attacking you, while you are focused on one of the several fords (all easy). All others think twice, before taking a photo and ending up with 5 of them on each of your hand . My moskito head net was an essential gear, but I wished I had brought a beekeeper’s suit. And who wants to hike a day long veiled like a woman under Taliban rule? Camp at 17,0 completely „polluted“, I continued 1 km to the „pass“, where I found a dusty mini-spot (great view, however).

Day 3: Tabano situation unchanched during the whole CC upwards. I walked at an altitude of 2100 on snowfields, surrounded by ten of them. Tried hard to have a look for the really scenic landscape. After the pass it got immediately better. It was like a water shed. What a relief! CC down easy, the following „trail“, however, was no trail, but a swamp (all indicated camp spots under water), and now I had to stick closely to the track file, otherwise I would have ended up in BB. After the swamp-trail, CC in the forest, the former trail is mostly invisible and blocked by broken trees. Got better with the MR (which is a TL). Down in the very beautiful valley, everything changed: No tabanos at all, no aggressive dogs or humans (waypoints), but a wonderful indicated camp spot at 1,5 of OH-H.

Day 4: No tabanos, not a single one! Very quick on OH-H to the pass, short parts overgrown, the „CC“ down along Rio Pehuenco on RR has mostly a good trail, only short tricky sections with snow and mud in the gullies. Three aggressive dogs running in my direction at the puesto at 71,4. . Show them, who is the master! When I started to shout at them and move in their direction, their self-confidence imploded. Laguna Escondida very beautiful, marked camp spot at 76,2 under water.
Very, very scenic up to the next pass and down to Laguna Verde. The marked camp spot on the north bank under water, too. Camped at the south bank close to a small puesto.

Day 5: From Laguna Verde options L, M, K, highly recommended, very scenic on the plateau. Water running from a pipe close to the two houses where RR leaves the MR (OH -T) for the ridge. On the ridge again very scenic, CC easy (partly trail), but stick to the track files, otherwise BB is on the menu. Very windy in the last part. Had to climb 4 fences with barbed wire on the last 2 km to Liucura (can probably be avoided by taking OH-S to join OH-P), where I arrived at 3 p.m. (several lodges, nice hut in Calle Nueva Dos on the right side (20k), Bus to Victoria at 7 a.m. , but not on every day of the week.

* '''11Dec2024 - 15dec2024 / hiking SOBO / option 1 - RR - varE - RR - var H - RR - var L - RR / 5 days / Clara'''

Really nice landscapes all along with mountains, volcanoes on the passes. Araucaria forests. Lakes that are nice and good spots to eat/camp.

Camp : south of laguna mariñanqui 35.5. Meet a couple of GPT hikers there, good evening even if there were lots of tamaños and mosquitoes.

varE (around51) camp at end : nice with good water. Mosquitoes. Looks more comfortable than the one note at 51.6 on RR.

VarH camp 1.5 : not much place for a tent in dry area but was ok.

83km VarL : end of laguna verde. Nice dry spot. Mosquitoes. (Could rejoin RR directly here the next day)

Fords : between 31 and 34. All went good, not much than mid thighs (I'm 1,57), low current (hot and dry during the last week).

45 : mid thighs with little current at midday

Option 1 : nice and easy way up.

Navigation :
Laguna mariñanqui : var C and even some parts of RR are just under water or muddy +++. To lenght the est side of the lake I took some nice paths (there are many) that are higher up and avoid putting feet in the lake and mud between (around the middle, don't see at the beginnig and end of the lake).

After varE path became less clear and it's more demanding to not loose it in high herbs but could follow one almost alle the time.

CC around km53 : easy to find the route. Physical. Need to be carefull in soft sand because rocks and even the grass can detached and fall.

Passes around 57 : not much snow, easy to cross and navigate. Entel coverage a bit before 1st pass (57-57.4) if need a little weather forecast point.
Descending from the pass is steep but easy with little patches of snow.

When CC finish around 58 : very muddy trail. Navigation a bit harder when you enter the forest and then the route is easy.

VarH to avoid the dog : after the camp, steep clim but trail easy to follow. Only a bit before puesto 3.1, about 0.5km path get less clear with a bit BB. Need more GPS.

Pass at 68 : easy, not much snow. Rejoin RR by varJ cause then varH was going BB.
All CC until Liucura are horse (or goat) paths most of the time, easy to follow and when there is doubt, the tracks or OSM path bring to good path to go on.

At the really end there are 3 or 4 fences to cross that I found difficult and really not made for crossing here. Maybe it's a bit better with varS but still 2 to cross. Or maybe it's better to go directly straight down to the road and not turning left when descending on the dirt road but I didn't try.

Water : plenty except at the end. I think last on RR is water 87,6. Maybe it's possible if needed to ask some in the houses around 94 before going up to the ridge cause after there is none for sure.

* '''2024-Dec-08 to 2024-Dec-13 / 6 days / Hiking NOBO / RR + variant H / Sean & Neele'''

Water present at all markers and plenty more due to snow melt

We took variant H to avoid the aggressive dogs, was a little overgrown and lots of different trails to choose from but was fine.

Pass at 57.4km - snow present from around 1,850m and upwards but you can avoid most of it. The plateau also has snow but again is mostly avoidable. Entel signal on the pass.

Camp 54.5 - horseflies started.

We camped at 51.6km the ground is pretty wet at the moment so wasn't great. We would have continued to 47.5km in hindsight as the trail is decent so it wouldn't take long.

Ford 45.4km crossed at 11 am about thigh deep (1.61m tall) no problem at all.

Water 41.4km - Entel signal.

Camped at the southern end of Lake Mariñanqui where we met Clara :) it was very beautiful, some horseflies though. Would not recommend northern end of the lake at this time.

Tried to take variant C but it was too deep so went around on RR.

Fords 33.6km - 31.4km we did these in the morning and were surprised how deep they were. The water is quite calm though so was all fine.

Hotsprings 20.5km lower one is a nice temperature easily big enough to sit in. Worth a look. The 1st one wasn't as warm.

High section between 15km and 9km. Snow patches present above 1850m ish. Was all either avoidable or manageable. Staying close to the RR worked well. This strech was very very beautiful and should t be missed.

Hot spring 11-02B warm not hot but very nice views

Hot spring 11-01C buried under snow.

Continued on to 11.

==Season 2023/24==

* '''2024-abril-7 to 2024-ab-11 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / Option 5 - option 2 - RR / Juliet and Martin '''

We combined this section with section 11.
Day 1: Lonquimay - (-38.39301, -71.18538)
We left Lonquimay on a Sunday morning, taking option 5G and then option 2b. We wanted to take the ferry, but it doesn't run on Sundays (but at the time we passed it, we thought it could be done on foot). We were picked up a few kilometers after Lonquimay and dropped off at Caracoles where there's a footbridge. We decided to explore and walk along the Rio Biobio to reach the ferry and option 2. There's a passage that connects the two points. We continued on to option 2. After crossing a bridge (in poor condition but holding), we looked for a place to pitch our tent, which we found along the river.

Day 2: (-38.39301, -71.18538) - laguna marinanqui
Beautiful forest and valley sections with incredible views. We reached the RR in the morning. Magical trail, lots of waterholes.
No particular difficulty for us on this part.
When we got to the lagoon, there were plenty of places to pitch our tents on either side, which was really nice.

Day 3: Laguna marinanqui - camp {12} [17.0/1794]
First part of the day with lots of fords to pass without difficulty. Another beautiful day. Lots of puestos on the way. We met Walter in a valley, he is very welcoming and kind.
In the afternoon we hiked through the forest past the hot springs to reach our camp for the night. Quite a windy night, but we were relatively protected.

Day 4: camp {12} [17.0/1794] - puesto de Valentin
Morning ascent. The view is incredible but it's extremely windy. When we passed, there were many gusts of wind, which complicated our walk. But the view is still breathtaking! There's little water on this "plateau". We made our way back down to Ranquil. When we got there, there was nothing but the bus stop. We didn't meet anyone.

* '''2024-Mar-20 to 2024-Mar-24 / 4 days ? / SOBO / RR/ Tobi + Fangwen'''

Combined with Sections 10/11. Not much to add, except that there's almost everyday a low-ish hanging arucaria tree en route (late-season)

Pinones tips:
Try piñones with nutmeg + parmesan, or merken + cumin (with salt and a bit of oil of course)
Cooking these take a lot of boiling - we brought a large gas canister and it lasted us eight nights (8 quick dinners, + 4 x 1.3 L pots full of piñones) with an occasional warm breakfast/tea.
Expect to spend an hour peeling each pot (two people) after cooking for 20 minutes - it's a LOT of work.
This was enough food for 2 people for approx. one full day

* '''2024-03-14 to 2024-03-16 // 3 days // Hiking // NOBO // beginning of VAR A + VAR F + RR // Quentin Clavel'''

Stunning section with great views and amazing rocks formation. The geology on this section really surprised me on some parts ! A lot of CC, and ups and downs threw pass, then going along valley then passing a new pass and cc a new valley etc..

RR at the beginning to the section is passing threw few fences. As other said, easy to avoid them. I met some nice people at the beginning, very friendly and we had nice talks, that was enjoyable !

Lagunas are great. At the end of Maximilian valley (that I unfortunately missed, but spoke with his employee, nice guy), I continue on the pass then took the variant H, but not sure it worth it, as there's no real track and I finished into a very steepy part It's losing rocks to reach the lower valley. So I guess RR is better.

Not felt very welcoming by the pehuenche locals here (KM64,95), surprisingly because other hikers had great experienxes. They were not rude at all, but just don't really want to communicate. Anyway, no problem to pass and they confirm me the way to shortcut by the valley field.

After the pass, you'll reach the lovely lagunas, with stunning views over volcanoes at the top of the pass.

The way down will not be very fast as it's cc. Stay over tree/bush line, then plonge straight threw the Araucarias. The path will be more and more clear when you'll be at the balcon level, going all the way along the valley.

There's a tiny wooden bridge that have been created and allow you to passe the Rio without having wet feets (Ford {12} [45.4/1039]). The bridge is a bit further the RR indicated ford, at the location 38°20′55.44″S 71°09′22.48″W.

Then the path is very clear and easy to follow. I took the variant A to avoid the multiple ford crossing as it was freezing morning. I succeed and join RR with dry feets (but miss the Laguna marinanaui and the apparently very nice gorges).

At that point, I was surprised by the attraction rate of this section (5/5). It was nice, but imho not deserve a 5. But I continued my way, go up to the pass, join the volcanic plateau and arrive to baños de pelehue). And this last stretch was absolutely amazing. I slept a pelehue, had a great hot bath, one has been created with rocks, it's a bit like on the bottom, but so nice after a hiking day !).

Then I've been straight to GPT11, without going to Ranquil

* '''2024-Mar-13 to 2024-Mar-16 / 3 days / SOBO / RR C 02A 02 (11-05G)/ Matthias de Austria'''

Plenty of water, no snowfields, no Tabanos or Moskitos, all fordings very easy except Rio BioBio. The ferry on option 02 does not run on weekends, so I forded the river around 200m upstream. It is a long ford, but not very hard. Water around kneedeep (i am 187cm, 100kg) and 1-2m in the middle had a bit strong current, but not difficult. The ford is probably not possible earlier in the seasion, also they had a drought for months...

Banos Coyucos at 20.4 are not really nice warm springs. It is dark, no view, mildly warm, (natural) dirty, not very deep and the cold river next to it has no pool. Variant C was no problem, bit swampy but doable. The way north of Laguna Marinanqui for maybe a km or so can be tricky to find, lots of tracks in this jungle.

At Laguna Marinanqui the southern camp is better, even the meadows are full of shit everywhere, the sand is a bit cleaner, there is a fresh stream and the water not as shallow. It was really cold in the morning mid March, my towel and shoes hard frozen. Maybe better to camp a bit further away from the lake then I did (20m) end of seasion.

Option 02A: closed gate with very muddy surrounding at -38.354982,-71.164045 shortly after intersection with 02b start. I think 02b is blocked by a fence. Anyway, just follow some path close to the river, it leads to -38.355085,-71.164881 where the fence can be climbed easily and afterwards return (might be a bit swampy) to 02A.

route blocked by difficult fence at -38.396035,-71187372 but next to it is an easy to open gate, just follow the path afterwards, leads you to a dirt road and another easy to open gate, theres is some agricultural storage and behind paths connects to regular 02A.

Option 02A: Camped where 03C ends, connection to 02. There is a small stream and access to the river north of it for some bathing. I hide my tent behind some bushes around 20m away from the road, which has veeery little traffic. Still late night I woke up from some voices and torches. I guess reflectors on my tent where reflecting the car lights even through the bushes. Anyway the people moved on after their curiosity was satisfied. Next day I met the settler on the road, interrogating me a bit, but quickly turned friendly and gave his ok. Generally it is easier to camp anywhere north of settler 02A Fundo Rahue, afterwards there are lots of fences, it gets dry and dusty.

Option 02: 100 to 200m north of the ferry on the eastern side of Rio Biobio side seems a nice campspot.

I combined GPT 9 to 12, but run out of food so I decided to shorten GDP 12 by hiking to Lonquimay after Laguna Marinanqui. I found plenty of Piniones, but had not enough fuel, and cooking them over open fire in my tiny cooking pot is annoying (did it twice).

Northern parts of GPT12 are quite nice. Option 02 is long and boring with lots of road walking. Shortly west of the ferry it is a big asphalt street, but very little traffic. Took awhile to get a ride to Lonquimay.

* '''2024-Mar 2nd to Mar 13th / 12 days / Hiking / SOBO / GPT11 Var F, RR, Var Q, Var P / Michael and Kasia'''

TL:DR a really beautiful and varied section. The RR up to the plateau is challenging but not terrible; we liked Laguna Escondida for camping; the ridge at the end is not a good option if the winds are strong.

Day 1 March 2nd

The first two days were actually on GPT11 Var F which we used to connect into GPT12. In Lonquimay a guy working for CONAF as a driver taking firefighters to and from Troyo offered us a ride. What luck! He was very friendly and pointed things out during the drive. He left us at the crossroads of the road to Troyo and Ranquil and even gave us a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade. A big thanks to him!

The road to Ranquil had many, many water points along the way. It's crazy how much water is in that area. It is a dirt road and dusty, but few cars came by, so it wasn't too bad. There is barbed wire fencing along much of the road. There were some helicopters running water in the distance to fight the fires. We arrived at Ranquil and found a place to camp at (-38.24902, -71.23244) just over the bridge. Then we went to the minimarket run by Maximiliano and Anna’s shop. They were incredibly kind people. They offered for us to camp on their property, offered to let us take a shower and wash clothes. They are definitely people to stop in and say hello to. They have gas now. 3.000 for refill canisters, 7.000 for 230g stove tanks and 9.000 for 460g stove tanks. They also had canned fish, powdered soups, mate, Nescafé, cold drinks, and Anna made us delicious pan amasado in her wood fired clay oven.

Day 2 March 3rd

We continued on GPT11 Var F. Tons of water on the way up. We watched a helicopter pull water out of a large pond and dump it on a small fire on the hillside. At km 26.17 saw a building from the road with the word provisiones painted in large letters on the back wall. We did not need anything else, and the gate was closed, so we did not check to see if it was open.

We found out first piñones of the season! We collected probably a kilo of them. We passed through Pelehue which it turns out is nothing. We camped by the river about 200 m before the turn onto GPT12 Opt 01. I walked to the Carabineros to register us, it was quick and easy. We had just finished dinner when a family stopped by and offered to let us stay with them and asked if we needed anything. They were so kind and thoughtful, it was very touching.

Day 3 March 4th

We finally officially started GPT12. We collected more piñones. The Carabineros passed us on horseback, so it's probably good that I took the time to register even though the path doesn't pass right by them. It was sunny all day, pleasant walking, all fords were easy. We camped at (camp 12 [31.6/1306]). It was fairly flat with grass and river access about 30 m away.

Day 4 March 5th

A short day. We walked to Laguna Marinanqui.
When we were there, it was possible to walk the distance between (camp 12 [31.6/1306]) and (ford 32.5/1296]) without following the track up and down the dusty trail. It requires a few additional fords, but with warm weather, being in the water is very pleasant.

We camped at the north side of the lake. It was windy until the sun went down but calm after.

Day 5 March 6th
We stayed at the lake for a rest day.

Day 6 March 7th
From the north side of the lake it was a bit tricky to find a path to connect to RR going around the lake as the ground was very muddy. Sticking closer to the big plant clumps helped. We collected more piñones at the south end of the lake. By this time we had probably 5 kg of them. Amazing views along the route that day, nothing especially difficult. There were some areas where the trail was damaged by landslides, but reroutes had already been created to get around them.
We camped by the river right after the last ford at (-38.34864, -71.15528). There was a small path leading into the trees and to a small clearing. After a bit of site cleanup it made for a really nice and protected camp site.

Day 7 March 8th

It was a short day. We were confused as to whether Opt 3 of the current track files was the correct route up to the plateau or not. We tried finding it but had no luck so we decided to go with what showed up as RR on the GPS and Gaia. It started raining and was fairly windy. The ponchos I had bought us did not work well and we both got wet. We camped around the marked campsite at the end of Var E.

Day 8 March 9th

Back to a calm sunny day the next morning. It was cross-country for parts. The assent to the plateau was demanding. We could not find any true paths, though there were many things that appeared to be paths for short distances and would just end abruptly. I started referring to them as the mirages of the mountains.
After reaching the plateau, the first laguna we arrived at was very pretty, deep blue water surrounded by green grass, and a few birds floating on the water. The area around was unfortunately too wet to camp on. We walked to the two larger ones but the area around was not pretty and the water was very shallow with a muddy bottom. We saw another heading back the direction of Option 3 and camped at the first one we came to (-38.36201, -71.07188). It was very cold, but fortunately there was no wind in the night. It was so silent there.

Day 9 March 10th

We took a long time getting to the two passes, taking a lot of photo stops. On the way down to the valley it was very windy and the ground was wet, so it was slow going until the forest. The forest areas were very beautiful sand pleasant to walk through. We camped in the valley just past the river at (-38.38830, -71.02145) in between several huge araucarias. It was very windy during the evening but that spot seemed fairly wind protected. It also had some visual screening from the road and the nearby puesto and river access without having to go to the road.

Day 10 March 11th

The valley was quiet and sunny in the morning. We headed up Var G. There was an unmarked puesto at (-38.38774, -71.01221). We were still fairly far off when four dogs started barking and slowly making their way out direction. We decided to go CC up the hill a bit and rejoin the path later which seemed to work at first. But after we rejoined the road we could hear them start barking again and they sounded like they were getting closer. We kept moving and eventually the barking stopped.

The road diverged from the Var G track and we stayed with the road. Eventually there was a fork near a puesto. We went CC on a horse path that eventually connected to the road that I think came from the downhill fork. We followed the road and then did a bit of CC until we connected with the end bit of Var H to get to the pass. Where Var H and RR meet, we had lunch and coffee. The route down was fairly easy to follow. It was extremely windy until we reached the forest. It was a very pretty forest, I think beech mixed with araucaria.

We met a woman and a child at the first puesto. We just said hello and asked if we could pass and she said of course. One of their dogs followed us for the rest of the day, but no matter what we did, it wouldn't leave. RR up to Laguna Escondida was a dirt road the whole way. It was in pretty good shape. We were surprised how many roads were in this area. There were nice views of the valley the whole way up. Laguna Escondida was also very pretty, especially in the later afternoon light. Water access is not so easy, but by breaking off the trail where it turned to the forest and heading straight for the lake, we found a small path to a beach. The water was clear. As it started getting dark, the dog finally left heading in the direction of the valley.

We camped in the forest at (-38.47284, -70.97987). It was a ways away from water access, but the weather report was predicting 80 to 90 km per hour winds in the night, which turned out to be accurate. The trees overhead were blowing all night, but our tent hardly moved. We were very grateful for the wind protection.

Day 11 March 12th

There was a bit of route finding to get to the other side of Laguna Escondida. The view from the top was great. In the valley we started following a dirt road. We weren't paying too much attention to the GPS and ended up off the route. We then really misinterpreted the map and thought we could follow the road all the way up and then just cut across at the top of the hill, but we kept getting further away from the route. We ended up going with our plan anyway and it worked in the end, though it probably added some kms. But there was an interesting wetland area, some great views of the valley, and some interesting rocks, including one that looked like a Buddha head, so a worthwhile detour on the whole. There were house trails cutting across to the pass to Laguna Verde. There were dogs at the puesto on the NE side of the laguna that started barking when we could just barely see them so we stuck to RR. There were some nice views of the lake going around it, though it was easy to see why it's called Laguna Verde, there was plant growth from the edge growing several meters into the laguna all the way around.

We camped close to a stream, around (-38.53009, -71.00810). It was not very wind protected, but the wind stopped after it got dark.

Day 12 March 13th

We hiked up to the plateau. There were some horse trails, but it is also partially CC. After the plateau, to stay on RR we found a spot on the downhill side of the barbed wire fence where we could climb up and over rocks instead of the fence itself. The white rock structures passing along that way were really impressive. We really wanted to walk the ridge, but there was a lot of wind that day. We made it up to the beginning of the ridge, but the further we went up, the more intense the winds became. The weather report predicted gusts up to 75 kph, so we decided to take Var Q down to Var P. It was worth the climb anyway as it provided a different view on the white rock mountain. Var Q was easy to follow down and Var P is a dirt road nearly the entire way to Liucura, not particularly scenic, but not bad
We Arrived in Liucura around 19:00. We stayed at Normita, going rate 15.000 pp, private room, private bath, hot water, and a small kitchen area. Norma is very nice. There are a few shops in town. The big shop closes around 19:30. They have a decent selection and the best prices generally. Donde Carlitos minimarket near aduana had gas recharges for 2600 each. They also have a decent selection of things for resupply and are reasonably priced. Across the street from the big shop there is a woman that sells bread, look for the signs in the window. She is open till around 19:00.

* '''2024-Feb-15 to 2024-Feb-18 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH11-02B + OH11-02 + OH12-C + OH12-N / Joscha'''

I combined section 9 to 12. It took me 7.5 days in total.

Day 1: RR [5.9-7.2]

I directly continued from section 11 and just hiked up to the camp at km 7.2. There is a small wooden shed and right next to it one small flat spot (big enough for a 1-person tent)

Day 2: RR [7.2-9.7] + OH11-02B + OH11-02B + RR [12.9-33.9] + OH12-C + RR [34.3-37.7]

There is lots of water around the two hotsprings Pelehue, but it has a sulfur taste. I can absolutly recommended OH11-02B and OH11-02. You have to scramble up some steep, rocky slopes, but the 360 ° views up there are amazing. There is Water at km 0.6 of 02-B and water provided by big melting snowfield right next to RR at km 14.0. The Banos Coyucos Hotspring (km 20.5) are nice and big enough for at least 3 people. I had no problems with flies at Laguna Marinanqui. The Puesto at the camp at km 37.7 is broken down and there are a few flat spots next to it. There is water at all markers.

Day 3: RR [37.7-69.4]

No Water at the Water ? waypoint at km 54.4. But RR passes a Laguna at km 55.9. There is also water at km 62.4 and 66.8. And at all water and ford waypoints.

Day 4: RR [69.4-88.0] + OH12-N + RR [91.5-102.2] + no official track to finish

Water at km 87.7 is the last water SOBO. There is a barbed wire fence around km 102.2. There is no easy way to climb over it. Therefore I continued in south western direction until the Ruta 181.

* '''2024-Feb-05 to 2024-Feb-10 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Liucura - Section 11 on RR / RR / Alex & Christophe'''

We really think this section is nice NOBO as it gets more and more interesting as you walk on it.

We took the bus at 7:30 on a Monday in Temuco and arrived in Liucura around 13:00.

After a Churrasco just next to the Border Control, we walked only until -38.443407, -71.000961 as it was really hot and the backpacks felts a bit too heavy. This place was a perfect camp with a nice stream of water and a flat and protected place to pitch a tent. So, if you arrive a bit late in Liucura, you don't have to cover nearly 20km to get water.

We also camped at Camp {12} [35.5/1279] and it was really nice and the lake was beautiful and at the perfect temperature to swim.

Another campspot we picked was Camp {12} [20.4/1625] (Banos Coyucos). It was really nice but after passing the Hot Spring {11-02B} [1.2/2113] (Banos de Pelehue, Poorly Maintained), we would had preferred to stay there. The view is incredible and there is some grass patches to pitch a tent. The hot springs need maybe 1 or 2 hours to be digged properly but it should totally worth it.

Another thing to mention was that, because we didn't really know if we wanted to choose an option to connect section 11, we took option 4 until Pass {11-04} [5.4/2385]. The view there it just magnificent and there was some condors flying just over our head. I would really recommend taking this small detour, especially if going NOBO as the path is quite easy. (Maybe more demanding SOBO).

* '''2024 Jan 22 to 2024 Jan 27 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+OH11-02B+OH11-02 / Hannes'''

Start in Ranquil/Pelehue at Carabineros late afternoon, camped below ascent to the baños Pelehue. Reccomend the ascent in the early morning, as always much easier to climb before the heat comes in. Actually I figured out only fumaroles and no real baños up there, but I didn't look very carefully, wanted to head on. Took detour over OH11-02B and 02 along the ridge, which I reccomend strongly! Amazing views from this border-ridge and some interesting rock formations along there. Went down to the next valley and to baños Coyucos, loved this place, for me best termas so far. Even a nice camp place there. But it was still early afternoon, so I went on and camped at -38.203837 -71.077937. Next day I went to Laguna Marinanqui, nice lake, access to water muddy at north shore, south shore better to go in. Went on along this long next valley on a west slope trail, super hot! Camped at km 47,5, loved this place, flat area with special rock hill, mosquito zone, they take over when tábanos finish the day. Third day I went up the pass, super views all over from there! Down to the next valley, had to stick accurately to the GPS, as the TL is easy to loose where the bushes start and then you end up in some swampy zones, as it happens to me a few times. Lot of water around there. Crossed the valley, went up the other side. Passed puesto around km 64, no life there, no dogs. Seems abandoned this season, as I am not the first this year to pass by without seeing anybody. Walked on to the next pass, afternoon, again super hot, west-slope. Camped soon after the pass at -38.429390 -71.001130. 4th day I met Maximiliano in the early morning, little small talk, then I went on. Seems a nice guy. Went on to the two lagunas, wanted to do OH 12K, but looking to the access of the ridge I thought it can not be done, at least not with a heavy backpack...so I went on RR. Took water at km 87,6, no more running water till km 92. Nice views from the plateau to the southern volcanoes! Goats and horses up there. Camped at -38.578315 -W71.038569, around km 92, last water on RR till around Liucura! Next day over the ridge enjoying very much the views! Descending to Liucura on RR you have to cross around three to four barbed wire fences.
Overall the most tábanos I ever had on a GPT section, but GPT12 still one of my favourite sections so far!

* '''2024-01-13/22 / 7 + 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR (sections 12 & 11) / Coline'''

I hiked GPT12 and 11 in a raw, so to reach the Pelehue hotsprings instead of going to Troyo for resupplying. This ten-days trail was really a great experience ! Sometimes terrifying, but not dangerous – as said in another post.

My "goal" was to reach each hotspring marked on the map (4). My favourite was the one at the end (near Guallalí), because I meet a chilian family on vacacion there and they had dig the spring large enough for them six !
The baños Coyucos "moved" : there are just below the Camp {12} [20.4/1625], where one's finds a bench, a table and a place for firecamps.
The termas Pelehue definitly disappeared, but the view there is very scenic.
The Hot Spring {11} [32.0/1428] are a bit dirty, sibce ciws like to lie in them, but one's can easily "clean" them a bit and enjoy a warm bath : I choosed the uppermost, and therefore warmer (Yes, there are two).

The sections 11 & 12 were beautiful to me because of the passes... and difficult for the same reason. First Pass {12} [68.0+0.2/1909] was actually Ok, because the way (northbound) goes slowly up.
The second Pass {12} [57.4/2180] was more difficult, due to the mud, and particularly on the way down for me, since I lost the trail and found myself stuck in a forest of small trees.

The real DIFFICULTY for me was the last Pass {11} [27.6/2174]. After nine days, my body and mind were really tired. I forgot the advice of previous walkers and tried to go up through the forest (because of the sun exposure in the valley). I lost an hour and had to go down to the river. Moreover, the last 100m, with the snow and rocks, were doable, but the idea of sliding really scarred me.

Something else scarred me at the beginning of my journey (and it shouln'd have...) : it was the attitud of some "caballeros" towards me, a solo female hiker. Most of the "caballeros" are nice and will help you, but some can be really insisting. (I had to yell at a man asking me for five minutes if I wanted a compagnon for the night... It was 3 a.m. and he had wake me up with his light and dog). But he was not threatening, "just" asking over and over.

Actually Laguna Verde and Laguna Escondida (where I met those insisting men) are still nice memories to me ! By the way, I recommend the beach on the south side of Laguna Escondida ; the north one is skinny, inhabited by mosquitos and very "escondida" (hidden) in the bushes.

What else ?
I avoid the Pehuenche Extortioner taking CC road, and it went all good.
There is a bridge some 120m west of the Ford {12} [45.4/1039],... whereas there is no more bridge at Bridge ? {11-C} [0.3/1109], but it seems very easier to cross the Estero Quillaylemu there, rather than on the RR.
The river crossing is Ok, and there is plenty of water all along the way.
As for the resupplying, I don't know about Troyo, but the only shop in Guallalí is very small (no bottle of gas or tobacco for sure). The woman who manages it is very nice though : she indicated me that a bus (with more food) would pass at 8 p.m, she invited me to charge my bateries at her place, let me have a nap, while she prepared me a delicious dish ! I had nice time with the younger kid, and even spend the night there at the end.

* '''2024-Jan-10 to 2024-Jan-11 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / {12-01} - RR - {12-C} - RR - {12-H} - RR - {12-N} - {12-P} / Lilian'''

I connected GPT11 and GPT12, so i start at {12-01}.

{12-01} from km0 to pass[4.6/1499] is dirt road walking.

Pass[4.6/1499] : huge flat area, look like is a car camping spot, i saw 5 fire ring here. Lot of spots for camping, some spots are beside trees, with weather protection. Road is damaged after the pass, no more cars running.

Km5.1 : welcome to a beautiful valley!

Ford[7.5/1403] : crossing of Rio Pulul, rock bar underwater, flowing slow and up to knee, easy. Later you will cross this river some more times.

Km8.1 : join RR.

Ford RR [31.4/1301] : start crossing Rio Pulul several times until [33.6/1285], all are easy crossing as now, the deepest is around knee only.

Camp[31.6/1306] : a beautiful spot.

Lake,camp[33.9/1281] : Laguna Marinanqui. I never saw so many fries in my life, OMG. The lake shore is muddy, I think the south shore is a better camping spot.

I take {12-C} here, because too many fries, after i take some photos beside the shore, i don't want to go back to find RR, i just want left this area.

{12-C} km0.1 : cross a warm stream, some logs for crossing, but they are all underwater, also muddy around it, maybe better after some weeks. Crossing is easy, step on logs then just above ankle.

{12-C} km0.2 : rejoin RR.

RR Km34.3 - km35.4 : trail beside the lake. Most of them are muddy, with hundreds of fries, OMG. I'm so disappointed i can't have some relax time here.

Camp[35.5/1279] : beautiful camping spot with 2 big trees. Less fries here, also is a dry area for camping. Estero Rucausey(a stream) is flowing nice with clear water just beside it.

Km35.75 : excellent view point of Laguna Marinanqui!

Water[41.4/1173] : upstream 40m, you can step over the stream.

Km41.1 : grassland can fit 1-3 tents, but a little steep.

Km43.4 - km43.65 : cross 3 small stream, all look like need a muddy crossing, but not. All of them, you can find a spot for step over, or a log help you for dry feet.

Km43.4 : after the crossing, flat spot with grassland can fit 2 tents under trees.

Km43.65 : before the crossing, large flat area can fit lot of tents, but no wind protection.

Km43.85 : junction of RR and {12-D}, also dirt road start to south.

Ford[45.4/1039] : before you go down the river for crossing, compass West 100m is a large, nice flat area beside some big trees, wind protection provided by some brushes. River is up to knee but flowing slow at early morning.

Easy walking until km51.3.

Km47 : look at left side, a beautiful hilltop with rock column!

Km48.25 : pass, a steep side trail at left side(north) leads you to viewpoint. Steep for climbing up, be careful. After enjoying the view, don't go down with the same trail, go to the east ridge for go down, then CC back to trail, it is gentle, easier and safer. Before you left, look up the top of huge rock, there is a branch pressed by stone. Maybe some crazy people bouldering to the top?

Km51.3 : junction of RR and {12-E}, RR after here just like CC, very overgrown, most of the time long grass coverd the trail, i just can use my feet to feel is it a trail i step on. Sometimes you'll step on some old cow path, then follow it walking to some wrong direction, be careful, check GPS more frequently.

Km52.8 : junction of trail and CC climbing up. From here to km53.7 is steep climbing up on loose sand on RR or the trail shown on OSM. You need to find some grass foot spot and step on, tired and take long time. After i climb up a while, i cut to south side and join the spur, it is much easier and faster because lot of trees surrounding this spur. Hard leaves and sticks on the ground, also the soil is stable. I just need to step by step climb up on the stable ground, no need to find where is my next step, is it too loose or too steep to walk on.

I also find a clear path at (-38.34710, -71.07574), look like climbing up on "zig zag", but i lost it after about 20-30m.

Km53.7 : tree line end. Climbing up on some rocks, much easier now.

Water? [54.4/1930] : flowing low with warm water, maybe dry up later. Lot of tadpole and frogs swimming in it.

Km55 : going in the plateau. Very beautiful area, blue lakes, green meadows, curved streams, small snow patches and some big birds, just like a aquarelle hanging on the wall.

(-38.35842, -71.06810) : excellent view point, 360° beautiful views on a tiny rock hill! Climb up just 2 min!

Km55.5 : look like it is possible to find a flat spot for camping beside the lake at east shore, beautiful but no wind protection.

Km56.3 - km56.65 : flowing good with clear water by snow melt, when you climbing up this stream, don't forget to turn back take a look, beautiful plateau is behind you, also VIEWS of (from left to right) Volcán Llaima, Sierra Nevada, Volcán Lonquimay and Volcán Tolhuaca!

Pass[57.2/2177] - pass[57.4/2180] : after you climb up to the pass, go down a little to east at 2160m is better, you can walk on a flat ground going south, much easier. Also when it is close to the second pass, a clear path and some rock cairns shown up.

Pass[57.4/2180] : no snow at north side, just a little snow remain at south side as now. You can go around it on left side (east), or take 20sec to 1 min go down the snow patch directly. Easy.

Km57.7 - km58.5 : walk your own way going down, sometimes you'll find some cairns and a clear path about 10m, then disappear.

Km58.75 - km58.85 : steep snow slope, DON'T slide down at here, big hard rocks at bottom waiting for you. You can kick step going down but steep, or like me, go around at left side(NE), then go down a steep rocky slope.

Km58.85 : wet, muddy, slippery trail starts, until km59.5 going under tree line. I think it is a pretty place in dry season.

Km59.6 : blowdowns maze starts, tons of blowdowns cut the way, then lot of cow paths and dry riverbeds mix together. Sometimes the trail shown up and disappear for blowdowns. Need pay more attention here. Until km59.9, the trail becomes easy to follow.

Road end[60.4/1745] : Dirt road start. Junction of another old dirt road on right side(west) after here 100m, it looks flat and no cars running on it, you can camp if need, also this old dirt road leads you to a small stream after 100m.

Km61.5 : junction of RR and {12-F}, before this junction 20m, there is a clear trail going down, i followed it, and it is easy walk to Puesto[61.8/1550].

Puesto[62.9/1523] : no people no dogs here.

Then i joined {12-H} for climbing up.

{12-H} km2.6 : i would like to said, here is covered by some heavy brushes already, just like BB and CC mixture. I saw the ground have some horse prints, looks like have a better reroute, but I don't know the way and it is difficult to follow so i lost it, lastly BB CC to Puesto[3.1/1822].

After puesto[3.1/1822], trail conditions become better, easy to follow and walk.

Pass RR[68.0+0.2/1909] : still a tiny snow patch beside the pass, but nothing at pass. A beautiful area.

Km70.7 : Dirt road start, until Laguna Escondida(RR km76.4).

Ford[73.6/1517] : if you follow RR, no need follow cross this one, turn left and cross the small one.

Lake,camp[76.2/1750] : covered by many trees, but no views.

Km76.4 : dirt road end, if this grassland is dry, it'll be a very beautiful camping spot with excellent lake view.

Km80.7 : junction of RR and {12-K}, beautiful views here! The valley towards Laguna Verde is so nice. Flat area here, wild views but no wind protection.

Remark, {12-K} is an impossible route, the mountain top at (-38.50732,-70.98472) is some vertical rock column, i think about 40-80m, can't climb up to walk, also can't go around, mostly is 70-80° vertical wall.

Water[81.9/1889] : flowing good with a flat spot can fit 1 tent.

Camp[83.0/1767] : wet, also a puesto at (-38.51828, -70.98893). When I fill some water at stream, 2 dogs running out and barking at me, they follow/chase me until km83.3, I'm not sure they are curious, or aggressive.

Some puesto at west shore of lake. So i camped on a little hill at (-38.52293, -70.99734). Good location for privacy and views but no wind protection, also not easy to find a spot because of rocky ground.

Km86.8 : dirt road start.

Because it is a crazy windy day, so i decided stay in valley by {12-N}+{12-P}, not climb up to plateau by RR.

Dirt road walking 2km {12-N} then join {12-P}. {12-P} leads you all the way to Liucura. First 400m of {12-P} is dirt road, leads you to puesto[0.4/1526], then the road damaged becomes a trail, until puesto[1.9/1415].

Water {12-P} [1.7/1400] : last good water until Liucura.

Puesto[1.9/1415] : dirt road start again. Road go through a beautiful valley. You can look at other side of valley, some landslide trail there.

Km5.0 : Left side, Volcán Batea Mahuida!

Km10 : a beautiful meadow, horse trail start.

Water[11.7/1289] : look clear, but I'm not sure is it flowing from cows and horse meadow.

Puesto[12.1/1239] : dirt road start again, til Liucura.

Shop[104.1/1036] : chocolate, biscuits, chips, drinks and ice cream, not much for resupply, but they make hot sandwiches and breakfast, yummy yummy!!!! They also do "printing", if you need some documents in paper.

Also 1 restaurant, 1 cafe and 4 shops nearby, i think you can have a full resupply here.

* '''2023 12-27 to 2024 1-03 / 7 short days and one hour/ hiking / mainly RR / Sobo / Edwin'''

Took the easy option from Ranquil to baños de Coyuco by Oh-12-01. The baños are really nice. After that the regular route until Laguna Verde after which a suspect knee made me stick to trails and minor roads. An enjoyable trek! Some snow at higher altitudes.
The river crossings before Laguna Marinanqui were not too difficult except for the second one, which whas up to my crotch (I'm 1.90 meters) and fast flowing.
Plenty of water around. Only took more than half a litre once when crossing the plateau and that wasn't needed. Days were generally hot.
Met few people in the puestos but the ones I met were all friendly.
If you want to skip section 13... The bus to Icalma passes through Liucura around 12:30 - 13:00 Monday/Wednesday/Friday

* '''2023 17 - 20 dec / 4 days / hiking / option 12-04, H, RR / SOBO / Frans'''

Started on a Sunday and it wasn't clear to me if the ferry (12-02G) would be up and running. No one in Lonquimay could guarantee me this. Because of Sunday and also because this day Chileans had to vote for the constitution. So I decided to walk the 181 and join the GPT12 on 12-04End. Nice walk, plenty of traffic to hitchhike, although I decided to walk. The minimarket at camping Lolén (100m before 12-04End) was closed, Sunday or voting? Was there around 11am. It looked up and running and not abonded or something. Just a closed sign. First house after the bridge sold eggs and honey, I bought some honey from Luis, super friendly guy. The walk was nice after that, although the road was fenced on both sides until km 16-ish. No campsites or minimarkets. I ended up campung at 12-03End, pretty long stretch so next time I would definitely hitchhike the 181.

Climb to the pass was steep, pass was easy, no issues with snow. Beautiful views on both sides. Going down on some patches of snow you could see and/or hear the water flowing below. Might become tricky in the next days to walk over so a little caution is recommended. Met Maxi and his father down below at his puesto. Super friendly! Continued my way to camp at laguna Escondida (North side).

Next day a bit iffy weather (as expected) cloudy, windy and a bit of rain. Decided to do a short one and camped at laguna Verde. Really good camping spots on the option 12L, at the end of the lake. And I could cross here the next day to join RR, there where some planks over the small stream.

This last day I really enjoyed! Walking the plateau and the ridgeline was amazing. Perfect weather also. For sure worth it, easy to follow trail and all the CC options are 90% horse trails which are good to spot.

Coming close to Liucura, it didn't feel good to me to climb those fences. Guess that's just a personal thing. There was a lot of cattle, fences looked new, so I decided to not climb over them and annoy the locals. Just followed the trail down to end up at the main road, take a left to Liucara. Maybe 1km extra in total.

Stayed at Normita, couple of shops to resupply all the basics.

All combined, really nice section especially the final part. Water not a problem, until you go up the plateau and ridge.

* '''2023-Nov-28 to 2023-Dec -02 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + variant P + variant Q + variant H + option 1 / Jens (together with Nolwenn and Yannick)'''

To get to Liucura, take a bus from the Rural Terminal in Temuco to Lonquimay (departure 10 am) and from there another bus (3 pm).

It is better to do your shopping in Liucura beforehand, the market and supermarkets are right next to the terminal. There are also some smaller supermarkets in Lonquimay. You are sure to get everything you need there.

Crossing the pass at KM 57 was very strenuous and steep. There was still snow, which you could either hike around or through. The descent on the other side was very steep. It took two hours. You can camp well on both sides, even at the top if necessary, but it is very windy.

From kilometre 26 north of the Marinanqui lagoon, we had to cross the river several times. We had some difficulties. The water was up to our hips. We couldn't have coped with any more water. The lake is beautiful, I would rather camp at the southern end as it is rather muddy and full of mosquitoes in the north. We fled from them.

It had snowed overnight and so we decided not to make the crossing over the pass on RR, but to take the alternative route to the start of Section 11.

* '''2023-Nov-28 to 2023-Dec -02 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + variant P + variant Q + variant H + option 1 / Yannick & Nolwenn '''

- Water : all markers are good and even more water present

- Snow : (1) snow on pass at km 68 ( easy to walk on it ) / (2) from km 58,4 to km 54,9 : at this point we didn't follow the RR and went on the right side to reach the ridgeline and then continue on it - the plateau still had a lot of snow but we found it was not a problem to find our own safe way / (3) we didn't do the last pass between km 15,8 and km 9,5 because it has snowed in the night and the mountain was still covered by a thick layer of snow

- Camping spot : easy to find

- River crossing : (1) at 45,5 km we crossed in the morning and the current was strong but we are used to river crossings so this one was easily passable for us / (2) Laguna Marinanqui between km 35,4 and km 33,9 : was higher than usual and therefore the trail was under water, we walked in the lake from time to time and it was sometimes up until our thighs / (3) the river between km 33,9 and km 31,3 is really high and need multiple crossings that sometimes goes up until the waist with a strong current, we had to improvise and do some bushbahing to find places where it was crossable

- Weather : Sunny, snowy, cloudy, ( overall really good weather but can be cold )

- Option roads : variant P + Q : easy track, it's a dirt road, there is water on the track / variant H : to avoid the dogs / option 1 : to avoid the snow on the pass, the trail is easy and beautiful

- Warning : river crossings between km 33,8 and km 31,3 was really hard but manageable if you have skills and not too small

- Overall : beautiful section, still a lot of snow from 1700m

* '''2023-Nov-23 to 2023-Nov-27 / 4 days / hiking / NOBO / Regular Route and Option 3 to return to Lonquimay / Ana & William'''

We just finished part of 12 and overall it is a lovely hike though we might potentially be a bit too early in the season depending on your risk threshold.

Heading NOBO the small pass after laguna verde is fine. Little snow but not bad. Next pass is a bit tough, lots of snow walking and lots of risky parts where there are hidden rivers/water ways under the snow and where cliffs of snow had broken off but we managed by being careful and taking time to judge. RR-CC-A {12} [68.1/68.5+2.9] is not passable we went on the route to the left of it. Scary but fine, you have to make your own route since it’s completely snowed over. Downhill is fine, snow is only on the south face of the mountain. Next day we skipped the pass and did a plateau crossing based on advice from a local, it was lovely, the trail is east to follow most of the way then getting across the plateau you can take any possible direction, no wrong way and it connects to the 12-03c. Coming down on though there are two tracks at 12-03c marker. OH-TL-I {12-03A} [0.9+3.4] is not a route. At least not now. It’s basically a river gorge and it’s not possible unless you can surf down waterfalls, so we scaled up almost completely vertical to meet the CC route that runs parallel. Might be possible when there is less snow melt though. The CC route we took was almost a completely verticals decent for 800 meters and I must say a bit terrifying. Clambering down on your butt/downhill rock climbing is not the hard part but if you are not careful and you don’t judge your path every few meters you can find yourself looking down a minimum 30-200 meter drop, so it’s mentally scary not knowing if you will get to the bottom. But we did. I would not advise it, instead I’d advise continuing on 12-03 past the lakes back to the normal route. Took us almost 3 hours of being very careful though. We then got to the first river. Many locals we met before told us the only way to ranquil is the balsa, but we didn’t fully understand what they meant till we got to the river. They meant Bulsa Rahue which is on the way to lonquimay. The first main crossing at Ford {12} [45.4/1039] is very deep and very fast. For us as beginners a big no go, but I honestly think for advanced that would be tough as well if not only very dangerous. We then moved back to lonquimay where for the first part of the trail the river had flowed over so much that there was no trail but then eventually the trail gains significant elevation over the river and it’s fine. We asked others we ran into on the way and they confirmed that it’s too early to pass the rivers, but again depends on the hiker I’m sure.

Comment Jan Dudeck December 2023: The best route to ascent from the Plateau is the trail in the South-West of the Plateau. That's the trail on which the horses are probably moved up and down. Starting with the Track Files 2024 the normal route up and down the Plateau will be OH-TL-V {12-03} [0.0+14.4]. I have cleaned up the routes on the North-Western edge of the Plateau. These exploration routes are best taken up and not down. Starting with the Track Files 2024 these exploration options are {12-03A}, {12-03B} and {12-03C} and all classified as Exploration Routes. There pieces of trails visible on satellite images but these trail disappear into a forest and it is unclear who maintained these routes are and if these are part of an alternative access to the Plateau.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-Jan / Martin&Helena'''

On regular route (SOBO) after puesto at 62.9, there is another puesto after approx 1km. It’s situated right on the road, soon after start of CC and before Gpt12-G End and it’s guarded by 4 or 5 agressive dogs. It was impossible to go around, so we were continuing with our trekking poles in front of us but dogs started to attack us and in the end I was bitten by one of them. The owner was there too but basically did nothing and dogs were absolutely out of her control.

* '''2023-Mar-01 to 2023-Mar-05 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Iris, Alexis '''

Arrived in Liucura late in the 28th Feb afternoon by hitchhiking our way from Lonquimay. There is also a bus that leaves at 7:30 PM. We shared our plans with the carabineros and asked for a place to pitch and he sent us near the river, after the truck "parking" (-38.64806, -71.08856 - really nixe and private spot). There are 3 shops in Liucura with supplies and we even had a nice diner for 6k each at the Hospedaje.
Started early the next day with 12-P until 12-R. This way we avoided to climb any fence. There are plenty of paths going upward so we ended up not following the one from the tracks but something that joined the top quite directly. Then we enjoyed our walk on the ridge. We continued for a while and camped at Laguna Escondida. The marked point is in the wood, a bit far away from the water but wind protected. We decided to go much closer to the water and met our two first GPT hikers going southbound on the trail!

The next day we took 12-H to avoid the aggressive dogs and then sticked to the RR until Camp {12} [51.6/1293]. The descent in the forest (RR-CC-A {12} [52.3/52.8+2.2]) was a bit painful as it is steep and without path. Following the OSM route is not better.

Day 3, we followed the RR until Laguna Marinanqui (Lake, Camp {12} [33.9/1281]) where we camped. Then we met Reyes, a local from Peluhue who was waiting a group of "gringo" since the previous day. We spent the night here with him, tasting our first cooked pinones.

On day 4, we hiked to Camp {12} [20.4/1625] (Banos Coyucos). All the fords of Rio Pulul were easy. On the trail we crossed a group of horseriders (Reyes' gringo) that got lost in the mountains and were on their way to the lake. Then we had our first pinata moment : we found an araucania and hit a ball with a branch for a rain of pinones. At the bayos, we met two persons preparing an asado for the group of riders and an other group of people just staying for a bath. Both pools are great, the second one (the smallest and a bit more down) is a bit warmer. We got invited and fed by the riders (smoked cerdo, tortillas al rescaldo, goat asado...)! They eventually left and we were alone in the bayos for the night.

On Day 5, we hiked until the junction with GPT11 but without taking options 1 or 2 following the advices of the previous hikers. Then we directly continued to GPT11.
On a side note, on most of the section, you will walk on well marked trails that are easy to follow. It contains multiple extremely scenics moments, at least one highlight per day (several for the last one). Definitely worth it to hike! There are no more tabanos at this period of the year, but indeed many wasps !

* '''2023-Feb-12 to 2023-Feb-16 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Natalie+Tomàš'''

Combined 10+11+12, continued mid-day from 11.
Started mid-day at Banos de Pelehue, Tomáš explored the banos, there was a pool that had some cold water flowing to it, which is diverted, so the temperature should be nicely warm. However, it resulted in smelly hands for two days despite soap. The first hot springs waypoint is wrong but the location is very scenic. We continued to Banos Coyucos for the night and luckily arrived just before a storm hit.
The Banos Coyucos were not "great". The first one with the A-frame roof is not that warm, more like stale bathwater, but the second further down with only a partial roof is much better. We spent the stormy night in the second one, so more heat would have been nice, but I am sure it's a good temperature for day time bathing.

Day2
Late start but great trail from the Banos to the marshy flats. I met Rosè from the puesto right at the beginning of the flats, she was very easy to get along with and had a good sense of humor. I would recommend looking for her if you were in need of help. She also helped show me how to avoid the marsh by sticking slightly high on the side of the hill, there was a little bit of a trail. The next plateau up was forgettable, accidentally walked along variant A for too long before dropping down to the RR. The RR is much faster than the side hill that hops from one puesto to the next on variant A. The rest of the way to Laguna Marinanque was enjoyable, definitely leave your sandals on at the bottom for the multiple river crossings.
At this time of year Marinanque was still boggy but caused no problem's. However, I would be careful at the Northside not to get stuck in the bog, it looked very deep. We slept at the abandoned puesto 37.7 (No Water).

Day3
Fast and lovely trail to camp51.6. After then and up the steep grass hill it is CC. I wouldn't rely on the GPX here as it is basically just straight up. The last water source before the hill 52.2 makes a nice rest. Just to clarify once again, there is no water at the first plateau; camp54.5. However, the water at the small lakes on the main plateau did not look awful, just goose poo around.
Up and over the main/last pass is straightforward but the other side is still boggy. The first camp was not good but if you walked up the bog directly on top of it there was a source of clean water. We slept at the second camp; 59.5, which felt the best of all three, there was water, a little muddy but the third camp looked dry.

Day4.
You can make a small short cut on a wide "road-trail" just before the RR turns off from the main trail towards puesto 61.8 [Nov 2024: included in our suggestions]. Crossing the bottom valley here is still very boggy. The lady at puesto 62.9 was very welcoming, offering food/chocolate/coffee. She had some angry dogs but they behaved well once she called them. The next puesto up from her had the dogs that bit a past GPT hiker. They were indeed the aggressive type but the lady tied the worst one up in order to let us pass. If she hadn't we were going to skirt around on the right into the forest to hopefully avoid them or you could descend back down the hill and go far left.
Like Veronica said there is some water at -38.41178, -70.99125, not tasty but not filtering it had no consequences. At the intersection of RR and J, I met some friendly carabinieros that were going into Argentina to fetch some Chilean horses, they were taking on a good trail. From the water source I just described and towards Maximiliano's puesto I did not enjoy the trail, didn't make much sense and felt I was zig zaging in the valley for no good reason.
Day got better once meeting "Maxi" and his son. Jan, if you are reading this Maximiliano says hi and has only good things to say about you. I told him you were off in the mountains somewhere but hopefully will come back to visit again. He wanted to make sure people were good to us and luckily we told him we only had pleasant encounters. His neighbor down the road (Seguro?) was also extremely friendly. The rest of the way to Laguna Verde was fast, a mixture of old roads and easy trails and a CC bit. The first puesto at Laguna Verde was abandoned and we slept in the grass beside it. It was very windy and the water in the lake was very dirty but luckily we found a small dribble of flowing water near the puesto. In the morning everything was covered in frost and slightly frozen, our first freeze.

Day5
Our final day was easy, the ridge got a little tedious (but was surprisingly beautiful in parts) and I was very happy it wasn't a hot day because otherwise it would have been very dry and uncomfortable. We managed to avoid all barbed wire fences (even though they could be jumped because 3/4 of the fence is cow panels and just the top two lines are barbed). When you are walking down from the trail from the ridge, instead of turning left and jumping over your first fence we just went straight down towards the main road (aim for this open gate -38.63510, -71.09298), it is on the first dirt road marked on OSM branching from the main road when going into Chile from the border after Liucura [Nov 2024: now included in our suggestions]. There were a couple big dogs at the end but they were locked up. Only 1km of road walking back to Liucura, past a nice looking restaurant, and or you could just start hitching to Lonquimay if desired.
We agree that you could technically resupply in Liucura, it was a very happening border stop with fruit and vegetables, sold out bread and then all the other basics - but no canister fuel obviously.
The bus situation from here is confusing as the shop owners and locals all say different things. What I gathered was that there was a bus going to Lonquimay at ~7, ~12 and ~4pm but I don't think it runs every day. Hitching to Lonquimay looked easy but we hitched to Icalma (more difficult, but we got a car in about 40 minutes or so) even though supposedly there was a bus to Icalma at 730/8/830?pm. Once again I don't think the bus runs everyday or weekends, possibly only Mon- Wed- Friday.
In Icalma that was the case, if going to Lonquimay or Melipeuco there was only a bus Mon,Wed & Friday. Sadly I forget the exact times but I remember the first bus was very early, leaving ~6am and then a bus to lonquimay at 3pm. Icalma had lots of little minimarkets and cheap accomodation, slept in cabana for 20mil/night (10mil each).

Notes:

-If I was to do this trip again I wish I had more time to spend at the puestos.

-The piñones are falling, also wish I doubled up on fuel in order to cook them. We tried mashed piñones in Icalma and they were delicious!

-The wasps have replaced horseflies, never got sting but got bit.

-Many of the trails this time of year were "dirt-dust" but on the bright side most bogs were avoidable.

-No problems with water, only had to carry extra water on the last day after the final water stop at 87.6.

-Luckily only had a few bad days of smoke, mainly when we were close to Trapa Trapa.

- The road walk around Guallalí is annoying and best avoided through our new option.

* '''2023-Jan-18 to 2023-Jan-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR starting from the termas de pelehue / Will '''

I merged onto section 12 at the termas de pelehue, where I was immediately greeted by a group of 20ish condors taking off from a patch of grass in the valley. My pace got even slower, watching them fly low around me.

I went on to camp at the Banos Coyucos, easily my favorite hot springs so far. Perfect temperature, clean, but still felt natural. There were two groups of Chilean hikers there, all super friendly and generous.

The next day of walking through the valleys was beautiful and pretty fast. A bit before the big climb I had my first unpleasant encounter, with a group heading down the road by ATV. The leader stopped and asked if I had authorization to hike there, I said that I didn't know that I needed it. He seemed to think that was obviously a lie. He became somewhat friendly once I explained my plans and after discovering that I was foreign. He gave me some direction advice then set off. In hindsight I figure he must have been a landowner. I did see quite a few littered beer cans afterwords, maybe he was trying to prevent that.

The steep climb was tough, and I ended up camping pretty late up top. In terms of water I only saw a few muddy puddles though I didn't look very hard. There were a few ponds the next morning just over the hill.

The rest of the section was easier than I expected, and not so interesting to me. I should have carried more water on the final 20km. If you want to skip the barbed wire fences you'd have to take variant R at the end of the ridge walk. I thought I could skip them with variant S but most of them were before the turnoff so I ended up following the regular route the whole way. Thankfully they were solid and pretty easy to climb.

No luck hitching out of Liucura so I spent the night. There were no buses on Sunday but someone at my hostel gave me a ride to Lonquimay the next day. If you're continuing on then Liucura could work for a basic resupply, but I'm planning on relaxing a bit then skipping ahead. See busesbiobio.cl for the bus schedule out of Lonquimay.

I'm still one day behind the same set of footprints I've been following all the way since section 7. I guess I'll never catch up.

* '''2023-Jan-15 to 2023-Jan-18 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Termas de Pelehue (junction GPT 11, option 1 and GPT 12) - Liucura / Anna & Christopher '''

We connected section 11 and 12 and started at Termas de Pelehue around km 9.
The first day the path was easy to find most of the time and the views were great. The canyon to Laguna Marinanqui is very beautiful. We camped after the last rivercrossing before the Laguna.

To path around the Laguna involved some bushbashing and muddy ground.
Until the CC ascent the path was good. The ascent itself is pretty tiring. We could not find water at the point indicated by Véronica so we continued until the first small Laguna on the plateau. That was a great spot to camp and the Laguna has clear water.

The following part is not hard to navigate and continues with spectacular views.
Ascending the next hill at appr. km 67 we followed a good animal path on towards the west of the hill (instead of the CC part of the RR), next to an accesible creek.
Easy trails the rest of the day. We camped at the water waypoint [78.4/1775] between Laguna Escondida and Laguna verde.

The next part is great and easy until towards the end of the ridge after the last ascent, where the path finding gets harder with some bush bashing parts. On the last kilometers we descended until the main road to avoid climbing barbed wire fences.
The shopowner of the resupply in Liucura offered us to camp in his garden.
The next morning we hitchhiked to Lonquimay. The buses from Lonquimay to Temuco leave at 8 am and 12:30 pm, not sure if there is also a later bus.

* '''2022-Dec-25 to 2022-Dec-30 / 5.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (combined with GPT11 via GPT11-02) / Véronica '''

Route: Junction at km 12.9 where GPT11-02 meets with GPT12 - Baños Coyucos - Laguna Marinanqui - Pehuenche Extortioner valley - Laguna Escondida - Liucura

Absolutely beautiful section. Really loved the cross-country bits on high plateaus and ridges, amazing views. I did not have any navigation issues. I met no one 4 days in a row.

I connected GPT11 Option 2 with GPT12, so I missed the Pelehue hot springs. I did find a good creek at the "water" waypoint at 15.9 km, not dry like what Veronika and Jo found last year. I really enjoyed the camp at Baños Coyucos in an araucaria forest, and the hot springs there were great too! Perfect temperature, and not as dirty as I thought they might be.

Lots of boggy cow pastures along RR-TL-V {12} [25.6+07], had trouble finding any sort of trail there. Enjoyed the trail along Río Pulul in the canyon with all the fords. All the river crossings were easy, and I found many lovely potential camp spots on that stretch.

Just north of Laguna Marinanqui (where you have the option to take 12-C), there is a large marsh to contour like others have mentioned. I managed to cross without getting all muddy by closely following the regular route.
The trail kind of disappears after the junction with 12-E, but following the GPS it's not too hard to reach the base of the big CC climb to the high plateau. This climb is steep, but not dangerous - you climb on grass and dirt (no scree). There was no water at the "Water ?" waypoint, but I found a hidden spring nearby at S 38° 21.247', W 071° 04.140'. There are also shallow lagunas up on the plateau you could get water from. After the passes coming downhill into the Pehuenche Extortioner valley, the three campsites in a row there were quite waterlogged from snowmelt. The trail was a river in a couple places there too. Lots of squishy walking, wouldn't be ideal to camp there right now.

The next CC stretch after the Extortioner valley is awesome on a rounded ridgetop. There is a nice meadow and good water source shortly before reaching the next pass. From this pass all the way to Maximiliano's puesto is a good horse trail, not cross-country.

After the "water" waypoint at 87.6 km, after Laguna Verde, there is no more water until Liucura, so I filled up in order to dry camp on the ridge further along. All the subsequent CC stretches until Liucura have paths running along most of them, makes walking easier :) The final ridge walk starting at km 95.3 is fantastic, and there's lots of sheltered areas up there too where you could camp if you have enough water.

I followed the regular route all the way to Liucura (ended up climbing over 4 different barbed wire fences once I was off the ridge). Hitched into Lonquimay and will be skipping down to Section 16.

==Season 2021/22==

* '''2022-Feb-14 to 2022-Feb-15 + 2022-Mar-07 to 2022-Mar-10 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika & Jo '''

The first day we continued from GPT11, starting at Termas de Pelehue (where you can camp, though you have to search around for non-sulfury water pushing up through the meadows). We continued along the border with Argentina. Great all-around views, decent trail instead of CC most of the time, no water at S 38° 09.380', W 071° 01.300' <- in agreement with Molly and Melissa.

We escaped to Ranquil in the south to resupply, and got back three weeks later, taking the afternoon bus from Lonquimay (mon-wed-fri, bus early the morning and in the afternoon). Slept in the refugio in the valley east of Ranquil. The road between Ranquil and this eastern valley is almost fully MR instead of TL.

Continued RR until the Pehuenche Extortioner valley, but took optionals 12-H and 12-5 to arrive at Pehuenco in time to take the bus Friday morning at 08:00 (also mon-wed-fri) to make sure we made it to our plane in Puerto Montt on Sunday. We skipped Laguna Escondida and Laguna Verde with pain in our hearts :(

We saw the camp site at 12-H and asked around in the roundabout way ("do you know a camp site?") standing next to it, but no positive answer came. We camped at the pass before Maximiliano's puesto instead, where there is a little water turning into the usual cow meadow. Met Maximiliano there :)

* '''2022-Feb-21 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH 02 / Romain '''

Regular Hiking Path :
- There are a lot of Araucaria trees. I managed to save 2 days of food just by harvesting piñones on the floor following the path. I would recommend to not rely on it because it depends on the period, but there was plenty.

- the path after Laguna Marinanqui wasn't easy to follow because it was like a swamp but once I manage to cross this humid part it was all good

- Camp on Ford {12} [32.6/1299] (Rio Pulul), great place with lot of space, grass, dry wood, almost no wind when I camped there, I really appreciated this place

- I did the multiple fords without removing my water shoes because there are close and it worth it

- Camp {12} [17.0/1794] : I had to stay one day there due to raining conditions. Looking at the places after, it's to my mind the last place to camp before starting going uphill, it would be too windy and too cold to camp farther. During the rainy day the temperature dropped to less than 10° I think, I had to stay in my duvet. And during the night I got ice on my tent, it wasn't extreme but it was good to be well equipped.

- Option 11-02 and 11-02B to reach back the regular route was the best part I did of my entire trek, with a condor flying 10-15m above me, spectacular landscapes, ... I really recommend it but only in stable good conditions because it was really really windy, and going northbound otherwise 11-02B would be very demanding because of the sand.

- the hot spring {11-02B} [1.2/2113] and more generally the place with vapors and boiling water at some places and many condors flying around you is very impressive

- Nobo : Demanding clampering, in good weather only : everything is in the title and the other commentaries well describe it. I hadn't felt really in danger following the track but I was much tense and aware of everything. It's definitely not a good idea to be there not in good conditions. And you need to have time to do it in one time, there is no place adapted to camp until the pass {11} [27.6/2174] and event just after it's still much wind, and at some point the earth/sand soil make you hike very slowly. I thank the people who wants through before me, their tracks were much helpful to see the way and to not slip in the sand. Except these points the place is beautiful and I appreciated it a lot in the continuity of the part before.

Option 12-02 :

- 11-05G : the road from Lonquimay start with concrete and become gravel at a certain point, but lot of people use it and without hitchhiking many proposed me to take me

- transition 11-05G to 12-02 : the road leading to the ferry is really smaller than the main one, I missed it because I wasn't enough attentive to that

- Ferry : the indicated opening time are : 8:30-17:30 from Monday to Friday, 8:00-10:00/16:00-18:00 on saturday ; I arrived there at 13:30 on the Monday and there was nobody to move it, fishermen told me to wait for a car but they seem to say there should be one until 1 or 2 hours so I crossed the river going up, water reached my hips and I arrived in a farmer property, people were very friendly, but should I do it again I would cross going down (easier to reach + no problem with entering a property)

- 12-02 continues by crossing the river on a beautiful wood hanging bridge (12-02A continues straight), I appreciated this path with plenty of rabbits, aracauria trees and beautiful landscapes. I slept close to the river in a flat field with apple and peach trees. It seemed people are used to camp there with lot of campfire marks, really windy the day I camp there

* '''2022-Jan-10 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / Molly og Melissa'''

Amazing section with great views. Definitely don't skip the two high parts unless the weather is bad. We didn't find it to be dangerously steep except for a few metres on the descent before Laguna Marinanqui, which were uncomfortable.
Tábanos were better than expected, it was pretty windy. We also brought a fly swatter. It was very effective for killing those who sticked around during breaks, and gave a lot of satisfaction

We took the alternative route to the east right out of Liucura due to the notes of other people. Shortly after, we saw a path climbing the mountain, and took that. Big mistake - the path disappeared quickly and left us to climb steeply through dense bamboo. We learned the lesson of staying close to the route, and this payed off. Often, when the route is marked as CC, a path exists that follows the route closely.
On one of the CC sections we met a man with his animals, who wanted to know what we were doing. He said that we needed a permission from someone in Liucura to be there, and that many people came by and disturbed the animals. When we apologized and said we didn't know and that we'd go on to Laguna Verde he didn't pursue the subject and seemed friendly enough.
We ended up camping on the beach by Laguna Escondida.
On the descent from there to the Pehuenche Extortioner valley we passed a puesto not marked on the GPS. It seemed empty, and the gravel road was right next to it. There were some very aggressive dogs that we gave a shock, though, they quickly surrounded us. The owner got them calmed down a bit, but one of them to still took a bite of my sleeping mat on the bottom of my bag while we were calmly talking to the owner.
After the Pehuenche Extortioner valley you climb a pretty tall mountain pass to an amazing high plain. The descent from here is, as others have written, very steep, not too difficult but definitely better down than up. From there you have a very nice easy trail with good views almost all the way to Laguna Marinanqui, but at the river crossing and every time there is a puesto of trail the trail diverges, and you often have to follow the less obvious trail, so it pays off to look at the GPS often.
After Laguna Marinanqui we just kept our wading shoes on for the six river crossings, it worked very well. None of the crossings were difficult in any way.
We camped at the Coyuco hot springs. It's a nice enough camp site with a little bench and table under the Aucaria trees, but not too many big sites for the tent. The hot springs are a little bellow, covered by some planks. They are pretty dirty but a perfect temperature, no views either.

The last big ascent nearing the Argentine border was amazing and should definitely not be skipped unless the weather is bad! There is a small CC section, but most of the way through the pass there is a nice trail - stick to the route and you will find it! It lasts all the way to the gravel road to Ranquil. There is a boarder post, and a pretty flat grassy area where it would be possible to camp on the Argentinian side of the border, next to a stream. In general, plenty of water all the way to the second hot springs. From there, nothing until you reach the river in the bottom. The hot springs are in an amazing area, and would be a beautiful campsite with great views, bit requires clear and calm water. We didn't see the hot springs ourselves, but we met some Chilean tourists who liked them.

Water:
Generally, water is plentiful, but with some comments. We started from Liucura on midday on a very hot day, and having read about plentiful water we brought a liter each. However, there was nothing until the first waypoint, which we couldn't reach, so we ended up going down to the river in the eastern valley and camping there.
Furthermore, on the ascent from the Pehuenche Extortioner valley where there are three campsites on a row, the first didn't have water and the second only very little.
On the high plain where it's marked water? there was water, but very still and dirty. Would only drink it if very desperate. Shortly after joining the path after the descent there are very nice streams.
We arrived in Ranquil in the afternoon on a Sunday, and hitched to Lonquimay - very challenging though, with three rides and some walking in between

* '''2021-Nov-23 / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony'''

After i finished GPT 3 i headed down south to GPT 12 in order to hike the next couple of groups in a northbound direction since it’s more suitable to hike from down here this time of year compared to the more northern sections

It was love at first sight! I was so thrilled to escape the exposed terrain of the north and come down here to this beautiful part of the country, where you can enjoy the nice shade from the Arucania trees. Got the bus from Lonquimay to Liucura at 14:00 and started my trip on the optional route east of the RR to avoid previously mentioned barbed wire fence.
Later I climbed up to the mountain ridge and followed the RR.

After my first night I was woken up by the sound of a bunch of cows running around my tent, and a stuck my head out to find a Pehuenche man on a horse wearing a balaclava, looking at me. Was very surprised at first but he was a nice guy who was just curious about me. We took some photos of each other and I got to ride around on his horse.
I general I found water to be plenty, the weather good and the trail in good condition. There are although some very steep sections every now and then where you have to be careful. I was also hit by a hail storm during a mountain pass but luckily it quickly passed.

At laguna Marinanqui towards the end of the section I met a group of Chileans from Victoria who were out on a weekend fishing trip. We drank a few beers together while catching some salmon in the Laguna and after i joined on the walk back to Ranquil. We took GPT option 1 to skip the nothern hump. And on arrival at Ranquil they gave me a ride back to Lonquimay. Great fun!

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''Feb 2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / Lauric'''

Took optional #002 east of regular trail to avoid climbing over barbed wire. It is an easy road. Then we climbed up on the ridge with optional #003. Not exactly on the track but we found a trail going up. On the ridge it's amazing with 360 views. Easy walking too. Optional down in the valley would be easier but less rewarding. Continued our way to the pass 1920m (after taking mate at Maximiliano's puesto). At the pass we left the regular trail to end up on a descending road. Easy descent to optional 12-04-#001 and easy walk in the valley. From there we avoided the extortioner and up to the second pass (2120m). The views are amazing. Very steep and CC descent. Wouldn't have liked to go up this part. From the pass to laguna Marinanqui is pretty boring but easy part. Laguna is very beautiful and a great place to camp. North of laguna is ankle deep in cowshit. We got up by the river to the termas. There are 2 pools. Then we headed town to Ranquil to finish the section. Carabineros let us camp on their field. Bus to Lonquimay Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6AM and 5PM in front of the police station.

* '''2020-Jan-24 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR mostly / Frank '''

At the high lakes I continued on RR-CC-I@12-57.1+7.5, a spectacular traverse but at the end there is a very steep & slow descent on rock, scree & sand. I would consider this descent to be dangerous & best avoided by taking the Pehuenche Extortioner variant. After Maximilian's Puesto I took OH-MR-V@12-03-#001out to the road then into Liucura. At least 2 places to stay there, they both have a restaurant. Also a cafe & 3 shops, you can resupply easily.

* '''2020-Jan-23 / Hiking / SOBO / RR Ending at ranquil carabineros / Ty & America '''

Just hiked to The hot spring from the top of section 11. Not much to report. Hot springs were luke warm. There’s some sort of makeshift hut covering them. Nice camp there though. We got a hitch when nearing the carabineros to Lonquimay. Wouldn’t usually count on this though. Definitely middle of nowhere. Apparently the bus comes at 5.

* '''2020-Jan-17 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 03 / Martina & Ivo '''

Start: Termas de Pelehue, End: Primary road towards Lonquimay
Amazing section. The Termas de Pelehue are gone due to the lack of maintenance. The second hot springs the same, but the fumaroles above are quite impressive! The third hot springs down in the valley are great, there are several pools just below the camp. After the second pass (2'180) we decided not to do the investigation route as it looked pretty uncomfortable to us. The descent after the third pass (1'920) to Maximiliano's puesto was a nice trail, not at all CC. There our longing for a beer was so huge that we took the optional route 12-03-#001 through the beautiful araucaria valley. Believe it or not, shortly before arriving at the primary road there came a bus, taking us to the junction, from where a connecting bus to Lonquimay was leaving, everything within 10 minutes :-) Excellent resupply and accommodation in Lonquimay, funny town.

* '''15-Jan-2020 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie & Tom '''

Spectacular section, some of the best scenery we have seen so far! Some of the ascents and descents are quite steep and technical. There is lots of loose rock and no easy track to follow. It was quite windy and all the high passes are dangerous in poor weather. The trail is also overgrown and difficult to follow in some sections. This makes it slower than you might expect, however it is perfectly doable. Good resupply in Licura at the end of the section, as well as nice places to stay (around 20000 pesos for a double).

* '''9-Jan-2020 / 5 days (GPT11 + GPT12) / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 2 Matus & Anna'''

We combined sections 11 and 12. It took us 5 days including one zero because of weather. Patagonia showed us bit of it's potential in these two sections.
All walked trails were in good condition and CC sections pretty easy to navigate. In the sadle of section 11, because of strong wind, poor visibility and fresh snow and ice we were forced to take optional to the valley. There is a big snowfield, I don't recomend sliding on it all the way. It the lower parts there were big holes into the stream.
From Ranquil we took optional #002 because we didn't want to climb back up. Uphill is more a minor road, downhill nice trail.
After a laguna we took a optional to the Pass 2180 and road around the Pehuenche Extortioner. We needed to get down from elevation ASAP bacause of wind. We passed puesto early in the morning and no one was around. After rainy day everything above 2000m was white. We took trail to pass 1920m which was just with bit of fresh snow and then took minor road #001 down to valley. So I have no idea about the rest of the trail.
Edit: adding a picture from the last sadle 1920m, we did after "rainy" day.

* '''2019-Dec-06 / 10 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR from Liucura without the northern slope, so we went directly to Ranquil from S38°12.723' W71°05.208'/ Sophie & Hendrik '''

In total we were 11days on the trail, of which we spend 1.5 in the tent due to bad weather. The route is free except for one fort, but there is a workaround. Also we had a couple of navigation problems, which cost us several hours. See recent alerts and suggestions.

We liked: The quickly chang landscape and its huge variety, beautiful cinematic views, funny animals, that water was always available, bathing in the rivers, beautifully blooming plants.

We did not like so much: The problems we encountered due to navigation mistakes, the hailstorm on the mountain ridge, beercans that people drop on the paths.

We bluntly hated: The amount of horse flies. In the northern part we were not able to make one step without having at least five buzzing arround our faces. This army of blood suckers was sent by a source of pure evil to annoy hikers.

The following is a chronological accumulation of all our observations made in the last 11 days. Note for navigation difficulties that we walked northbound.

- The most southern CC part direclty north of Liucura is now bordered by fences. You have to follow the path and then go left through a gate. The gate on the western fence is some 80m further south than you would expect. It was locked and we had to carefully (barbed wire) climb over it. It might be a lot easier to take the optional route in the east to get up the ridge.

-We were unable to find and follow the path at S38°24.881' W71°00.281' down to the valley. We endet up on a path a little further south. However, this path starts to lead further and further south, so that at some point we startet to ge back to the original path through the woods, which did cost several hours.

- Getting up the mountain at S38°24.450 W71°01.871' we startet ca 300m further north than indicated by the CC route due to fences and rivercrossing opportunities in the valley. (We thought CC means come up with your own route anyway.) At ca 1720m of altitude, still 300m north of the indicated route we found a good looking path leading up the mountain and followed it. At its end we assumed it would not be a bad idea to continue from here on in north west direction up the mountain. We now know it was a very bad idea. We ended up in a very uncomfortable and seriously dangerous climbing situation in which we really did not want to be. So our advice: stick to the route here!

- The Ford-125 (S38°20.908 W71°09.294') looks impassable right now. You can avoid it by using an improvised bridge about 120m further west.

- At roughly S38°17.091' W71°01.354' the path broke away into a very steep descent. It is passable, but also slippery and includes a certain risk of which you should be aware.

- The daily bus out of Ranquil does not stop at the busstation because it is too large to reverse there. You have to walk down the street ca. 2km to where a bridge crosses the river. The bus reverses here and does not go up further up the road. Right now it stops there at 6 in the morning.

=Resupply and Accommodation=

2023- 2023-Dec / Yannick & Nolwenn

Accomodation : in Troyo there are some cabanas, just ask in the little shops

- Resupply : big supermarket in Lonquemay / at the end of section 12, 30km down the road there is a village ' Troyo' where there a few small shops where you can find resupply

------------------
Ranquil - no shop but there are families who sold us sopaipillas

Lonquimay - Supermercado Espinoza next to the bus stop has most things. A little shop on the left hand shortly after the bus terminal when walking from the bus terminal towards the center has gas. The shop has different air mattresses, clothes and some outdoorsy things in the windows. There's also a ferretería that might have. Several accommodation options.

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

=Transport to and from Route=

*Ferry Option 02: no service on weekends (March 2024), no timetable at the ferry port

*To Liucura
Updated Jan 2022:

Bus from Temuco to Liucura (goes all the way to Icalma) Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:30am (+ 15:55?), 5 hours of travel. Leaves Liucura at the bus terminal next to COPEC at 12.
Also busses from Lonquimay to Liucura Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 15 and Tuesday+Thursday at 14

Bus from Temuco to Lonquimay every day - Monday-Saturday 15:55, Sunday 17:30
There may even be busses from Santiago to Lonquimay

*Ranquil
Updated 2022, Jan
Bus from Ranquil to Lonquimay (on Mon, Wed and Fri at 7:30am from the village

Bus from Lonquimay to Ranquil Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 15:00 - bus terminal next to COPEC
Buses to Troyo leave every day and can drop you off at the crossing to Ranquil, about 30-40 km, but hitching might still be difficult from here

*If skipping section 13-15:
We went from Pucón to Temuco, but it seems to be the long way around. It might be worth it to ask around in Pucón whether there is a rural bus to Curacautin, and from there to Lonquimay, as that seems way faster on the map - alternatively it could be possible hitching this route.

*Lonquimay

March 2024:
Lonquimay to Icalma Mo, We, Fr at 12:00 and 19:30. Bus company Erbuc, 3200 Peso. 2h ride.

Update 2022, Feb

Bus from Santiago - Terminal Sur to Lonquimay leaving at 21:40 and arriving around 8:00

Company : Jet Sur

$26.000 for semi-cama

Commentaries : really comfortable, nice and professional people, USB-plugs, I took it on Sunday night, it was the only one on Sunday, I don't know if there are some on the other days

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

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT12 - Río Rahue]]

=Images=
[[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664133.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Araucarias on GPT12]]
[[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664142.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664125.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664136.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]
[[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664138.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]

[[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]

GPT11 (Cerro Dedos)

2025-12-20T18:19:24Z

Kris&Stiina:

GPT10 (Laguna El Barco)

2025-12-20T18:09:20Z

Kris&Stiina:

GPT09 (Volcan Antuco)

2025-12-11T17:16:00Z

Kris&Stiina:

GPT08 (Volcan Chillan)

2025-12-11T17:14:02Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

= How to a add new entry =
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Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format:


<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

If you are packrafting, put the above info into HTML tags like this (if you follow a hiking route for part of the way, highlight only "packrafting", as above):


<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''YYYY-MMM-DD / X days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Your name'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>.

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

=Overview=

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.04.12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Opt 2A + RR + Var F + Var G + Opt 4 (Ruta Este) / Kris and Stiina '''

We connected the GPT08 and 09 via Option 4 (Ruta Este) recommended by Jan. Termas de Chillán to Trapa Trapa total 5.5 days. 4 days for GPT08 and 1.5 days for GPT 09.

Day 1 - Option 2A from Termas de Chillán. We started in Santiago taking 8:00 bus to Chillán and after 7h of bus rides we got to the start of the trail a bit after 16:00.
You have to go to a different bus station for the rural buses, bus schedule posted by Volker in earlier comments.

As it was already getting late we didn’t go down to fumaroles and took the higher trail unmarked as a variant but is on the map. A few easy snow patches on the way up. There is also and unmarked ford of Rio Diguillin around here (-36.90740, -71.37185) however we crossed it a bit higher up, late in the afternoon the water was really murky and fast flowing but just below the knee, easy, we are 184cm and 175cm. After that we took the trail that is on the map but is also not marked as a variant and follows the river which is not named but starts from the pass higher up. We forded it here (-36.91003, -71.36669) and camped pretty much right after it on a flat spot. The marked Camp {08} [42.6/2087] was nice looking from a distance but was actually on a wet ground. Great views of the Volcán Chillán Viejo, calm night.

Day 2 - Since many people recommended to visit Camping Los Peucos that was our goal for the day. The first “Ford {08} [47.7/1390]” of Rio Diguillín on RR was easier, the river was clear now and the water level was just below the knee. The second “Ford {08} [48.7/1334]” was a bit more challenging and the water was about waist deep. We managed to cross it individually. Tabanos (horseflies) wanted to introduce themselves relentlessly and pretty much became the theme of this section. Regardless of how many you “get rid off” same amount appears a few minutes later, like some sort of dark magic.
Camping Los Peucos was unfortunately still closed but there were other equestrian tourists camping there and no signs forbidding it, so we camped there anyway. The termas were really nice though the big one in the middle was way too hot to even stand in it. Luckily there were plenty of others to choose from, we really enjoyed a relaxing evening soaking ourselves in the termas.

Day 3 - Easy first half of the day mostly walking along the minor dirt roads. Fords on Rio Los Peucos very easy, shin deep. We took the Variant F and it was easy to follow and seemed well trodden the unmarked ford of Rio Polcura at (-37.06842, -71.39166) was really wide and just above ankle deep but very very cold, pain inducing.
After that the Variant F rejoins an even better traveled minor road. Two carabinieros cars passed us one stopped and asked how we are doing and where we are headed. They said if we need anything there is a police post just up the road, perhaps they meant this one “Police ? {08-H} [7.0/1357]”, however we didn’t plan taking the Variant H.
We also met 4 arieros on horses going the other way.
And we also took the Variant G staying on the minor road, I think the views were better from the road higher up rather than going trough the bushy valley.
The junction at “Trailhead {08} [80.8/1248]” is easy to miss if you are not paying attention.
The trail seemed barely traveled and for us this was the most difficult part of the section GPT 08. From: “Trailhead {08} [80.8/1248]” until about “Water {08} [83.2/1599]” - very steep, very hot, very thorny and overgrown - death by 1000 cuts type of trail (we were dressed inappropriately- shorts and shirts) and a lot of relentless tabanos trying to get a juicy sweaty piece of you at any cost. The water at 83.2 was a better lunch spot than the one before. Towards the “Pass {08} [84.5/1744]” once the trail entered more into forest it improved but there were a quite a few fallen trees, over the trail. It felt like if noone will maintain this trail it might disappear in the future. The trail improved going down from the pass.
A nice open valley with the first glimpses of Laguna Laja, however many cows in the valley some with young calves and there were a few bulls aswell. They weren’t agressive but very cautious and protective and we had to keep a safe distance to not provoke them.
We camped at (-37.19790, -71.31353) in the riverbed, pretty much the beginning of Option 4 (Ruta Este). Very windy evening but then the wind died and the night was completely still. We thought we avoided the cows.

Day 4 - We were woken up by about 10 cows “snorting” about 10m from our tent, not the most comfortable of the situations but it also was not our first rodeo, at least it wasn’t a one ton bull standing 2m away. We just stood our ground (kept lying in the tent) and waited for the cows to chill out which they did and eventually they moved onwards with their day and so did we.
We picked up the minor road that didn’t last for too long but we found what would have probably been a better campsite, not exactly at the coordinates but somewhere in this area (-37.21556, -71.30563). There was also some sort of abandoned small building across the road.
The minor road descended into the lake and for more or less the reminder of the coastal walk we stayed right on the coast as much as possible as there the ground was more solid underneath and we could still walk pretty fast. The lake had a lot of “terraces” on the side where the water had been at some point and sometimes to avoid obstacles or the path right on the coast disappeared we walked on those but they were soft beneath the foot and made the walking a bit more difficult. There were a few bluffs to go over but those were easy. Most of the lake side walk though CC was pretty easy and it did get a bit dull at some point.
Another potential campsite on the lake shore that we saw, approx. in this area: (-37.23748, -71.28333).

We also saw a few fishermen boats on the lake that later passed us at the distance and didn’t seem interested in us. They had their camp set up in Bahia El Colorado right before the “Ford {08-04} [12.5/1379] (Estero Colorado)” by the time we got there, we could see they were all fishing higher up the river so we didn’t talk to them.
Approximately the last km until the ford the coastal path disappears and the going gets a bit harder on a scree slope but it was because we stayed a bit too low. Higher up there was some sort of a minor road again, that came back out of the water but because the beginning of it looked a bit overgrown we didn’t take it. Later though it seemed better and we joined it but should have done it earlier.
The ford itself was fast flowing but shallow and easy.
A bit after that the day was getting hot so we took a dip in the lake and the temperature of the lake surprisingly was warmer than expected, but still invigorating.
After that we continued CC along the coast not following the gpx even though I can now see on the satellite that there was some sort of a trail higher up. We went along the coast almost all the way to the Estero Rucos and then turned up the valley towards the “Ford {08-04} [15.9/1397] (Estero los Rucos)” I don’t think that doing it this way was much slower. We forded the river a few times already lower down looking for the best way up the valley, the fords were very easy.
We had a lunch in the bushes near the ford and I believe it’s possible to find a campsite there aswell. The tabanos around here were vicious and they pretty much accompanied us all the way along the ridge walk that followed.
After that came a steep and very hot climb up to the ridge, there appeared some sort of a trail around here (-37.25442, -71.23348) but then we lost it and just aimed straight up for the trail that we could see higher up. Once we got to it it led us all the way to the ridge, though in some places we deviated from it to avoid some bushes.
The trail continued to where the Option 4A joins the Option 4 and went down in the valley. But we wanted to stay on the ridge and it was a very easy CC along the ridge with some really amazing views of Volcán Antuco, Sierra Velluda and the Laguna Laja.
There was also a very good Movistar signal here (-37.30267, -71.24928).
It got a bit harder going when the ground turned more soft under the foot walking on the loose pumice. It was challenging going up but very fun, fast and easy going down. Once we were approaching the pass (-37.36012, -71.25679) we could see trails reappearing crossing the pass and it was a well traveled path down to Estero los Timones. The moment the trail descended into the valley there was a 4x4 track going up the valley and continuing along the Option 4. We forded the little estero around here (-37.36871, -71.25077) and set the camp up right there on the slightly elevated ground on the river bed. It was nice and flat but sandy and a bit exposed to the wind. The wind luckily once again died down for the night and after a mega day I believe I had one of the best nights sleep ever.

Day 5 - In the morning we picked up the 4x4 track we saw yesterday and followed it hoping that the Option 4C would be possible to save us some unnecessary km. The option 4C was under the lake but a bit further we could see a possible crossing. We deviated from the Option 4 at around here:(-37.38999, -71.25340) to shortcut across and saved extra 5km of walking. There was a small ford in the middle of the crossing (-37.39198, -71.25376).
After that we picked up again the 4x4 track that roughly matched the Option 4.
We didn’t miss out on the opportunity to have another dip in the lake with view of the Volcán Antuco across, it was very refreshing and water felt a degree colder than yesterday in Bahia El Colorado.
After that started the loose sand section for about 10 km even though there was still a 4x4 track the ground beneath it wasn’t compacted and walking took some extra effort. Here we mostly followed what for us looked the best, not the track or the gpx. The 4x4 track went off the main Option 4 around where the Option 4D is drawn.
There were a few minor fords along the way. At the ford around here (-37.47633, -71.26346) we had lunch with some shade a bit higher up this side valley.
Our map showed that there is a trail coming down from this valley and after the lunch we picked it up just before the GPT 08 - Option 4 joins the GPT09 RR. We didn’t see any actual trail joining from the GPT09 RR.
This is where for us the GPT08 ended and GPT09 started. (Continued in section 09 log)

Option 4 - difficulty 4/5 attraction 5/5
Since most of it is CC with just occasional track or trail resemblances a lot of it on loose sand and some places steep, it gets 4/5. It wasn’t as difficult as some of the sections we have done. The views and lake swims were definitely worth it.

Section GPT08 in general - Muchos tabanos, more water than marked, good walking, great views.

For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures

*'''2025-08-09: Track file update 2025 and investigation suggestions of Jan Dudeck'''

- I re-route the Regular Route of GPT08 due to the right-of-way conflict at Mallin el Toro near the southern terminus of GPT08 (about 4 km north of road between Abanico and Laguna Las Lajas). The Regular Route now descents when hiking southbound to Rio Polcura and the hydro-power station El Toro. When going southbound exiting the hydro-power station El Toro is normally not an issue. When workers see you at the road you might be escorted out of the area (free car ride but connecting-footstep-hikers might cry when being driven out). Anyway, northbound hikers will need to make arrangements to be permitted entering the area going north. See the post from Manon and Robin from season 2024/2025.

- New GPT08 Option 6 (Cerro Gaston): One option to avoid the right of way conflict is this new exploration route. Satellite images suggest a vague trail or animal track up to the ridge starting either at the normally dry outlet of Laguna de las Lajas or somewhat higher up on the road after the first locked gate. Experienced hikers that don't mind scrambling in steep exposed terrain might investigate this exploration route but should turn back if this unverified draft route is unsafe.

- GPT09 and GPT08: Southbound and northbound hikers may also opt for the remote routes east of Laguna de las Lajas (GPT08 Option 4 (Ruta Este)). This is particular useful when combining GPT09 and GP08. When staring on GPT08 going northbound, hikers might first follow the regular route of GPT09 going southbound (around volcano Antuco) and then turn north on the remote eastern side of Laguna de las Lajas.

- Updated GPT08 Option 5 (Costa Las Lajas): Southbound hikers with enough food left may also follow the coast of Laguna de Las Lajas and ascent to the ridge on one of the 3 suggested routes. Note that route 05D is only traversable when the lake level is somewhat low (see Important Information Point GPT08-5D that provides a water level mark for decision taking). These detours promise to be quite scenic and remote combining lake access with walking high up on the ridge and avoiding the right-of-way conflict when descending on the current regular route to Rio Polcura.

- Northbound Start at Termas de Chillan: An other option for northbound hikers to avoid the right of way conflict at Mallin el Toro is starting at the Termas de Chillan halfway into section GPT08.

- Packrafting is also an option to travel along the lake shore or to cross the lake to hike on the eastern side. In this area, early mornings and late evenings are normally calm but in the afternoon wind can get dangerously strong.

==Season 2024/25==

* ''' GPT 08 - NOBO - right of way issue Mallin del Toro / Robin and Manon / Published on Facebook 2025-03-12 '''

With Manon Petit we walked GPT08 NOBO from Antuco. We had some kind of escape game in Antuco to find a solution to the right of way issue at Mallin del Toro. We were not super keen to try the ridge route from Célio Lebailly or Tobias Schorcht, as it trespassed the first gate and looked nasty from below. We talked to a local guide Jorge from Cardinal Adventure (+56 9 5848 1699, can rent material for Antuco), our host Fanny at refugio Antumapu (+56 9 9404 4771 very welcoming and nice, super cheap) and our friends Pablo and Rachel encountered in a hitchhike a few days before. All were aware of the events and did their possible to help out as it impacts tourism in Antuco. Here's what we can tell :

- there has been a serious events in December. Cyclists were confronted by the arriero and friends about some damage done apparently, then molested and their bikes were retained/robbed. Turns out one of the guy was the son of a Los Angeles judge, and there is a case open in court about the events. From there the access has been denied to anyone. We talked with Enrique Marisol the arriero (+56 9 6285 2347). Here is his answer : "Hola buenas tardes Desgraciadamente está restringido el tránsito por el interior del predio solo se permite el ingreso a los residentes,tenemos el lugar ocupado por animales en pastoreo ojalá entienda que no está permitido el paso por el interior Desgraciadamente los mismos turista han provocado en nosotros la molestia actuando de mala fe como rompiendo cercas .derribando nuestros portones dejando que nuestros animales se escapen a predios aledaños ocasionando gastos humanos logísticos y pérdida de algunos animales"

- Our friends finally found out who the dueña is, she is of a family nicknamed here "pichimosca" (small flies), known in Antuco for not being friendly and causing problems. She is the one forbidding access.

- the Antuco municipality is actively trying to resolve the situation

- Carabineros have no hold on this and advise to avoid the area

- Once the persons heard the name of the dueña, they all advised to avoid the area and not having problems with this family. The arriero Enrique is not well appreciated neither, and as far as we understood, he took part in molesting the cyclists.
Concerning options to avoid Mallin del toro

- the Rayenco central in option 6 is a private ground an permit is required to trespass. It is granted if prior permit from one of the two owners of the Campos higher up the Polcura valle.

- the two administrators are Engelbert Egger (+56 9 9239 2826) in fonde del Ciervo on the right bank. Working for an Austrian company of forestal management; and Juan Carlos Navarrete (+56 9 8514 3202) on the left bank.

- we got autorisation from Engelbert, who even picked us up in Antuco and dropped us in fonde del Ciervo. Nice guy, curious about what we're doing. Doesn't want this to be a touristic route, but seemed OK to grant permits to GPT hikers.

- he warned us about troubles with Juan Carlos. Turns out this is the same dueña as Mallin del Toro. The option 6 passes by his puesto and then veraneras before joining the ridge. Since Engelbert dropped us 14km upstream from the bridge, we crossed the Polcura there (not feasible earlier in the season I guess), backtracked on the left bank, and took an OSM route from S 37° 13.017', W 071° 25.823' to the ridge a little before the puesto. Didn't meet Juan Carlos. We joined the RR at S 37° 14.024', W 071° 23.514'.

- the local guide Jorge told us about another solution: bypass with a zodiac on the lake. Héctor Burgos (+56 9 4944 4909) has one and is willing to offer his services. Contact him beforehand as he works in the mines and needs to plan he mentioned 110 kCLP for the transfer.

- another solution is getting up the Polcura valle directly to Los Peucos. This is way shorter, and trail all the way on both banks. You'd miss the ridge, and the trouble !
Hope this is clear enough, lots of info, I'll put that in the wiki. Overall the Mallin del Toro situation should be taken seriously

*'''2025-03-27 to 2025-03-31 / 4.5 days hiking / SOBO / OH 02 + RR + OH E + OH G + OH H + own route around Puesto/ MiaimZelt'''

Day 1: Came from Talca and took the 2pm bus from Terminal Merced to Termas de Chillán. Arrived at 4:30pm and was the last one in the bus. Had to walk 1.5km on the road to reach OH 02. The trail to Pass {08-02} [2.8/2371] was easy, but very steep. No fun, i was stressed a lot because of time pressure, had only 3 hours of daylight left. Hurried down through the incredible Valle Aguas Calientes - what a pity! First hot spring was already occupied with tents. Could have camped near a hot river, but maybe not easy to reach the hot river in the dark. Therefore i continued until Camp {08} [40.4/2150]. Don't recommend this place, the evening and night was super windy, although it was less windy at the pass! Didn't dare to leave the tent to take a bath and didn't fall asleep before 3am.

Day 2: Prepared everything and took a bath in the morning. So good!! RR was wet and sometimes not visible in the valley. Improved soon. Ford {08} [47.4/1390] was below knee and fast flowing. Ford {08} [48.4/1334] was mid tigh (i'm 1.73) and fast flowing. At Puesto {08} [49.6/1423] i saw 2 simple huts: one was locked. Ford {08} [50.5/1305] was possible dry feet. Ford {08} [64.1/1164] was also possible dry feet. Went to Camping Los Peucos and met 2 guys from Conaf. They told me the Camping is now officially closed due to problems with administration. Arrived late and was allowed to stay, very nice gardaparques. I hope they reopen soon, this place is awesome.

Day 3: Short day due to weather forcast: 35l rain and 80km/h winds in the evening and night. All 4 fords at the MR were easy and low, but Ford {08} [71.3/1089] was very long. At least 5 apple trees at OH E! Sendero Los Ratones is nice, but some fallen trees. Searched for a camspot near the pass in the lenga forest. Stayed here on a not really flat place:
-37.128033, -71.3195. Indeed tons of rain after 8pm.

Day 4: Started late at 10am, when rain stopped. Again some fallen trees. Soon i found better and bigger places to camp in the forest, the altitude-lines didn't let me expect this. No more dust! Trail until Laguna Roble was nice and beautiful. Below Laguna Roble i found a rabbit caught in a wire loop. I freed the poor animal, 100m further i saw a dead rabbit in another wire loop. Both campspots at Laguna Roble are nice and well protected in case if bad weather.
Was lucky to climb to Pass {08} [100.6/2035] (El Encanto) on a cool day. Great views from the ridge! Also nice trail. After X {08} [105.4/1934] 200m CC. Camp {08} [106.6/1938] isn't flat. Followed the wrong trail and continued CC at the same altitude until i reached the RR again. Took OH G to get to Laguna Hermosa. Easy CC. Didn’t like the camp at the beach, not good in case of unstable weather. Stayed here: -37.27434, -71.383359 a bit further up. 100m below there is a well sheltered spot between bushes. Started snowing after i pitched the tent. Very cold night.

Day 5: Sunny day, but cold and some snow at the mountains. The following km at the ridge were a bit difficult due to snow and ice. Snow covered the trail and made it difficult to follow. Fortunately i saw animal footprints - wild animals appriciate our trails! Took OH H, there is a nice trail. The beginning of the descent was very steep and still frozen. Improved in the forest. Met two Arrieros with horses and 4 aggressive dogs. Wanted to sneak around Puesto {08} [120.6/1513] to avoid right-of-way issue. First try was a fail - the vegetation was way too dense. Here -37.347131, -71.391773 i could follow an animal trail, which leads to a big meadow. Hiked on the meadow to the MR. Only downside: i was visible from the house, nothing happened. I guess: it's possible to sneak in NoBo when walking early or late when it's dark. Nice trail near Estero El Toro. Walked on the PR and got a very friendly hitch with a chilean couple to Los Ángeles.

*''' 2025-03-14 to 2025-03-16 /3 days / HIKING/ NOBO / OH 02 + RR /Chloe and Mathieu

We tried to to take the OH06 to avoid the right of way issue but when you go Nobo you have to go through the hydroelectrical central. For that you have to go there with one of the landowner located after the central. So we followed the advice of Robin and Manon and contacted Engelbert Egger (+56992392826). He's very Kind but he wasn't in Abanico at this time so he gave us the number of an other man wo has a puesto after the central. He wasn't available as well so we decided to start from Termas de Chillan to avoid this part.

Day 1 : we started from Termas de Chillan and took the OH 02. We went up to the pass, easy trail. We went down to the agua caliente valley, very beautifull and almost all rivers are hot. There is one amazing just after the camp [37.3/2157] where you can bath.
We slept at camp 40.3 where the hot spring is so nice as well.

Day 2: we went up to the pass 39.1 quite sandy but the ascent is short. When we went down we lost the RR because we followed a more obvious trace so keep looking at the GPS. We
reached RR again and followed the route until pass 33.2. Then we went down to the valley of estero Quebrado. At camp 29.5 we lost the track and ended in bamboo fight, so stay to the right side of the estero and it will be fine.
We reached Rio Ñuble and crossed it preatty easily at the exact point on Locus because rivers are lower at this time of the year. We camped here S 36° 48.882', W 071° 15.278' but the camp 20.3 is fine also. The other places are protected by fences and big signs are saying that camping is prohibited.
Day 3: we walked all the way to Puente Engles and found a lift to go to San Fabian de Alico. We slept at the Jahuel camping (15min from center and 8000p/p) nice restaurant : Zambie I Canuta.
Took the bus next morning at 6:20AM to Chillan.

*'''2025-02-23 to 2025-03-02 / 8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Eric and Jakob'''

Route:
We sticked to the main route the whole time. !!!We had problems at the end of the main Route. Its best to use Option 6 (Rayenco) to avoid right of ways issue.!!!

Travel:
At this section our trip ended that’s why we hitchhiked to Antuco and even though it was Sunday we were able to buy a ticket for a nightbus directly from Antuco to Santiago. The bus left at 22:15 and arrived at 05:30 the following day costing the two of us 54 euros.

Permissions:
In the beginning is a gate a little bit before the marked gate at kilometre 22.8. The gate has signes on it stating that everything is private property and nobody is allowed to enter. The land is owned by a really nice man called Juan. His phone number is +56973133339. He is carrying his phone all the time so just give him a call before entering. He was really friendly to us and gave us immediate permission to cross his territory.
When entering Parque Nacional Laguna del Laja don’t worry about getting a permission to continue hiking. We went to the Park Ranger at km 63.9 and he told us that no permission is needed to cross the national park.
!!!The landowner at km 120.6 doesn’t let any hiker pass! No matter whether hiking SOBO or NOBO. There is also no way to get a permission. That’s why we highly recommend taking the Option 6 (Rayenco) to avoid these problems. He is a really straightforward person who makes you turn around no matter of how much water or food you still have left.!!!
 Resupply:
No shops on the whole trail.

Attractiveness: 4-5/5
Difficulty: 4/5

*'''GPT 08 / 2025-02-13 to 2025-02-07/ 7 days / NOBO / Mara & Tobias*'''

short: Avoided the right of way conflict at Puesto {08} [121.6/1513] by taking the ridge (difficulty 6). Water {08} [107.7/1951] is almost dried out. Aggressive cows in the valley close to Camp {08} [89.4/1449].

Day 1: startet at Gate {08} [126.2/1339] at 12:30 and met Enrico there, who told us to not pass. After chatting a bit with him he told us to wait 20 minutes, until he left with the car and go for the ridge. So we entered after a while, went up the road and found water at -37.35773, -71.38068. From the satellite images variant A (photo) looked ok, but in real live seemed to be a bad idea. So we went for variant B, which took us 3 hours. Very steep, loose rocks, one part with climbing (difficulty 2). With the food for 7 days in the backpack not a joy 😂. While we were climbing up, we saw 3 cars passing the road. So be aware when you sneak in. Camped at laguna los Cóndores. Perfect Spot!

Day 2: walked to Camp {08} [107.6/1938]. The marked spot should be shifted up to 37.24611 -71.39138 the shoulder right before (NOBO). Met Adrian, Julian and Valentin there who camped SOBO and camped beside us. Had nice conversations. Adrian warned us about the aggressive cows next day.

Day 3: Went to Camp {08} [88.1/1514] and met Clara on the way. Cows close to Camp {08} [89.4/1449] showed an aggressive behaviour. Maybe it was the herd who were hunting the boys the day before. We had to do a 20 minutes detour up the valley to keep distance.

Day 4: Went to camping Los Peucos and enjoyed the hot water.

Day 5-7: walked to Puente Inglés without difficulties. Crossed Río Nuble with dry feet on horseback’s. 2 Arrieros (Guillermo and Renato) took us on the other side. Water was not deep either.

*'''10Fev2025 - 17fec2025 / hiking SOBO / RR - OH1+new - varE - G - H - I - J / 7.5 days (with one half day at termas) / Clara'''

Left the bus to Puente El Ingles here -36,67295, -71,29201 before los sauces (as Tomáš and Natalie said), easy road to the river and dry feet crossing.
Lots of workers there, I was luckey to get a ride to El Roble after few hot MR walking km.
Carabineros are nice, just want you to register and check out you have a good gps + satellite.

Fords :
- Rio ñuble: at 10am deep and flowing fast, I didn't feel it (1.57m, alone and i'm not used to fords). I knew it would probably be like this so I took OH1 and went back RR (thanks a lot Peggy and Dorota!!). Ford at the indicated place on OH1 is easy, water to knee flowing slow at noon.

-Rio diguillin : 47.4 was easy (fast flowing but around knee). 48.4 harder (water to crotch, flowing fast), I did it few meters upper to tracks (exactly here : -36,93565, -71,40355)

Navigation :

- to avoid ford of rio ñuble : OH1 is easy with 2 nice camp spots (-36,85676, -71,22440 and -36,86615, -71,21507) and lot of streams flowing. Trail in the other direction is mainly in good conditions but sometimes disappear + cow paths make you going in bushes and loosing time (so if it can helps, this is 4 positions that I marked with my gps when I went back on the good trail just after loosing myself :
S36.852906° O071.228763° /
S36.850995° O071.230381° /
S36.844944° O071.235431° /
S36.839085° O071.245746°)

Maybe (probably), there are other easy spots earlier to ford Rio ñuble and take the trail at the opposite side, especially when it gets close to the river, but I didn't explore it at all.
And back on the other side of Rio ñuble... 3h30 later !! But I was very happy with it as it worked and was very easy.

-I found not so much bamboo fight, maybe it have been cleared by all the people passing. I avoided one taking the good trail on the other side of the river around camp 29.5. 2 additional fords but very easy. (Cross river here S36.856564° O071.75578°, and then here S36.858440° O071.279470° to go back on RR)

- CC part on the ridge after km113 is more demanding in terms of navigation and terrain. Some cairns helping (but once leed me in wrong and exposed direction). I ended up on varH without noticing but it felt good as there was less wind than directly on the ridge and a good trail.

- I had still lot's of food so I took the ridge slow and went for the lakes (thank's to Sergio advise, and food!). Var G for laguna hermosa is easy CC, 20 min down. The lake is a beautiful ++ spot to camp (or lunch/swim), I found it way nicer than Laguna El Roble ! No water flowing upper to the lake at this time but water from the lake is perfectly clear and fresh.
Var I looked nicer than RR for this steep going down.
Then var J : good trails to go to laguna El Toro and to the viewpoint of laguna los condores. Not sure if you really can go down at this one and didn't look like there is place to camp.

Camp :

- Planned to camp at Camp 20.3 but the place was not nice and no water so went to next spot not marked here -36,81470, -71,25463. (Camp 21.6 is not good too, there is a fence and private property)

- -36,85684, -71,27580. A bit before camp 29.5.

- termas 40 : very nice spot. Incredible termas !!

- camping Los Peucos : nothing to add about termas and camping. Sergio is amazing and very generous. The day after he had to do some stuff with trashes and he proposed me to come with him by car. He took me to the viewpoint of salto del blanquillo on OH3 that was nice and then left me around beginig of VarE

- camp 87.1 : nice fresh water flowing just down to the spot.

- camp 102.3 : there is actually a thin water just down, sufficient to cook and drink. The spot has an amazing view. Flat spot perfect for tent exactly here -37,21391, -71,37187. Not totally wind protected so better watch before how it's gonna be for the night !

- laguna El Toro : is not as perfect as laguna hermosa (and water is not as fresh and clear, maybe better to take water from the little stream on the path going down to the lake) but it's still a nice place to camp. Frozed in the night.

Water : 27.5 is not really good (more muddy and stagnant water). Other markers are good.

No snow.

Right of way issues :
- at puesto 120 : 5 very agressive dogs running and barking on me when I arrived. As others, the guy told me it's a private property and doesn't let people go since this season (because of trashes and fires). He was not angry and had to let me pass in this way but precise me that he won't let anyone in the opposite. Need to find an alternative way if you really want to go NOBO here, and don't approch the puesto.

- cows around km88 where not aggressive with me but not friendly type neither.

I can advise camping parque Antuco. Nice and calm place with shade and swimming pool. Homemade empanadas. Camp10k with electricity and perfect hot showers. Bernabe the owner is really nice and know about the GPT. Had really good talks with him !

* '''2025-JAN-29 to 2025-Feb-2 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 1 / Elijah & Michael

Rio Nuble remains a challenging crossing with water coming waist high at 174 cm. Trail is overgrown with Bamboo Grass up to the second pass, however improves thereafter.

Both the undeveloped termas after the second pass, as well as Los Peucos are highly recommended. Camping & rustic cabanas available at Los Puecos; as noted, Sergio is warm, welcoming, and generous with his available supplies.

El Puesto {08} [120.6/1513] informed us that we were trespassing on private property and allowed us to pass on the stipulation that we never return.

Antuco Base Camp sells hot coffee, cookies, chocolate, and at lunch, pizza. Light traffic on road to Antuco (Sunday).

(Option 1: Michael split from RR to hike this option. Second marked puesto busy & welcoming. No water available after basin before ridge walk, until Laguna el Lobo. Good views, comparable to Traversia Polcura.)

'''2024-01-16 to 2014-01-26 / 1day+10days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+OH 1+new trail / Dorota+Peggy till los Puecos, after that Dorota'''

Very demanding stage because of Rio Nuble

1Day: I walked alone and have idea to cross the river Nuble at km 22.0 km (-36.82021, -71.25381) at first gate. Then followed river, and after puesto I found trail. My idea was destroyed for next river and also on the other side I did not see possibility to continúe. So I backtrack to camping El Ingles and joined Peggy.

Day2: We could not crossed safely Nuble. Night at km 21.6

Day3: We continued option 08-01. It was possiblity of storm so we went to puesto (08-01)[8.0/1136]. We spent here night and learned how to made sopapillas and bread. Patricia y Juan gave us a lot of food. Juan explain us that exist path on other side of river (reffering to option1) which leads to termas.

Day4: We risked to follow his innstruction and we reached the track RR. So if you would like to do this option: take variant 01, cross the river Nuble at about km 6.5 (-36.86712,-71.21317). And then not followed option 1. Instead turn right and followed path on the other side. You need to make some adicional kilometers, but it was worth of it.

Day5: we reached termas. There was nice spot with two places for tent.(-36.90435, -71.35763)

Day6: volcano Chillan using variant Natalie-Tomas. Till 2500 m nice visible path. Then sometimies. There were snowfields, only one with spikes. We met pair from Germany.

Day7: We spend a lot of time for find good place for passing river Daulagin. We have crossed 100 m down stream. I have 1.64 cm, peggy 1.60 cm. Cuarrent very strong, water to hips. I reached camping los Puecos.

Day7: Rest day at Puecos. Night at "quincho" house with place for fire. Price 15.000 clp. Ranger Sergio gave us a lot of food, breakfast and dinner. Also gas and food. He didnot like money adicional. Hot springs excepcional.

Day9: I followed trail alone. Between 82.9 and 84.2 a lot tress and sometimes trail is not visible. Night at km 88.4.

Day 10: views from the ridge were amazing. Between km 110.2 and 113.1 the trail very often is not visible. I camped at km 111. Water from snow.

Day11: There were not water till km 117. Meeting with Rodrigo at his puesto were not so bad. At the beginnig I started to apologize that I am on his territory. Night at camping Antuco in luxury cabana for 4 personas. Price 30000 clp. Owner in the evening took me to Abanico to restaurant and buying some food. Very nice place.

'''2025-Jan-20 to 2025-Jan-27 / 7 days + 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR from thermas de Chillán, Option 08-D + volcano Chillán / Chris & Julia
'''

Tldr: Final ridge is difficult (navigation & terrain), we had insane winds. Water [118.3/1733] is campable. All fords managable (2 pers, one 181cm), one a bit tricky to navigate. Option 08-D preferable. Dont miss out on Los Peucos!

Skipped due to Rio Nubles to valles de agua caliente.
Climbing volcan Chillán was a nightmare made from ashes and loose rocks. Saw condors from maybe 5m away and got blessed with amazing views. it took us in total approx. 7hrs. Many snowfields to cross and no real path, its just... very very steep.
Valle de agua caliente was very nice, but also crowded. The water is not particularly hot, but relaxing & nice during daytime. The first river that needs to be crossed to join the RR was pretty hot (almost burned my foot when crossing). We were a bit bummed, we didnt try to find a bathing spot there, away from the people and with some steam ;)
Fording Rio Diguilli approx hip high and medium current, second crossing was easier than first but hard to navigate. At the marked location is a good spot, just hard to get there as the path was swept away. We followed horse tracks, last 20m pushed through bushes, climbed down and then traced the river approx. 20-40m upstream to the marked fording and crossed there.
Los Peucos is a heaven, no shop though, so plan supplies accordingly! If lucky and he had a recent resupply run, he might sell you some food, but its not certain. Sergio is super nice & welcoming, hot pools are suuuuper relaxing! Wifi available. 15kCLP pp.
We took Option 08-D (some CC that Sergio (Los Peucos) recommended) to only cross Rio Polcura once. We crossed approx 200m downstream of the marked location where it was more narrow, less current but a bit deeper. We did this because it was easier to judge whats coming and it was belly high, but due to little current very managable. Rather a nice cool dip. We saw horse tracks exiting the trail a bit earlier to the left than the Option 08-D. Arrieros know best, i suspect this might be their trail, worth checking out!
As others mentioned before, we also took the road and not the RR parallel to the river. We saw arrieros use it on horses, but with backpacks its hard and not enjoyable.
Camp [97.8/1456] at Laguna el Roble was a dream spot. The ascend after was a dream too, 2hrs, amazing views.
Final ridge approx from the salida de emergencia ongoing was hard to navigate, challenging terrain, insane winds! Took longer than expected!
Camp [106.6/1938] looked not flat but okay, but water supply rather trickling than flowing.
We camped at not-marked location very close to Water [118.3/1733] (when the path gets muddy, after crossing the little flow from the left, little ascend and then to the right is a nice flat spot between fallen trees). The water is actually a source and had wonderful cold & fresh water flowing.

In Antuco we found through asking a shop owner a little room, hosted by nice lady Sara: 3 beds, power outlets, wifi (fast), shower (warm-ish), watercooker, microwave, clean, central (near bigmarket) for 40.000CLP per night for it all. Her Whatsapp: +56 9 8503 8261
No kitchen though.

Wonderful and diverse section! Loved every bit of it!

'''2024-Jan-02 to 2024-Jan-12 / 3 days+8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, backtrack from Rio Nubles, OH02, OH02A / Nimrod & Tamar
'''
In short - we didn't cross Rio nubles and backtracked to opt 02.
Great hot springs
An angry guy at puesto [120.6/1513]

Trail from Puente Ingles is an MR. There is a lot of worker traffic and it's easy to hitchhike.
At Camp [21.6/873] there is a fence and it's currently impossible to camp there. At the same spot there is a cable bridge. We climbed the fence and tried to cross, but the cart was on the other side of the river and we didn't see anybody.

We camped near Rio Nubles ford waypoint in order to try it early in the morning.
The current was too strong and we didn't maage to cross the river (we are 170 cm)
We decided to go upstream using option 10, cross the river, and try to go back to RR on the other side.
We crossed the river at (-36.86714, -71.21322) and started hiking south.
It was hard BB and we hiked about 1.5 km in 4 hours.
We saw the river got wide so we decided to cross it again, stop suffering, backtrack and take a bus to thermas de chillan.

We took a bus from Chillan to Termas de Chillan at 13:30 on Sunday. We walked about 1 km on the paved road and climbed to the first hot springs. There was a small not so warm pool.

2nd day - we climbed to Volcan Chillan. There was some snow but it was easy without spikes.
Slept in the amazing Valle de Agua Caliente and enjoyed a hot bath in the hot river at night.

3rd day - We planned to get to Los Peucos but decided to spend more time in the hot springs valley and started hiking at noon. The ford in [48.4/1334] was quite hard. At afternoon the water reached our belly button, current was strong, rock at bottom slippery.
We camped near ford [50.5/1305]. There was a fir pit.

4th day - we hiked to Los Peucos. Sergio the ranger accepted selling us some food (flour, eggs, cheese, pasta, tuna, pastrami). Payed 15,000 clp each for food+hot spring+camp. The hot springs were amazing! The best so far for us. You get to fill your own pool before going in so it's clean and warm! There's wifi and a place to charge as well.

5th day - we camped at (-37.10491, -71.31605) no water. Saw puma foot prints the next morning, and a research camera a little before camp.

6th day - saw Laguna de laja and volcan Antuco from afar for the first time. camped near Laguna De Roble, swem and rested in the afternoon. Beautiful place! A lot of ducks.

7th day - the path was clear most of the time and the view really nice.
We camped at (-37.178223,-71.235131) - beautiful place with a view to volcan Antuco, water from melted snow.

8th day - watch out as going down the trail to the last valley- it looks innocent, but is actually quite steep and dirt is slippery, and land is hard and painful to fall on. Had some nasty falls on our butts!
At puesto [120.6/1513] a guy named Ricardo was angry at us for entering his private property, but had no choice but let us continue down.We think he might not let NOBO hikers go up the valley.
Finally we hitchhiked to Antuco. There was a lot of traffic on Sunday.

'''2024-Dec-21 to 2024-Dec-26 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR, variant E, Option 2 / Sean & Neele
'''

At the park entrance on the road they asked where we were going, once we explained we were going north to termas de chillan they asked to see the route. Wasn't a problem they just seemed curious, let us in without paying.

Puesto 120km - lots of people camping in this area on a Friday.

117km to 107km - snow present. It's manageable but slowed our progress. Around 113km is the worst of it. North of 107km some very small patches but nothing difficult.

Camp 106.6km - very wet at the moment there's a better option about 500m sobo.

Camp without water 102.3 - currently has plenty of water.

Camped at camp 87.1km - lots of horseflies

Ford 71.3km - easy at 4pm

Ford 66.4, 64.1 and 63.7km - also easy

Camping Los Puecos 63.9km - great spot hot spring was a bit too hot for us. Host was a legend; he brought us breakfast on Christmas.

Ford 48.4km - Very strong. Crossed around 5:30pm hip deep for Neele (1.61m). We took our time finding a suitable place to cross and ended up about 250m upstream from RR.

Camped at Ford 47.4km eastern side downstream there's a great camp spot with a fire ring.

Hot spring 40.4km is really amazing

We took option 2 to Termas de Chillan to avoid Rio Nuble. Some snow but really not a problem.

* ''' 2024-DEC-18 > 20 / 3 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / frontiere argentine(voir GPT07) > RR > frontiere argentine > RR / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT07+GPT08
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : facile
| Neige : beaucoup
| Intérêt : 5/5
| Difficulté : 4/5
| Danger : passage de rivière difficile, foret d'arbres morts, neige sur pente raide.

Le passage du Rio Nuble n'est pas facile, meme le matin. La fin du sentier avant la grande montee est vraiment difficile a suivre car peu empruntée et milieu humide avec beaucoup de vegetation. En revanche la montée est parfaitement entretenue.
La crete est un vrai plaisir, mais elle est exigente physiquement et il n'y a pas d'eau ni de sentier. Les parties sableuses sont difficile car il y a des trous sous le sable. Pour la descente vers le Rio Polcura, il suffit de suivre le sentier. La riviere est facile a passer.
Ensuite la premiere partie vers le lac est en mauvais etat meme si le chemin est bien visible. La foret est morte alors attention aux chutes de branches. La derniere crete est tres belle, mais il y a beaucoup de neige dans des endroits tres raide. Impossible a faire si la neige est glacée. La derniere descente est propre mais il y a beaucoup de moustiques dans le grand pré. La fin du dernier jour s'est faite sous un ciel menaçant, je me suis depeché de descendre pour retrouver de la chaleur et des endroits plats en cas de pluie. J'ai rejoint Los Angeles le lendemain avec 4km de marche, 5km en stop, puis en bus depuis Abanico par le bus de 8h45.
DEC-21 : Repos Los Angeles.

* ''' 2024-DEC-13 to 2024-DEC-17 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH (var. E, 06, 06B) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel '''

This stage is full of incredible diversity, encompassing almost everything. Epic views, challenging terrain, walking on snow, beautiful wild forests, the majestic Chillán volcano, hardened lava flows, hot springs, arrieros, a ridge trail, and, so far, the most challenging ford we’ve encountered here (see below).

We got back to the trail by hitchhiking from San Fabián in the early morning. The following section [km 2.8 to approx. 21.9] is not a trail as described in the track files, but rather a solid MR that is being worked on by laborers. The settlement at El Roble [12.7/758] is actually a police station where we checked in and provided our contact details.

The ford [23.7/950] across the Ñuble River is the biggest challenge of this section. We first attempted it in a line of three, but our tallest member, Daniel (198 cm), who was first, found the water almost up to his chest and the strong current was beginning to pull us in. We turned back. It wasn’t safe to cross. Eventually, we found a rock 100 meters upstream where the water was deeper but the riverbed was narrower. With a run-up, we jumped one by one as far as we could, and on three steps, we made it to the opposite bank. We sent our backpacks across the riverbed using a rope and carabiner.

The ascent to the saddle of the Chillán volcano is a beautiful hike, and the extensive and geologically fresh lava flow at the Trailhead [34.6/1873] is definitely worth mentioning. The crossing point is unmarked at about [35.1/1852]. Above 2150 m, everything was completely covered with snow. Spikes came in handy.

The descent to the Río Diguillín valley was okay, and we camped near the ford [48.4/1334], which is also a nice spot for a bivouac. We crossed the mentioned ford in the morning, and the water reached my waist at a height of 178 cm. It’s worth noting that the marked ford [50.5/1305] could be crossed with dry feet. The trail towards Termas los Peucos [63.9/1191] is a relatively well-defined path trodden by local arrieros. At the hot springs, which cost 7000 CLP per person, there is also a camping, but we continued further along the MR. At about [75.0/1160], we originally turned down the RR, but due to the challenging BB, we reversed our decision and continued along the MR to variant E.

From the Trailhead [80.5/1248], there is a pleasant path leading to the beautiful Laguna Laja. We camped at Camp [98.3/1459] by Laguna El Roble, where you need to slightly clear some bushes, but there is a nice spot for three tents and a fire pit. The ascent to the Pass [100.6/2035] (El Encanto) is quite pleasant due to its zigzagging path. There, we were captivated by the literally breathtaking view of the Antuco Volcano and Sierra Velluda. Unfortunately, due to an injury to one of our members' arches, we had to skip part of the ridge and finish the section using variants 06 + 06B. We deviated from the RR at point X [105.4/1934] and at Bus point {08-06B} [2.9/734], we hitchhiked to Los Angeles.

* ''' (2024/Dez/01-2024/Dec/07) 7Days/ Hiking and Packrafting/ SOBO/ RR / Lukas, Basil and Tabea '''

Entry point st puente el Ingles. The street to el Roble is beeing newly built and very easy to walk ou but also boring. The crossing of rii nuble was only manageble with packrafts, the river crossing ob foot is not possible at the moment. The mountain Pass at 39.1 km was duable but there was still a lot of snow from ca. 36.2 to ca. Ford 47.4. The hot springs were worth all the effort! The crossing at 50.5km was at the limit (for a person 170cm, over belly button). It was only possible in a line, manageble but not recommended.
Hot springs at camp 63.9 km are great. Ranger station has all the necessary commodoities, we spent an extra day there. From there on the road was well maintained until the laguna de la laja.
Packrafting before 3pm was very hard and slow due to SO wind, in the afternoon the west-wind made progress possible. Water levels are unusually high at the moment. As we were tired cold we hitch hiked with a fisher boat to the end of the lake afer ca. 14 km paddeling. exit over highway next to national park laguna del laja.

==Season 2023/24==
* '''24-11-29- 24-12-4/ 6 days / SOBO, OH02, RR, OH08F, RR, OH06/ Volker'''

A great spring hike, but not an easy one!
To avoid Rio Nubles so early in the season I took OH02 (bus from Chillan, rural station, to Valle las Trancas at 10.10 a.m. (2 buses each day go to Termas de Chillan, schedule:
https://busesrembus.cl/en/services.php)
and walked/hitchhiked the last kilometers to Termas. Started around 14:30. The snow began immediately after the hot spring at 4.8. I walked CC on the nearly untouched white coverage to the pass. The valley was almost completely under snow with some green patches. Rio Diguillin (no ford indicated): why keep feet dry, why keep anything dry? It‘s a stream at about 38 C with many whirlpools. I stayed over an hour there and camped not far: 10qm for a tent inmidst all the snow on a warm spring evening. The night and the following morning: quite cold. It was a good decision to add some 800g to my base-weight for a warm layer and gloves.

Day 2: Got up at 6.a.m and climbed with a mini-backpack CC on Volcan Chillan Viejo, at 9 a.m. on the summit, great view! In the afternoon I walked NOBO to the hot spring at 40.3 on RR. Back at the tent, it started to rain, mixed with snow.

Day 3: Started late, waiting for the weather to improve. To avoid the NOBO detour to the RR I climbed CC to join it. This was easy, the problems began on the RR. The whole trail was under snow, I had to permanently use my device to find the point of reentry into overgrown area after steep snowfields. Later less snow, but now many broken trees and branches blocked the way. No major problem, but I advanced slowly. First ford at 47.7: difficult. Second ford at 48.4: very difficult! That was no fun, strong stream over my thighs, I could dare it only, because I found a spot, where two rocks are quite close, so I had to stand the stream only for a second, before I could cramp to the next rock. The OSM here is not correct, perhaps the river has a new bed. After the puesto the trail was cleaned up/bypassing broken trees easier. I finally moved quicker. Camp at 57.0.
Day 4: Difficulties continued. Very cold in the morning, wet socks and shoes frozen; 5 fords, that are not indicated, all no major problem, but none with dry feet. The swamp before the puesto at 61.7 is bigger now (in spring?), several hundred meters of the trail under water. Again more fords than indicated, all easy, but one: water (flowing slowly) to my belly (1,97m!). The water reached to the lower part of the backpack. Didn‘t see anyone at the Los Peucos camp site. At the ford at 71.3 the water was neither very high nor very strong, but more than 100m to go the other bank! The following MR very welcome, finally allowed to move quicker. Camp on RR at around 77.5 directly on the trail.

Day 5: I took OH08F and walked the 28,6 km MR. Met several arrieros (very friendly!) and at the Embalse Vega Larga two fishermen, father and son, who „sold“ me (they didn‘t want to take
money, I insisted) two fishes, they had just grilled over a fire. Ford at the end of the MR to get back to RR: difficult. The Laguna Laja has more water than on OSM, at the spot, where the ford is indicated, one could swim to the other side, but the backpack… Camp at Laguna Laja with an extraordinary view on the mountains in the south.
Day 6: RR, trail first hardly visible, very good after the lake. On the ridge very windy, a lot of snow - but great view. On the way down the weather seemed to turn, so at 105.4 I took OH 06. The weather kept good, but nonetheless a good decision. When you are down in the valley, the trail and then the MR lead through a wonderful forest. Great spots to camp along the MR after the puesto (gate) but 100 before the Enel substation.
Day 7: Clouds at around 900 hm, good to be down in the valley. On a hot summer day, it’s probably very annoying to walk 15 km on a dusty MR - on a cool morning in spring, it was the opposite, and shortened by half, as an Enel worker gave me a ride to the exit of the hydropower area; from there 30min to the PR, then hitchhiked to Antuco for resupply and walked back into the direction of Abanico, as I found a nice cabana in Peluca (Villa Peluca, +56 9 8920 5676). 15 min. after my arrival heavy rain and storm for several hours.

*'''2024-04-12 to 2024-04-15 / 3 Days / Hiking SOBO) / RR / Alex + Andrey'''
Option from Termas de Chillan
My favorite section for autumn and a perfect weekend escape from the big city.
Difficulty: Moderate
It’s not hot and there’s almost no dust after a little rain.
The foliage of the trees turns into autumn colors!
Fords are simple.
Although Ford (easy) {08} [48.4/1334] has unusually more water for mid-April, photo attached in FB post.
Thanks to Matthias de Austria for clearing access to the stream at the west shore of Laguna Robles. It is a whole year source of fresh water before the ridge.
The Lagunillas Camping now is https://www.parqueantuco.cl/

* '''2024-03-24 to 2024-03-28 // 4,5 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + VARIANT E + VARIANT D // Quentin Clavel'''

After few days off at Los Angeles, I took the bus to Abanico then hitchhike until the junction between the trail and the road. I had to pay at the park ranger gate the 5K CLP for the entrance of the park (online reservation only, impossible to pay cash, and there's hardly mobile service up there, so prepare yourself by advance ☺️).

Then, you go straight up, and have stunning views over volcan Antuco and siella velluda. I had to check my GPS few times on this first part, and to change my trajectoire to stay on the RR and don't miss trailheads.

I slept at Laguna lágrima. I don't know if it comes from the water here, but I had stomach issues the following days ...

Views on this first part were absolutely wonderful !

The thermals of Los Peucos are just amazing ! Worth the stop, clean, well maintened, and with perfect temperature of water ! Sergio was so kind, he even invited me to lunch with him, that was a very nice break in this day !

Some swampy parts after the Puesto {08} [61.7/1298].

The hike up to the plateau (KM42) was physical, but it results to stunning views over the volcan chillan, and all the wonderful surroundings! There were hundreds of cows on that plateau and it was quite swampy, at the end you reach a super nice camp with incredible thermals ! Best hot springs of the GPT so far for me !

Continue to the pass and arrive in the volcanic plateau, very great too. I was too amazed by the landscape that I lost myself ! I was following a pretty clear track and missed to go on the right of the valley. I had hard time to join the RR as I tried to shortcut, but it was very demanding, sleepy and with losing rocks. Would have been better to backtrack at the junction and find again the RR, anyway...

After a way down where there's just a little overgrown part (for no more than 300m) I reached the terrible Rio Ñuble, that was (I was fortunate) easy to pass for me, at this time of the season, even with quite strong current.

From then I only met amazing people, up for a chat and full of an absolute kindness ! Carabineros first, locals, and Sandra at the microshop in puente el inglés (that was my only option for ressuply (chips, biscuits, fresh drinks, pastas) but at the middle of nothing I was happy about that !)).

* '''2024-03-18 to 2024-03-23 / 5.5 days / SOBO / RR,E,RR,H,RR/ Marilyne'''

Day 1 - Took the bus from rural terminal in Chillán at 8am to Termas de Chillán. After option 2, I walked NOBO on the RR to the nice hot springs at 40.3, spent the day there and camped at 40.4.

Day 2- Walked the dusty trail to Camping Los Peucos. Ford at 48.4: crossed about 400 meters upstream of the waypoint for the ford. The main flow is quite strong, so I looked for a spot where it was slightly more diverted. Got to camping Los Peucos and got offered a cabin with electricity for the same price as camping as heavy rain was forecasted for the next day (10k/night). Used the wifi which is pretty good around the ranger’s cabin. Hung out in the hot springs being chatted up by a 80-yo man who didn’t seem to care whether I understood all of what he said or not.

Day 3 - 45mm rain - Rest day. The nicest campground attendant, Sergio, let me hang out in his cabin by the fire all day.

Day 4 - Walked mostly on RR but using variant E on the road as the RR trail is overgrown and the trees were soaking wet after yesterday’s downpour. Met two people in a truck that worked for the pipeline that is along that road. Didn’t see anyone else. Camped at Laguna Laja.

Day 5 - Followed the RR except for variant H. Camped at the edge of the forest before the camp waypoint 119.7/1520, didn’t find ants to be problematic. Met a group of 5 young hikers going to Laguna Los Condores right before camp.

Day 6 - Hiked RR and GPT09 option 1A to Salto de las Chicas. Got a ride quickly to Antuco, where I went to the nice supermarket and took a room in town.

* '''2024-03-11 to 2024-03-16 / 5.5 days / SOBO / OH2, RR, Variant C, RR, G, RR / Tobi & Fangwen'''

Bus to Thermas de Chillan departs 12:30 from Rural bus station in Chillan arrives around 5pm

Hot springs @ KM40.3 indeed one of the best on the GPT - nice mix of hot waterfall and cold spring in one pool. Campsite there is not sheltered from wind, and a fair bit of trash left behind. Definitely worth the small detour from Thermas de Chillan

Baños de Peucos are great for a half rest day, Sergio (caretaker) is the nicest and most welcoming host.

At Laguna El Roble, the better campsite is on the western shore - there is one flowing water source along the edge of the forest a bit north of the campsite (lake gets a bit gross end of season).

Between El Roble and Hermosa, there is cellular reception when on the western side of the ridge (Movistar).

Laguna Hermosa is nice, there is one flat and South wind sheltered campsite behind the bushes on the north side of the lake. It's nice to walk around the lake, some easy scrambling. Do expect power lines overhead.

The two hot springs, and the last ridge hike were definitely the highlights of this GPT section.

The bus leaving Albanico for Las Angeles goes at between 5-6pm -ish

Rest very straightforward, and as described below (dusty, dead horse).

* '''2024-Feb-25 to 2024-March-4 / 7.5 days / SOBO / RR B D/ Matthias de Austria'''

No snowfiels, almost no Tabanos, except in the forenoon (none in the evening) at Laguna El Roble, about 30 to 40 Tabanos in 3 hours, on 1st of March!
Mostly plenty of water, lots of unmarked streams. No water at 106.7 and at camp 119.7, dried up.

Lots of dirt roads and paths veeery dusty.

No camp at 106.6. Flat spot few hundred meters after at -37.24567,-71.39142. But no protection and no water.

Fordings: all very easy except Rio Nuble. Crossed Nuble at ford 23.7, did not scout. It was deeper then it looked and for a meter or so I (187cm, 100kg) had a little fighting with the current. It was the first somewhat serious ford in my life. Got my undies a bit washed. Forded Rio Diguillin at -36.93549, -71.40313, where I saw horsetracks on the ground. Water around kneedeep, for a half meter strong current, but I simply step over it. I marked this easy ford position with a vertical tree stump, might be there until the next storm or flooding. Ford 66.4 was possible dry foot a bit east, but go back to RR afterwards, the road on the map does not exist anymore and this area is a jungle.

At -36.94783,-71.41243 easy to miss junction.

Camps: 1st shortly after the bridge at puente el ingles in the sand. Nice swimming next to it, but no morning sun until noon. 2nd abou q00 to 200m upstream of ford 23.7 next to Rio Nuble. Nice bolders, big pool, but strong current and very cold. 3rd camp 36.2, meadows quite wet, limited protection, just a few bushes. Small cold pool 150m away at Rio Las Minas. 4th a few hundred meters before ford 47.4 on a small flat spot next to the path. Nice camp shortly northwest of trailhead 80.5. Big nice pool at Rio Polcura for swimming next to where option 1 fords. West side Camp at Laguna El Roble as east has shallow water. Stream next to camp dried up, I found a small one a bit further north along the shore. Had to clean up 2m of thick bushes for water access. Camp at Laguna Hermosa very windy, but just follow the black cable to the west for maybe 20m, then go 3m through the treebushes and you are in a little quit well wind protected clearing: -37.274802,-71.383647. Camp 119.7, but water dried up, and very dusty and limited protection, not a good camp. There are some meadows a few hundred m further around the puesto, also no water there in March.

Men cleaning up the RR path north of Los Peucos. Some workers at the camp, but the ranger is working on the trail. No ranger means no firewood for cooking, no wifi and the thermas are without water. So no point in staying there and I move a bit further camp on some dusty place next to the road with a bit clambering river access. Next morning first morning frost.

Hot spring 40.3 is absolutely amazing. Best one I saw on the GPT. Stayed there for hours naked and got a bit sunburned. The "smoking river" a few hundred meters further west is also worth seeing.

Lots of blackberries along RR Rio Los Sauces.

Hardly any paths around camp 29.5 for a few hundred meters, overgrown or landslided. Not a big problem, just slows you down.

Long boring road, but hitch until police station shortly after ford 12.2km. Police friendly, wants passport, detail plans and phone number in case of emergency.

Gate at -36.81995,-71.25333, entry forbidden sign. easy to climb.

RR after junction E is partly overgrown, but still walkable, just slows you down.

Combined Section 7 and 8, in total 17 days, with lots of bathing and sitting around. Run out of food the last few days and had to restrict to one portion per day, which made me even slower due to lack of energy. But it was totally worth it. Still have way too much body fat. Last ridge one of the most beautiful parts of the GPT, stunning views and diverse path.

Hitch ruta Q-45 to Antuco.

Work in progress

* '''2024-Feb-24 to 2024-Feb-28 / 4.5 days / SOBO / RR / Gabriele - Trails of Wander'''

Day 1 (0.5) - Termas de Chillan - near Camp 08 [42.3/2087]. Late start at around noon from OH-Tl-V 08-02 [2.6+3.3] (Thermas de Chillan Parking) after hitch-hiking from Las Trancas. Reached Las Trancas with RemBus from the Chillan Rural Bus Terminal La Merced. The Sendero Valle Aguas Calientes have been re-routed for a few 100s meters after the fumaroles and it stays higher than the original track. Easy to follow. Once in the Valle Aguas Calientes I continued to Hot Spring 08 [40.3/2173] NOBO which is really a must do on this section and then retraced back to a camping area about 200 m lower than Camp 08 [42.3/2087] that I thought was dryer, flatter and had good access to water.

Day 2 - Camp 08 [42.3/2087] Valle Aguas Calientes - Los Peucos CONAF Hot Spings Camping. I followed the RR for this day. The only note of relevance is that the ford of Rio Diguillin at [48.4/1334] is still hips high with strong current and need to be approached with trekking poles and cautiously. The critical part is only about 2 meters wide, but the current is strong. Water is not particularly cold.

Day 3 - Los Peucos CONAF Hot Spings Camping - camp on Laguna Del Laja shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614]. I was lucky to get a ride for 3-4 km right out of Los Peucos by a CONAF maintenance crew who was going to do some tree cleaning on a minor road down the valley. This route branched out from the RR MR and according to the crew it is shorter to get to the Camino Oleoducto road. The alternative route turns into a faint trail for the last km or so and it crosses Rio Polcura in a very easy and shallow spot with water always below knee and calm current. After the crossing it overlaps with OH-CC-a 08-D for the last km, then it meets RR MR shortly after the ford on the RR. This alt route is flat and easy and possibly shorter of about 1-2 km than RR. On Camino Oleoducto I was also able to hitch-hike for about another 3-4 km to reach the start of the Sendero Los Ratones RR-Tl-V 08[80.6]. Thanks to the rides I was able to reach Laguna Del Laja quicker than expected. I decided to camp on the lake shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614] rather than continuing to Laguna El Roble as the spot was scenic. There I met Hugo, the Arriero who stays at the Puesto nearby Laguna El Roble.

Day 4 - Camp on Laguna del Laja shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614] - Laguna Hermosa. I just followed the RR for this day with the exception of the short CC to Laguna Hermosa where I camped for the night.

Day 5 - Camp at Laguna Hermosa - Camping Lagunilla (10k CLP per day). Also followed RR for this final day. Camping Lagunilla is very good with hot showers and very nice camp sites. Unfortunately no more homemade empanadas, only bebidas from this week moving forward for the remaiming of the season. The following morning I easily hitch-hiked to Abanico where there are small stores and took the bus to Los Angeles at 1 pm.

Overall a good section with variety of landscapes and views particularly around Volcan Chillan / Aguas Calientes and along the traverse above Laguna Del Laja with great views of Volcan Antuco and the Sierra Velluda.

* '''2024-Feb-20 to 2024-Feb-27 / 8 days / Hiking / NOBO / El Abanaico - Puente El Inglés / RR + Option H + Option B / Alex & Christophe'''

It was a really nice section for us. The part we really loved was from Thermas de Chillan to Rio Nuble. It felt more wild and with less people. So even if you fear Rio Nuble, avoiding this part would be a mistake for us. We think that the edge between km 117.3 and 100.6 also really worth it but can't totally know as we were in the fog.

A lot has already been said but here is what seems important to us:

We started the section hitchhiking from Antuco with a easy and fast ride to El Abanico.

There is some apple trees in the valley near Ford {08} [71.3/1089] and apples were nearly ready to be eaten.

Los Peucos were a nice stop to relax but we weren't alone as a lot of the previous comment. 2 other parties (horse riders) were also camping the same night as us. The road is being improved so this will maybe become a bit more popular than the last 2 months. It was 10'000 CLP pp for us, with firewood and Internet. We didn't try to connect so we can't comment on the speed and quality.

Ford {08} [48.4/1334] (Rio Diguilin) wasn't that hard. Just follow the horse track as it's a good place to ford and there will only be 1m with some current. It's still deep but we ford it at 6pm without any trouble. The best thing with this ford is that the water is warm and you can try to ford it without your backpack a few times before you're sure of the place you like the more. All this without frozen toes ;)

Ford {08} [23.7/950] (Rio Nuble) was ok but still not a piece of cake. We crossed it at 11:30 am and didn't thought it was so deep before going in. I had water nearly to my waist (I'm 174cm tall) and the current in the center is clearly present. The good point is that the river is not ice cold, so you can take your time and go slowly, being sure of the position of your feet and poles.

For the last 12 km, between El Roble and Puente El Inglés, it's full of fruit trees. It felt like being in a free fruit market. We could pick apples, pears, a lot of blackberries. There were even fig tree but it was a little bit too soon. So nice to have a bit of vitamin and fresh food after 8 days.

Finally, after asking at the mini-shop in Puente El Inglés, we learned that there is no more bus going to San Fabián. So we took a beer and some french fries before camping near the bridge after a pretty long day. The next day we walked an hour before we could catch a ride to San Fabián.

* '''Feb-9-2024 to Feb-14-2024 / 5 days ( of which 2 half days) / SOBO / Oh2, RR, var B, D, E, H / Matthieu'''

Very beautiful and diverse section, with the volcan, pastures of agua caliente, the forest and the rock and thorny bushed mountains.
At the end of the section, I suggest to follow RR to the lagunilla camping, it's an easy trail in the park, and 2 very nice cascadas to see. From the park entrance there is an osm track that cross Section 9 RR, direclty to the campsite, so you never have to walk on the road.
I started at Oh 2 to avoid rio Ñuble.

Trecking difficulties :
1) River crossing of rio Diguillin 48.4 is still not a peace of cake. The current is strong, and where i crossed it was max to the hips in the rapid water. I went on a large place with big rocks on the way to hide behind, it cuts the crossing into 3 difficult but very short parts, and you can hug the rocks not to fall.
2) The pass before Laguna Laja is a cemetery of trees, so the progression is a little bit slow but nothing difficult, it's basic gps navigation.
3) The part between laguna hermosa and Water 118.3 is steep, sliperry with rocks and sand. The tracks are difficult to follow at times. So the progression is slow, i suggest not to start it at the end of the day. I finished on var H without noticing it, just saw the trail from below. I was exhausted when i put my tent at camp 119.7 (an horrible mistake, see below).

Camp :
At Fumaroles at the beginning of Oh 2, some flat spaces in the valley and a clear cold river - Ford 50.5, arriero camp super nice - 300m before water 1.5 on var E, a nice flat place but very exposed. I wanted to camp at 72.9, incredible place, but a freshly dead horse was waiting for me, the whole place stinked like hell. Wanted to try to camp on RR along the rio after but it was overgrown at the beginning and it was late so back on var E - Laguna el Roble 98.3. It is an arriero spot with a clear river that goes into the lake. There is a trail into the trees that takes you into the beach for nice camp places. You don't really want to drink directly from the lake, so i don't suggest camp 97.8 (no fresh water). There is a puesto before the last uphill to the lake, really nice arriero inside who advised me this - Camp 119.7 : DON'T sleep there, the whole hill is an enormous nest of unfriendly red ants, I had to cook directly in my inner tent. The river runs very slow to so the water not good. So i suggest camp at the lagunas before, or if you still have courage to follow until the cross country after puesto 120, it's heaven for tents with view on antuco and the river is not far.

Water : all markers correct, no concerns until the final ridge.
For the ridge walk of cerro el toro, you can find water at camp without water 102.3 (so this year its name should be with water), water 106.6, laguna hermosa, laguna lagrima (the very little one after the cerro), and nothing after on RR until water 118.

Snow : one patch on Oh 2 on the track, but you can avoid it by a sendero litteraly 10m above, with no problems. No other patches.

Accomodations : bus from Chillan rural terminal, to thermas de Chillan at 14h, you have to walk from vale hermoso to the beginning of Oh2 - Camping Lagunilla, 10k per day, homemade empanadas sandwichs bebidas and cakes, very calm i loved it. For buses, you have to walk to albanico (6 per day for los angeles, of which 9h30, 11h, 15h30, 18h30).

* '''2024-Feb-05 to 2024-Feb-08 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 02 + RR + OH E + H + J / Joscha'''

Day 1: OH08-02

I took the bus at 2 pm from the rural bus station in Chillan to the Thermas de Chillan. From there I had to roadwalk 1.5 km to get to OH08-02. There are a few snow fields left around the Pass Pirigallo, but its easy to walk over them. At km 1.2 of OH08-02 I took the Valle de Agua Caliente Trail as short cut to the Camp at 42.3 on the RR. I did not like the spot there, but close to it at -36,91092, -71,36632 are some decent tent spots.

Day 2: RR [42.3-75.1] + OH08-E

The Ford at km 47.4 was max. knee high at 10 pm. (I am 191 cm tall). Be carefull fording Rio Diguillin at km 48.4. The water was just below my hips and the current was pretty strong (around 10:30 pm). I forded it about 60 m upstream of the gpx tracks. There was a big rock in the middle of the river to which I could hold on to. At km 59.6 is a closed barb wire gate that I couldn't open. I managed to climb over it, but it's a little tricky. The RR leads on to the property of the Thermas Los Peucos (km 63.9). After the ford at km 63.7 I had to step over a barded wire fence (no gate). Los Peucos was closed and I didn't see anybody. I didn't like the idea of trespassing so I climb over the front gate (km 63.9) and continued on RR. OH08-B might be a good alternativ to avoid Los Peucos. But I meet Ricardo a few km further south. He was on his way to Los Peucos. If I understood him correctly (my spanish is pretty basic) than he is going to be at Los Peucos for the next two months. So they should be open now if you are interested in taking a break there. There are two easy fords at km 70.0 and 70.6 on the RR. The river at Ford 71.3 is wide, but water was below knees in thr evening. I wanted to camp at km 72.9, but I found the body of a horse directly at the camping spot. It looked like it had died a few days ago and it smelled pretty bad. Therefore I continued to the camp at km 78.6. I accidently stayed on the dirtroad and walked variant E. It has some extra altitude but therefore some nice views into the valley. Water 0.7 on variant E was dry. All other water and ford Waypoints I passed today had water.

Day 3: RR [78.5-107.0]

Laguna El Roble is a nice break spot and the last water source until km 106.7. At the Camp Marker km 106,6 is only a overgrown meadow which isn't flat at all. But there is a descent camp spot at km 106,9. The Water at km 106.7 is only a trickle and might dry out soon. All Water markers I passed by today had water.

Day 4: RR [107.0-115.2] + OH08-H + RR [116.3-117.4] + OH08-J + RR [117.4-134.5]

The next water source after km 106.7 is Laguna Lagrima at km 113.5. I accidently hiked OH08-H instead of RR. Laguna Los Condores is pretty nice. But the last few hundred meters of OH08-J are overgrown and not so easy to walk trough. Its easier to follow the trail that leads to the eastern side of the Laguna and forks of at about km 0.6 of OH08-J. From this trail you can go down to the Laguna. There is water at all markers.

The part from km 100 to km 117 is very spectacular.

* '''2024 Jan 25 to Feb 5 / 12 days / SOBO / Opt 2, Opt 3, RR, Var D, Opt 6 + 2 OSM routes / Michael and Kasia'''

TL/DR: A beautiful but exhausting section.Reserva Nacional Ñubles is officially closed, but they are still letting people in. If taking Opt 3, look for the trail that starts just after El Trumao heading NE for a more interesting hike. Los Peucos is open, but has no food or power so not currently a resupply option.

Day 0 -
We took the bus from Chillan to Recinto hoping to camp for the night and take the early bus up to Termas de Chillán to begin the hike. (The bus that goes all the way to the hotel only goes twice a day. Both leave from the Terminal Rural in Chillan one at 08:00, the second at 14:00.) There were no camping options in Recinto, so we walked to Los Lleuques. We found a hostel called Antupiren at the entrance of town. 13.000 pp for private with shared bathroom, very nice owners. They have a restaurant too. There were some other places with signs for hostal and campamento further down the street. There are 4 or 5 shops and grocery stores in town. If you stay in Lleuques, a little further on is a nice public access beach along the river called La Playita that is popular with locals and a good place to escape the heat for the afternoon.

Day 1 -
We got up early and were at the bus stop at 08:15. The bus arrived at around 09:30. It only goes as far as the hotel and then you have to walk about 1 km up to the ski center where the trail begins. The beginning of the trail was steep and dusty, then leveled off a bit. It passes by some fumeroles. There are two paths up to the pass. One is not on GPT or OSM at the moment, but it is a marked path that is clearly visible. It goes more to the left and up. The other is a horse trail which is the one GPT goes along. They both meet about half way up. We took the horse trail up. There is some grassy area and access to a stream. Nice views of the valley on the way up. Close to the top there was still a small snow field left and the way around it was walking above it on large, loose rocks. We had resupplied for 8 days and our packs were around 25 kg each. Due to this we felt it would be unsafe for us to try to navigate the section so we decided to walk back. It was disappointing, but we were also thinking about the difficulties others had in crossing Rio Diguillin further on and figured it was an early warning. On the way back we took the marked path which was actually more difficult than the GPT track, which surprised us since it looked more like a tourist trail. We were rewarded at one point however with a spring gushing out of the ground and took the opportunity to get fresh cold water without the need to filter. When we got back to where the fumeroles were, we chatted with some mountain bikes and a couple of hikers. There is another route down which had an OSM track on the map. The bikers explained that it is the route they all take down. It is open to hikers as well and there are signs advising bikers to watch for hikers, but the biker said there are a lot of curves and it is possible to get hit on the way down if you are unlucky. It was around 18:30 and he said they were the last group, so if we just waited for them to leave we should be able to hike down without worrying. We waited, and it was totally worth it. The trail down is very dusty, but with much less incline than the way up, and at a certain point goes through a really beautiful beech forest with lots of wildflowers growing. There is no access to the estero until the bridge at the end. We tried to find a place to camp, but no luck. We ended up walking the highway back to a point where we had seen a dirt road connect to the estero and camped there for the night. Not optimal, but it was already dark by that point, so we were just grateful to sleep.

Days 2 and 3 -
We walked the highway until the Los Coltrahues nature trail that runs parallel to the highway and then walked that to Las Trancas. It was a pretty path and a nice alternative to the highway. In Las Trancas we bought food for lunch and dinner at a shop next to the bus stop. There are one or two other stores back the direction of Lleuques as well. A micro picked us up and dropped us off at the beginning of Opt 3. We had barely started walking when a family in a truck passed and offered us a ride to the river. We were incredibly grateful as the first 3 km of the road is incredibly dusty and there is actually a lot of traffic moving through. From where they left us we walked to the bridge and down to the river to have lunch and coffee. Lots of families were camping around the area. After lunch we got back on the route. A little further on the road was closed to vehicles due to storm damage and construction adding new culverts. No issues walking it. About 6km from the bridge there is a campground called San Antonio. It was also closed since the road was closed, but it was easy to get into. There are picnic tables and plenty of camping along with river access. We camped two nights to give ourselves a rest day. A few locals passed through, but no one else camped. It was very peaceful except for the tábanos. I killed more than 50 over the course of the day and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Day 4 -
We got up early to beat the heat and walked the first hour in the dark. We passed the area where the road has collapsed and where they are doing a reroute. No issue to walk it. We arrived at the gate that Lilian mentioned, the one with the dogs, at 08:00. There were 4 dogs that bark a lot. The guard came out, it seemed like we had woken him up. We explained what we were doing and he actually had no problem letting us through, but asked rhetorically what we were going to say to CONAF upstairs. The road up is in good shape. There were a few places to fill water along the way. When we arrived at El Trumao there was a CONAF guard there as well as some other people. He was incredibly nice, just registered us and then told us because the park is officially closed there was no fee to enter. He looked at our route and told us about another option, charged our phones for us, let us take water, and then even walked with us part way. The OSM track that runs along the river is a really nice option and we really enjoyed it. The first part is no longer relevant as the river destroyed part of the road and CONAF had done a reroute. If no one is there to show you, head along the GPT route toward Valle Hermosa until you see a trail branch to the left. It will be very obvious as it has wooden posts painted yellow on top and the whole trail has rocks lining either side. Follow that up. The first part was a lot of up and exposed, but after a while we entered native forest and enjoyed stretches that were in shade. There was a rest area with river access. Just after the waterfall lookout the trail dropped down a bit into a grove of old oak trees that was really nice and we camped there for the night (-36.95540, -71.45022) River access was about 100 m further on. This is a really great route option. It is along a trail instead of a road, it drops into RR about 18 km further north than finishing Opt 3 as marked, if you want to go to Los Peucos, you don't need to back track, and it stays on the south side of Rio Diguillin, connecting with RR just after the ford point others had trouble with this season. (Jan, if you read this, we enthusiastically endorse this as a variant for Opt 3!).

Days 5 and 6 -
The pass was a little overgrown, but nothing too challenging. On the way up we passed through a beautiful forest. We stopped at the last marked water point on the way up for a snack and coffee. The way down was dusty and then it opened up into a plain. The plain was easy, but as we went around the corner it turned into a swamp. The GPT route avoids the worst of it, but careful foot choice is important in some places. It was also really hot and humid. Then it was up again and then down again to get to Los Peucos. We initially followed RR, but the ford point looked challenging and there was barbed wire on the other side. I went across without my pack to try to find a way up. The rocks in the river were really slippery and I feel in at one point, but no injury. On the other side I climbed under the wire and up a hill. Then I had to climb under more barbed wire. I walked onto the property and ran into Ricardo who manages Los Peucos. He was very nice, and took me to show me the front entrance and a much easier ford point that is defined for cars to pass, which turned out to be Var B. So if going to Los Peucos SOBO, I recommend taking Var B. I went back to get Kasia and my pack and we camped there for two nights in order to clean out gear and take a rest day.

A few notes on Los Peucos. Los Peucos is open, price this year is 5.000 pp for termales only, 10.000 pp for camping, 24 hours of access to termales and wood to make a fire in a fire pit. They were having trouble with both their generator and solar panels and have been without power for two months, so don't plan to charge anything there. Also a section of the road there was destroyed over the winter, so almost no one is going there and they aren't getting any resupply for their tiendita, so don't plan on this as a resupply point until someone posts that this has changed, which may be awhile since there seems to be some bureaucratic issue preventing the road from being fixed.

Day 7 -
We left Los Peucos just as it was getting light. The road and trail are in good condition for walking. We took Var D to cross Rio Polcura. River ford was easy, thigh high but very little current. We stopped at the camp at [72.9/1104] to have lunch. There were some arrieros and Carabineros already camped for the night, and it was too early to stop for the day, so we continued on. The valley path that RR follows is surely more interesting than walking the road along Var E, but it is fairly overgrown with spiky plants and it was slow going. There is almost no river access along the path, but there were one or two streams. We do not recommend the camp at [78.6/1203], especially if you are using a trekking pole supported tent. It is overgrown and difficult to access, anything that is not sand is covered in those annoying plants that leave tiny spiky balls attached to your clothes, and river access is not great. We ended up camping in the old road grade just above, but it was pure dust. We really regretted camping here, however it was late and we didn't know if there would be any place else to camp further on. (There is though!)

Day 8 -
We were to tired to do the pass, but we didn't want to stay camped in the same place for the day. We found a better campsite just 2 km further up trail (-37.09454, -71.31211). Just before the trailhead to the pass, on the left side of the road, there is a dirt path going down to a camping area that arrieros use (it is the same road as the end of Opt 1). It has grass and could fit probably two or three tents. The river access is about 100 m away, but it was really clean access with a stone beach and even a small sand beach and a great swimming spot to cool off. There is essentially no shade so it wasn't great for a rest day in that respect, but it was directly below the pass, so a great starting point for that. We took advantage of the river and washed all the dust off the tent. The fabric felt like new afterward!

Day 9 -
We got up early to try to tackle the pass before sun hit. The trailhead is a little easier to find now as more arrieros and hikers have gone through. The pass up is overgrown in places, but not as bad as we had expected. There were some great early morning views. Something killed most of the forest in that valley some time ago and all the dead trees are sun bleached white which was really interesting. As Lilian mentioned, there is a place where the trail collapsed. People have been walking about 5 m upstream and crossing there, but the short reroute is eroding and it looked a little sketchy to us. We went into the stream bed and climbed up through the bamboo to regain the trail. It was lovely forest higher up and on the other side for some time. Keep a lookout for a nice view of Laguna del Laja from a distance on the way down. The valley was another world entirely. Completely exposed, mostly dry but with some sections of swamp, we lost the trail a few times in a maze of overgrown thorn bushes. We took an afternoon break at the puesto just before reaching the lake. We were a little underwhelmed by the lake itself, I think because it has no trees around. We got a little lost on the way up to Laguna Roble, but a very friendly and helpful arriero staying at the puesto at the end of the valley saw us and came out to help direct us up. We stopped at the marked campsite at the east side of the lake. Previous entries had suggested the west side campsite is more wind protected. I went packless to scout it, but I could not see any way in and the water access near the site looked like marsh. We stayed on the east side, no wind issue for the night. The water in the lake was not too cold, so nice to swim in.

Day 10 -
We started early to get through as much of the pass as possible before the sun hit. The beginning of the trail was actually hard to find, but once we were on it, it was clear. The up was very demanding and exhausting, and it was overgrown in parts. There is a saddle just before the final push to the pass where we stopped to take a break and some pictures (great view of the lake, volcan Antuco and Sierra Velluda) but there were biting ants everywhere that swarmed us and our packs so we moved on. Good views of both valleys as we walked along. Reports from previous years suggested no water between Laguna Roble and Laguna Hermosa. There was at least two water points between, one of which was a very nice spring with shade around (-37.21425, -71.37259). Being exhausted and running low on supplies, we had already decided that Opt 6 would be our exit from GPT08. The route down was steep and thus slow, but clear and easy to follow. There are multiple water points on the way down. We camped about 1 km in at the first marked campsite. There was a shady, somewhat flat, somewhat grassy area that arrieros use for camping and a spring flowing just below. It was a nice spot after hiking so many hours completely exposed in full sun.

Day 11 -
The first part of Opt 6 down was really nice. There were nice views of the mountains as the sun came up, then it goes into forest for awhile before the arriero path finally meets the service road. We were also fortunate to have cloud cover for most of the day. There are a few unmarked water points between the last marked one and Rayenco. Rayenco is not a settlement but connected to the power plant. Shortly after Rayenco there is what looks like an abandoned picnic area and sports concha. We stopped for lunch, and it could be used for emergency camping if necessary. Hitchhiking out seems essentially impossible. It's just cars associated with the power plant, and our experience is that those vehicles don't take hitchhikers, probably a company policy. We walked to the highway, chatting with the gate guard on the way out. On the highway it took about half an hour, but finally a kind soul, Sergio, who had actually passed us, turned around and came back just to pick us up and dropped us at Plaza de Armas un Antuco. We found lodging at Cabañas Puelche 2 blocks east of the plaza, 15.000 pp for a private room in the hostel portion of the establishment, shared bath, fridge, pool.

* '''2024 Jan 05 to 2024 Jan 09 / 5 days/ SOBO from Termas de Chillan / RR / Hannes&Christian'''

1. Day: Walked from Termas de Chillan to Rio Diguillín. Slept there at -36.935262, -71.403804 and forded the next morning around -36.935730, -71.401841. Thought there would be less water running in the morning, but actually it looked pretty the same as the day before…
2. Day: Walked to Los Peucos and further down for a nice campsite near the river -37.046868,
-71.415394
3. Day: We took Option D to short cut the minor road…easy to walk, CC, recomendable…then along road and path and road again, up to a pass in the woods and down to a widening valley, camped at -37.15603, -71.32019. As others already wrote on wikiexplora we had there as well a pretty freezing night around 0 degrees Celsius I think, although the spot was not that high….around 1450m. A lot of humidity.
4. Day: For us here the nicest part started, walking down to Laguna de la Laja, up to a pass and then all along ridges to Laguna Hermosa. Amazing views. Instead of walking down to L. Hermosa you can camp as well a little above the lake around -37.269841, -71.381748 with water access, at least in early summer I guess. Personally I think it isn’t worth to go down to the Laguna (except no water possibility above) , first because you’ll have an electric power line over your head sleeping there (there is a hydroelectric power station in the valley nearby), second because it can be a windy place at shore…at least for us it was like this. Third: Still something like 1 km from the ridge. Choose yourself.
5. Day: From L. Hermosa to Estación de Esqui. Pretty nice views of surrounding peaks, at the end we walked a pretty annoying road out to the ski area. Then we hitchhiked to Camping Lagunillas, an amazing place with very nice owners. Feels there like being on the Gpt, but with running water and shower. Probably depends on the season…

* '''2024 Jan 13 / 5 days / SOBO / RR, OH-TL / Anh'''

Everyone feared Ñuble, me too, so I took option 2.

The trail was difficult to find from km 112-117, I left RR and took OH-TL. Otherwise the trail was easy to see. There were only a few snowfields that were easy to cross.

Ford km 48.4: Disclaimer: please do not my mistake! I first tried two best possible spots (hip), but the flow (13:00) was too strong, I couldn’t hold my hiking poles. Then 50m further on I saw two tree trunks arranged like bridges from other GPTs. After crossing them, however, it was not possible to go back to RR after a few attempts. My best possible option was BB with 70 degree slope straight up. It was only possible with bamboo trees, but was very dangerous. I'm writing my mistake here so you can avoid it!

Camp km 106.6: I included this camp in my daily plan (about 20km, 1000m uphill, 350m downhill). here is not possible to find 1qm flat spot. So I had to walk 4km further from my reserve.

* '''2024-Jan-11 to 2024-Jan-15/ 4.5 days / SOBO / Termas de Chillán(Var 2)+RR+Var G+H+J(Lakes)/ Matthias'''

Started in Termas de Chillán. Hiking, most fordings (see day 1) and orientation was quite easy on this section. Only on last part of Travesía Pilcura some steep snowfields to cross. Warm and hot creeks on first day (Fondo Aguas Calientes), views and lakes on forth day (Travesía Pilcura) were spectacular. Plenty of water everywhere. A lot of annoying horse flies.

Day1: Termas de Chillán - km53.6
Only minor snowfields. Ascent of Volcán Chillán Viejo should be possible without crampons, no snow on steep upper slopes. Fumaroles on ascent from Termas, warm creek with pools right when you come down to Fondo Aguas Calientes. Also people camping there. I underestimated ford at km48.4 (Rio Diguillín), water was up to upper hips and current, I was washed away… But overall no dangerous crossing and with more cautious selection the fording should be easier. Arrieros at puesto at km49.6 (Coihuería) were the last people I met until end of section!

Day2: Reserva Nacional Ñubles
Officially the reserva was closed. I entered Termas Los Peucos via RR, watering of meadows was running, I said „Hello“ but nobody answered.
Took a bath in the beautiful hot springs, two stone-walled pools.

Day 3: km78.6 (Rio Ñubles) - km98.3 (Laguna El Roble)
Easy day … nice swimming at the camp with fireplace in the evening

Day 4: Travesía Polcura - Laguna ElToro
Spectacular day: great views, mountains, lakes and path.
The detours to the lakes (var G+J, Laguna Hermosa, ElToro and Los Condores) are worthwhile!
Some steep snowfields on RR below Cerro El Toro, I used microspikes, but in a warm afternoon you can also safely cross without. Beautiful (!!) camp at Laguna El Toro with sun until 19:45 though it’s deep in a cirque.

Day5:
Nice view of Volcán Antuco from the ridge just before the volcán (ca. km125). I left the road and walked +-height parallel to the solar collectors which are visible on the ridge from the MR.
From Curva El Candado I tramped down most of the road to the junction to Abanico, where I ate lunch at the friendly cafe/restaurant „Roca“ and where the bus to Los Angeles leaves at 15:00.

* '''2023-Dec-28 to 2024-Jan-01 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {08-03} - {08-C} - RR - {08-06} - {08-06B} / Lilian'''

Avoid of crossing Rio Ñuble, i go for {08-03}.

There is a bus from Chillán to Los Lleuques at 18:00, take about 1.5 hour. A small shop and some tiny shops there, friendly and good resupply. Look like have some restaurants too, but i'm too late so they're already closed.

{08-03} km3.3 : tiny shop selling drinks.

Km4.3 : camping spots or camping possibilities start from here to south.

Km11.3 : ranger station for guard of Reserva National, look like need booking in advance or some permits. Otherwise you can't go in by this gate. (It is impossible for sneak in, two dogs here.)

Luckily after i took 10min to explain what I'm doing, where does my routes go, why i'm here, I'll pack out all my trash, no fire, no pick plants, dig a hole for poop, etc. He let me go in, 1000% thank you to him!

Km19 : bridge for crossing Río Diguillín.

Km19.45 : El Trumao, Camping Relbún. Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here.

Km19.7 : closed gate, you can open it on left side. Old, steep and rocky dirt road behind this gate, look like no cars on it for some years. (Some place landslide, cars impossible to pass by)

Km21.3 : Rio Relbún, good water flowing nice, rock hopping for dry feet.

Km22.8 : view point of valley, also some flat spots with trees can fit 2-4 tents.

Km23.7 : pass, Paso Atacalco, descent to a beautiful valley.

Km25.3-km26.2 : some tiny streams flowing with good water, but maybe dry up soon.

Km28.4 : Valle Hermoso, Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here. Río Blanquillo flowing at here too.

Some more tiny streams flowing across the road at south, but i think they will all dry up soon.

Km35.6 : a side trail to see a waterfall, I think it is just soso.

Then connect with {08-C}, then back to RR.

{08-C} km2.4 : a very beautiful demon rock hill on your left side, worth take a look!

RR Ford[71.3/1089] : crossing of Río Polcura, it's a wide river crossing about 80m, luckily it is already made for vehicles crossing so have a rock bar underwater, easy to cross. Mostly just half of calf, in the middle about 10m, up to knee and flowing very fast.

Camp[72.9/1104] : it's a really nice camping spot with tree shade and beside a river.

Camp[78.6/1203] : this spot is not beside RR. When you finish valley trail walk, if you don't join dirt road and keep going walk in the valley then you'll arrive here.

Water[79.1/1214] : log bridge crossing.

Trailhead[80.5/1248] : not easy to notice the trailhead, although it have a fallen board on the ground.

North of the pass is overgrown, south of the pass lot of fallen trees block the trail.

Didn't see any camping spots until almost to valley.

Water[81.8/1475] : when you get close, be careful dont walk too fast. Just before the stream dont follow the trail to left side and go down, it is already landslide and you'll fall off 2m vertically.

Pass[84.2/1744] : tons of huge dead trees and ready to fall down in next second. Don't camp here, it is dangerous.

Km85.8 : flat spot can fit 2-3 tents.

Km86: flat spots can fit 1 tent before and after a stream crossing.

Km95.2 : excellent view point of Volcán Antuco, look like some flat spots at downhill side close to the beach.

Camp[97.8/1456] : beside a tree, can fit 1-2 tents with fire ring. Last reliable water when you climbing up.

Km102 : snow start here, but all you can go around.

Camp without water[102.3/2063] : no camping spot as now, wet, muddy and lot of stream are flowing by snow melt, a fire ring is in the stream too!

I camped at km103.45, just before the pass, there is some brushes provide wind protection from west. Can fit 1-2 small tents.

Km104.1 : a large flat area, but no wind protection.

X[105.4/1934] : no more trail junction at "X", you need to go down a little, then CC to connect the trail at south.

Camp[106.6/1938] : wet, grassy and steep spot. A large flat area after you climb up the stream at km106.95, it is in a valley and no wind protection.

Km109.45 : a small pass, excellent view point of Volcán Antuco and Sierra Velluda!

Snow start at km109.9, unfortunately when i almost climbed up to ridge, i found that km111.8 to km113.5(at least) , all covered by snow on a very steep slope. It is not a good idea to go through this high risk area, also Cerro El Toro is a very sharp rocky peak, not possible walk on the ridge to go around the slope, so i turn back to "X"[105.4/1934], and join {08-06} continues to south.

{08-06} is a nice trail to go down, and look like somone have maintained it, nearly no fallen trees and just very little overgrown, easy to follow and walk.

{08-06} km4.5 : junction of {08-06} and {08-06A}, look like {08-06} in a better condition, also {08-06} from here to km5.6, it is an old dirt road and no more using.

Km5.6 : junction to join a good dirt road. Camping spot just before the junction, and there are also lot of camping possibilities along the good dirt road.

Gate[8.6/808] : locked, climb over it.

Km9.3 : another gate, you can open it on left side, if you want to camping, better before this gate.

Km22.4 : i join {08-06B} for shorter distance to main road for hitching to Antuco.

* '''2023-Dec-19 to 2023-Dec-20/ 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / Antuco RR and Option 6/ Jens'''

Tried to go up the main route. First pass was steep and full of snow. Decided to turn around and try Option 6.

As option 6 is on private land owned by the Hydroelectrico, a guard picked me up and told me to register with the Carabineros in Antuco. Frustrated I decided to skip section 8 in favour of section 7.

* '''2023-Dec-21 to 2023-Dec-24/ 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / San Fabian - Las Trancas / Ella'''

TLDR: River fords are still heinous, especially Ñuble. Bring micro spikes if crossing Paso Prigallo to go towards Las Termas de Chillan.

Day 1: Hitched a ride part of the way from San Fabian, and then caught a bus (was a Thursday around 1 pm) until Punilla. Camped at a small, windy site with good river access and near the Punilla swimming hole, which is definitely worth a visit. Some friendly caballeros came around 8 pm to camp as well.
Day 2: Walked towards Los Sauces, splitting off to the right where the road/trail led. Could not cross river here because of construction. Went back to the main road and walked North to where there was a (padlocked) cable car and did a challenging ford - current was somewhat strong and water went to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm). In retrospect, would have been better to just walk/bus all the way into Los Sauces and make a safer crossing there. Cabineros in El Roble were nicer to me that the ones in San Fabian. Camped just before Camp {08} [21.6/873] since it now seems to be on private property.
Day 3: Had to trespass for about a mile before reaching the Ñuble river but didn’t run into anyone. Ñuble was really difficult. I got there just before 8 am. Crossing the river at designated spot was not possible. I went upstream, around the bend, and about a hundred meters further to where the river widens and gets a bit shallower. I crossed with water about up to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm) but a little past midway the current took me off my feet and I went for a brief swim before grabbing a rock and recovering on the other side. After getting to the other side, I had to scramble/bushwhack up a near-vertical slope to where there appears to be sort of a terrace in the landscape. I found the best spot was behind where the bank of the river flattened out a bit. Thankfully once getting to the top, you’re blessed with a faint trail leading back to the main route. This approach was not very fun at all - it is probably best to wait another week or two before attempting the river.
After that, the trail gets harder to follow, especially after entering the larger valley. As per others advice, I tried crossing the river in the valley to the right side, but also ran into impassable shrubbery/broken trees there so I ended up crossing back and forth as needed. The first pass didn’t have any snow. There is a difficult ford after the marker for Trailhead {08} [34.6/1873]. Camped at Camp {08} [36.2/1953] which was lovely.
Day 4: Headed towards Las Termas de Chillan. Both passes were very snowy. The second pass, only necessary if going off main trail towards Las Termas, had steep sections that called for micro spikes. I was lucky that there were some people who had just come through and kicked steps in, making this part easier. Hitched a ride to Las Trancas where there are multiple well stocked mini markets and nice hostal options. Not sure if I will continue on GPT 08 given the snow and river conditions so far.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-06/ 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Los Peucos - Recinto / RR + OH03 / Hannes & Luisa'''

Hitchhiked from San Fabian to way after El Roble, rather easy on weekends as it seems many locals around. Ñuble crossing with strong current and water above knees (me 185cm), but still ok compared to other months I think. Went up the mountain and into this valley with beautiful oak-trees. Getting out of this forest we crossed the river to the orographic left side as suggested by others...initially a good choice, all the same we had to switch like 2 to 3 times river bank to avoid some nasty Bush bashing...We reccomend to just open your eyes and see which side works best for you after the initial crossing at approximately -36.856679 -71.275261. After the last camp in the valley path clearly visible and steep ascent to the pass. After the pass we got into this amazing volcanic landscape east of Volcan Chillàn. After the second pass we descended to Aguas Calientes, hot thermal pools at the end of a valley surrounded by some green yellow pasture and loads of cows. Good spot to camp...Then we went to Termas Los Peucos, took us 3.5 days till there. Just for the pools they take 10k, pools and camp was 14k. As one of us felt little sick we decided to hitchhike out over OH03. Do not consider this an emergency exit as it is rather difficult to hh out there, very few cars on the road as access is limited due to a private tunnel and only Carabineros and some oil- and gas-pipeline companies are around there with their cars it seems. All the same we were lucky and got out to Recinto (further down in the valley of Termas de Chillán, near Las Trancas...) In this valley or if you get out at Termas de Chillán we highly recommend Cabañas Ayunkoyam owned by Vincente Ruiz in Recinto, +56999991737, call him before. For this rather expensive valley quite a good option. Vincente is a local mountain guide who seems to know every mountain in his country and is a nice guy to talk to.

* '''2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-02 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Volcán Chillán - Termas de Chillán / Noémie'''
Very short section because I got a lift from San Fabián until after El Roble (21.0), a bit before the end of the minor road. Carabineros checked ID and asked for sufficient equipment. Ñuble crossing was not that hard but I had water until my waist, even at the end of the season (I am 1m60 though...). Camped the first night at Camp {08} [29.5/1441], on the left bank of the river, where there was a bit of space. The next morning, it was a bit hard to go up the valley with all the dead trees and no path visible. Tried to follow fellow GPT hikers advices, but ended up crossing the river multiple times to find a walkable path without too many bushes, until Camp {08} [31.3/1629]. After this tricky part, both paths are beautiful and quite easy. The thermal river is amazing. There was plenty of space with beautiful hot water pools but also cold water at Camp {08} [40.4/2150]. The last day, I took OH {08-02} and OH {08-02A} to go up Volcán Chillán and then exit at Termas de Chillán. Beautiful ascent with no specific difficulty except the steep last 300 meters. The place is full of condors flying really close, super impressive.
There are no housing options and no buses during the week leaving from Termas de Chillán. You can walk/hitchhike until -36.910163, -71.417798 where buses leave regularly everyday for Chillán. Found many cabañas options in Trancas de Chillán a bit further down. Overall, very beautiful and diverse section (forests, rivers, sand deserts, volcanos) with amazing hot springs!

* '''2023-Mar-13 to 2023-Mar-18 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Abanico — Thermas de Chillán / Iris, Alexis '''

Starting from Los Angeles, we took a bus (at 12:30) towards Abanico and then two rides until the start of OH-MR-V {08-K} [0.0+0.1]. Then, there is a gate (after the Bridge, Gate {08} [126.7/1339] point) locked with a padlock but easy to climb. The CC section (RH-CC-A {08} [26.4/122.0+1.9]) is actually following the MR so we thought better stay on the road. When we reached Camp {08} [120.2/1520], it was completely dry so we continued a bit and found a nice spot in the forest (close to -37.32983, -71.39823).

On Day 2, we continued on the trail, simply taking the shortcut OH-TL-V {08-I} [0.0+0.2]. Then, we chose to take option 08-H to stay high, it was really beautiful. We stayed on the rim until a hard part and then we diverged on the trail that was present a bit below us. As other as noted, on RH-CC-A {08} [18.1/113.7+2.0] you follow a trail or a set of footprints. When the trail and the trace diverge, follow the trail, it is usually the best option. And don't miss Trailhead {08} [113.7/2184], we tried to go around it but regretted it. Then, the trail until Laguna El Robles (Camp {08} [98.2/1456]) is nice but the descent is steep. We believe the path has been cleared recently because lot of fresh fallen branches on the ground. On the lake, we camped on the east side but it was very windy. The other side looked more protected.

On Day 3, we followed the RR until Camp {08} [73.3/1104]. It was a rather uneventful day except we met a lot of arrieros in the morning that went for a wild bull hunt. The camp is nice and felt like a campground.

On Day 4, we hiked for just a few kilometers to reach the Thermas Peucos. It was a very worthy stop, an oasis in the middle of the hike : 10k PP for the camping and hot springs (stoned pools). We even bought a lunch from the minishop which has quite a nice selection. Like others, we used the option 08-C to avoid the pointless climb in the RR.

On Day 5, we did a rather long walk until Camp {08} [40.4/2150] to enjoy the natural pool. The trail is a bit overgrown after the thermas but nothing bad. The day was full of going up : 2500 on the tracks but the GPS said only 2100 at the end of the day. The hot springs are amazing, truly the best we encountered. And we were alone there.

On Day 6, we met a horserider when leaving the camp a bit angry because he did not sleep. He camped near a group that partied the whole night (we believe it was close to Ford {08-02} [1.6/2097]). Then, option 08-02 and variant A to ascend the volcan. It starts with a nice trail and ends up with sand that is really hard to climb. Nothing difficult nor dangerous but extremely tiresome. It took us 3h to go up but we enjoyed our lunch at the top! Then the descent is really fast, thanks to this sand (about 1h). The rest of the trail until Thermas de Chillán is a bit overrun, we met numerous hikers (but it was a Saturday). There, we hitched a ride until Recinto and took the 7:00PM bus to Chillán for a ressuply.

Overall our impressions on this section are a bit mixed. We enjoyed the numerous hot baths and the volcan summit but we were less amazed by the landscapes compared to the previous sections (of note as we did go up quite a lot, we probably were a bit too exhausted to truly enjoy it completely!) . Perhaps it is more rewarding when going SOBO?

* '''2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-08 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + emergency exit / Martial '''

Puente Inglés - Los Peucos - Antuco
Super pleasant trekk in various landscapes and sweet hot springs. Met Ondrej at the start and shared the road walking before he eventually escapes in the first climb ! Met again finally at the hot river for a deserved rest after big climbing day. Next the descent to los Peucos is rather long with overgrown detour of the swamp at the end. That’s where my phone died for no reason. May it RIP with all my pictures :’( Still if there’s a good soul out there with a machete and long trousers feel free to save this beautiful trail ! Then los Peucos was a paradise oasis for a 14000$ 24h rest day. Not so expensive to me considering the quality of the hotspring service and resupply in the middle of nowhere ! « El Toro » hotspring is a once in lifetime experience for sunrise and had the all domain for myself 😌 Do not hesitate to stop there and meet Ricardo who doesn’t see many souls otherwise.
4th night spent 3km down near los Peucos in a super recommanded magical waterfall bassins with perfect « nuit à la belle étoile » on the hot rock.
After km 80 the forest is kind of colonised with annoying flyes and thermites wich makes it not an enjoyable place. Also recommend taking plenty of water from laguna el roble cause dry climb and ridge walking ahead (there’s still a little stream pond under a tree a few km after the pass if you look well). Arrived there in late afternoon with no place to camp and saw emergency exit on the right which triggered green light in my brain (as gear failures were acumalating and motivation low). Felt good after a few tears but the long road walking in the hydraucentral gave me some regrets until i eventually arrived in Antuco after hotish hitchhiking.

* '''2023-Jan-28 to 2023-Feb-04 / 7.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + volcán chillàn & volcán Antuco / Natalie & Tomáš'''

Day 1
Got off the bus here (-36.67295, -71.29201) instead of Los Sauces for an easy ford. The bus driver knew of this place. The ford was here -36.67738, -71.28739, knee-high. We crossed around 3pm. The road section until the carabinieros was surprisingly popular on a weekend: we got a 3km hitch, but if we started earlier, I am sure we could have hitched a lot more. The valley is nice to walk in though.
The carabinieros basically just wanted to know if we had a proper GPS and map. We could not understand if they were telling us "not" to go close to Volcán Chillán or just "warning" us. I checked online the day before and it said the volcano is in green, but the cabineros said it was yellow.
Made camp at the 17km waypoint because it was a good spot. Lots of unmarked water waypoints on the road such as -36.69615, -71.27770 and -36.72718, -71.26420.
Day 2.
Crossed Nuble with no problems around 9am. The water was not strong but not totally calm and was under our crotches: I am 170cm and Tomáš is ~173cm. Hats off to the others that crossed when water levels were much higher! Remember to turn right and not left after the ford.
The path was better than expected, but still can be easily lost until the first pass at 33.2km. Thanks to the tip from Will, we took the path on the other side of the river once out of the trees to avoid the blow down, somewhere around or close to camp 29.5. Hot pass.
We made camp at the hotsprings ([40.3/2173]) after the second pass, their beauty and heat made up for the long day. There are a couple of perfect spots near the hotsprings with some cold water for drinking, -36.90156, -71.35089. Spent two nights here. The hot springs are regular creeks, most of which in the valley are hot. Saw some locals camping in other spots, seems like a popular place.
Day 3.
Volcán Chillàn. Easy climb following the standard route but the last 600m was slow sandish-like material which made for a very quick descent. Instead of going back the way we came, we followed an unmarked/unmapped "road" on the south side of Volcán Chillán that lead to switchbacks down to the hotsprings that we saw earlier that morning. Basically if coming from volcano, follow the road east from here -36.89199, -71.38543 and aim for the switchbacks to the hotsprings camp here -36.90336, -71.36145 [as of 2024 included in our suggestions in the released Track files]. There is some dirty water on the way but very interesting and scenic. I am slightly worried about posting this because it is likely not meant to be walked, also not sure it actually saves time compared to the normal trail but it allows for a nice roundtrip. One can get Internet on the way to the volcano when the ski resorts are visible. Camped again at the hotsprings.
Day4
Nothing to add for this day, trail was nice and under trees a lot of the way, all fords easy or jumpable. Met two French who were doing the GPT northbound. Camped near the puesto 61.7 before the hotsprings, path was always there, just a little overgrown.
Day5
Trail to hotsprings was not that bad, just overgrown bamboo but otherwise nice. The hotsprings is not actually CONAF but a concession. Prices were as described 14mil for camping and 7mil just for hotsprings. If you want to buy food from them, I recommend going at the beginning of the month as that is when they restock, for us there was still lots of food left but nothing fresh or good, very expensive.
On the road we used option C to avoid the hill as others suggested (seems like the main road now) and as for variant D, we did not see anything, so we back-tracked a bit and took a different unmarked trail here that was successful -37.06894, -71.39599 and forded river here -37.06857, -71.39158 to meet the RR [now in the suggestions too].
The trailhead at 81.0 is hard to see, be ready.
That trail from 81.0 to the pass was more overgrown in my mind than the rest of the days but still not terrible. Camped on the other side 88.9 (actually a bit further down were nicer camp-spots with lovely short grass).
Day6
Somehow at camp 88.9 we woke up to frost over everything. Have no idea what kind of phenomenon this is because I don't think it froze (forecast was for 16 in the night) but even the little moisture in my breakfast bowl froze shortly after eating it...
Quick trail to Laguna el Roble except the trail is easy to loose just before the Laguna in the grassy section, keep climbing left towards an unmarked puesto here -37.20868, -71.33023.
There should technically be a better water source than the lake itself at camp 98.8, but I just took water from the lake:S. The next pass towards the ridge was hot but easy. Good trail until you hit the X at 105.9. Then the path is harder to follow. The camp at 107.1 seems silly and would be better higher above the listed water source. We ended up going cross country all the way from a pass like structure here -37.25066, -71.38499 to Laguna Hermosa because there was a trail on the other side (a bit lower than official RR so it made sense to follow it elevation-wise) that eventually faded away.
Laguna Hermosa was worth it as others have stated but unfortunately very heavy winds crept in that night. It was way less windy on the East side of the lagoon, which we only noticed in the morning.
Day7
Very heavy winds. We made a small short cut to the RR from the Laguna by heading west sooner [included in our suggestions]. We considered turning around on the ridge as the winds were likely around 80km/hr at one point near the pylons, but luckily since the route is not actually on the ridge but under it, the rest of the way was okay, still windy but not pushing us over. The rest of the ridge was no problem for us, slower of course since there is sidehilling and edging but nothing scary or exposed. There was no snow though.
El Puesto at 121 had two dogs but we did not see anyone. We camped at Laguna Laja (not nice) to climb Antuco the next day. To no surprise the restaurant and cafe at the ski resort are closed. Other than the water in the lake, there are no good water sources past the last water source before El Puesto if heading in this direction. There is Entel 3G coverage here.
Day8
Started early to beat the heat for Antuco. I turned back after the top of the ski lift because of a stomach bug (probably food but still nicer to vomit in the shade...) but Tomáš went on to finish the climb. The climb was not worth it. The volcano is not black sand but rather loose rock (boulders to pebbles) which made especially going down annoying. A rock fell on my waling stick and partially destroyed it. After the ski lift there is virtually no trail. Plus the fact there was only a small crater on top and the weather was very hot and windy in the early morning. I think we were there during a small heat wave, supposedly the day before was 38°C in Antuco proper. After the climb we hitched to the campsite Lagunillas (10mil/person) in hopes of going back to Los Angeles but after analyzing the smoke situation of the forest fires we stayed here and used it as a base for preparing for GPT09-10.

It took us 168 hours but without climbing the volcanoes the trail could have been walked in five full walking days. End of January means there were virtually no horseflies.
Nice trip but due to foot issues, things breaking down and a stomach bug at the end, it was a bit of a suffer-fest for Natalie (Tomáš's new shoes are unfortunately painful too). However, the hotsprings, Volcán Chillán, Laguna Hermosa and the trees (especially the ones with usnea) made it worth while!

* '''2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 08-C / Ondrej '''

Puente Inglés - Camping Las Lagunillas
Overall an extremely beautiful route, my favourite in GPT06-08. Compared to GPT06 and 07, this section felt most diverse but also most challenging to navigate. I accidentaly got off track much more often. Still, the route is visible most of the time except the last day after Laguna Hermosa. Even there, sticking to the gpx files makes the section easily passable. One just need to pay a higher attention to where their steps are placed. The fauna is quite rich too - I had a chance to see a tarrantula (the minor road on day 1), crayfish in the rivers, and a snake which I believe was Tachymenis chilensis (on the shores of Laguna El Roble). I believe this section is much more demanding in Dec or early Jan when snow is still present on the slopes. Horseflies were not a problem in my case. I encountered some between km 75 and 85 but that was far from frustrating. I recommend gaiters due to dusty roads in some sections. From thermas Chillan I haven’t met a soul until the end of the section.

Details:
On the first day, it is easy walking on a minor road that winds through a forest so you can enjoy shade most of the walk! No complications, just need to climb some gates. I enjoyed a company of a fellow GPT hiker Martial, who shared some useful trout fishing tips and gear with me. We camped at the Nuble crossing.

Second day, Nuble crossing was no problem. Knee-deep at the recommended ford. Then I got lost in the forest numerous time. Checking the gpx frequently definitely helped. I followed the advice of others to cross the river and find a path om the right upstream side. That worked really well, didn’t have to cross any fallen trees! I camped at the hot springs - it is actually a whole thermal river. Amazing, amazing place. Loved to lay in it and watch the stars. Quite a few other people were there (some arrieros and a Chilean family) but there really was enough space for everyone.

The third and fourth day were rather uneventful for me. Very beautiful views along the trail, which was mostly through forests and relatively simple to follow all the way to 2km before Los Peucos. Even there the trail was visible, it was just overgrown. I worried about this part too much based on the previous reports. The path actually felt quite okay in my case. Unfortunately, no soul at Los Peucos. I saw a parked car and a horse, but no human in the area. So I decided to walk 3km more and camp at the next river ford at km 66.4. I also took option C as recommeded by other hikers below, it was perfect!

The 5th day was easy up to the laguna El Roble. Then the climb is quite demanding. Most importantly, there is hardly any water between Laguna El Roble and km106.1. I found a little stream at km102.8 but I wouldn’t rely on it. My strategy was to drink about 1 liter at the laguna El Roble (I filtered the water there as the laguna didn’t seem that clear) and then I took 1.5l with me. It lasted me all the way to Laguna Hermosa. Maybe next time I would take only 1 liter. However, I felt safe to have the reserves. Once you get to the pass, the views are beautiful, as is Laguna Hermosa where I camped for the last night.

On the 6th day, I started from Laguna Hermosa at 8am and reached the main car road around 3pm. The trail after Hermosa disappears and requires a lot of attention to your GPS to navigate. The scree traverses are entirely manageable. I had to think twice before placing my feet though. The trail becomes visible and much easier at km115 when the valley trail connects. No one was at the puesto at km121.1, just three dogs. Trekking poles were enough to fend them off. There is indeed a new metal gate with a lock at approx km 126. No guards are positioned there. I climbed the gate without issues. I then hiked to Camping Lagunillas. There is a very kind owner and his son. Really good people to chat with. After listening to my story they also let me a cabana for a price of camping (10,000 CLP) for the night. The owner’s son is keen to learn more about the GPT and to potentially hike part of the route too. The camping has a small almacen there with some lentils and rice to buy (however, the selection is not enough to resupply). They also sell beer, cookies and can make you a soft dinner and breakfast (empanadas, lentils, waffles, coffee, sandwiches). I hitchhiked to Abanico the next day. It seems there are many more buses from Abanico to Antuco/Los Angeles than just two these days. The bus schedules could be looked up on the Internet. I caught one at 9:30am.

*2023-Jan-16 Frank RR SOBO 5 days

Crossed the river before Los Sauces where a dirt road goes right, crossing was only ankle deep. The cable car at Los Sauces is locked & there is often no one there. River is a lot deeper by the cable car (at least waist deep)

At Los Robles the carabineros were not very friendly, which was unusual, & were not too happy about me hiking solo, but after I told them I'd walked there from Santiago they allowed me to proceed. They had no info. about the activity level of Chillan. The 'shop' in Los Robles only had 2L bottles of soft drink & eggs. Rio Nuble was thigh deep late in the evening but you need to pick your spot: a few metres downstream from the RR crossing, before some boulders in the water. Camped a little after the crossing. Before Rio Nuble there is a no entry sign & locked gate but you can climb over it easily & there was no one there. Campsite marked on track file before the crossing was fenced off with no entry sign.

Coming down from the pass late on day 2 there is a cold water spring just before the hot waterfall. Filled up at the spring as the water in the valley is thermal, not sure if it's good to drink. Camped in the valley by the hot stream.

At the CONAF hot springs it was 14,000 CLP to camp but they allowed me to use the hot bath for free. They have a shop but most items are too bulky for one person. I continued for about 10KM & camped in a 3 sided hut 100M to the right off the road before a wide but easy ford. The hut has a dirt floor so you can pitch a tent inside. After Laguna Roble you climb to a pass & there is a spring a little after the pass. I camped just before the spring (room for one small tent, had to clear away some rocks but it was OK) The traverse after the aerials was a bit sketchy but soon improved & I picked up a tiny trail through the scree. Walked to the CONAF entrance gate on the road & hitched out from there. There is a lot of traffic on the weekend.

* '''2023-Jan-13 to 2023-Jan-18 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Start in Termas the Chillan opt. 2 than RR from 40km to 105.9 and finished using opt. 6. / Maks&Gabi '''

Trail is visible almost all the time. All the fords are easily passable. We had met arrieros 3 times, they were nice and helpful. One of them asked about why we are hiking, as there is a lot of people going this way, but he seemed to be okay with it.
There is a lot of really horseflies especially between 83 and 93 km.
There were also quite a lot of cows on trail, that were not so happy to see us, but we just walked around them (with some bigger distance). Be careful as the bulls seem to be very protective over the small ones.

Option 06A is probably overgrown - we spent about 15 min trying to find the trail but we gave up after all ( it was about 300m after crossroad ).
Gate on 8.6km of option 6 was locked with the padlock, but noone was there so we just walked over the fence.

All other gates on all trail were easily passable. One of the arrieros just noted that we should close them after crossing.
From the hydro powerplant till the end of the option 06B there were a lot of people working on a road but none of them seemed to have a problem with us being there.
We hitch hiked to Antuco.
It was our first try on the GPT (recommended by a local mountain guide from Termas de Chillan) and it was definitely worth it!

* '''2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-08 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will '''

Probably my favorite section so far! A nice mix of remote alpine stretches, forests, and fields. However the horseflies made it hard to appreciate at times, they were pretty much constant during the later section around Laguna Laha.

I hitched from San Fabián around noon and did most of the road walk the first day. The campsite at 21.6 is fenced off. I stayed at 20.3 which didn't have great water access, just a muddy spring. Scrambling down to the river wasn't feasible but I found a bit of clean flow partway down.
The Nuble crossing wasn't so bad for me, it was just below my waist (5'11/181cm). Still the hardest one so far. I found the trail afterwords pretty hard to follow, with lots of side paths eventually leading to thorny bushwhacking. It finally convinced me to pull the route up on my watch for the first time, definitely worth it here.
A ways after the river crossing you'll come out of the woods into an open river valley. I recommend crossing the stream there and finding the path on the other side, instead of struggling through the blowdown/landslide debris along the gpx track.
The trail was fairly slow from the Nuble crossing to los Peucos. After that it's super fast except for a few stretches in the mountains above the Laguna Laha.
The natural hot springs just below the pass near the Volcan Chillan were very nice, but full of little flies. They didn't seem to bite.
The camping at los peucos was very expensive, but they had a bit of food for sale (fruit!!). Comfy grass, wifi, well maintained bathrooms. The hot springs there were too hot for me, slightly painful.
I missed option C and definitely regretted it. The road up was super rocky, and hot with no shade.
The stretch above Laguna Laha was the driest I've passed so far. Thankfully there were a few snow fed streams/ponds left, but I should have carried more water to be safe. Laguna Hermosa was true to its name, a nice place to camp my last night.
The main road at the end was pretty busy, you could hitch right away and skip the entire last 13ish km. But the extra little stretch of trail at the end was definitely worth it to me.
It took me a while to get a ride to Antuco even though the road was busy. Most people were just going a bit further along. It's not the nicest town but there's decent selection for resupply. I got a room for 15k/night at a cabana/hostal place on Sgto. Aldea street. For some reason I didn't have cell service there, with Movistar.

* '''2023-Jan-01 to 2023-Jan-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option C / Martin & Helena'''

We took bus from San Fabian (corner on the other side of the gas station) in the afternoon, and camped after ford of Los Sauces river (water only to the ankles). A lot of annoying tabanos, but plenty of space to camp. Quite a lot of locals go there as well. The next day we continued to the ford or Rio Nuble that turned out to be the worst so far for us. Doing it in the afternoon was not the best idea - the current was strong and even when it was just waist-high, we were not able to pass through the fastest part where the path takes you. We figured out to go more upstream, but just like 30m maybe? to a point where the water was really deep but completely calm. There is a rock wall on the other side. The water reached our chest at that part and our hands holding poles were under the water, making it hard to gain stability. We decided to take our chances and try to cross, using rocks covered with some grass to gain traction. There were times when we were floating in the water with close to 0 stability but we eventually made it. Best to be there early to have the best possible conditions. Until the end of the day we managed to get up through the forrest. Before you get out of the forrest you are crossing a stream that is going down between the rocks, but if you take a minute or two before it path that goes lower than trail, you will find a nice spot by the water with some wooden bench and nice covered place to camp. We prefered to be out of the forrest so we continued, but found only a field of fallen trees caused by landslide. It was possible to find a place to camp closer to the river. It is best to continue on the other side, which we did the next day. You will soon connect to the trail again, before going up.

The way up from the valley is quite steep. From the pass you get a nice view of the Chillan volcano. Going further down to the lava field, we followed advices of others and get up to the top of lava field right away and continued walking on it. After the pass you will find a valley with hot springs which are simply amazing. Good to plan camping there so you can enjoy it fully. From the valley the trail is clear, until a short section before the official camp (1-2 kms before it), where it’s more of a bush-bashing. This part starts near a puesto where we came across herd of young bulls that seemed to be more curious that we would like and we had to go around them, a little off the trail. We struggled a little to find our way into the camp, which was not so clear from our gps (eventhough the path is clear all the way to the river) - the camp is secured by wire fences that we wanted to avoid, but at the end we crawled under them to get to the camp, aprox. according to our gps. If you follow the river downstream you might get to the official gate / entrance, not sure. Like other mentioned the price is quite high, and so are things in the little shop - most of it are classic camping things that last long like pasta, rice, canned fruits, a lot of cookies… but we were grateful for it anyway. The hot springs there are also amazing, man-made stone pools, with the view of the stars in the night it is perfect and worth the price. There are maybe 10 dedicated places to camp with wooden desk and bench, covered by roof (good when it’s raining). More space is close to the showers and the common, shared house with kitchen, fireplace and again desks with benches. We met there some workers from a gas company, fixing pipes close to the laguna, who were sleeping in the camp. The guy watching over the camp (from CONAF) was also nice and helpful - if you need anything, this is the right person to ask.

On the next day, we continued on the minor road, where we took the C option, like others. Following the RR we found the 08-E option (which follows the MR) to be a better choice since the RR is a little overgrown in the beginning and with thistle-vegetation. Easy pass in the forest, and nice places to camp in the valley. We were lucky to find their cows again (luckily on the other side of the river), but bulls woke us up in the morning - this must have been the fastest packing in the history. We enjoyed more fun with the cows and bulls later in the valley, that were blocking our way and refusing to go away - that made us to take another short detour around them.

A lot has been already written about the last part of this section that takes you up to the plateau. The climb is quite steep and long so don’t forget to take water from the last laguna - that is the last option. The next stream we found was about 2 kms from the point where you reach the ridge. We camped before Laguna Hermosa with nice view of the volcano. There was some melting snow above the laguna and we found 4G signal there (where the pole is). We found the descent down to be quite ok, there are small slippery rocks so it’s necessary to be careful, but nothing too bad. The descent gets very dusty later (when it’s dry) and is still steep in the forrest with a lot of water from the snow. We got to the main road in the afternoon and were lucky to catch a ride all the way to Antuco. We booked the only available place we found on booking called Puelche de Antuco, a really nice cabin. The town is nice with a lot of restaurants and shops.

* '''2022-Dec-28 to 2023-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Los Sauces - Antuco / Anna & Christopher '''

We took the bus at 6 pm from San Fabián to Los Sauces and camped next to the river.

The path until the river crossing of Rio Ñuble is basically a dirtroad, so we got there pretty fast. Only the horseflies were very annoying. We recommend bringing insect repellent.
Christopher is 1.88m and the water went up to his navel at the main route crossing. Anna with 1.63m was not able to cross the river there.
After some tries we found a possibility a couple of hundred meters upstream, where the water just went up to Anns knees. The tough part was to get up to the path on the other side. After some bush bashing, you have to get up a 3 to 4 meter high, almost vertical slope. We found a tree, whose roots we used to climb up, which was not super easy. Once you are up there, there is a good path that leads to the main route.

The next day was nice until the valley around km 25 (where the river is not correctly positioned in the gaia app). There are tons of fallen trees and it was really hard to get through and there was mostly no visible path. It's probably best to stick to the upstream right side of the river.
Afterwards the path gets really nice. Especially in the evening sun, it was very beautiful to cross the volcanic landscape. We camped in the valley at km 40 at the hot springs.

The third day has a good path at the beginning. Just the last 3 km it gets more difficult, especially approx. 2 km before Los Peucos, where it's mostly bush bashing.
The camping at Los Peucos is nice, as well as the hot springs, but we had to pay 14k CLP p.p. to camp there and in the evening there are tons of mosquitos. We would have camped a bit further downstream, if we had known that to be honest.

The next day we took option C, like Veronica suggested, to avoid an unnecessary climb. Then we made an unnecessary climb following the road and not the main path, because we couldn't find the entry to the path right away and feared more bush bashing. But the path looked great from above.
The rest of the route until shortly after Laguna Hermosa was really good. There is not much snow left and therefore there are not a great many places to fill up water.
After Laguna Hermosa the path gets very hard to cross, due to lots of stones and gravel without a visible path.
But it's very beautiful up there and finally not hot anymore.
The descend has a easy to find path but is pretty slippery. Once you pass that the rest is pretty easy until the road, from where we hitchhiked to Antuco. We stayed at Camping Rucue for 15k CLP the camping lot. You pay for the lot not per person.

* '''2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-19 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT08-02 / Véronica '''

Route: Los Sauces - Río Ñuble crossing - backtrack to Los Sauces - hitch to Termas se Chillán (GPT08 option 2) - Los Peucos - Laguna Laja - Laguna Hermosa - CONAF near Abanico

San Fabian is a great place, loved swimming in the Ñuble River when it got hot. The owner of Cabañas San Fabian is super kind. I hitched back to the trail because I didn't want to wait all day for the bus that leaves at 6pm.

Registered with the carabineros at El Roble, but I could not ford Río Ñuble at the RR crossing. Current was very strong, and has I been able to stand up in it, the water would have easily reached my chest (I'm165 cm). I tried several times to ford the river at three different places, several km apart from each other, with no success. I would advance in the stream until I felt I couldn't take another step without being swept, and couldn't get halfway across. I suppose I should have expected this - it's a very high snow year and mid-December. I even tried calling out for help at the puesto on the west side of the river near the "no trespassing" gates, but no one was there. The long walk back to Los Sauces felt very defeating. Also, the "wooden bridges" described by Jo and Veronika are actually only cable crossings, and inaccessible by two barbed wire fences. Not possible to cross the river there either. Ríos Los Sauces and Las Truchas only came up mid-thigh though.

Regained the GPT at Termas de Chillán, Option 2. Basicall took almost the whole second day to hitch there. Beautiful trail, but steep. You get to ford hot creeks, which was pretty cool.

The trail is overgrown in some places, the worst spot is between the last puesto before Los Peucos and Los Peucos. Very hard walking through, wished I had a machete. Only lasts a km or two thankfully. All three puestos before Los Peucos looked abandoned.

Didn't meet anyone at Los Peucos since I got there fairly early in the morning, but the hot springs there are amazing. Really hot, clear water, a little stone pool in a garden. Loved spending time there.

Taking GPT08-C avoids a pointless climb and descent on the regular route, and has a nice path the whole way.

Trail gets more difficult once you start climbing up to the ridge after Laguna El Roble. The views are incredible though, absolutely spectacular. Lots of water sources up on the ridge due to many lingering snow patches. Most of them are not a problem. After the junction with GPT08-06, the trail kind of disappears. Keep an eye on the GPS as you climb and descend steeply on the slopes. It reappears again after the following camp and water waypoints.

Laguna Hermosa still has a couple snow patches on its shores, cold place to camp, but beautiful. After Laguna Hermosa is where it gets really challenging. There is no trail afterwards that I could find, basically cross country the whole way to the TR at 116.8 km. As you approach the "trailhead" waypoint, there is LOTS of scree traverses, and steep snow patches which require microspikes or extreme clambering to get around. Treacherous in some places. I fell a couple times. The ground is very loose and unstable. Things get better actually once you reach the official cross country section at Laguna Lágrima. Still some steep bits, but the ground is more consolidated, and there's more bedrock to help with traction. I reccomend taking the optional route CC-08-H. There's a faint trail to follow and it avoids clambering up on the ridge.

Very glad to see a clear track again at 116.8. But still some problematic snow fields in this stretch above Laguna Toro, where it was too steep even with microspikes, and I had to do some very careful/serious climbing around. Not fun. Fell again here. Once you reach the long descent into Valle de los Carpinteros it gets much better. Still some snow in the woods over the creek. Right now you can walk on top of it like an ice bridge. There clearly was a LOT of snow here this past winter, it lingers until 1750 m or so in the south-facing valley.

The puesto at 121.1 looks abandonned too. Lots of downed trees in the area. There was no one, and no metal gate (or any gate) whatsoever before reaching the road in the National Park.

The 4 days from Volcán Chillán to the end of the section, I saw no other human. I found this section also to be harder than GPT06, especially the last day. The snow complicates things. If you wish to avoid dangerous clambering and sketchy snow and scree traverses, take Option 06. The trail is good before then.

==Season 2021/22==

* '''2022-Jan-28 to 2022-Feb-06 / 10 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika & Jo'''

Los Sauces -> banks of Rio Ñuble -> hot springs at flanks of Chillan (-> escape to Concepción via Termas de Chillan to buy new shoes -> hot springs at flanks of Chillan) -> Los Peucos -> camp before Laguna Laja -> Laguna Hermosa -> camping Lagunillas (6 proper hiking days)

Nice section again. Hot springs in the first half, beautiful views of Laguna Laja, Volcán Antuco, Siella Veluda in the second half. Laguna Hermosa is true to its name, and was the first to not have horse or cow droppings on its sandy shores :D Sad to not have crossed Molly and Melissa.

- The lady at the cable car was not sure whether we could cross with our heavy backpacks, so we forded the river at Los Sauces.

- From about km 20 the sides of the road are fenced. The camp at km 21.6 is no longer available.

- There is a gate at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (blocking access to the trail) marked private, no entry. We saw some cars returning through a second gate (blocking access to the river) and asked if it was ok to cross the first gate. They said "For you, sure." I get the impression that Chileans rather want to keep Chileans out... This gate is not a problem NOBO.

- Fording Rio Ñuble was the deepest ford we ever did. Balls deep indeed! Quite doable though, as the water is clear.

- There may be an alternative path on the western bank, starting at the wooden bridges at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206'. Some local at the San Fabián tourist office mentioned having hiked this way.

- The trail at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (around km 30) has eroded. After searching, we had to push through some bushes on a steep ridge to continue the trail. Maybe more obvious NOBO.

- At the start of the cross country at km 34.6 get to the top of the lava strip after fording the river. For us, this was easiest at S 36° 52.853', W 071° 18.793'.

- The water at the camp at km 37.3 was mostly dried up. Don't count on it by the end of January.

- The bus stop at Termas de Chillan is close go Hotel Nevados de Chillan. There are way more buses at Las Trancas de Chillan, 8 km down the road. Fortunately, the whole area has great 4G coverage with Entel, so you can look up the bus tables with the key words "REM bus Termas de Chillan".

- The CONAF camp Los Peucos has excellent hot springs and a mini shop. Camping costs 10.000 pp. The guards are very friendly and donated some fruit :)

- The CC section around km 95 had a clear path, but the subsequent TL section before Laguna El Roble did not.

- The trail after Laguna Hermosa was hard to find, we went quite slowly clambering on the loose scree or sand. Going down the mountain ridge at the end of the CC section was similarly difficult. Fell twice - could not find solid footing on the slope.

- The lady at the puesto at km 121.6 was friendly, asked where we came from, went to, and pointed us to the exit road. She seemed friendly, but a subtle hint to "please stay off my land" would have been lost on us in translation. The new metal gate is easy to pass through. The CONAF guard's wife at the final CONAF post mentioned that we were hiking the "sendero biologico" when we mentioned Laguna Hermosa. This trail must pass over the lady's land too?

- The ATM at Antuco is broken.

- Supermercado Santa Teresa in Antuco sells 125ml bottles of alcohol desnaturalizado 96° in the nail polish section.v

* '''2022-Jan-24 / 6.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH Cerro Las Águilas / Molly and Melissa'''

At the "gate" waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.

We took the bus to Abanico and hitched to the national park, not the easiest as all the cars were full. The car was stopped at the entrance, and we had to explain our route. We weren't asked to pay, probably because we weren't really going to the national park. You walk a little through it though on some nice paths, and then you reach a gravel road. Shortly after, at the "gate" waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.
As noted previously, after climbing to the ridge on the rr, the terrain is difficult, but the views are amazing. Not a lot of water, but we managed. Many of the campsites off route, including Laguna Hermosa, require quite a climb down.
You stay high up quite a while, which gives amazing views.

The cross country along Laguna Laja has a nice path all the way. Then you reach Patricio's puesto. He's very welcoming, and has had people stay in his puesto before. We just drank coffee with him though. His brother German lives in the valley right after Laguna el Roble, but his puesto is hidden in the trees.

Alternative route Cerro Las Águilas
We chose the Cerro las Águilas alternative, because Volcán Chillán was in yellow alert. While walking there, we met two carabineros on horseback who wanted to know which way we went. Don't know if they would have forbidden the rr. The ascent to Laguna el Lobo is through deep sand, it was very tough and took way longer than we thought. We ended up camping at the Laguna which was nice enough. The ascent from there of the first little hill seemed completely unnecessary to us, at least if you have been by the laguna, as you descend to the same level. It would be worth it to walk to the right and ascend directly on the brown mountain, following the GPS from there. The ridge walk was tough as well, a lot of scrambling. The GPS often wanted us to go right of the rocky tops, where going left or directly over often seemed easier/safer. There is no water until the valley between the two passes. There, we also found a nice campsite right after the big stream on the bottom, a little to the left.
After reaching Rio Ñuble, you follow it for a long time. There are multiple streams running towards it where we had to take off our shoes - no lack of water here, though. The alternative also fords Rio Ñuble itself in a different location compared to the rr - we had no problems whatsoever there. It reached mid-thigh and wasn't too strong, and we are both around 160 cm. It is a very low snow year though, and very dry. Here would be a nice place to camp.

After rejoining the rr, we decided to continue to the waypoint "camp". That was a mistake, though, as everything around there is fenced in with big signs saying "private property". The second campsite right after is not fenced in, but doesn't look that good on the first glance. The rest of the way to Puente Ingles is gravel road. El Roble has a house that sells sodas - it has a "bebidas" sign.
We crossed Rio Los Sauces beneath the cable cars quite easily, the water was mid-thigh - again very dry year.

Puente Ingles
In Puente Ingles we stayed at a campsite a little north of the cable car crossing, marked on the map in Locus Maps as "lugar". It is 10,000 per tent, there are bathrooms, cold showers and tables. They also have a cabaña which was occupied. Puente Ingles has a small shop with sodas, ice cream, tortillas, biscuits, coffee and chips. It is quite nice to bath in the river. The bus still leaves at 7 and 10 in the morning.

* '''2021-Dec-15 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony'''

Beautiful view of volcán Antuco when walking up towards the ridge line by Laguna Laja and a staying at Los Peucos camping site was a big highlight on my journey on the GPT. Had my dinner in their wonderful hot spring while staring at the clear starlit sky in the cool night. Two nice guys working here and they even donated me some pasta, fruits and vegetables. Walking near the active Chillán Volcano and watching the fumaroles while being circled by a group of condors was also a cool experience.

With that said, this section kicked my ass. Mainly due to some bad fitting shoes I recently bought in Los Ángeles and because I suffered from bad chafing in my butt which made me walk like I had shit my pants for a couple of days. This combined with some tough terrain (specially near Laguna Laja) and countless of horseflies made this section quite challenging for me. But definitely worth it!

Like mentioned by hikers in the previous years fording Rio Ñuble can be a bit demanding especially for shorter people. It was getting late when I reached the river so I decided to camp nearby and cross the river in the morning. Had water up to the balls (i’m 189cm) and the current a bit strong but it was not too bad.
Hitched a ride from Puente El Ingles to San Fabian and later jumped on a bus to Chillán to buy new shoes once again. Room with private bathroom for 15.000 at hostal El Molino in San Fabian, nice lady who owns the place.

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''*2019-Nov-10 / Jan Dudeck'''
Volcan Chillán remains active. The regular route passes the crater closely therefore Option 1 appears currently the saver if someone does not want skip section GPT08 completely. This option passes the danger zone with more distance. In case of an eruption volcanic ash is likely to affect Option 1 but the risk of direct volcanic effects is lower (flash flood from melting snow and glaciers, land slides, lava and flying rocks).

* '''2019-Dec-30 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias'''

Overview:
Just want to say quick that the termas vapaors in Mèdano are worth checking out, I highly recommend them. Please consider checking them out, they are only ½ km off the trail and absolutely worth it. They are sauna boxes built around a few hot rocks emitting hot steam. The result is a steam room/ sauna experience. I personally spend over 4 hours chilling out in the steam rooms.
After a 2-hour road walk on the side of the highway you make your way back on trial. This section takes you thru many areas used for grazing livestock with puestos in sight almost all the time. Carizales a small settlement right on trail has a small store and the family also sells bread. There was also a puesto that sold us fresh goat cheese and Coca Cola. It is marked as a waypoint on the GPX file about 20km south of Carizales. Much of the trail is very dry and exposed and the landscape is void of trees and vegetation. There are many great places to jump into the river and cool off. The section up and around the lake offers great views of the mountains, volcanoes nearby and Laguna Dial. The trail itself is well established and never had any real trouble navigation. There were also quite a few hot springs on trail or close by.

Difficulties: Hot and Exposed (especially in summertime). Resupply Distance.

Highlights: Hot springs. Great sweeping views. Pools of cool water to jump into in the middle of the day.

Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com

* '''2020-Jan-20 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option l start south OH 08 - 02 / Martin '''

Solo. Because I was not allowed to walk close to the Volcanoe by the carabineros, following the RR, had to take the optional start south OH 08 - 02, in Nevados de Chillán Ski Resort. Funny enough, I walked the first day across the volcanoe anyway, it had some smoke coming out but nothing dangerous happened. Then followed RR to the end. Cross country segments in the ridge close to Laguna del Laja were demanding and not ideal for a solo hiker. But it was worth the effort, one of the most amazing views I have seen so far. Beautiful section. Resupplied and stayed for one night in Abanico.

* '''2020-Jan-05 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR /Ty & America '''

Can ford river @ los sauces easily rather than walking from Puente Ingles. Cable Car was all
Locked up. Registration @ El Roble like the others. We camped at the hot rivers close to Volcan Chillan and I fucked up with the gasoline in my stove. Buzzkill...: but Fortunately there was an exit to Termas De Chillan close. We got rides easily from the road.

* '''2020-Jan-03 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie & Tom '''

Starting at El Ingles and hiking southbound towards Abanico. Lovely section however can be slow at times when the track is hard to follow.
We had to register with the Carabineros at El Roble. Before crossing Rio Nuble there is a large gate with ‘private property: no entry’ written on it. We found this off putting. The river crossing itself was fine in the early morning but could be challenging without trekking poles and with a very heavy pack.
After the Laguna de La Laja the track becomes especially more challenging and rocky. In poor weather it could be dangerous given the slippery slopes and steep descents.
We honestly found this section harder than GPT06 and would swap the difficulty ratings.
Took a bus into Los Angeles at 5pm to resupply for the next section. Did not investigate Abanico as we caught the bus as it was leaving.

* '''2020-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + optional hike along Laguna de la Laja / Martina & Ivo '''

Los Sauces to Abanico.

Los Sauces: If you tell the bus driver you want to cross the river by cable car (carro azul) he honks at the bus stop and señor Marcial comes from the other side to get you.
Ford Rio Ñuble: If you are a dwarf like me, you should ask your taller hiking partner to carry your backpack, otherwise it will get wet. Demanding.
Volcan Chillan: PLEASE NOTE: We were absolutely aware that our buddy Volcano could erupt or explode at ANY GIVEN MOMENT and that this was NOT a SAFE option to hike. (But it was beautiful! ...and a bit overgrown in some places. There is not much of the trail left before the first pass.)
Laguna de la Laja: It was beautiful but we definitively wouldn't recommend it. There is no trail along the Laguna. At the beginning you can walk on cow tracks close to the waterfront. Afterwards it's 15 km of cross country. The 3 km into the third inlet took us 3 hours and were really dangerous because of loose rocks and steep cliffs. The following investigation part (@08-04-#002) was mainly a quite nice trail, but we lost it twice and it took us ages to find it again, and in this steep and not very easy terrain you don't want to loose the trail. We were really glad when we got back to the regular route.
From Abanico there are several buses per day going directly to Los Angeles. Resupply in Abanico is possible.

* '''2019-Dec-30 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 1 / Matus & Anna '''

We had to register in Carabinieros. They didn't have a problem with leting us go even regular route, seemed like eventual crossing to Argentina is their primary issue.
Optional 1 - to the juction with valley walk without problem. Cross coutry part on the ridge was easy to navigate. On downhill there is no trail so we went crosscountry again. It's bit overgrown in some spots, we found trail cca after half of descend. Last flowing water is before juction with valley walk. We saw some water holes cca 2-3km before Laguna de Lobo.
Rest of the regular trail - cross coutry sections were demanding. Otherwise no problem.
We got hitch to Los Angeles after CONAF station so no idea about resuply or accomodation.

==Season 2018/19==

* '''2019-Jan-13 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin Lizondo '''
Volcán Chillán was in "alerta naranja".
Río Ñuble impassable at S36° 50.188' W71° 14.935' Better continue following the minor road in the alternative route. 
When hiking the alternative east route (Paso Aguila) do not descend to the valley at S36° 57.919' W71° 14.752'. It's unmantained and overgrounded, because of recent forest fires. Better stay above the tree line until Laguna El Lobo. 

=Resupply and Accommodation=

*Abanico
At least one restaurant with pizza
Store?

*Antuco (from Abanico)
Many smaller supermarkets, which have most things - easy enough to resupply here.
One of the two ferreterías has gas (the one furthest from Abanico).
Many accommodation options and some restaurants. March 2024: Good Accomodation with a nice Mapuche family in a single room, shared bath with hot shower, washing machine and including breakfast 18000 peso: Fanny, +56 9 9404 4771.
There is an ATM (Fee: 5500)at the town square southend of town which even gives some smaller notes.
Bus to Los Angeles

*Camping Parque Antuco :
10k for camping. Cabañas also. Nice calm place, swimming pool, shade. Electricity and hot showers. Homemade empanadas. Bernabe the owner is really kind and know about the GPT. His number +56 9 9507 2559.

*Puente Ingles
Store with chips, ice cream, bread, chocolate, sodas. Possibly some accomodation option at the store. Campground with one cabaña a little further down the room - sign says cabañas - 10,000 per tent, toilets with cold showers and a room with a fireplace for cooking

*San Fabián (from Puente Ingles)
Many accommodation options - almost everything was fully booked when we were there (Feb 2022).
Supermercado La Montaña seems to be the best option - not the easiest place to resupply, but definitely possible. Harder than in Antuco.
Great Venezuelan restaurant Canela Passion.
Bus to San Carlos

*San Fabian - Fev 2025 (Clara) :
- Very good resupply possible in the supermarket Los Alvis.
- Accomodation : cabaña nativa : very nice cabanas clean, big confortable bed, climatisation, kitchen, pools, jacuzzi. 35k for a 2 persons cabaña (for 1 person). Just in front when you go out, there is a place where you can buy very good tortillas de rescoldo and pan amasado. Lots of restaurants.

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

=Transport to and from Route=

* 2025 - 02 : there are direct buses from Chillan to San Fabian. Then San Fabian to Puente Ingles. Buses at 2 pm and 6 p.m. in front of the carabineros including Sundays and Holidays.

*Puente Ingles to San Fabián
Bus at 7 am and 10 am - leaves from the campground, drives to the shop and the back again towards San Fabián

*Bus from Antuco to Los Angeles about once an hour in daytime.

*A few buses from Abanico to Antuco or you can hitch fairly easily.

* Jan-24 / Joscha

Bus from Chillan (Terminal La Merced) a Thermas de Chillan at 8 am and 2 pm (weekends at 1:30 pm) for 3900 Pesos. The buscompany is "Rembus". Their Website isn't up to date, but you can check their Facebook page for informationen.

=Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=
* At the puesto (120,6/1513), the owner does not want us to pass through his land (as of 02/02/2025). He clearly stated that it is private property. It might now be preferable to take a detour through BB, passing well to the right beforehand and rejoining the path well after his house (which was under construction with many tents around it at that time)? (Peggy)

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT08 - Volcán Chillan]]

=Images=

[[File:Segundo_Rio_Termal_zona_cascadas.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|This river is hot! Aguas Calientes Valley]]
[[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (8).jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Laguna Laja and [[Volcán Antuco]], by Matúš Lašan]]

GPT08 (Volcan Chillan)

2025-12-11T17:10:26Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

= How to a add new entry =
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<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

If you are packrafting, put the above info into HTML tags like this (if you follow a hiking route for part of the way, highlight only "packrafting", as above):


<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''YYYY-MMM-DD / X days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Your name'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>.

Include remarks about your route useful for other hikers and packrafters, alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties. Try to be specific. Do not be shy to fix obvious mistakes.

=Overview=

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.04.12 to 2025.08.12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Opt 2A + RR + Var F + Var G + Opt 4 (Ruta Este) / Kris and Stiina '''

We connected the GPT08 and 09 via Option 4 (Ruta Este) recommended by Jan. Termas de Chillán to Trapa Trapa total 5.5 days. 4 days for GPT08 and 1.5 days for GPT 09.

Day 1 - Option 2A from Termas de Chillán. We started in Santiago taking 8:00 bus to Chillán and after 7h of bus rides we got to the start of the trail a bit after 16:00.
You have to go to a different bus station for the rural buses, bus schedule posted by Volker in earlier comments.

As it was already getting late we didn’t go down to fumaroles and took the higher trail unmarked as a variant but is on the map. A few easy snow patches on the way up. There is also and unmarked ford of Rio Diguillin around here (-36.90740, -71.37185) however we crossed it a bit higher up, late in the afternoon the water was really murky and fast flowing but just below the knee, easy, we are 184cm and 175cm. After that we took the trail that is on the map but is also not marked as a variant and follows the river which is not named but starts from the pass higher up. We forded it here (-36.91003, -71.36669) and camped pretty much right after it on a flat spot. The marked Camp {08} [42.6/2087] was nice looking from a distance but was actually on a wet ground. Great views of the Volcán Chillán Viejo, calm night.

Day 2 - Since many people recommended to visit Camping Los Peucos that was our goal for the day. The first “Ford {08} [47.7/1390]” of Rio Diguillín on RR was easier, the river was clear now and the water level was just below the knee. The second “Ford {08} [48.7/1334]” was a bit more challenging and the water was about waist deep. We managed to cross it individually. Tabanos (horseflies) wanted to introduce themselves relentlessly and pretty much became the theme of this section. Regardless of how many you “get rid off” same amount appears a few minutes later, like some sort of dark magic.
Camping Los Peucos was unfortunately still closed but there were other equestrian tourists camping there and no signs forbidding it, so we camped there anyway. The termas were really nice though the big one in the middle was way too hot to even stand in it. Luckily there were plenty of others to choose from, we really enjoyed a relaxing evening soaking ourselves in the termas.

Day 3 - Easy first half of the day mostly walking along the minor dirt roads. Fords on Rio Los Peucos very easy, shin deep. We took the Variant F and it was easy to follow and seemed well trodden the unmarked ford of Rio Polcura at (-37.06842, -71.39166) was really wide and just above ankle deep but very very cold, pain inducing.
After that the Variant F rejoins an even better traveled minor road. Two carabinieros cars passed us one stopped and asked how we are doing and where we are headed. They said if we need anything there is a police post just up the road, perhaps they meant this one “Police ? {08-H} [7.0/1357]”, however we didn’t plan taking the Variant H.
We also met 4 arieros on horses going the other way.
And we also took the Variant G staying on the minor road, I think the views were better from the road higher up rather than going trough the bushy valley.
The junction at “Trailhead {08} [80.8/1248]” is easy to miss if you are not paying attention.
The trail seemed barely traveled and for us this was the most difficult part of the section GPT 08. From: “Trailhead {08} [80.8/1248]” until about “Water {08} [83.2/1599]” - very steep, very hot, very thorny and overgrown - death by 1000 cuts type of trail (we were dressed inappropriately- shorts and shirts) and a lot of relentless tabanos trying to get a juicy sweaty piece of you at any cost. The water at 83.2 was a better lunch spot than the one before. Towards the “Pass {08} [84.5/1744]” once the trail entered more into forest it improved but there were a quite a few fallen trees, over the trail. It felt like if noone will maintain this trail it might disappear in the future. The trail improved going down from the pass.
A nice open valley with the first glimpses of Laguna Laja, however many cows in the valley some with young calves and there were a few bulls aswell. They weren’t agressive but very cautious and protective and we had to keep a safe distance to not provoke them.
We camped at (-37.19790, -71.31353) in the riverbed, pretty much the beginning of Option 4 (Ruta Este). Very windy evening but then the wind died and the night was completely still. We thought we avoided the cows.

Day 4 - We were woken up by about 10 cows “snorting” about 10m from our tent, not the most comfortable of the situations but it also was not our first rodeo, at least it wasn’t a one ton bull standing 2m away. We just stood our ground (kept lying in the tent) and waited for the cows to chill out which they did and eventually they moved onwards with their day and so did we.
We picked up the minor road that didn’t last for too long but we found what would have probably been a better campsite, not exactly at the coordinates but somewhere in this area (-37.21556, -71.30563). There was also some sort of abandoned small building across the road.
The minor road descended into the lake and for more or less the reminder of the coastal walk we stayed right on the coast as much as possible as there the ground was more solid underneath and we could still walk pretty fast. The lake had a lot of “terraces” on the side where the water had been at some point and sometimes to avoid obstacles or the path right on the coast disappeared we walked on those but they were soft beneath the foot and made the walking a bit more difficult. There were a few bluffs to go over but those were easy. Most of the lake side walk though CC was pretty easy and it did get a bit dull at some point.
Another potential campsite on the lake shore that we saw, approx. in this area: (-37.23748, -71.28333).

We also saw a few fishermen boats on the lake that later passed us at the distance and didn’t seem interested in us. They had their camp set up in Bahia El Colorado right before the “Ford {08-04} [12.5/1379] (Estero Colorado)” by the time we got there, we could see they were all fishing higher up the river so we didn’t talk to them.
Approximately the last km until the ford the coastal path disappears and the going gets a bit harder on a scree slope but it was because we stayed a bit too low. Higher up there was some sort of a minor road again, that came back out of the water but because the beginning of it looked a bit overgrown we didn’t take it. Later though it seemed better and we joined it but should have done it earlier.
The ford itself was fast flowing but shallow and easy.
A bit after that the day was getting hot so we took a dip in the lake and the temperature of the lake surprisingly was warmer than expected, but still invigorating.
After that we continued CC along the coast not following the gpx even though I can now see on the satellite that there was some sort of a trail higher up. We went along the coast almost all the way to the Estero Rucos and then turned up the valley towards the “Ford {08-04} [15.9/1397] (Estero los Rucos)” I don’t think that doing it this way was much slower. We forded the river a few times already lower down looking for the best way up the valley, the fords were very easy.
We had a lunch in the bushes near the ford and I believe it’s possible to find a campsite there aswell. The tabanos around here were vicious and they pretty much accompanied us all the way along the ridge walk that followed.
After that came a steep and very hot climb up to the ridge, there appeared some sort of a trail around here (-37.25442, -71.23348) but then we lost it and just aimed straight up for the trail that we could see higher up. Once we got to it it led us all the way to the ridge, though in some places we deviated from it to avoid some bushes.
The trail continued to where the Option 4A joins the Option 4 and went down in the valley. But we wanted to stay on the ridge and it was a very easy CC along the ridge with some really amazing views of Volcán Antuco, Sierra Velluda and the Laguna Laja.
There was also a very good Movistar signal here (-37.30267, -71.24928).
It got a bit harder going when the ground turned more soft under the foot walking on the loose pumice. It was challenging going up but very fun, fast and easy going down. Once we were approaching the pass (-37.36012, -71.25679) we could see trails reappearing crossing the pass and it was a well traveled path down to Estero los Timones. The moment the trail descended into the valley there was a 4x4 track going up the valley and continuing along the Option 4. We forded the little estero around here (-37.36871, -71.25077) and set the camp up right there on the slightly elevated ground on the river bed. It was nice and flat but sandy and a bit exposed to the wind. The wind luckily once again died down for the night and after a mega day I believe I had one of the best nights sleep ever.

Day 5 - In the morning we picked up the 4x4 track we saw yesterday and followed it hoping that the Option 4C would be possible to save us some unnecessary km. The option 4C was under the lake but a bit further we could see a possible crossing. We deviated from the Option 4 at around here:(-37.38999, -71.25340) to shortcut across and saved extra 5km of walking. There was a small ford in the middle of the crossing (-37.39198, -71.25376).
After that we picked up again the 4x4 track that roughly matched the Option 4.
We didn’t miss out on the opportunity to have another dip in the lake with view of the Volcán Antuco across, it was very refreshing and water felt a degree colder than yesterday in Bahia El Colorado.
After that started the loose sand section for about 10 km even though there was still a 4x4 track the ground beneath it wasn’t compacted and walking took some extra effort. Here we mostly followed what for us looked the best, not the track or the gpx. The 4x4 track went off the main Option 4 around where the Option 4D is drawn.
There were a few minor fords along the way. At the ford around here (-37.47633, -71.26346) we had lunch with some shade a bit higher up this side valley.
Our map showed that there is a trail coming down from this valley and after the lunch we picked it up just before the GPT 08 - Option 4 joins the GPT09 RR. We didn’t see any actual trail joining from the GPT09 RR.
This is where for us the GPT08 ended and GPT09 started. (Continued in section 09 log)

Option 4 - difficulty 4/5 attraction 5/5
Since most of it is CC with just occasional track or trail resemblances a lot of it on loose sand and some places steep, it gets 4/5. It wasn’t as difficult as some of the sections we have done. The views and lake swims were definitely worth it.

Section GPT08 in general - Muchos tabanos, more water than marked, good walking, great views.

For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures

*'''2025-08-09: Track file update 2025 and investigation suggestions of Jan Dudeck'''

- I re-route the Regular Route of GPT08 due to the right-of-way conflict at Mallin el Toro near the southern terminus of GPT08 (about 4 km north of road between Abanico and Laguna Las Lajas). The Regular Route now descents when hiking southbound to Rio Polcura and the hydro-power station El Toro. When going southbound exiting the hydro-power station El Toro is normally not an issue. When workers see you at the road you might be escorted out of the area (free car ride but connecting-footstep-hikers might cry when being driven out). Anyway, northbound hikers will need to make arrangements to be permitted entering the area going north. See the post from Manon and Robin from season 2024/2025.

- New GPT08 Option 6 (Cerro Gaston): One option to avoid the right of way conflict is this new exploration route. Satellite images suggest a vague trail or animal track up to the ridge starting either at the normally dry outlet of Laguna de las Lajas or somewhat higher up on the road after the first locked gate. Experienced hikers that don't mind scrambling in steep exposed terrain might investigate this exploration route but should turn back if this unverified draft route is unsafe.

- GPT09 and GPT08: Southbound and northbound hikers may also opt for the remote routes east of Laguna de las Lajas (GPT08 Option 4 (Ruta Este)). This is particular useful when combining GPT09 and GP08. When staring on GPT08 going northbound, hikers might first follow the regular route of GPT09 going southbound (around volcano Antuco) and then turn north on the remote eastern side of Laguna de las Lajas.

- Updated GPT08 Option 5 (Costa Las Lajas): Southbound hikers with enough food left may also follow the coast of Laguna de Las Lajas and ascent to the ridge on one of the 3 suggested routes. Note that route 05D is only traversable when the lake level is somewhat low (see Important Information Point GPT08-5D that provides a water level mark for decision taking). These detours promise to be quite scenic and remote combining lake access with walking high up on the ridge and avoiding the right-of-way conflict when descending on the current regular route to Rio Polcura.

- Northbound Start at Termas de Chillan: An other option for northbound hikers to avoid the right of way conflict at Mallin el Toro is starting at the Termas de Chillan halfway into section GPT08.

- Packrafting is also an option to travel along the lake shore or to cross the lake to hike on the eastern side. In this area, early mornings and late evenings are normally calm but in the afternoon wind can get dangerously strong.

==Season 2024/25==

* ''' GPT 08 - NOBO - right of way issue Mallin del Toro / Robin and Manon / Published on Facebook 2025-03-12 '''

With Manon Petit we walked GPT08 NOBO from Antuco. We had some kind of escape game in Antuco to find a solution to the right of way issue at Mallin del Toro. We were not super keen to try the ridge route from Célio Lebailly or Tobias Schorcht, as it trespassed the first gate and looked nasty from below. We talked to a local guide Jorge from Cardinal Adventure (+56 9 5848 1699, can rent material for Antuco), our host Fanny at refugio Antumapu (+56 9 9404 4771 very welcoming and nice, super cheap) and our friends Pablo and Rachel encountered in a hitchhike a few days before. All were aware of the events and did their possible to help out as it impacts tourism in Antuco. Here's what we can tell :

- there has been a serious events in December. Cyclists were confronted by the arriero and friends about some damage done apparently, then molested and their bikes were retained/robbed. Turns out one of the guy was the son of a Los Angeles judge, and there is a case open in court about the events. From there the access has been denied to anyone. We talked with Enrique Marisol the arriero (+56 9 6285 2347). Here is his answer : "Hola buenas tardes Desgraciadamente está restringido el tránsito por el interior del predio solo se permite el ingreso a los residentes,tenemos el lugar ocupado por animales en pastoreo ojalá entienda que no está permitido el paso por el interior Desgraciadamente los mismos turista han provocado en nosotros la molestia actuando de mala fe como rompiendo cercas .derribando nuestros portones dejando que nuestros animales se escapen a predios aledaños ocasionando gastos humanos logísticos y pérdida de algunos animales"

- Our friends finally found out who the dueña is, she is of a family nicknamed here "pichimosca" (small flies), known in Antuco for not being friendly and causing problems. She is the one forbidding access.

- the Antuco municipality is actively trying to resolve the situation

- Carabineros have no hold on this and advise to avoid the area

- Once the persons heard the name of the dueña, they all advised to avoid the area and not having problems with this family. The arriero Enrique is not well appreciated neither, and as far as we understood, he took part in molesting the cyclists.
Concerning options to avoid Mallin del toro

- the Rayenco central in option 6 is a private ground an permit is required to trespass. It is granted if prior permit from one of the two owners of the Campos higher up the Polcura valle.

- the two administrators are Engelbert Egger (+56 9 9239 2826) in fonde del Ciervo on the right bank. Working for an Austrian company of forestal management; and Juan Carlos Navarrete (+56 9 8514 3202) on the left bank.

- we got autorisation from Engelbert, who even picked us up in Antuco and dropped us in fonde del Ciervo. Nice guy, curious about what we're doing. Doesn't want this to be a touristic route, but seemed OK to grant permits to GPT hikers.

- he warned us about troubles with Juan Carlos. Turns out this is the same dueña as Mallin del Toro. The option 6 passes by his puesto and then veraneras before joining the ridge. Since Engelbert dropped us 14km upstream from the bridge, we crossed the Polcura there (not feasible earlier in the season I guess), backtracked on the left bank, and took an OSM route from S 37° 13.017', W 071° 25.823' to the ridge a little before the puesto. Didn't meet Juan Carlos. We joined the RR at S 37° 14.024', W 071° 23.514'.

- the local guide Jorge told us about another solution: bypass with a zodiac on the lake. Héctor Burgos (+56 9 4944 4909) has one and is willing to offer his services. Contact him beforehand as he works in the mines and needs to plan he mentioned 110 kCLP for the transfer.

- another solution is getting up the Polcura valle directly to Los Peucos. This is way shorter, and trail all the way on both banks. You'd miss the ridge, and the trouble !
Hope this is clear enough, lots of info, I'll put that in the wiki. Overall the Mallin del Toro situation should be taken seriously

*'''2025-03-27 to 2025-03-31 / 4.5 days hiking / SOBO / OH 02 + RR + OH E + OH G + OH H + own route around Puesto/ MiaimZelt'''

Day 1: Came from Talca and took the 2pm bus from Terminal Merced to Termas de Chillán. Arrived at 4:30pm and was the last one in the bus. Had to walk 1.5km on the road to reach OH 02. The trail to Pass {08-02} [2.8/2371] was easy, but very steep. No fun, i was stressed a lot because of time pressure, had only 3 hours of daylight left. Hurried down through the incredible Valle Aguas Calientes - what a pity! First hot spring was already occupied with tents. Could have camped near a hot river, but maybe not easy to reach the hot river in the dark. Therefore i continued until Camp {08} [40.4/2150]. Don't recommend this place, the evening and night was super windy, although it was less windy at the pass! Didn't dare to leave the tent to take a bath and didn't fall asleep before 3am.

Day 2: Prepared everything and took a bath in the morning. So good!! RR was wet and sometimes not visible in the valley. Improved soon. Ford {08} [47.4/1390] was below knee and fast flowing. Ford {08} [48.4/1334] was mid tigh (i'm 1.73) and fast flowing. At Puesto {08} [49.6/1423] i saw 2 simple huts: one was locked. Ford {08} [50.5/1305] was possible dry feet. Ford {08} [64.1/1164] was also possible dry feet. Went to Camping Los Peucos and met 2 guys from Conaf. They told me the Camping is now officially closed due to problems with administration. Arrived late and was allowed to stay, very nice gardaparques. I hope they reopen soon, this place is awesome.

Day 3: Short day due to weather forcast: 35l rain and 80km/h winds in the evening and night. All 4 fords at the MR were easy and low, but Ford {08} [71.3/1089] was very long. At least 5 apple trees at OH E! Sendero Los Ratones is nice, but some fallen trees. Searched for a camspot near the pass in the lenga forest. Stayed here on a not really flat place:
-37.128033, -71.3195. Indeed tons of rain after 8pm.

Day 4: Started late at 10am, when rain stopped. Again some fallen trees. Soon i found better and bigger places to camp in the forest, the altitude-lines didn't let me expect this. No more dust! Trail until Laguna Roble was nice and beautiful. Below Laguna Roble i found a rabbit caught in a wire loop. I freed the poor animal, 100m further i saw a dead rabbit in another wire loop. Both campspots at Laguna Roble are nice and well protected in case if bad weather.
Was lucky to climb to Pass {08} [100.6/2035] (El Encanto) on a cool day. Great views from the ridge! Also nice trail. After X {08} [105.4/1934] 200m CC. Camp {08} [106.6/1938] isn't flat. Followed the wrong trail and continued CC at the same altitude until i reached the RR again. Took OH G to get to Laguna Hermosa. Easy CC. Didn’t like the camp at the beach, not good in case of unstable weather. Stayed here: -37.27434, -71.383359 a bit further up. 100m below there is a well sheltered spot between bushes. Started snowing after i pitched the tent. Very cold night.

Day 5: Sunny day, but cold and some snow at the mountains. The following km at the ridge were a bit difficult due to snow and ice. Snow covered the trail and made it difficult to follow. Fortunately i saw animal footprints - wild animals appriciate our trails! Took OH H, there is a nice trail. The beginning of the descent was very steep and still frozen. Improved in the forest. Met two Arrieros with horses and 4 aggressive dogs. Wanted to sneak around Puesto {08} [120.6/1513] to avoid right-of-way issue. First try was a fail - the vegetation was way too dense. Here -37.347131, -71.391773 i could follow an animal trail, which leads to a big meadow. Hiked on the meadow to the MR. Only downside: i was visible from the house, nothing happened. I guess: it's possible to sneak in NoBo when walking early or late when it's dark. Nice trail near Estero El Toro. Walked on the PR and got a very friendly hitch with a chilean couple to Los Ángeles.

*''' 2025-03-14 to 2025-03-16 /3 days / HIKING/ NOBO / OH 02 + RR /Chloe and Mathieu

We tried to to take the OH06 to avoid the right of way issue but when you go Nobo you have to go through the hydroelectrical central. For that you have to go there with one of the landowner located after the central. So we followed the advice of Robin and Manon and contacted Engelbert Egger (+56992392826). He's very Kind but he wasn't in Abanico at this time so he gave us the number of an other man wo has a puesto after the central. He wasn't available as well so we decided to start from Termas de Chillan to avoid this part.

Day 1 : we started from Termas de Chillan and took the OH 02. We went up to the pass, easy trail. We went down to the agua caliente valley, very beautifull and almost all rivers are hot. There is one amazing just after the camp [37.3/2157] where you can bath.
We slept at camp 40.3 where the hot spring is so nice as well.

Day 2: we went up to the pass 39.1 quite sandy but the ascent is short. When we went down we lost the RR because we followed a more obvious trace so keep looking at the GPS. We
reached RR again and followed the route until pass 33.2. Then we went down to the valley of estero Quebrado. At camp 29.5 we lost the track and ended in bamboo fight, so stay to the right side of the estero and it will be fine.
We reached Rio Ñuble and crossed it preatty easily at the exact point on Locus because rivers are lower at this time of the year. We camped here S 36° 48.882', W 071° 15.278' but the camp 20.3 is fine also. The other places are protected by fences and big signs are saying that camping is prohibited.
Day 3: we walked all the way to Puente Engles and found a lift to go to San Fabian de Alico. We slept at the Jahuel camping (15min from center and 8000p/p) nice restaurant : Zambie I Canuta.
Took the bus next morning at 6:20AM to Chillan.

*'''2025-02-23 to 2025-03-02 / 8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Eric and Jakob'''

Route:
We sticked to the main route the whole time. !!!We had problems at the end of the main Route. Its best to use Option 6 (Rayenco) to avoid right of ways issue.!!!

Travel:
At this section our trip ended that’s why we hitchhiked to Antuco and even though it was Sunday we were able to buy a ticket for a nightbus directly from Antuco to Santiago. The bus left at 22:15 and arrived at 05:30 the following day costing the two of us 54 euros.

Permissions:
In the beginning is a gate a little bit before the marked gate at kilometre 22.8. The gate has signes on it stating that everything is private property and nobody is allowed to enter. The land is owned by a really nice man called Juan. His phone number is +56973133339. He is carrying his phone all the time so just give him a call before entering. He was really friendly to us and gave us immediate permission to cross his territory.
When entering Parque Nacional Laguna del Laja don’t worry about getting a permission to continue hiking. We went to the Park Ranger at km 63.9 and he told us that no permission is needed to cross the national park.
!!!The landowner at km 120.6 doesn’t let any hiker pass! No matter whether hiking SOBO or NOBO. There is also no way to get a permission. That’s why we highly recommend taking the Option 6 (Rayenco) to avoid these problems. He is a really straightforward person who makes you turn around no matter of how much water or food you still have left.!!!
 Resupply:
No shops on the whole trail.

Attractiveness: 4-5/5
Difficulty: 4/5

*'''GPT 08 / 2025-02-13 to 2025-02-07/ 7 days / NOBO / Mara & Tobias*'''

short: Avoided the right of way conflict at Puesto {08} [121.6/1513] by taking the ridge (difficulty 6). Water {08} [107.7/1951] is almost dried out. Aggressive cows in the valley close to Camp {08} [89.4/1449].

Day 1: startet at Gate {08} [126.2/1339] at 12:30 and met Enrico there, who told us to not pass. After chatting a bit with him he told us to wait 20 minutes, until he left with the car and go for the ridge. So we entered after a while, went up the road and found water at -37.35773, -71.38068. From the satellite images variant A (photo) looked ok, but in real live seemed to be a bad idea. So we went for variant B, which took us 3 hours. Very steep, loose rocks, one part with climbing (difficulty 2). With the food for 7 days in the backpack not a joy 😂. While we were climbing up, we saw 3 cars passing the road. So be aware when you sneak in. Camped at laguna los Cóndores. Perfect Spot!

Day 2: walked to Camp {08} [107.6/1938]. The marked spot should be shifted up to 37.24611 -71.39138 the shoulder right before (NOBO). Met Adrian, Julian and Valentin there who camped SOBO and camped beside us. Had nice conversations. Adrian warned us about the aggressive cows next day.

Day 3: Went to Camp {08} [88.1/1514] and met Clara on the way. Cows close to Camp {08} [89.4/1449] showed an aggressive behaviour. Maybe it was the herd who were hunting the boys the day before. We had to do a 20 minutes detour up the valley to keep distance.

Day 4: Went to camping Los Peucos and enjoyed the hot water.

Day 5-7: walked to Puente Inglés without difficulties. Crossed Río Nuble with dry feet on horseback’s. 2 Arrieros (Guillermo and Renato) took us on the other side. Water was not deep either.

*'''10Fev2025 - 17fec2025 / hiking SOBO / RR - OH1+new - varE - G - H - I - J / 7.5 days (with one half day at termas) / Clara'''

Left the bus to Puente El Ingles here -36,67295, -71,29201 before los sauces (as Tomáš and Natalie said), easy road to the river and dry feet crossing.
Lots of workers there, I was luckey to get a ride to El Roble after few hot MR walking km.
Carabineros are nice, just want you to register and check out you have a good gps + satellite.

Fords :
- Rio ñuble: at 10am deep and flowing fast, I didn't feel it (1.57m, alone and i'm not used to fords). I knew it would probably be like this so I took OH1 and went back RR (thanks a lot Peggy and Dorota!!). Ford at the indicated place on OH1 is easy, water to knee flowing slow at noon.

-Rio diguillin : 47.4 was easy (fast flowing but around knee). 48.4 harder (water to crotch, flowing fast), I did it few meters upper to tracks (exactly here : -36,93565, -71,40355)

Navigation :

- to avoid ford of rio ñuble : OH1 is easy with 2 nice camp spots (-36,85676, -71,22440 and -36,86615, -71,21507) and lot of streams flowing. Trail in the other direction is mainly in good conditions but sometimes disappear + cow paths make you going in bushes and loosing time (so if it can helps, this is 4 positions that I marked with my gps when I went back on the good trail just after loosing myself :
S36.852906° O071.228763° /
S36.850995° O071.230381° /
S36.844944° O071.235431° /
S36.839085° O071.245746°)

Maybe (probably), there are other easy spots earlier to ford Rio ñuble and take the trail at the opposite side, especially when it gets close to the river, but I didn't explore it at all.
And back on the other side of Rio ñuble... 3h30 later !! But I was very happy with it as it worked and was very easy.

-I found not so much bamboo fight, maybe it have been cleared by all the people passing. I avoided one taking the good trail on the other side of the river around camp 29.5. 2 additional fords but very easy. (Cross river here S36.856564° O071.75578°, and then here S36.858440° O071.279470° to go back on RR)

- CC part on the ridge after km113 is more demanding in terms of navigation and terrain. Some cairns helping (but once leed me in wrong and exposed direction). I ended up on varH without noticing but it felt good as there was less wind than directly on the ridge and a good trail.

- I had still lot's of food so I took the ridge slow and went for the lakes (thank's to Sergio advise, and food!). Var G for laguna hermosa is easy CC, 20 min down. The lake is a beautiful ++ spot to camp (or lunch/swim), I found it way nicer than Laguna El Roble ! No water flowing upper to the lake at this time but water from the lake is perfectly clear and fresh.
Var I looked nicer than RR for this steep going down.
Then var J : good trails to go to laguna El Toro and to the viewpoint of laguna los condores. Not sure if you really can go down at this one and didn't look like there is place to camp.

Camp :

- Planned to camp at Camp 20.3 but the place was not nice and no water so went to next spot not marked here -36,81470, -71,25463. (Camp 21.6 is not good too, there is a fence and private property)

- -36,85684, -71,27580. A bit before camp 29.5.

- termas 40 : very nice spot. Incredible termas !!

- camping Los Peucos : nothing to add about termas and camping. Sergio is amazing and very generous. The day after he had to do some stuff with trashes and he proposed me to come with him by car. He took me to the viewpoint of salto del blanquillo on OH3 that was nice and then left me around beginig of VarE

- camp 87.1 : nice fresh water flowing just down to the spot.

- camp 102.3 : there is actually a thin water just down, sufficient to cook and drink. The spot has an amazing view. Flat spot perfect for tent exactly here -37,21391, -71,37187. Not totally wind protected so better watch before how it's gonna be for the night !

- laguna El Toro : is not as perfect as laguna hermosa (and water is not as fresh and clear, maybe better to take water from the little stream on the path going down to the lake) but it's still a nice place to camp. Frozed in the night.

Water : 27.5 is not really good (more muddy and stagnant water). Other markers are good.

No snow.

Right of way issues :
- at puesto 120 : 5 very agressive dogs running and barking on me when I arrived. As others, the guy told me it's a private property and doesn't let people go since this season (because of trashes and fires). He was not angry and had to let me pass in this way but precise me that he won't let anyone in the opposite. Need to find an alternative way if you really want to go NOBO here, and don't approch the puesto.

- cows around km88 where not aggressive with me but not friendly type neither.

I can advise camping parque Antuco. Nice and calm place with shade and swimming pool. Homemade empanadas. Camp10k with electricity and perfect hot showers. Bernabe the owner is really nice and know about the GPT. Had really good talks with him !

* '''2025-JAN-29 to 2025-Feb-2 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 1 / Elijah & Michael

Rio Nuble remains a challenging crossing with water coming waist high at 174 cm. Trail is overgrown with Bamboo Grass up to the second pass, however improves thereafter.

Both the undeveloped termas after the second pass, as well as Los Peucos are highly recommended. Camping & rustic cabanas available at Los Puecos; as noted, Sergio is warm, welcoming, and generous with his available supplies.

El Puesto {08} [120.6/1513] informed us that we were trespassing on private property and allowed us to pass on the stipulation that we never return.

Antuco Base Camp sells hot coffee, cookies, chocolate, and at lunch, pizza. Light traffic on road to Antuco (Sunday).

(Option 1: Michael split from RR to hike this option. Second marked puesto busy & welcoming. No water available after basin before ridge walk, until Laguna el Lobo. Good views, comparable to Traversia Polcura.)

'''2024-01-16 to 2014-01-26 / 1day+10days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+OH 1+new trail / Dorota+Peggy till los Puecos, after that Dorota'''

Very demanding stage because of Rio Nuble

1Day: I walked alone and have idea to cross the river Nuble at km 22.0 km (-36.82021, -71.25381) at first gate. Then followed river, and after puesto I found trail. My idea was destroyed for next river and also on the other side I did not see possibility to continúe. So I backtrack to camping El Ingles and joined Peggy.

Day2: We could not crossed safely Nuble. Night at km 21.6

Day3: We continued option 08-01. It was possiblity of storm so we went to puesto (08-01)[8.0/1136]. We spent here night and learned how to made sopapillas and bread. Patricia y Juan gave us a lot of food. Juan explain us that exist path on other side of river (reffering to option1) which leads to termas.

Day4: We risked to follow his innstruction and we reached the track RR. So if you would like to do this option: take variant 01, cross the river Nuble at about km 6.5 (-36.86712,-71.21317). And then not followed option 1. Instead turn right and followed path on the other side. You need to make some adicional kilometers, but it was worth of it.

Day5: we reached termas. There was nice spot with two places for tent.(-36.90435, -71.35763)

Day6: volcano Chillan using variant Natalie-Tomas. Till 2500 m nice visible path. Then sometimies. There were snowfields, only one with spikes. We met pair from Germany.

Day7: We spend a lot of time for find good place for passing river Daulagin. We have crossed 100 m down stream. I have 1.64 cm, peggy 1.60 cm. Cuarrent very strong, water to hips. I reached camping los Puecos.

Day7: Rest day at Puecos. Night at "quincho" house with place for fire. Price 15.000 clp. Ranger Sergio gave us a lot of food, breakfast and dinner. Also gas and food. He didnot like money adicional. Hot springs excepcional.

Day9: I followed trail alone. Between 82.9 and 84.2 a lot tress and sometimes trail is not visible. Night at km 88.4.

Day 10: views from the ridge were amazing. Between km 110.2 and 113.1 the trail very often is not visible. I camped at km 111. Water from snow.

Day11: There were not water till km 117. Meeting with Rodrigo at his puesto were not so bad. At the beginnig I started to apologize that I am on his territory. Night at camping Antuco in luxury cabana for 4 personas. Price 30000 clp. Owner in the evening took me to Abanico to restaurant and buying some food. Very nice place.

'''2025-Jan-20 to 2025-Jan-27 / 7 days + 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR from thermas de Chillán, Option 08-D + volcano Chillán / Chris & Julia
'''

Tldr: Final ridge is difficult (navigation & terrain), we had insane winds. Water [118.3/1733] is campable. All fords managable (2 pers, one 181cm), one a bit tricky to navigate. Option 08-D preferable. Dont miss out on Los Peucos!

Skipped due to Rio Nubles to valles de agua caliente.
Climbing volcan Chillán was a nightmare made from ashes and loose rocks. Saw condors from maybe 5m away and got blessed with amazing views. it took us in total approx. 7hrs. Many snowfields to cross and no real path, its just... very very steep.
Valle de agua caliente was very nice, but also crowded. The water is not particularly hot, but relaxing & nice during daytime. The first river that needs to be crossed to join the RR was pretty hot (almost burned my foot when crossing). We were a bit bummed, we didnt try to find a bathing spot there, away from the people and with some steam ;)
Fording Rio Diguilli approx hip high and medium current, second crossing was easier than first but hard to navigate. At the marked location is a good spot, just hard to get there as the path was swept away. We followed horse tracks, last 20m pushed through bushes, climbed down and then traced the river approx. 20-40m upstream to the marked fording and crossed there.
Los Peucos is a heaven, no shop though, so plan supplies accordingly! If lucky and he had a recent resupply run, he might sell you some food, but its not certain. Sergio is super nice & welcoming, hot pools are suuuuper relaxing! Wifi available. 15kCLP pp.
We took Option 08-D (some CC that Sergio (Los Peucos) recommended) to only cross Rio Polcura once. We crossed approx 200m downstream of the marked location where it was more narrow, less current but a bit deeper. We did this because it was easier to judge whats coming and it was belly high, but due to little current very managable. Rather a nice cool dip. We saw horse tracks exiting the trail a bit earlier to the left than the Option 08-D. Arrieros know best, i suspect this might be their trail, worth checking out!
As others mentioned before, we also took the road and not the RR parallel to the river. We saw arrieros use it on horses, but with backpacks its hard and not enjoyable.
Camp [97.8/1456] at Laguna el Roble was a dream spot. The ascend after was a dream too, 2hrs, amazing views.
Final ridge approx from the salida de emergencia ongoing was hard to navigate, challenging terrain, insane winds! Took longer than expected!
Camp [106.6/1938] looked not flat but okay, but water supply rather trickling than flowing.
We camped at not-marked location very close to Water [118.3/1733] (when the path gets muddy, after crossing the little flow from the left, little ascend and then to the right is a nice flat spot between fallen trees). The water is actually a source and had wonderful cold & fresh water flowing.

In Antuco we found through asking a shop owner a little room, hosted by nice lady Sara: 3 beds, power outlets, wifi (fast), shower (warm-ish), watercooker, microwave, clean, central (near bigmarket) for 40.000CLP per night for it all. Her Whatsapp: +56 9 8503 8261
No kitchen though.

Wonderful and diverse section! Loved every bit of it!

'''2024-Jan-02 to 2024-Jan-12 / 3 days+8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, backtrack from Rio Nubles, OH02, OH02A / Nimrod & Tamar
'''
In short - we didn't cross Rio nubles and backtracked to opt 02.
Great hot springs
An angry guy at puesto [120.6/1513]

Trail from Puente Ingles is an MR. There is a lot of worker traffic and it's easy to hitchhike.
At Camp [21.6/873] there is a fence and it's currently impossible to camp there. At the same spot there is a cable bridge. We climbed the fence and tried to cross, but the cart was on the other side of the river and we didn't see anybody.

We camped near Rio Nubles ford waypoint in order to try it early in the morning.
The current was too strong and we didn't maage to cross the river (we are 170 cm)
We decided to go upstream using option 10, cross the river, and try to go back to RR on the other side.
We crossed the river at (-36.86714, -71.21322) and started hiking south.
It was hard BB and we hiked about 1.5 km in 4 hours.
We saw the river got wide so we decided to cross it again, stop suffering, backtrack and take a bus to thermas de chillan.

We took a bus from Chillan to Termas de Chillan at 13:30 on Sunday. We walked about 1 km on the paved road and climbed to the first hot springs. There was a small not so warm pool.

2nd day - we climbed to Volcan Chillan. There was some snow but it was easy without spikes.
Slept in the amazing Valle de Agua Caliente and enjoyed a hot bath in the hot river at night.

3rd day - We planned to get to Los Peucos but decided to spend more time in the hot springs valley and started hiking at noon. The ford in [48.4/1334] was quite hard. At afternoon the water reached our belly button, current was strong, rock at bottom slippery.
We camped near ford [50.5/1305]. There was a fir pit.

4th day - we hiked to Los Peucos. Sergio the ranger accepted selling us some food (flour, eggs, cheese, pasta, tuna, pastrami). Payed 15,000 clp each for food+hot spring+camp. The hot springs were amazing! The best so far for us. You get to fill your own pool before going in so it's clean and warm! There's wifi and a place to charge as well.

5th day - we camped at (-37.10491, -71.31605) no water. Saw puma foot prints the next morning, and a research camera a little before camp.

6th day - saw Laguna de laja and volcan Antuco from afar for the first time. camped near Laguna De Roble, swem and rested in the afternoon. Beautiful place! A lot of ducks.

7th day - the path was clear most of the time and the view really nice.
We camped at (-37.178223,-71.235131) - beautiful place with a view to volcan Antuco, water from melted snow.

8th day - watch out as going down the trail to the last valley- it looks innocent, but is actually quite steep and dirt is slippery, and land is hard and painful to fall on. Had some nasty falls on our butts!
At puesto [120.6/1513] a guy named Ricardo was angry at us for entering his private property, but had no choice but let us continue down.We think he might not let NOBO hikers go up the valley.
Finally we hitchhiked to Antuco. There was a lot of traffic on Sunday.

'''2024-Dec-21 to 2024-Dec-26 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR, variant E, Option 2 / Sean & Neele
'''

At the park entrance on the road they asked where we were going, once we explained we were going north to termas de chillan they asked to see the route. Wasn't a problem they just seemed curious, let us in without paying.

Puesto 120km - lots of people camping in this area on a Friday.

117km to 107km - snow present. It's manageable but slowed our progress. Around 113km is the worst of it. North of 107km some very small patches but nothing difficult.

Camp 106.6km - very wet at the moment there's a better option about 500m sobo.

Camp without water 102.3 - currently has plenty of water.

Camped at camp 87.1km - lots of horseflies

Ford 71.3km - easy at 4pm

Ford 66.4, 64.1 and 63.7km - also easy

Camping Los Puecos 63.9km - great spot hot spring was a bit too hot for us. Host was a legend; he brought us breakfast on Christmas.

Ford 48.4km - Very strong. Crossed around 5:30pm hip deep for Neele (1.61m). We took our time finding a suitable place to cross and ended up about 250m upstream from RR.

Camped at Ford 47.4km eastern side downstream there's a great camp spot with a fire ring.

Hot spring 40.4km is really amazing

We took option 2 to Termas de Chillan to avoid Rio Nuble. Some snow but really not a problem.

* ''' 2024-DEC-18 > 20 / 3 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / frontiere argentine(voir GPT07) > RR > frontiere argentine > RR / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT07+GPT08
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : facile
| Neige : beaucoup
| Intérêt : 5/5
| Difficulté : 4/5
| Danger : passage de rivière difficile, foret d'arbres morts, neige sur pente raide.

Le passage du Rio Nuble n'est pas facile, meme le matin. La fin du sentier avant la grande montee est vraiment difficile a suivre car peu empruntée et milieu humide avec beaucoup de vegetation. En revanche la montée est parfaitement entretenue.
La crete est un vrai plaisir, mais elle est exigente physiquement et il n'y a pas d'eau ni de sentier. Les parties sableuses sont difficile car il y a des trous sous le sable. Pour la descente vers le Rio Polcura, il suffit de suivre le sentier. La riviere est facile a passer.
Ensuite la premiere partie vers le lac est en mauvais etat meme si le chemin est bien visible. La foret est morte alors attention aux chutes de branches. La derniere crete est tres belle, mais il y a beaucoup de neige dans des endroits tres raide. Impossible a faire si la neige est glacée. La derniere descente est propre mais il y a beaucoup de moustiques dans le grand pré. La fin du dernier jour s'est faite sous un ciel menaçant, je me suis depeché de descendre pour retrouver de la chaleur et des endroits plats en cas de pluie. J'ai rejoint Los Angeles le lendemain avec 4km de marche, 5km en stop, puis en bus depuis Abanico par le bus de 8h45.
DEC-21 : Repos Los Angeles.

* ''' 2024-DEC-13 to 2024-DEC-17 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH (var. E, 06, 06B) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel '''

This stage is full of incredible diversity, encompassing almost everything. Epic views, challenging terrain, walking on snow, beautiful wild forests, the majestic Chillán volcano, hardened lava flows, hot springs, arrieros, a ridge trail, and, so far, the most challenging ford we’ve encountered here (see below).

We got back to the trail by hitchhiking from San Fabián in the early morning. The following section [km 2.8 to approx. 21.9] is not a trail as described in the track files, but rather a solid MR that is being worked on by laborers. The settlement at El Roble [12.7/758] is actually a police station where we checked in and provided our contact details.

The ford [23.7/950] across the Ñuble River is the biggest challenge of this section. We first attempted it in a line of three, but our tallest member, Daniel (198 cm), who was first, found the water almost up to his chest and the strong current was beginning to pull us in. We turned back. It wasn’t safe to cross. Eventually, we found a rock 100 meters upstream where the water was deeper but the riverbed was narrower. With a run-up, we jumped one by one as far as we could, and on three steps, we made it to the opposite bank. We sent our backpacks across the riverbed using a rope and carabiner.

The ascent to the saddle of the Chillán volcano is a beautiful hike, and the extensive and geologically fresh lava flow at the Trailhead [34.6/1873] is definitely worth mentioning. The crossing point is unmarked at about [35.1/1852]. Above 2150 m, everything was completely covered with snow. Spikes came in handy.

The descent to the Río Diguillín valley was okay, and we camped near the ford [48.4/1334], which is also a nice spot for a bivouac. We crossed the mentioned ford in the morning, and the water reached my waist at a height of 178 cm. It’s worth noting that the marked ford [50.5/1305] could be crossed with dry feet. The trail towards Termas los Peucos [63.9/1191] is a relatively well-defined path trodden by local arrieros. At the hot springs, which cost 7000 CLP per person, there is also a camping, but we continued further along the MR. At about [75.0/1160], we originally turned down the RR, but due to the challenging BB, we reversed our decision and continued along the MR to variant E.

From the Trailhead [80.5/1248], there is a pleasant path leading to the beautiful Laguna Laja. We camped at Camp [98.3/1459] by Laguna El Roble, where you need to slightly clear some bushes, but there is a nice spot for three tents and a fire pit. The ascent to the Pass [100.6/2035] (El Encanto) is quite pleasant due to its zigzagging path. There, we were captivated by the literally breathtaking view of the Antuco Volcano and Sierra Velluda. Unfortunately, due to an injury to one of our members' arches, we had to skip part of the ridge and finish the section using variants 06 + 06B. We deviated from the RR at point X [105.4/1934] and at Bus point {08-06B} [2.9/734], we hitchhiked to Los Angeles.

* ''' (2024/Dez/01-2024/Dec/07) 7Days/ Hiking and Packrafting/ SOBO/ RR / Lukas, Basil and Tabea '''

Entry point st puente el Ingles. The street to el Roble is beeing newly built and very easy to walk ou but also boring. The crossing of rii nuble was only manageble with packrafts, the river crossing ob foot is not possible at the moment. The mountain Pass at 39.1 km was duable but there was still a lot of snow from ca. 36.2 to ca. Ford 47.4. The hot springs were worth all the effort! The crossing at 50.5km was at the limit (for a person 170cm, over belly button). It was only possible in a line, manageble but not recommended.
Hot springs at camp 63.9 km are great. Ranger station has all the necessary commodoities, we spent an extra day there. From there on the road was well maintained until the laguna de la laja.
Packrafting before 3pm was very hard and slow due to SO wind, in the afternoon the west-wind made progress possible. Water levels are unusually high at the moment. As we were tired cold we hitch hiked with a fisher boat to the end of the lake afer ca. 14 km paddeling. exit over highway next to national park laguna del laja.

==Season 2023/24==
* '''24-11-29- 24-12-4/ 6 days / SOBO, OH02, RR, OH08F, RR, OH06/ Volker'''

A great spring hike, but not an easy one!
To avoid Rio Nubles so early in the season I took OH02 (bus from Chillan, rural station, to Valle las Trancas at 10.10 a.m. (2 buses each day go to Termas de Chillan, schedule:
https://busesrembus.cl/en/services.php)
and walked/hitchhiked the last kilometers to Termas. Started around 14:30. The snow began immediately after the hot spring at 4.8. I walked CC on the nearly untouched white coverage to the pass. The valley was almost completely under snow with some green patches. Rio Diguillin (no ford indicated): why keep feet dry, why keep anything dry? It‘s a stream at about 38 C with many whirlpools. I stayed over an hour there and camped not far: 10qm for a tent inmidst all the snow on a warm spring evening. The night and the following morning: quite cold. It was a good decision to add some 800g to my base-weight for a warm layer and gloves.

Day 2: Got up at 6.a.m and climbed with a mini-backpack CC on Volcan Chillan Viejo, at 9 a.m. on the summit, great view! In the afternoon I walked NOBO to the hot spring at 40.3 on RR. Back at the tent, it started to rain, mixed with snow.

Day 3: Started late, waiting for the weather to improve. To avoid the NOBO detour to the RR I climbed CC to join it. This was easy, the problems began on the RR. The whole trail was under snow, I had to permanently use my device to find the point of reentry into overgrown area after steep snowfields. Later less snow, but now many broken trees and branches blocked the way. No major problem, but I advanced slowly. First ford at 47.7: difficult. Second ford at 48.4: very difficult! That was no fun, strong stream over my thighs, I could dare it only, because I found a spot, where two rocks are quite close, so I had to stand the stream only for a second, before I could cramp to the next rock. The OSM here is not correct, perhaps the river has a new bed. After the puesto the trail was cleaned up/bypassing broken trees easier. I finally moved quicker. Camp at 57.0.
Day 4: Difficulties continued. Very cold in the morning, wet socks and shoes frozen; 5 fords, that are not indicated, all no major problem, but none with dry feet. The swamp before the puesto at 61.7 is bigger now (in spring?), several hundred meters of the trail under water. Again more fords than indicated, all easy, but one: water (flowing slowly) to my belly (1,97m!). The water reached to the lower part of the backpack. Didn‘t see anyone at the Los Peucos camp site. At the ford at 71.3 the water was neither very high nor very strong, but more than 100m to go the other bank! The following MR very welcome, finally allowed to move quicker. Camp on RR at around 77.5 directly on the trail.

Day 5: I took OH08F and walked the 28,6 km MR. Met several arrieros (very friendly!) and at the Embalse Vega Larga two fishermen, father and son, who „sold“ me (they didn‘t want to take
money, I insisted) two fishes, they had just grilled over a fire. Ford at the end of the MR to get back to RR: difficult. The Laguna Laja has more water than on OSM, at the spot, where the ford is indicated, one could swim to the other side, but the backpack… Camp at Laguna Laja with an extraordinary view on the mountains in the south.
Day 6: RR, trail first hardly visible, very good after the lake. On the ridge very windy, a lot of snow - but great view. On the way down the weather seemed to turn, so at 105.4 I took OH 06. The weather kept good, but nonetheless a good decision. When you are down in the valley, the trail and then the MR lead through a wonderful forest. Great spots to camp along the MR after the puesto (gate) but 100 before the Enel substation.
Day 7: Clouds at around 900 hm, good to be down in the valley. On a hot summer day, it’s probably very annoying to walk 15 km on a dusty MR - on a cool morning in spring, it was the opposite, and shortened by half, as an Enel worker gave me a ride to the exit of the hydropower area; from there 30min to the PR, then hitchhiked to Antuco for resupply and walked back into the direction of Abanico, as I found a nice cabana in Peluca (Villa Peluca, +56 9 8920 5676). 15 min. after my arrival heavy rain and storm for several hours.

*'''2024-04-12 to 2024-04-15 / 3 Days / Hiking SOBO) / RR / Alex + Andrey'''
Option from Termas de Chillan
My favorite section for autumn and a perfect weekend escape from the big city.
Difficulty: Moderate
It’s not hot and there’s almost no dust after a little rain.
The foliage of the trees turns into autumn colors!
Fords are simple.
Although Ford (easy) {08} [48.4/1334] has unusually more water for mid-April, photo attached in FB post.
Thanks to Matthias de Austria for clearing access to the stream at the west shore of Laguna Robles. It is a whole year source of fresh water before the ridge.
The Lagunillas Camping now is https://www.parqueantuco.cl/

* '''2024-03-24 to 2024-03-28 // 4,5 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + VARIANT E + VARIANT D // Quentin Clavel'''

After few days off at Los Angeles, I took the bus to Abanico then hitchhike until the junction between the trail and the road. I had to pay at the park ranger gate the 5K CLP for the entrance of the park (online reservation only, impossible to pay cash, and there's hardly mobile service up there, so prepare yourself by advance ☺️).

Then, you go straight up, and have stunning views over volcan Antuco and siella velluda. I had to check my GPS few times on this first part, and to change my trajectoire to stay on the RR and don't miss trailheads.

I slept at Laguna lágrima. I don't know if it comes from the water here, but I had stomach issues the following days ...

Views on this first part were absolutely wonderful !

The thermals of Los Peucos are just amazing ! Worth the stop, clean, well maintened, and with perfect temperature of water ! Sergio was so kind, he even invited me to lunch with him, that was a very nice break in this day !

Some swampy parts after the Puesto {08} [61.7/1298].

The hike up to the plateau (KM42) was physical, but it results to stunning views over the volcan chillan, and all the wonderful surroundings! There were hundreds of cows on that plateau and it was quite swampy, at the end you reach a super nice camp with incredible thermals ! Best hot springs of the GPT so far for me !

Continue to the pass and arrive in the volcanic plateau, very great too. I was too amazed by the landscape that I lost myself ! I was following a pretty clear track and missed to go on the right of the valley. I had hard time to join the RR as I tried to shortcut, but it was very demanding, sleepy and with losing rocks. Would have been better to backtrack at the junction and find again the RR, anyway...

After a way down where there's just a little overgrown part (for no more than 300m) I reached the terrible Rio Ñuble, that was (I was fortunate) easy to pass for me, at this time of the season, even with quite strong current.

From then I only met amazing people, up for a chat and full of an absolute kindness ! Carabineros first, locals, and Sandra at the microshop in puente el inglés (that was my only option for ressuply (chips, biscuits, fresh drinks, pastas) but at the middle of nothing I was happy about that !)).

* '''2024-03-18 to 2024-03-23 / 5.5 days / SOBO / RR,E,RR,H,RR/ Marilyne'''

Day 1 - Took the bus from rural terminal in Chillán at 8am to Termas de Chillán. After option 2, I walked NOBO on the RR to the nice hot springs at 40.3, spent the day there and camped at 40.4.

Day 2- Walked the dusty trail to Camping Los Peucos. Ford at 48.4: crossed about 400 meters upstream of the waypoint for the ford. The main flow is quite strong, so I looked for a spot where it was slightly more diverted. Got to camping Los Peucos and got offered a cabin with electricity for the same price as camping as heavy rain was forecasted for the next day (10k/night). Used the wifi which is pretty good around the ranger’s cabin. Hung out in the hot springs being chatted up by a 80-yo man who didn’t seem to care whether I understood all of what he said or not.

Day 3 - 45mm rain - Rest day. The nicest campground attendant, Sergio, let me hang out in his cabin by the fire all day.

Day 4 - Walked mostly on RR but using variant E on the road as the RR trail is overgrown and the trees were soaking wet after yesterday’s downpour. Met two people in a truck that worked for the pipeline that is along that road. Didn’t see anyone else. Camped at Laguna Laja.

Day 5 - Followed the RR except for variant H. Camped at the edge of the forest before the camp waypoint 119.7/1520, didn’t find ants to be problematic. Met a group of 5 young hikers going to Laguna Los Condores right before camp.

Day 6 - Hiked RR and GPT09 option 1A to Salto de las Chicas. Got a ride quickly to Antuco, where I went to the nice supermarket and took a room in town.

* '''2024-03-11 to 2024-03-16 / 5.5 days / SOBO / OH2, RR, Variant C, RR, G, RR / Tobi & Fangwen'''

Bus to Thermas de Chillan departs 12:30 from Rural bus station in Chillan arrives around 5pm

Hot springs @ KM40.3 indeed one of the best on the GPT - nice mix of hot waterfall and cold spring in one pool. Campsite there is not sheltered from wind, and a fair bit of trash left behind. Definitely worth the small detour from Thermas de Chillan

Baños de Peucos are great for a half rest day, Sergio (caretaker) is the nicest and most welcoming host.

At Laguna El Roble, the better campsite is on the western shore - there is one flowing water source along the edge of the forest a bit north of the campsite (lake gets a bit gross end of season).

Between El Roble and Hermosa, there is cellular reception when on the western side of the ridge (Movistar).

Laguna Hermosa is nice, there is one flat and South wind sheltered campsite behind the bushes on the north side of the lake. It's nice to walk around the lake, some easy scrambling. Do expect power lines overhead.

The two hot springs, and the last ridge hike were definitely the highlights of this GPT section.

The bus leaving Albanico for Las Angeles goes at between 5-6pm -ish

Rest very straightforward, and as described below (dusty, dead horse).

* '''2024-Feb-25 to 2024-March-4 / 7.5 days / SOBO / RR B D/ Matthias de Austria'''

No snowfiels, almost no Tabanos, except in the forenoon (none in the evening) at Laguna El Roble, about 30 to 40 Tabanos in 3 hours, on 1st of March!
Mostly plenty of water, lots of unmarked streams. No water at 106.7 and at camp 119.7, dried up.

Lots of dirt roads and paths veeery dusty.

No camp at 106.6. Flat spot few hundred meters after at -37.24567,-71.39142. But no protection and no water.

Fordings: all very easy except Rio Nuble. Crossed Nuble at ford 23.7, did not scout. It was deeper then it looked and for a meter or so I (187cm, 100kg) had a little fighting with the current. It was the first somewhat serious ford in my life. Got my undies a bit washed. Forded Rio Diguillin at -36.93549, -71.40313, where I saw horsetracks on the ground. Water around kneedeep, for a half meter strong current, but I simply step over it. I marked this easy ford position with a vertical tree stump, might be there until the next storm or flooding. Ford 66.4 was possible dry foot a bit east, but go back to RR afterwards, the road on the map does not exist anymore and this area is a jungle.

At -36.94783,-71.41243 easy to miss junction.

Camps: 1st shortly after the bridge at puente el ingles in the sand. Nice swimming next to it, but no morning sun until noon. 2nd abou q00 to 200m upstream of ford 23.7 next to Rio Nuble. Nice bolders, big pool, but strong current and very cold. 3rd camp 36.2, meadows quite wet, limited protection, just a few bushes. Small cold pool 150m away at Rio Las Minas. 4th a few hundred meters before ford 47.4 on a small flat spot next to the path. Nice camp shortly northwest of trailhead 80.5. Big nice pool at Rio Polcura for swimming next to where option 1 fords. West side Camp at Laguna El Roble as east has shallow water. Stream next to camp dried up, I found a small one a bit further north along the shore. Had to clean up 2m of thick bushes for water access. Camp at Laguna Hermosa very windy, but just follow the black cable to the west for maybe 20m, then go 3m through the treebushes and you are in a little quit well wind protected clearing: -37.274802,-71.383647. Camp 119.7, but water dried up, and very dusty and limited protection, not a good camp. There are some meadows a few hundred m further around the puesto, also no water there in March.

Men cleaning up the RR path north of Los Peucos. Some workers at the camp, but the ranger is working on the trail. No ranger means no firewood for cooking, no wifi and the thermas are without water. So no point in staying there and I move a bit further camp on some dusty place next to the road with a bit clambering river access. Next morning first morning frost.

Hot spring 40.3 is absolutely amazing. Best one I saw on the GPT. Stayed there for hours naked and got a bit sunburned. The "smoking river" a few hundred meters further west is also worth seeing.

Lots of blackberries along RR Rio Los Sauces.

Hardly any paths around camp 29.5 for a few hundred meters, overgrown or landslided. Not a big problem, just slows you down.

Long boring road, but hitch until police station shortly after ford 12.2km. Police friendly, wants passport, detail plans and phone number in case of emergency.

Gate at -36.81995,-71.25333, entry forbidden sign. easy to climb.

RR after junction E is partly overgrown, but still walkable, just slows you down.

Combined Section 7 and 8, in total 17 days, with lots of bathing and sitting around. Run out of food the last few days and had to restrict to one portion per day, which made me even slower due to lack of energy. But it was totally worth it. Still have way too much body fat. Last ridge one of the most beautiful parts of the GPT, stunning views and diverse path.

Hitch ruta Q-45 to Antuco.

Work in progress

* '''2024-Feb-24 to 2024-Feb-28 / 4.5 days / SOBO / RR / Gabriele - Trails of Wander'''

Day 1 (0.5) - Termas de Chillan - near Camp 08 [42.3/2087]. Late start at around noon from OH-Tl-V 08-02 [2.6+3.3] (Thermas de Chillan Parking) after hitch-hiking from Las Trancas. Reached Las Trancas with RemBus from the Chillan Rural Bus Terminal La Merced. The Sendero Valle Aguas Calientes have been re-routed for a few 100s meters after the fumaroles and it stays higher than the original track. Easy to follow. Once in the Valle Aguas Calientes I continued to Hot Spring 08 [40.3/2173] NOBO which is really a must do on this section and then retraced back to a camping area about 200 m lower than Camp 08 [42.3/2087] that I thought was dryer, flatter and had good access to water.

Day 2 - Camp 08 [42.3/2087] Valle Aguas Calientes - Los Peucos CONAF Hot Spings Camping. I followed the RR for this day. The only note of relevance is that the ford of Rio Diguillin at [48.4/1334] is still hips high with strong current and need to be approached with trekking poles and cautiously. The critical part is only about 2 meters wide, but the current is strong. Water is not particularly cold.

Day 3 - Los Peucos CONAF Hot Spings Camping - camp on Laguna Del Laja shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614]. I was lucky to get a ride for 3-4 km right out of Los Peucos by a CONAF maintenance crew who was going to do some tree cleaning on a minor road down the valley. This route branched out from the RR MR and according to the crew it is shorter to get to the Camino Oleoducto road. The alternative route turns into a faint trail for the last km or so and it crosses Rio Polcura in a very easy and shallow spot with water always below knee and calm current. After the crossing it overlaps with OH-CC-a 08-D for the last km, then it meets RR MR shortly after the ford on the RR. This alt route is flat and easy and possibly shorter of about 1-2 km than RR. On Camino Oleoducto I was also able to hitch-hike for about another 3-4 km to reach the start of the Sendero Los Ratones RR-Tl-V 08[80.6]. Thanks to the rides I was able to reach Laguna Del Laja quicker than expected. I decided to camp on the lake shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614] rather than continuing to Laguna El Roble as the spot was scenic. There I met Hugo, the Arriero who stays at the Puesto nearby Laguna El Roble.

Day 4 - Camp on Laguna del Laja shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614] - Laguna Hermosa. I just followed the RR for this day with the exception of the short CC to Laguna Hermosa where I camped for the night.

Day 5 - Camp at Laguna Hermosa - Camping Lagunilla (10k CLP per day). Also followed RR for this final day. Camping Lagunilla is very good with hot showers and very nice camp sites. Unfortunately no more homemade empanadas, only bebidas from this week moving forward for the remaiming of the season. The following morning I easily hitch-hiked to Abanico where there are small stores and took the bus to Los Angeles at 1 pm.

Overall a good section with variety of landscapes and views particularly around Volcan Chillan / Aguas Calientes and along the traverse above Laguna Del Laja with great views of Volcan Antuco and the Sierra Velluda.

* '''2024-Feb-20 to 2024-Feb-27 / 8 days / Hiking / NOBO / El Abanaico - Puente El Inglés / RR + Option H + Option B / Alex & Christophe'''

It was a really nice section for us. The part we really loved was from Thermas de Chillan to Rio Nuble. It felt more wild and with less people. So even if you fear Rio Nuble, avoiding this part would be a mistake for us. We think that the edge between km 117.3 and 100.6 also really worth it but can't totally know as we were in the fog.

A lot has already been said but here is what seems important to us:

We started the section hitchhiking from Antuco with a easy and fast ride to El Abanico.

There is some apple trees in the valley near Ford {08} [71.3/1089] and apples were nearly ready to be eaten.

Los Peucos were a nice stop to relax but we weren't alone as a lot of the previous comment. 2 other parties (horse riders) were also camping the same night as us. The road is being improved so this will maybe become a bit more popular than the last 2 months. It was 10'000 CLP pp for us, with firewood and Internet. We didn't try to connect so we can't comment on the speed and quality.

Ford {08} [48.4/1334] (Rio Diguilin) wasn't that hard. Just follow the horse track as it's a good place to ford and there will only be 1m with some current. It's still deep but we ford it at 6pm without any trouble. The best thing with this ford is that the water is warm and you can try to ford it without your backpack a few times before you're sure of the place you like the more. All this without frozen toes ;)

Ford {08} [23.7/950] (Rio Nuble) was ok but still not a piece of cake. We crossed it at 11:30 am and didn't thought it was so deep before going in. I had water nearly to my waist (I'm 174cm tall) and the current in the center is clearly present. The good point is that the river is not ice cold, so you can take your time and go slowly, being sure of the position of your feet and poles.

For the last 12 km, between El Roble and Puente El Inglés, it's full of fruit trees. It felt like being in a free fruit market. We could pick apples, pears, a lot of blackberries. There were even fig tree but it was a little bit too soon. So nice to have a bit of vitamin and fresh food after 8 days.

Finally, after asking at the mini-shop in Puente El Inglés, we learned that there is no more bus going to San Fabián. So we took a beer and some french fries before camping near the bridge after a pretty long day. The next day we walked an hour before we could catch a ride to San Fabián.

* '''Feb-9-2024 to Feb-14-2024 / 5 days ( of which 2 half days) / SOBO / Oh2, RR, var B, D, E, H / Matthieu'''

Very beautiful and diverse section, with the volcan, pastures of agua caliente, the forest and the rock and thorny bushed mountains.
At the end of the section, I suggest to follow RR to the lagunilla camping, it's an easy trail in the park, and 2 very nice cascadas to see. From the park entrance there is an osm track that cross Section 9 RR, direclty to the campsite, so you never have to walk on the road.
I started at Oh 2 to avoid rio Ñuble.

Trecking difficulties :
1) River crossing of rio Diguillin 48.4 is still not a peace of cake. The current is strong, and where i crossed it was max to the hips in the rapid water. I went on a large place with big rocks on the way to hide behind, it cuts the crossing into 3 difficult but very short parts, and you can hug the rocks not to fall.
2) The pass before Laguna Laja is a cemetery of trees, so the progression is a little bit slow but nothing difficult, it's basic gps navigation.
3) The part between laguna hermosa and Water 118.3 is steep, sliperry with rocks and sand. The tracks are difficult to follow at times. So the progression is slow, i suggest not to start it at the end of the day. I finished on var H without noticing it, just saw the trail from below. I was exhausted when i put my tent at camp 119.7 (an horrible mistake, see below).

Camp :
At Fumaroles at the beginning of Oh 2, some flat spaces in the valley and a clear cold river - Ford 50.5, arriero camp super nice - 300m before water 1.5 on var E, a nice flat place but very exposed. I wanted to camp at 72.9, incredible place, but a freshly dead horse was waiting for me, the whole place stinked like hell. Wanted to try to camp on RR along the rio after but it was overgrown at the beginning and it was late so back on var E - Laguna el Roble 98.3. It is an arriero spot with a clear river that goes into the lake. There is a trail into the trees that takes you into the beach for nice camp places. You don't really want to drink directly from the lake, so i don't suggest camp 97.8 (no fresh water). There is a puesto before the last uphill to the lake, really nice arriero inside who advised me this - Camp 119.7 : DON'T sleep there, the whole hill is an enormous nest of unfriendly red ants, I had to cook directly in my inner tent. The river runs very slow to so the water not good. So i suggest camp at the lagunas before, or if you still have courage to follow until the cross country after puesto 120, it's heaven for tents with view on antuco and the river is not far.

Water : all markers correct, no concerns until the final ridge.
For the ridge walk of cerro el toro, you can find water at camp without water 102.3 (so this year its name should be with water), water 106.6, laguna hermosa, laguna lagrima (the very little one after the cerro), and nothing after on RR until water 118.

Snow : one patch on Oh 2 on the track, but you can avoid it by a sendero litteraly 10m above, with no problems. No other patches.

Accomodations : bus from Chillan rural terminal, to thermas de Chillan at 14h, you have to walk from vale hermoso to the beginning of Oh2 - Camping Lagunilla, 10k per day, homemade empanadas sandwichs bebidas and cakes, very calm i loved it. For buses, you have to walk to albanico (6 per day for los angeles, of which 9h30, 11h, 15h30, 18h30).

* '''2024-Feb-05 to 2024-Feb-08 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 02 + RR + OH E + H + J / Joscha'''

Day 1: OH08-02

I took the bus at 2 pm from the rural bus station in Chillan to the Thermas de Chillan. From there I had to roadwalk 1.5 km to get to OH08-02. There are a few snow fields left around the Pass Pirigallo, but its easy to walk over them. At km 1.2 of OH08-02 I took the Valle de Agua Caliente Trail as short cut to the Camp at 42.3 on the RR. I did not like the spot there, but close to it at -36,91092, -71,36632 are some decent tent spots.

Day 2: RR [42.3-75.1] + OH08-E

The Ford at km 47.4 was max. knee high at 10 pm. (I am 191 cm tall). Be carefull fording Rio Diguillin at km 48.4. The water was just below my hips and the current was pretty strong (around 10:30 pm). I forded it about 60 m upstream of the gpx tracks. There was a big rock in the middle of the river to which I could hold on to. At km 59.6 is a closed barb wire gate that I couldn't open. I managed to climb over it, but it's a little tricky. The RR leads on to the property of the Thermas Los Peucos (km 63.9). After the ford at km 63.7 I had to step over a barded wire fence (no gate). Los Peucos was closed and I didn't see anybody. I didn't like the idea of trespassing so I climb over the front gate (km 63.9) and continued on RR. OH08-B might be a good alternativ to avoid Los Peucos. But I meet Ricardo a few km further south. He was on his way to Los Peucos. If I understood him correctly (my spanish is pretty basic) than he is going to be at Los Peucos for the next two months. So they should be open now if you are interested in taking a break there. There are two easy fords at km 70.0 and 70.6 on the RR. The river at Ford 71.3 is wide, but water was below knees in thr evening. I wanted to camp at km 72.9, but I found the body of a horse directly at the camping spot. It looked like it had died a few days ago and it smelled pretty bad. Therefore I continued to the camp at km 78.6. I accidently stayed on the dirtroad and walked variant E. It has some extra altitude but therefore some nice views into the valley. Water 0.7 on variant E was dry. All other water and ford Waypoints I passed today had water.

Day 3: RR [78.5-107.0]

Laguna El Roble is a nice break spot and the last water source until km 106.7. At the Camp Marker km 106,6 is only a overgrown meadow which isn't flat at all. But there is a descent camp spot at km 106,9. The Water at km 106.7 is only a trickle and might dry out soon. All Water markers I passed by today had water.

Day 4: RR [107.0-115.2] + OH08-H + RR [116.3-117.4] + OH08-J + RR [117.4-134.5]

The next water source after km 106.7 is Laguna Lagrima at km 113.5. I accidently hiked OH08-H instead of RR. Laguna Los Condores is pretty nice. But the last few hundred meters of OH08-J are overgrown and not so easy to walk trough. Its easier to follow the trail that leads to the eastern side of the Laguna and forks of at about km 0.6 of OH08-J. From this trail you can go down to the Laguna. There is water at all markers.

The part from km 100 to km 117 is very spectacular.

* '''2024 Jan 25 to Feb 5 / 12 days / SOBO / Opt 2, Opt 3, RR, Var D, Opt 6 + 2 OSM routes / Michael and Kasia'''

TL/DR: A beautiful but exhausting section.Reserva Nacional Ñubles is officially closed, but they are still letting people in. If taking Opt 3, look for the trail that starts just after El Trumao heading NE for a more interesting hike. Los Peucos is open, but has no food or power so not currently a resupply option.

Day 0 -
We took the bus from Chillan to Recinto hoping to camp for the night and take the early bus up to Termas de Chillán to begin the hike. (The bus that goes all the way to the hotel only goes twice a day. Both leave from the Terminal Rural in Chillan one at 08:00, the second at 14:00.) There were no camping options in Recinto, so we walked to Los Lleuques. We found a hostel called Antupiren at the entrance of town. 13.000 pp for private with shared bathroom, very nice owners. They have a restaurant too. There were some other places with signs for hostal and campamento further down the street. There are 4 or 5 shops and grocery stores in town. If you stay in Lleuques, a little further on is a nice public access beach along the river called La Playita that is popular with locals and a good place to escape the heat for the afternoon.

Day 1 -
We got up early and were at the bus stop at 08:15. The bus arrived at around 09:30. It only goes as far as the hotel and then you have to walk about 1 km up to the ski center where the trail begins. The beginning of the trail was steep and dusty, then leveled off a bit. It passes by some fumeroles. There are two paths up to the pass. One is not on GPT or OSM at the moment, but it is a marked path that is clearly visible. It goes more to the left and up. The other is a horse trail which is the one GPT goes along. They both meet about half way up. We took the horse trail up. There is some grassy area and access to a stream. Nice views of the valley on the way up. Close to the top there was still a small snow field left and the way around it was walking above it on large, loose rocks. We had resupplied for 8 days and our packs were around 25 kg each. Due to this we felt it would be unsafe for us to try to navigate the section so we decided to walk back. It was disappointing, but we were also thinking about the difficulties others had in crossing Rio Diguillin further on and figured it was an early warning. On the way back we took the marked path which was actually more difficult than the GPT track, which surprised us since it looked more like a tourist trail. We were rewarded at one point however with a spring gushing out of the ground and took the opportunity to get fresh cold water without the need to filter. When we got back to where the fumeroles were, we chatted with some mountain bikes and a couple of hikers. There is another route down which had an OSM track on the map. The bikers explained that it is the route they all take down. It is open to hikers as well and there are signs advising bikers to watch for hikers, but the biker said there are a lot of curves and it is possible to get hit on the way down if you are unlucky. It was around 18:30 and he said they were the last group, so if we just waited for them to leave we should be able to hike down without worrying. We waited, and it was totally worth it. The trail down is very dusty, but with much less incline than the way up, and at a certain point goes through a really beautiful beech forest with lots of wildflowers growing. There is no access to the estero until the bridge at the end. We tried to find a place to camp, but no luck. We ended up walking the highway back to a point where we had seen a dirt road connect to the estero and camped there for the night. Not optimal, but it was already dark by that point, so we were just grateful to sleep.

Days 2 and 3 -
We walked the highway until the Los Coltrahues nature trail that runs parallel to the highway and then walked that to Las Trancas. It was a pretty path and a nice alternative to the highway. In Las Trancas we bought food for lunch and dinner at a shop next to the bus stop. There are one or two other stores back the direction of Lleuques as well. A micro picked us up and dropped us off at the beginning of Opt 3. We had barely started walking when a family in a truck passed and offered us a ride to the river. We were incredibly grateful as the first 3 km of the road is incredibly dusty and there is actually a lot of traffic moving through. From where they left us we walked to the bridge and down to the river to have lunch and coffee. Lots of families were camping around the area. After lunch we got back on the route. A little further on the road was closed to vehicles due to storm damage and construction adding new culverts. No issues walking it. About 6km from the bridge there is a campground called San Antonio. It was also closed since the road was closed, but it was easy to get into. There are picnic tables and plenty of camping along with river access. We camped two nights to give ourselves a rest day. A few locals passed through, but no one else camped. It was very peaceful except for the tábanos. I killed more than 50 over the course of the day and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Day 4 -
We got up early to beat the heat and walked the first hour in the dark. We passed the area where the road has collapsed and where they are doing a reroute. No issue to walk it. We arrived at the gate that Lilian mentioned, the one with the dogs, at 08:00. There were 4 dogs that bark a lot. The guard came out, it seemed like we had woken him up. We explained what we were doing and he actually had no problem letting us through, but asked rhetorically what we were going to say to CONAF upstairs. The road up is in good shape. There were a few places to fill water along the way. When we arrived at El Trumao there was a CONAF guard there as well as some other people. He was incredibly nice, just registered us and then told us because the park is officially closed there was no fee to enter. He looked at our route and told us about another option, charged our phones for us, let us take water, and then even walked with us part way. The OSM track that runs along the river is a really nice option and we really enjoyed it. The first part is no longer relevant as the river destroyed part of the road and CONAF had done a reroute. If no one is there to show you, head along the GPT route toward Valle Hermosa until you see a trail branch to the left. It will be very obvious as it has wooden posts painted yellow on top and the whole trail has rocks lining either side. Follow that up. The first part was a lot of up and exposed, but after a while we entered native forest and enjoyed stretches that were in shade. There was a rest area with river access. Just after the waterfall lookout the trail dropped down a bit into a grove of old oak trees that was really nice and we camped there for the night (-36.95540, -71.45022) River access was about 100 m further on. This is a really great route option. It is along a trail instead of a road, it drops into RR about 18 km further north than finishing Opt 3 as marked, if you want to go to Los Peucos, you don't need to back track, and it stays on the south side of Rio Diguillin, connecting with RR just after the ford point others had trouble with this season. (Jan, if you read this, we enthusiastically endorse this as a variant for Opt 3!).

Days 5 and 6 -
The pass was a little overgrown, but nothing too challenging. On the way up we passed through a beautiful forest. We stopped at the last marked water point on the way up for a snack and coffee. The way down was dusty and then it opened up into a plain. The plain was easy, but as we went around the corner it turned into a swamp. The GPT route avoids the worst of it, but careful foot choice is important in some places. It was also really hot and humid. Then it was up again and then down again to get to Los Peucos. We initially followed RR, but the ford point looked challenging and there was barbed wire on the other side. I went across without my pack to try to find a way up. The rocks in the river were really slippery and I feel in at one point, but no injury. On the other side I climbed under the wire and up a hill. Then I had to climb under more barbed wire. I walked onto the property and ran into Ricardo who manages Los Peucos. He was very nice, and took me to show me the front entrance and a much easier ford point that is defined for cars to pass, which turned out to be Var B. So if going to Los Peucos SOBO, I recommend taking Var B. I went back to get Kasia and my pack and we camped there for two nights in order to clean out gear and take a rest day.

A few notes on Los Peucos. Los Peucos is open, price this year is 5.000 pp for termales only, 10.000 pp for camping, 24 hours of access to termales and wood to make a fire in a fire pit. They were having trouble with both their generator and solar panels and have been without power for two months, so don't plan to charge anything there. Also a section of the road there was destroyed over the winter, so almost no one is going there and they aren't getting any resupply for their tiendita, so don't plan on this as a resupply point until someone posts that this has changed, which may be awhile since there seems to be some bureaucratic issue preventing the road from being fixed.

Day 7 -
We left Los Peucos just as it was getting light. The road and trail are in good condition for walking. We took Var D to cross Rio Polcura. River ford was easy, thigh high but very little current. We stopped at the camp at [72.9/1104] to have lunch. There were some arrieros and Carabineros already camped for the night, and it was too early to stop for the day, so we continued on. The valley path that RR follows is surely more interesting than walking the road along Var E, but it is fairly overgrown with spiky plants and it was slow going. There is almost no river access along the path, but there were one or two streams. We do not recommend the camp at [78.6/1203], especially if you are using a trekking pole supported tent. It is overgrown and difficult to access, anything that is not sand is covered in those annoying plants that leave tiny spiky balls attached to your clothes, and river access is not great. We ended up camping in the old road grade just above, but it was pure dust. We really regretted camping here, however it was late and we didn't know if there would be any place else to camp further on. (There is though!)

Day 8 -
We were to tired to do the pass, but we didn't want to stay camped in the same place for the day. We found a better campsite just 2 km further up trail (-37.09454, -71.31211). Just before the trailhead to the pass, on the left side of the road, there is a dirt path going down to a camping area that arrieros use (it is the same road as the end of Opt 1). It has grass and could fit probably two or three tents. The river access is about 100 m away, but it was really clean access with a stone beach and even a small sand beach and a great swimming spot to cool off. There is essentially no shade so it wasn't great for a rest day in that respect, but it was directly below the pass, so a great starting point for that. We took advantage of the river and washed all the dust off the tent. The fabric felt like new afterward!

Day 9 -
We got up early to try to tackle the pass before sun hit. The trailhead is a little easier to find now as more arrieros and hikers have gone through. The pass up is overgrown in places, but not as bad as we had expected. There were some great early morning views. Something killed most of the forest in that valley some time ago and all the dead trees are sun bleached white which was really interesting. As Lilian mentioned, there is a place where the trail collapsed. People have been walking about 5 m upstream and crossing there, but the short reroute is eroding and it looked a little sketchy to us. We went into the stream bed and climbed up through the bamboo to regain the trail. It was lovely forest higher up and on the other side for some time. Keep a lookout for a nice view of Laguna del Laja from a distance on the way down. The valley was another world entirely. Completely exposed, mostly dry but with some sections of swamp, we lost the trail a few times in a maze of overgrown thorn bushes. We took an afternoon break at the puesto just before reaching the lake. We were a little underwhelmed by the lake itself, I think because it has no trees around. We got a little lost on the way up to Laguna Roble, but a very friendly and helpful arriero staying at the puesto at the end of the valley saw us and came out to help direct us up. We stopped at the marked campsite at the east side of the lake. Previous entries had suggested the west side campsite is more wind protected. I went packless to scout it, but I could not see any way in and the water access near the site looked like marsh. We stayed on the east side, no wind issue for the night. The water in the lake was not too cold, so nice to swim in.

Day 10 -
We started early to get through as much of the pass as possible before the sun hit. The beginning of the trail was actually hard to find, but once we were on it, it was clear. The up was very demanding and exhausting, and it was overgrown in parts. There is a saddle just before the final push to the pass where we stopped to take a break and some pictures (great view of the lake, volcan Antuco and Sierra Velluda) but there were biting ants everywhere that swarmed us and our packs so we moved on. Good views of both valleys as we walked along. Reports from previous years suggested no water between Laguna Roble and Laguna Hermosa. There was at least two water points between, one of which was a very nice spring with shade around (-37.21425, -71.37259). Being exhausted and running low on supplies, we had already decided that Opt 6 would be our exit from GPT08. The route down was steep and thus slow, but clear and easy to follow. There are multiple water points on the way down. We camped about 1 km in at the first marked campsite. There was a shady, somewhat flat, somewhat grassy area that arrieros use for camping and a spring flowing just below. It was a nice spot after hiking so many hours completely exposed in full sun.

Day 11 -
The first part of Opt 6 down was really nice. There were nice views of the mountains as the sun came up, then it goes into forest for awhile before the arriero path finally meets the service road. We were also fortunate to have cloud cover for most of the day. There are a few unmarked water points between the last marked one and Rayenco. Rayenco is not a settlement but connected to the power plant. Shortly after Rayenco there is what looks like an abandoned picnic area and sports concha. We stopped for lunch, and it could be used for emergency camping if necessary. Hitchhiking out seems essentially impossible. It's just cars associated with the power plant, and our experience is that those vehicles don't take hitchhikers, probably a company policy. We walked to the highway, chatting with the gate guard on the way out. On the highway it took about half an hour, but finally a kind soul, Sergio, who had actually passed us, turned around and came back just to pick us up and dropped us at Plaza de Armas un Antuco. We found lodging at Cabañas Puelche 2 blocks east of the plaza, 15.000 pp for a private room in the hostel portion of the establishment, shared bath, fridge, pool.

* '''2024 Jan 05 to 2024 Jan 09 / 5 days/ SOBO from Termas de Chillan / RR / Hannes&Christian'''

1. Day: Walked from Termas de Chillan to Rio Diguillín. Slept there at -36.935262, -71.403804 and forded the next morning around -36.935730, -71.401841. Thought there would be less water running in the morning, but actually it looked pretty the same as the day before…
2. Day: Walked to Los Peucos and further down for a nice campsite near the river -37.046868,
-71.415394
3. Day: We took Option D to short cut the minor road…easy to walk, CC, recomendable…then along road and path and road again, up to a pass in the woods and down to a widening valley, camped at -37.15603, -71.32019. As others already wrote on wikiexplora we had there as well a pretty freezing night around 0 degrees Celsius I think, although the spot was not that high….around 1450m. A lot of humidity.
4. Day: For us here the nicest part started, walking down to Laguna de la Laja, up to a pass and then all along ridges to Laguna Hermosa. Amazing views. Instead of walking down to L. Hermosa you can camp as well a little above the lake around -37.269841, -71.381748 with water access, at least in early summer I guess. Personally I think it isn’t worth to go down to the Laguna (except no water possibility above) , first because you’ll have an electric power line over your head sleeping there (there is a hydroelectric power station in the valley nearby), second because it can be a windy place at shore…at least for us it was like this. Third: Still something like 1 km from the ridge. Choose yourself.
5. Day: From L. Hermosa to Estación de Esqui. Pretty nice views of surrounding peaks, at the end we walked a pretty annoying road out to the ski area. Then we hitchhiked to Camping Lagunillas, an amazing place with very nice owners. Feels there like being on the Gpt, but with running water and shower. Probably depends on the season…

* '''2024 Jan 13 / 5 days / SOBO / RR, OH-TL / Anh'''

Everyone feared Ñuble, me too, so I took option 2.

The trail was difficult to find from km 112-117, I left RR and took OH-TL. Otherwise the trail was easy to see. There were only a few snowfields that were easy to cross.

Ford km 48.4: Disclaimer: please do not my mistake! I first tried two best possible spots (hip), but the flow (13:00) was too strong, I couldn’t hold my hiking poles. Then 50m further on I saw two tree trunks arranged like bridges from other GPTs. After crossing them, however, it was not possible to go back to RR after a few attempts. My best possible option was BB with 70 degree slope straight up. It was only possible with bamboo trees, but was very dangerous. I'm writing my mistake here so you can avoid it!

Camp km 106.6: I included this camp in my daily plan (about 20km, 1000m uphill, 350m downhill). here is not possible to find 1qm flat spot. So I had to walk 4km further from my reserve.

* '''2024-Jan-11 to 2024-Jan-15/ 4.5 days / SOBO / Termas de Chillán(Var 2)+RR+Var G+H+J(Lakes)/ Matthias'''

Started in Termas de Chillán. Hiking, most fordings (see day 1) and orientation was quite easy on this section. Only on last part of Travesía Pilcura some steep snowfields to cross. Warm and hot creeks on first day (Fondo Aguas Calientes), views and lakes on forth day (Travesía Pilcura) were spectacular. Plenty of water everywhere. A lot of annoying horse flies.

Day1: Termas de Chillán - km53.6
Only minor snowfields. Ascent of Volcán Chillán Viejo should be possible without crampons, no snow on steep upper slopes. Fumaroles on ascent from Termas, warm creek with pools right when you come down to Fondo Aguas Calientes. Also people camping there. I underestimated ford at km48.4 (Rio Diguillín), water was up to upper hips and current, I was washed away… But overall no dangerous crossing and with more cautious selection the fording should be easier. Arrieros at puesto at km49.6 (Coihuería) were the last people I met until end of section!

Day2: Reserva Nacional Ñubles
Officially the reserva was closed. I entered Termas Los Peucos via RR, watering of meadows was running, I said „Hello“ but nobody answered.
Took a bath in the beautiful hot springs, two stone-walled pools.

Day 3: km78.6 (Rio Ñubles) - km98.3 (Laguna El Roble)
Easy day … nice swimming at the camp with fireplace in the evening

Day 4: Travesía Polcura - Laguna ElToro
Spectacular day: great views, mountains, lakes and path.
The detours to the lakes (var G+J, Laguna Hermosa, ElToro and Los Condores) are worthwhile!
Some steep snowfields on RR below Cerro El Toro, I used microspikes, but in a warm afternoon you can also safely cross without. Beautiful (!!) camp at Laguna El Toro with sun until 19:45 though it’s deep in a cirque.

Day5:
Nice view of Volcán Antuco from the ridge just before the volcán (ca. km125). I left the road and walked +-height parallel to the solar collectors which are visible on the ridge from the MR.
From Curva El Candado I tramped down most of the road to the junction to Abanico, where I ate lunch at the friendly cafe/restaurant „Roca“ and where the bus to Los Angeles leaves at 15:00.

* '''2023-Dec-28 to 2024-Jan-01 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {08-03} - {08-C} - RR - {08-06} - {08-06B} / Lilian'''

Avoid of crossing Rio Ñuble, i go for {08-03}.

There is a bus from Chillán to Los Lleuques at 18:00, take about 1.5 hour. A small shop and some tiny shops there, friendly and good resupply. Look like have some restaurants too, but i'm too late so they're already closed.

{08-03} km3.3 : tiny shop selling drinks.

Km4.3 : camping spots or camping possibilities start from here to south.

Km11.3 : ranger station for guard of Reserva National, look like need booking in advance or some permits. Otherwise you can't go in by this gate. (It is impossible for sneak in, two dogs here.)

Luckily after i took 10min to explain what I'm doing, where does my routes go, why i'm here, I'll pack out all my trash, no fire, no pick plants, dig a hole for poop, etc. He let me go in, 1000% thank you to him!

Km19 : bridge for crossing Río Diguillín.

Km19.45 : El Trumao, Camping Relbún. Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here.

Km19.7 : closed gate, you can open it on left side. Old, steep and rocky dirt road behind this gate, look like no cars on it for some years. (Some place landslide, cars impossible to pass by)

Km21.3 : Rio Relbún, good water flowing nice, rock hopping for dry feet.

Km22.8 : view point of valley, also some flat spots with trees can fit 2-4 tents.

Km23.7 : pass, Paso Atacalco, descent to a beautiful valley.

Km25.3-km26.2 : some tiny streams flowing with good water, but maybe dry up soon.

Km28.4 : Valle Hermoso, Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here. Río Blanquillo flowing at here too.

Some more tiny streams flowing across the road at south, but i think they will all dry up soon.

Km35.6 : a side trail to see a waterfall, I think it is just soso.

Then connect with {08-C}, then back to RR.

{08-C} km2.4 : a very beautiful demon rock hill on your left side, worth take a look!

RR Ford[71.3/1089] : crossing of Río Polcura, it's a wide river crossing about 80m, luckily it is already made for vehicles crossing so have a rock bar underwater, easy to cross. Mostly just half of calf, in the middle about 10m, up to knee and flowing very fast.

Camp[72.9/1104] : it's a really nice camping spot with tree shade and beside a river.

Camp[78.6/1203] : this spot is not beside RR. When you finish valley trail walk, if you don't join dirt road and keep going walk in the valley then you'll arrive here.

Water[79.1/1214] : log bridge crossing.

Trailhead[80.5/1248] : not easy to notice the trailhead, although it have a fallen board on the ground.

North of the pass is overgrown, south of the pass lot of fallen trees block the trail.

Didn't see any camping spots until almost to valley.

Water[81.8/1475] : when you get close, be careful dont walk too fast. Just before the stream dont follow the trail to left side and go down, it is already landslide and you'll fall off 2m vertically.

Pass[84.2/1744] : tons of huge dead trees and ready to fall down in next second. Don't camp here, it is dangerous.

Km85.8 : flat spot can fit 2-3 tents.

Km86: flat spots can fit 1 tent before and after a stream crossing.

Km95.2 : excellent view point of Volcán Antuco, look like some flat spots at downhill side close to the beach.

Camp[97.8/1456] : beside a tree, can fit 1-2 tents with fire ring. Last reliable water when you climbing up.

Km102 : snow start here, but all you can go around.

Camp without water[102.3/2063] : no camping spot as now, wet, muddy and lot of stream are flowing by snow melt, a fire ring is in the stream too!

I camped at km103.45, just before the pass, there is some brushes provide wind protection from west. Can fit 1-2 small tents.

Km104.1 : a large flat area, but no wind protection.

X[105.4/1934] : no more trail junction at "X", you need to go down a little, then CC to connect the trail at south.

Camp[106.6/1938] : wet, grassy and steep spot. A large flat area after you climb up the stream at km106.95, it is in a valley and no wind protection.

Km109.45 : a small pass, excellent view point of Volcán Antuco and Sierra Velluda!

Snow start at km109.9, unfortunately when i almost climbed up to ridge, i found that km111.8 to km113.5(at least) , all covered by snow on a very steep slope. It is not a good idea to go through this high risk area, also Cerro El Toro is a very sharp rocky peak, not possible walk on the ridge to go around the slope, so i turn back to "X"[105.4/1934], and join {08-06} continues to south.

{08-06} is a nice trail to go down, and look like somone have maintained it, nearly no fallen trees and just very little overgrown, easy to follow and walk.

{08-06} km4.5 : junction of {08-06} and {08-06A}, look like {08-06} in a better condition, also {08-06} from here to km5.6, it is an old dirt road and no more using.

Km5.6 : junction to join a good dirt road. Camping spot just before the junction, and there are also lot of camping possibilities along the good dirt road.

Gate[8.6/808] : locked, climb over it.

Km9.3 : another gate, you can open it on left side, if you want to camping, better before this gate.

Km22.4 : i join {08-06B} for shorter distance to main road for hitching to Antuco.

* '''2023-Dec-19 to 2023-Dec-20/ 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / Antuco RR and Option 6/ Jens'''

Tried to go up the main route. First pass was steep and full of snow. Decided to turn around and try Option 6.

As option 6 is on private land owned by the Hydroelectrico, a guard picked me up and told me to register with the Carabineros in Antuco. Frustrated I decided to skip section 8 in favour of section 7.

* '''2023-Dec-21 to 2023-Dec-24/ 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / San Fabian - Las Trancas / Ella'''

TLDR: River fords are still heinous, especially Ñuble. Bring micro spikes if crossing Paso Prigallo to go towards Las Termas de Chillan.

Day 1: Hitched a ride part of the way from San Fabian, and then caught a bus (was a Thursday around 1 pm) until Punilla. Camped at a small, windy site with good river access and near the Punilla swimming hole, which is definitely worth a visit. Some friendly caballeros came around 8 pm to camp as well.
Day 2: Walked towards Los Sauces, splitting off to the right where the road/trail led. Could not cross river here because of construction. Went back to the main road and walked North to where there was a (padlocked) cable car and did a challenging ford - current was somewhat strong and water went to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm). In retrospect, would have been better to just walk/bus all the way into Los Sauces and make a safer crossing there. Cabineros in El Roble were nicer to me that the ones in San Fabian. Camped just before Camp {08} [21.6/873] since it now seems to be on private property.
Day 3: Had to trespass for about a mile before reaching the Ñuble river but didn’t run into anyone. Ñuble was really difficult. I got there just before 8 am. Crossing the river at designated spot was not possible. I went upstream, around the bend, and about a hundred meters further to where the river widens and gets a bit shallower. I crossed with water about up to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm) but a little past midway the current took me off my feet and I went for a brief swim before grabbing a rock and recovering on the other side. After getting to the other side, I had to scramble/bushwhack up a near-vertical slope to where there appears to be sort of a terrace in the landscape. I found the best spot was behind where the bank of the river flattened out a bit. Thankfully once getting to the top, you’re blessed with a faint trail leading back to the main route. This approach was not very fun at all - it is probably best to wait another week or two before attempting the river.
After that, the trail gets harder to follow, especially after entering the larger valley. As per others advice, I tried crossing the river in the valley to the right side, but also ran into impassable shrubbery/broken trees there so I ended up crossing back and forth as needed. The first pass didn’t have any snow. There is a difficult ford after the marker for Trailhead {08} [34.6/1873]. Camped at Camp {08} [36.2/1953] which was lovely.
Day 4: Headed towards Las Termas de Chillan. Both passes were very snowy. The second pass, only necessary if going off main trail towards Las Termas, had steep sections that called for micro spikes. I was lucky that there were some people who had just come through and kicked steps in, making this part easier. Hitched a ride to Las Trancas where there are multiple well stocked mini markets and nice hostal options. Not sure if I will continue on GPT 08 given the snow and river conditions so far.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-06/ 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Los Peucos - Recinto / RR + OH03 / Hannes & Luisa'''

Hitchhiked from San Fabian to way after El Roble, rather easy on weekends as it seems many locals around. Ñuble crossing with strong current and water above knees (me 185cm), but still ok compared to other months I think. Went up the mountain and into this valley with beautiful oak-trees. Getting out of this forest we crossed the river to the orographic left side as suggested by others...initially a good choice, all the same we had to switch like 2 to 3 times river bank to avoid some nasty Bush bashing...We reccomend to just open your eyes and see which side works best for you after the initial crossing at approximately -36.856679 -71.275261. After the last camp in the valley path clearly visible and steep ascent to the pass. After the pass we got into this amazing volcanic landscape east of Volcan Chillàn. After the second pass we descended to Aguas Calientes, hot thermal pools at the end of a valley surrounded by some green yellow pasture and loads of cows. Good spot to camp...Then we went to Termas Los Peucos, took us 3.5 days till there. Just for the pools they take 10k, pools and camp was 14k. As one of us felt little sick we decided to hitchhike out over OH03. Do not consider this an emergency exit as it is rather difficult to hh out there, very few cars on the road as access is limited due to a private tunnel and only Carabineros and some oil- and gas-pipeline companies are around there with their cars it seems. All the same we were lucky and got out to Recinto (further down in the valley of Termas de Chillán, near Las Trancas...) In this valley or if you get out at Termas de Chillán we highly recommend Cabañas Ayunkoyam owned by Vincente Ruiz in Recinto, +56999991737, call him before. For this rather expensive valley quite a good option. Vincente is a local mountain guide who seems to know every mountain in his country and is a nice guy to talk to.

* '''2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-02 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Volcán Chillán - Termas de Chillán / Noémie'''
Very short section because I got a lift from San Fabián until after El Roble (21.0), a bit before the end of the minor road. Carabineros checked ID and asked for sufficient equipment. Ñuble crossing was not that hard but I had water until my waist, even at the end of the season (I am 1m60 though...). Camped the first night at Camp {08} [29.5/1441], on the left bank of the river, where there was a bit of space. The next morning, it was a bit hard to go up the valley with all the dead trees and no path visible. Tried to follow fellow GPT hikers advices, but ended up crossing the river multiple times to find a walkable path without too many bushes, until Camp {08} [31.3/1629]. After this tricky part, both paths are beautiful and quite easy. The thermal river is amazing. There was plenty of space with beautiful hot water pools but also cold water at Camp {08} [40.4/2150]. The last day, I took OH {08-02} and OH {08-02A} to go up Volcán Chillán and then exit at Termas de Chillán. Beautiful ascent with no specific difficulty except the steep last 300 meters. The place is full of condors flying really close, super impressive.
There are no housing options and no buses during the week leaving from Termas de Chillán. You can walk/hitchhike until -36.910163, -71.417798 where buses leave regularly everyday for Chillán. Found many cabañas options in Trancas de Chillán a bit further down. Overall, very beautiful and diverse section (forests, rivers, sand deserts, volcanos) with amazing hot springs!

* '''2023-Mar-13 to 2023-Mar-18 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Abanico — Thermas de Chillán / Iris, Alexis '''

Starting from Los Angeles, we took a bus (at 12:30) towards Abanico and then two rides until the start of OH-MR-V {08-K} [0.0+0.1]. Then, there is a gate (after the Bridge, Gate {08} [126.7/1339] point) locked with a padlock but easy to climb. The CC section (RH-CC-A {08} [26.4/122.0+1.9]) is actually following the MR so we thought better stay on the road. When we reached Camp {08} [120.2/1520], it was completely dry so we continued a bit and found a nice spot in the forest (close to -37.32983, -71.39823).

On Day 2, we continued on the trail, simply taking the shortcut OH-TL-V {08-I} [0.0+0.2]. Then, we chose to take option 08-H to stay high, it was really beautiful. We stayed on the rim until a hard part and then we diverged on the trail that was present a bit below us. As other as noted, on RH-CC-A {08} [18.1/113.7+2.0] you follow a trail or a set of footprints. When the trail and the trace diverge, follow the trail, it is usually the best option. And don't miss Trailhead {08} [113.7/2184], we tried to go around it but regretted it. Then, the trail until Laguna El Robles (Camp {08} [98.2/1456]) is nice but the descent is steep. We believe the path has been cleared recently because lot of fresh fallen branches on the ground. On the lake, we camped on the east side but it was very windy. The other side looked more protected.

On Day 3, we followed the RR until Camp {08} [73.3/1104]. It was a rather uneventful day except we met a lot of arrieros in the morning that went for a wild bull hunt. The camp is nice and felt like a campground.

On Day 4, we hiked for just a few kilometers to reach the Thermas Peucos. It was a very worthy stop, an oasis in the middle of the hike : 10k PP for the camping and hot springs (stoned pools). We even bought a lunch from the minishop which has quite a nice selection. Like others, we used the option 08-C to avoid the pointless climb in the RR.

On Day 5, we did a rather long walk until Camp {08} [40.4/2150] to enjoy the natural pool. The trail is a bit overgrown after the thermas but nothing bad. The day was full of going up : 2500 on the tracks but the GPS said only 2100 at the end of the day. The hot springs are amazing, truly the best we encountered. And we were alone there.

On Day 6, we met a horserider when leaving the camp a bit angry because he did not sleep. He camped near a group that partied the whole night (we believe it was close to Ford {08-02} [1.6/2097]). Then, option 08-02 and variant A to ascend the volcan. It starts with a nice trail and ends up with sand that is really hard to climb. Nothing difficult nor dangerous but extremely tiresome. It took us 3h to go up but we enjoyed our lunch at the top! Then the descent is really fast, thanks to this sand (about 1h). The rest of the trail until Thermas de Chillán is a bit overrun, we met numerous hikers (but it was a Saturday). There, we hitched a ride until Recinto and took the 7:00PM bus to Chillán for a ressuply.

Overall our impressions on this section are a bit mixed. We enjoyed the numerous hot baths and the volcan summit but we were less amazed by the landscapes compared to the previous sections (of note as we did go up quite a lot, we probably were a bit too exhausted to truly enjoy it completely!) . Perhaps it is more rewarding when going SOBO?

* '''2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-08 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + emergency exit / Martial '''

Puente Inglés - Los Peucos - Antuco
Super pleasant trekk in various landscapes and sweet hot springs. Met Ondrej at the start and shared the road walking before he eventually escapes in the first climb ! Met again finally at the hot river for a deserved rest after big climbing day. Next the descent to los Peucos is rather long with overgrown detour of the swamp at the end. That’s where my phone died for no reason. May it RIP with all my pictures :’( Still if there’s a good soul out there with a machete and long trousers feel free to save this beautiful trail ! Then los Peucos was a paradise oasis for a 14000$ 24h rest day. Not so expensive to me considering the quality of the hotspring service and resupply in the middle of nowhere ! « El Toro » hotspring is a once in lifetime experience for sunrise and had the all domain for myself 😌 Do not hesitate to stop there and meet Ricardo who doesn’t see many souls otherwise.
4th night spent 3km down near los Peucos in a super recommanded magical waterfall bassins with perfect « nuit à la belle étoile » on the hot rock.
After km 80 the forest is kind of colonised with annoying flyes and thermites wich makes it not an enjoyable place. Also recommend taking plenty of water from laguna el roble cause dry climb and ridge walking ahead (there’s still a little stream pond under a tree a few km after the pass if you look well). Arrived there in late afternoon with no place to camp and saw emergency exit on the right which triggered green light in my brain (as gear failures were acumalating and motivation low). Felt good after a few tears but the long road walking in the hydraucentral gave me some regrets until i eventually arrived in Antuco after hotish hitchhiking.

* '''2023-Jan-28 to 2023-Feb-04 / 7.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + volcán chillàn & volcán Antuco / Natalie & Tomáš'''

Day 1
Got off the bus here (-36.67295, -71.29201) instead of Los Sauces for an easy ford. The bus driver knew of this place. The ford was here -36.67738, -71.28739, knee-high. We crossed around 3pm. The road section until the carabinieros was surprisingly popular on a weekend: we got a 3km hitch, but if we started earlier, I am sure we could have hitched a lot more. The valley is nice to walk in though.
The carabinieros basically just wanted to know if we had a proper GPS and map. We could not understand if they were telling us "not" to go close to Volcán Chillán or just "warning" us. I checked online the day before and it said the volcano is in green, but the cabineros said it was yellow.
Made camp at the 17km waypoint because it was a good spot. Lots of unmarked water waypoints on the road such as -36.69615, -71.27770 and -36.72718, -71.26420.
Day 2.
Crossed Nuble with no problems around 9am. The water was not strong but not totally calm and was under our crotches: I am 170cm and Tomáš is ~173cm. Hats off to the others that crossed when water levels were much higher! Remember to turn right and not left after the ford.
The path was better than expected, but still can be easily lost until the first pass at 33.2km. Thanks to the tip from Will, we took the path on the other side of the river once out of the trees to avoid the blow down, somewhere around or close to camp 29.5. Hot pass.
We made camp at the hotsprings ([40.3/2173]) after the second pass, their beauty and heat made up for the long day. There are a couple of perfect spots near the hotsprings with some cold water for drinking, -36.90156, -71.35089. Spent two nights here. The hot springs are regular creeks, most of which in the valley are hot. Saw some locals camping in other spots, seems like a popular place.
Day 3.
Volcán Chillàn. Easy climb following the standard route but the last 600m was slow sandish-like material which made for a very quick descent. Instead of going back the way we came, we followed an unmarked/unmapped "road" on the south side of Volcán Chillán that lead to switchbacks down to the hotsprings that we saw earlier that morning. Basically if coming from volcano, follow the road east from here -36.89199, -71.38543 and aim for the switchbacks to the hotsprings camp here -36.90336, -71.36145 [as of 2024 included in our suggestions in the released Track files]. There is some dirty water on the way but very interesting and scenic. I am slightly worried about posting this because it is likely not meant to be walked, also not sure it actually saves time compared to the normal trail but it allows for a nice roundtrip. One can get Internet on the way to the volcano when the ski resorts are visible. Camped again at the hotsprings.
Day4
Nothing to add for this day, trail was nice and under trees a lot of the way, all fords easy or jumpable. Met two French who were doing the GPT northbound. Camped near the puesto 61.7 before the hotsprings, path was always there, just a little overgrown.
Day5
Trail to hotsprings was not that bad, just overgrown bamboo but otherwise nice. The hotsprings is not actually CONAF but a concession. Prices were as described 14mil for camping and 7mil just for hotsprings. If you want to buy food from them, I recommend going at the beginning of the month as that is when they restock, for us there was still lots of food left but nothing fresh or good, very expensive.
On the road we used option C to avoid the hill as others suggested (seems like the main road now) and as for variant D, we did not see anything, so we back-tracked a bit and took a different unmarked trail here that was successful -37.06894, -71.39599 and forded river here -37.06857, -71.39158 to meet the RR [now in the suggestions too].
The trailhead at 81.0 is hard to see, be ready.
That trail from 81.0 to the pass was more overgrown in my mind than the rest of the days but still not terrible. Camped on the other side 88.9 (actually a bit further down were nicer camp-spots with lovely short grass).
Day6
Somehow at camp 88.9 we woke up to frost over everything. Have no idea what kind of phenomenon this is because I don't think it froze (forecast was for 16 in the night) but even the little moisture in my breakfast bowl froze shortly after eating it...
Quick trail to Laguna el Roble except the trail is easy to loose just before the Laguna in the grassy section, keep climbing left towards an unmarked puesto here -37.20868, -71.33023.
There should technically be a better water source than the lake itself at camp 98.8, but I just took water from the lake:S. The next pass towards the ridge was hot but easy. Good trail until you hit the X at 105.9. Then the path is harder to follow. The camp at 107.1 seems silly and would be better higher above the listed water source. We ended up going cross country all the way from a pass like structure here -37.25066, -71.38499 to Laguna Hermosa because there was a trail on the other side (a bit lower than official RR so it made sense to follow it elevation-wise) that eventually faded away.
Laguna Hermosa was worth it as others have stated but unfortunately very heavy winds crept in that night. It was way less windy on the East side of the lagoon, which we only noticed in the morning.
Day7
Very heavy winds. We made a small short cut to the RR from the Laguna by heading west sooner [included in our suggestions]. We considered turning around on the ridge as the winds were likely around 80km/hr at one point near the pylons, but luckily since the route is not actually on the ridge but under it, the rest of the way was okay, still windy but not pushing us over. The rest of the ridge was no problem for us, slower of course since there is sidehilling and edging but nothing scary or exposed. There was no snow though.
El Puesto at 121 had two dogs but we did not see anyone. We camped at Laguna Laja (not nice) to climb Antuco the next day. To no surprise the restaurant and cafe at the ski resort are closed. Other than the water in the lake, there are no good water sources past the last water source before El Puesto if heading in this direction. There is Entel 3G coverage here.
Day8
Started early to beat the heat for Antuco. I turned back after the top of the ski lift because of a stomach bug (probably food but still nicer to vomit in the shade...) but Tomáš went on to finish the climb. The climb was not worth it. The volcano is not black sand but rather loose rock (boulders to pebbles) which made especially going down annoying. A rock fell on my waling stick and partially destroyed it. After the ski lift there is virtually no trail. Plus the fact there was only a small crater on top and the weather was very hot and windy in the early morning. I think we were there during a small heat wave, supposedly the day before was 38°C in Antuco proper. After the climb we hitched to the campsite Lagunillas (10mil/person) in hopes of going back to Los Angeles but after analyzing the smoke situation of the forest fires we stayed here and used it as a base for preparing for GPT09-10.

It took us 168 hours but without climbing the volcanoes the trail could have been walked in five full walking days. End of January means there were virtually no horseflies.
Nice trip but due to foot issues, things breaking down and a stomach bug at the end, it was a bit of a suffer-fest for Natalie (Tomáš's new shoes are unfortunately painful too). However, the hotsprings, Volcán Chillán, Laguna Hermosa and the trees (especially the ones with usnea) made it worth while!

* '''2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 08-C / Ondrej '''

Puente Inglés - Camping Las Lagunillas
Overall an extremely beautiful route, my favourite in GPT06-08. Compared to GPT06 and 07, this section felt most diverse but also most challenging to navigate. I accidentaly got off track much more often. Still, the route is visible most of the time except the last day after Laguna Hermosa. Even there, sticking to the gpx files makes the section easily passable. One just need to pay a higher attention to where their steps are placed. The fauna is quite rich too - I had a chance to see a tarrantula (the minor road on day 1), crayfish in the rivers, and a snake which I believe was Tachymenis chilensis (on the shores of Laguna El Roble). I believe this section is much more demanding in Dec or early Jan when snow is still present on the slopes. Horseflies were not a problem in my case. I encountered some between km 75 and 85 but that was far from frustrating. I recommend gaiters due to dusty roads in some sections. From thermas Chillan I haven’t met a soul until the end of the section.

Details:
On the first day, it is easy walking on a minor road that winds through a forest so you can enjoy shade most of the walk! No complications, just need to climb some gates. I enjoyed a company of a fellow GPT hiker Martial, who shared some useful trout fishing tips and gear with me. We camped at the Nuble crossing.

Second day, Nuble crossing was no problem. Knee-deep at the recommended ford. Then I got lost in the forest numerous time. Checking the gpx frequently definitely helped. I followed the advice of others to cross the river and find a path om the right upstream side. That worked really well, didn’t have to cross any fallen trees! I camped at the hot springs - it is actually a whole thermal river. Amazing, amazing place. Loved to lay in it and watch the stars. Quite a few other people were there (some arrieros and a Chilean family) but there really was enough space for everyone.

The third and fourth day were rather uneventful for me. Very beautiful views along the trail, which was mostly through forests and relatively simple to follow all the way to 2km before Los Peucos. Even there the trail was visible, it was just overgrown. I worried about this part too much based on the previous reports. The path actually felt quite okay in my case. Unfortunately, no soul at Los Peucos. I saw a parked car and a horse, but no human in the area. So I decided to walk 3km more and camp at the next river ford at km 66.4. I also took option C as recommeded by other hikers below, it was perfect!

The 5th day was easy up to the laguna El Roble. Then the climb is quite demanding. Most importantly, there is hardly any water between Laguna El Roble and km106.1. I found a little stream at km102.8 but I wouldn’t rely on it. My strategy was to drink about 1 liter at the laguna El Roble (I filtered the water there as the laguna didn’t seem that clear) and then I took 1.5l with me. It lasted me all the way to Laguna Hermosa. Maybe next time I would take only 1 liter. However, I felt safe to have the reserves. Once you get to the pass, the views are beautiful, as is Laguna Hermosa where I camped for the last night.

On the 6th day, I started from Laguna Hermosa at 8am and reached the main car road around 3pm. The trail after Hermosa disappears and requires a lot of attention to your GPS to navigate. The scree traverses are entirely manageable. I had to think twice before placing my feet though. The trail becomes visible and much easier at km115 when the valley trail connects. No one was at the puesto at km121.1, just three dogs. Trekking poles were enough to fend them off. There is indeed a new metal gate with a lock at approx km 126. No guards are positioned there. I climbed the gate without issues. I then hiked to Camping Lagunillas. There is a very kind owner and his son. Really good people to chat with. After listening to my story they also let me a cabana for a price of camping (10,000 CLP) for the night. The owner’s son is keen to learn more about the GPT and to potentially hike part of the route too. The camping has a small almacen there with some lentils and rice to buy (however, the selection is not enough to resupply). They also sell beer, cookies and can make you a soft dinner and breakfast (empanadas, lentils, waffles, coffee, sandwiches). I hitchhiked to Abanico the next day. It seems there are many more buses from Abanico to Antuco/Los Angeles than just two these days. The bus schedules could be looked up on the Internet. I caught one at 9:30am.

*2023-Jan-16 Frank RR SOBO 5 days

Crossed the river before Los Sauces where a dirt road goes right, crossing was only ankle deep. The cable car at Los Sauces is locked & there is often no one there. River is a lot deeper by the cable car (at least waist deep)

At Los Robles the carabineros were not very friendly, which was unusual, & were not too happy about me hiking solo, but after I told them I'd walked there from Santiago they allowed me to proceed. They had no info. about the activity level of Chillan. The 'shop' in Los Robles only had 2L bottles of soft drink & eggs. Rio Nuble was thigh deep late in the evening but you need to pick your spot: a few metres downstream from the RR crossing, before some boulders in the water. Camped a little after the crossing. Before Rio Nuble there is a no entry sign & locked gate but you can climb over it easily & there was no one there. Campsite marked on track file before the crossing was fenced off with no entry sign.

Coming down from the pass late on day 2 there is a cold water spring just before the hot waterfall. Filled up at the spring as the water in the valley is thermal, not sure if it's good to drink. Camped in the valley by the hot stream.

At the CONAF hot springs it was 14,000 CLP to camp but they allowed me to use the hot bath for free. They have a shop but most items are too bulky for one person. I continued for about 10KM & camped in a 3 sided hut 100M to the right off the road before a wide but easy ford. The hut has a dirt floor so you can pitch a tent inside. After Laguna Roble you climb to a pass & there is a spring a little after the pass. I camped just before the spring (room for one small tent, had to clear away some rocks but it was OK) The traverse after the aerials was a bit sketchy but soon improved & I picked up a tiny trail through the scree. Walked to the CONAF entrance gate on the road & hitched out from there. There is a lot of traffic on the weekend.

* '''2023-Jan-13 to 2023-Jan-18 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Start in Termas the Chillan opt. 2 than RR from 40km to 105.9 and finished using opt. 6. / Maks&Gabi '''

Trail is visible almost all the time. All the fords are easily passable. We had met arrieros 3 times, they were nice and helpful. One of them asked about why we are hiking, as there is a lot of people going this way, but he seemed to be okay with it.
There is a lot of really horseflies especially between 83 and 93 km.
There were also quite a lot of cows on trail, that were not so happy to see us, but we just walked around them (with some bigger distance). Be careful as the bulls seem to be very protective over the small ones.

Option 06A is probably overgrown - we spent about 15 min trying to find the trail but we gave up after all ( it was about 300m after crossroad ).
Gate on 8.6km of option 6 was locked with the padlock, but noone was there so we just walked over the fence.

All other gates on all trail were easily passable. One of the arrieros just noted that we should close them after crossing.
From the hydro powerplant till the end of the option 06B there were a lot of people working on a road but none of them seemed to have a problem with us being there.
We hitch hiked to Antuco.
It was our first try on the GPT (recommended by a local mountain guide from Termas de Chillan) and it was definitely worth it!

* '''2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-08 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will '''

Probably my favorite section so far! A nice mix of remote alpine stretches, forests, and fields. However the horseflies made it hard to appreciate at times, they were pretty much constant during the later section around Laguna Laha.

I hitched from San Fabián around noon and did most of the road walk the first day. The campsite at 21.6 is fenced off. I stayed at 20.3 which didn't have great water access, just a muddy spring. Scrambling down to the river wasn't feasible but I found a bit of clean flow partway down.
The Nuble crossing wasn't so bad for me, it was just below my waist (5'11/181cm). Still the hardest one so far. I found the trail afterwords pretty hard to follow, with lots of side paths eventually leading to thorny bushwhacking. It finally convinced me to pull the route up on my watch for the first time, definitely worth it here.
A ways after the river crossing you'll come out of the woods into an open river valley. I recommend crossing the stream there and finding the path on the other side, instead of struggling through the blowdown/landslide debris along the gpx track.
The trail was fairly slow from the Nuble crossing to los Peucos. After that it's super fast except for a few stretches in the mountains above the Laguna Laha.
The natural hot springs just below the pass near the Volcan Chillan were very nice, but full of little flies. They didn't seem to bite.
The camping at los peucos was very expensive, but they had a bit of food for sale (fruit!!). Comfy grass, wifi, well maintained bathrooms. The hot springs there were too hot for me, slightly painful.
I missed option C and definitely regretted it. The road up was super rocky, and hot with no shade.
The stretch above Laguna Laha was the driest I've passed so far. Thankfully there were a few snow fed streams/ponds left, but I should have carried more water to be safe. Laguna Hermosa was true to its name, a nice place to camp my last night.
The main road at the end was pretty busy, you could hitch right away and skip the entire last 13ish km. But the extra little stretch of trail at the end was definitely worth it to me.
It took me a while to get a ride to Antuco even though the road was busy. Most people were just going a bit further along. It's not the nicest town but there's decent selection for resupply. I got a room for 15k/night at a cabana/hostal place on Sgto. Aldea street. For some reason I didn't have cell service there, with Movistar.

* '''2023-Jan-01 to 2023-Jan-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option C / Martin & Helena'''

We took bus from San Fabian (corner on the other side of the gas station) in the afternoon, and camped after ford of Los Sauces river (water only to the ankles). A lot of annoying tabanos, but plenty of space to camp. Quite a lot of locals go there as well. The next day we continued to the ford or Rio Nuble that turned out to be the worst so far for us. Doing it in the afternoon was not the best idea - the current was strong and even when it was just waist-high, we were not able to pass through the fastest part where the path takes you. We figured out to go more upstream, but just like 30m maybe? to a point where the water was really deep but completely calm. There is a rock wall on the other side. The water reached our chest at that part and our hands holding poles were under the water, making it hard to gain stability. We decided to take our chances and try to cross, using rocks covered with some grass to gain traction. There were times when we were floating in the water with close to 0 stability but we eventually made it. Best to be there early to have the best possible conditions. Until the end of the day we managed to get up through the forrest. Before you get out of the forrest you are crossing a stream that is going down between the rocks, but if you take a minute or two before it path that goes lower than trail, you will find a nice spot by the water with some wooden bench and nice covered place to camp. We prefered to be out of the forrest so we continued, but found only a field of fallen trees caused by landslide. It was possible to find a place to camp closer to the river. It is best to continue on the other side, which we did the next day. You will soon connect to the trail again, before going up.

The way up from the valley is quite steep. From the pass you get a nice view of the Chillan volcano. Going further down to the lava field, we followed advices of others and get up to the top of lava field right away and continued walking on it. After the pass you will find a valley with hot springs which are simply amazing. Good to plan camping there so you can enjoy it fully. From the valley the trail is clear, until a short section before the official camp (1-2 kms before it), where it’s more of a bush-bashing. This part starts near a puesto where we came across herd of young bulls that seemed to be more curious that we would like and we had to go around them, a little off the trail. We struggled a little to find our way into the camp, which was not so clear from our gps (eventhough the path is clear all the way to the river) - the camp is secured by wire fences that we wanted to avoid, but at the end we crawled under them to get to the camp, aprox. according to our gps. If you follow the river downstream you might get to the official gate / entrance, not sure. Like other mentioned the price is quite high, and so are things in the little shop - most of it are classic camping things that last long like pasta, rice, canned fruits, a lot of cookies… but we were grateful for it anyway. The hot springs there are also amazing, man-made stone pools, with the view of the stars in the night it is perfect and worth the price. There are maybe 10 dedicated places to camp with wooden desk and bench, covered by roof (good when it’s raining). More space is close to the showers and the common, shared house with kitchen, fireplace and again desks with benches. We met there some workers from a gas company, fixing pipes close to the laguna, who were sleeping in the camp. The guy watching over the camp (from CONAF) was also nice and helpful - if you need anything, this is the right person to ask.

On the next day, we continued on the minor road, where we took the C option, like others. Following the RR we found the 08-E option (which follows the MR) to be a better choice since the RR is a little overgrown in the beginning and with thistle-vegetation. Easy pass in the forest, and nice places to camp in the valley. We were lucky to find their cows again (luckily on the other side of the river), but bulls woke us up in the morning - this must have been the fastest packing in the history. We enjoyed more fun with the cows and bulls later in the valley, that were blocking our way and refusing to go away - that made us to take another short detour around them.

A lot has been already written about the last part of this section that takes you up to the plateau. The climb is quite steep and long so don’t forget to take water from the last laguna - that is the last option. The next stream we found was about 2 kms from the point where you reach the ridge. We camped before Laguna Hermosa with nice view of the volcano. There was some melting snow above the laguna and we found 4G signal there (where the pole is). We found the descent down to be quite ok, there are small slippery rocks so it’s necessary to be careful, but nothing too bad. The descent gets very dusty later (when it’s dry) and is still steep in the forrest with a lot of water from the snow. We got to the main road in the afternoon and were lucky to catch a ride all the way to Antuco. We booked the only available place we found on booking called Puelche de Antuco, a really nice cabin. The town is nice with a lot of restaurants and shops.

* '''2022-Dec-28 to 2023-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Los Sauces - Antuco / Anna & Christopher '''

We took the bus at 6 pm from San Fabián to Los Sauces and camped next to the river.

The path until the river crossing of Rio Ñuble is basically a dirtroad, so we got there pretty fast. Only the horseflies were very annoying. We recommend bringing insect repellent.
Christopher is 1.88m and the water went up to his navel at the main route crossing. Anna with 1.63m was not able to cross the river there.
After some tries we found a possibility a couple of hundred meters upstream, where the water just went up to Anns knees. The tough part was to get up to the path on the other side. After some bush bashing, you have to get up a 3 to 4 meter high, almost vertical slope. We found a tree, whose roots we used to climb up, which was not super easy. Once you are up there, there is a good path that leads to the main route.

The next day was nice until the valley around km 25 (where the river is not correctly positioned in the gaia app). There are tons of fallen trees and it was really hard to get through and there was mostly no visible path. It's probably best to stick to the upstream right side of the river.
Afterwards the path gets really nice. Especially in the evening sun, it was very beautiful to cross the volcanic landscape. We camped in the valley at km 40 at the hot springs.

The third day has a good path at the beginning. Just the last 3 km it gets more difficult, especially approx. 2 km before Los Peucos, where it's mostly bush bashing.
The camping at Los Peucos is nice, as well as the hot springs, but we had to pay 14k CLP p.p. to camp there and in the evening there are tons of mosquitos. We would have camped a bit further downstream, if we had known that to be honest.

The next day we took option C, like Veronica suggested, to avoid an unnecessary climb. Then we made an unnecessary climb following the road and not the main path, because we couldn't find the entry to the path right away and feared more bush bashing. But the path looked great from above.
The rest of the route until shortly after Laguna Hermosa was really good. There is not much snow left and therefore there are not a great many places to fill up water.
After Laguna Hermosa the path gets very hard to cross, due to lots of stones and gravel without a visible path.
But it's very beautiful up there and finally not hot anymore.
The descend has a easy to find path but is pretty slippery. Once you pass that the rest is pretty easy until the road, from where we hitchhiked to Antuco. We stayed at Camping Rucue for 15k CLP the camping lot. You pay for the lot not per person.

* '''2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-19 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT08-02 / Véronica '''

Route: Los Sauces - Río Ñuble crossing - backtrack to Los Sauces - hitch to Termas se Chillán (GPT08 option 2) - Los Peucos - Laguna Laja - Laguna Hermosa - CONAF near Abanico

San Fabian is a great place, loved swimming in the Ñuble River when it got hot. The owner of Cabañas San Fabian is super kind. I hitched back to the trail because I didn't want to wait all day for the bus that leaves at 6pm.

Registered with the carabineros at El Roble, but I could not ford Río Ñuble at the RR crossing. Current was very strong, and has I been able to stand up in it, the water would have easily reached my chest (I'm165 cm). I tried several times to ford the river at three different places, several km apart from each other, with no success. I would advance in the stream until I felt I couldn't take another step without being swept, and couldn't get halfway across. I suppose I should have expected this - it's a very high snow year and mid-December. I even tried calling out for help at the puesto on the west side of the river near the "no trespassing" gates, but no one was there. The long walk back to Los Sauces felt very defeating. Also, the "wooden bridges" described by Jo and Veronika are actually only cable crossings, and inaccessible by two barbed wire fences. Not possible to cross the river there either. Ríos Los Sauces and Las Truchas only came up mid-thigh though.

Regained the GPT at Termas de Chillán, Option 2. Basicall took almost the whole second day to hitch there. Beautiful trail, but steep. You get to ford hot creeks, which was pretty cool.

The trail is overgrown in some places, the worst spot is between the last puesto before Los Peucos and Los Peucos. Very hard walking through, wished I had a machete. Only lasts a km or two thankfully. All three puestos before Los Peucos looked abandoned.

Didn't meet anyone at Los Peucos since I got there fairly early in the morning, but the hot springs there are amazing. Really hot, clear water, a little stone pool in a garden. Loved spending time there.

Taking GPT08-C avoids a pointless climb and descent on the regular route, and has a nice path the whole way.

Trail gets more difficult once you start climbing up to the ridge after Laguna El Roble. The views are incredible though, absolutely spectacular. Lots of water sources up on the ridge due to many lingering snow patches. Most of them are not a problem. After the junction with GPT08-06, the trail kind of disappears. Keep an eye on the GPS as you climb and descend steeply on the slopes. It reappears again after the following camp and water waypoints.

Laguna Hermosa still has a couple snow patches on its shores, cold place to camp, but beautiful. After Laguna Hermosa is where it gets really challenging. There is no trail afterwards that I could find, basically cross country the whole way to the TR at 116.8 km. As you approach the "trailhead" waypoint, there is LOTS of scree traverses, and steep snow patches which require microspikes or extreme clambering to get around. Treacherous in some places. I fell a couple times. The ground is very loose and unstable. Things get better actually once you reach the official cross country section at Laguna Lágrima. Still some steep bits, but the ground is more consolidated, and there's more bedrock to help with traction. I reccomend taking the optional route CC-08-H. There's a faint trail to follow and it avoids clambering up on the ridge.

Very glad to see a clear track again at 116.8. But still some problematic snow fields in this stretch above Laguna Toro, where it was too steep even with microspikes, and I had to do some very careful/serious climbing around. Not fun. Fell again here. Once you reach the long descent into Valle de los Carpinteros it gets much better. Still some snow in the woods over the creek. Right now you can walk on top of it like an ice bridge. There clearly was a LOT of snow here this past winter, it lingers until 1750 m or so in the south-facing valley.

The puesto at 121.1 looks abandonned too. Lots of downed trees in the area. There was no one, and no metal gate (or any gate) whatsoever before reaching the road in the National Park.

The 4 days from Volcán Chillán to the end of the section, I saw no other human. I found this section also to be harder than GPT06, especially the last day. The snow complicates things. If you wish to avoid dangerous clambering and sketchy snow and scree traverses, take Option 06. The trail is good before then.

==Season 2021/22==

* '''2022-Jan-28 to 2022-Feb-06 / 10 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika & Jo'''

Los Sauces -> banks of Rio Ñuble -> hot springs at flanks of Chillan (-> escape to Concepción via Termas de Chillan to buy new shoes -> hot springs at flanks of Chillan) -> Los Peucos -> camp before Laguna Laja -> Laguna Hermosa -> camping Lagunillas (6 proper hiking days)

Nice section again. Hot springs in the first half, beautiful views of Laguna Laja, Volcán Antuco, Siella Veluda in the second half. Laguna Hermosa is true to its name, and was the first to not have horse or cow droppings on its sandy shores :D Sad to not have crossed Molly and Melissa.

- The lady at the cable car was not sure whether we could cross with our heavy backpacks, so we forded the river at Los Sauces.

- From about km 20 the sides of the road are fenced. The camp at km 21.6 is no longer available.

- There is a gate at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (blocking access to the trail) marked private, no entry. We saw some cars returning through a second gate (blocking access to the river) and asked if it was ok to cross the first gate. They said "For you, sure." I get the impression that Chileans rather want to keep Chileans out... This gate is not a problem NOBO.

- Fording Rio Ñuble was the deepest ford we ever did. Balls deep indeed! Quite doable though, as the water is clear.

- There may be an alternative path on the western bank, starting at the wooden bridges at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206'. Some local at the San Fabián tourist office mentioned having hiked this way.

- The trail at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (around km 30) has eroded. After searching, we had to push through some bushes on a steep ridge to continue the trail. Maybe more obvious NOBO.

- At the start of the cross country at km 34.6 get to the top of the lava strip after fording the river. For us, this was easiest at S 36° 52.853', W 071° 18.793'.

- The water at the camp at km 37.3 was mostly dried up. Don't count on it by the end of January.

- The bus stop at Termas de Chillan is close go Hotel Nevados de Chillan. There are way more buses at Las Trancas de Chillan, 8 km down the road. Fortunately, the whole area has great 4G coverage with Entel, so you can look up the bus tables with the key words "REM bus Termas de Chillan".

- The CONAF camp Los Peucos has excellent hot springs and a mini shop. Camping costs 10.000 pp. The guards are very friendly and donated some fruit :)

- The CC section around km 95 had a clear path, but the subsequent TL section before Laguna El Roble did not.

- The trail after Laguna Hermosa was hard to find, we went quite slowly clambering on the loose scree or sand. Going down the mountain ridge at the end of the CC section was similarly difficult. Fell twice - could not find solid footing on the slope.

- The lady at the puesto at km 121.6 was friendly, asked where we came from, went to, and pointed us to the exit road. She seemed friendly, but a subtle hint to "please stay off my land" would have been lost on us in translation. The new metal gate is easy to pass through. The CONAF guard's wife at the final CONAF post mentioned that we were hiking the "sendero biologico" when we mentioned Laguna Hermosa. This trail must pass over the lady's land too?

- The ATM at Antuco is broken.

- Supermercado Santa Teresa in Antuco sells 125ml bottles of alcohol desnaturalizado 96° in the nail polish section.v

* '''2022-Jan-24 / 6.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH Cerro Las Águilas / Molly and Melissa'''

At the "gate" waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.

We took the bus to Abanico and hitched to the national park, not the easiest as all the cars were full. The car was stopped at the entrance, and we had to explain our route. We weren't asked to pay, probably because we weren't really going to the national park. You walk a little through it though on some nice paths, and then you reach a gravel road. Shortly after, at the "gate" waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.
As noted previously, after climbing to the ridge on the rr, the terrain is difficult, but the views are amazing. Not a lot of water, but we managed. Many of the campsites off route, including Laguna Hermosa, require quite a climb down.
You stay high up quite a while, which gives amazing views.

The cross country along Laguna Laja has a nice path all the way. Then you reach Patricio's puesto. He's very welcoming, and has had people stay in his puesto before. We just drank coffee with him though. His brother German lives in the valley right after Laguna el Roble, but his puesto is hidden in the trees.

Alternative route Cerro Las Águilas
We chose the Cerro las Águilas alternative, because Volcán Chillán was in yellow alert. While walking there, we met two carabineros on horseback who wanted to know which way we went. Don't know if they would have forbidden the rr. The ascent to Laguna el Lobo is through deep sand, it was very tough and took way longer than we thought. We ended up camping at the Laguna which was nice enough. The ascent from there of the first little hill seemed completely unnecessary to us, at least if you have been by the laguna, as you descend to the same level. It would be worth it to walk to the right and ascend directly on the brown mountain, following the GPS from there. The ridge walk was tough as well, a lot of scrambling. The GPS often wanted us to go right of the rocky tops, where going left or directly over often seemed easier/safer. There is no water until the valley between the two passes. There, we also found a nice campsite right after the big stream on the bottom, a little to the left.
After reaching Rio Ñuble, you follow it for a long time. There are multiple streams running towards it where we had to take off our shoes - no lack of water here, though. The alternative also fords Rio Ñuble itself in a different location compared to the rr - we had no problems whatsoever there. It reached mid-thigh and wasn't too strong, and we are both around 160 cm. It is a very low snow year though, and very dry. Here would be a nice place to camp.

After rejoining the rr, we decided to continue to the waypoint "camp". That was a mistake, though, as everything around there is fenced in with big signs saying "private property". The second campsite right after is not fenced in, but doesn't look that good on the first glance. The rest of the way to Puente Ingles is gravel road. El Roble has a house that sells sodas - it has a "bebidas" sign.
We crossed Rio Los Sauces beneath the cable cars quite easily, the water was mid-thigh - again very dry year.

Puente Ingles
In Puente Ingles we stayed at a campsite a little north of the cable car crossing, marked on the map in Locus Maps as "lugar". It is 10,000 per tent, there are bathrooms, cold showers and tables. They also have a cabaña which was occupied. Puente Ingles has a small shop with sodas, ice cream, tortillas, biscuits, coffee and chips. It is quite nice to bath in the river. The bus still leaves at 7 and 10 in the morning.

* '''2021-Dec-15 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony'''

Beautiful view of volcán Antuco when walking up towards the ridge line by Laguna Laja and a staying at Los Peucos camping site was a big highlight on my journey on the GPT. Had my dinner in their wonderful hot spring while staring at the clear starlit sky in the cool night. Two nice guys working here and they even donated me some pasta, fruits and vegetables. Walking near the active Chillán Volcano and watching the fumaroles while being circled by a group of condors was also a cool experience.

With that said, this section kicked my ass. Mainly due to some bad fitting shoes I recently bought in Los Ángeles and because I suffered from bad chafing in my butt which made me walk like I had shit my pants for a couple of days. This combined with some tough terrain (specially near Laguna Laja) and countless of horseflies made this section quite challenging for me. But definitely worth it!

Like mentioned by hikers in the previous years fording Rio Ñuble can be a bit demanding especially for shorter people. It was getting late when I reached the river so I decided to camp nearby and cross the river in the morning. Had water up to the balls (i’m 189cm) and the current a bit strong but it was not too bad.
Hitched a ride from Puente El Ingles to San Fabian and later jumped on a bus to Chillán to buy new shoes once again. Room with private bathroom for 15.000 at hostal El Molino in San Fabian, nice lady who owns the place.

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''*2019-Nov-10 / Jan Dudeck'''
Volcan Chillán remains active. The regular route passes the crater closely therefore Option 1 appears currently the saver if someone does not want skip section GPT08 completely. This option passes the danger zone with more distance. In case of an eruption volcanic ash is likely to affect Option 1 but the risk of direct volcanic effects is lower (flash flood from melting snow and glaciers, land slides, lava and flying rocks).

* '''2019-Dec-30 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias'''

Overview:
Just want to say quick that the termas vapaors in Mèdano are worth checking out, I highly recommend them. Please consider checking them out, they are only ½ km off the trail and absolutely worth it. They are sauna boxes built around a few hot rocks emitting hot steam. The result is a steam room/ sauna experience. I personally spend over 4 hours chilling out in the steam rooms.
After a 2-hour road walk on the side of the highway you make your way back on trial. This section takes you thru many areas used for grazing livestock with puestos in sight almost all the time. Carizales a small settlement right on trail has a small store and the family also sells bread. There was also a puesto that sold us fresh goat cheese and Coca Cola. It is marked as a waypoint on the GPX file about 20km south of Carizales. Much of the trail is very dry and exposed and the landscape is void of trees and vegetation. There are many great places to jump into the river and cool off. The section up and around the lake offers great views of the mountains, volcanoes nearby and Laguna Dial. The trail itself is well established and never had any real trouble navigation. There were also quite a few hot springs on trail or close by.

Difficulties: Hot and Exposed (especially in summertime). Resupply Distance.

Highlights: Hot springs. Great sweeping views. Pools of cool water to jump into in the middle of the day.

Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com

* '''2020-Jan-20 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option l start south OH 08 - 02 / Martin '''

Solo. Because I was not allowed to walk close to the Volcanoe by the carabineros, following the RR, had to take the optional start south OH 08 - 02, in Nevados de Chillán Ski Resort. Funny enough, I walked the first day across the volcanoe anyway, it had some smoke coming out but nothing dangerous happened. Then followed RR to the end. Cross country segments in the ridge close to Laguna del Laja were demanding and not ideal for a solo hiker. But it was worth the effort, one of the most amazing views I have seen so far. Beautiful section. Resupplied and stayed for one night in Abanico.

* '''2020-Jan-05 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR /Ty & America '''

Can ford river @ los sauces easily rather than walking from Puente Ingles. Cable Car was all
Locked up. Registration @ El Roble like the others. We camped at the hot rivers close to Volcan Chillan and I fucked up with the gasoline in my stove. Buzzkill...: but Fortunately there was an exit to Termas De Chillan close. We got rides easily from the road.

* '''2020-Jan-03 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie & Tom '''

Starting at El Ingles and hiking southbound towards Abanico. Lovely section however can be slow at times when the track is hard to follow.
We had to register with the Carabineros at El Roble. Before crossing Rio Nuble there is a large gate with ‘private property: no entry’ written on it. We found this off putting. The river crossing itself was fine in the early morning but could be challenging without trekking poles and with a very heavy pack.
After the Laguna de La Laja the track becomes especially more challenging and rocky. In poor weather it could be dangerous given the slippery slopes and steep descents.
We honestly found this section harder than GPT06 and would swap the difficulty ratings.
Took a bus into Los Angeles at 5pm to resupply for the next section. Did not investigate Abanico as we caught the bus as it was leaving.

* '''2020-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + optional hike along Laguna de la Laja / Martina & Ivo '''

Los Sauces to Abanico.

Los Sauces: If you tell the bus driver you want to cross the river by cable car (carro azul) he honks at the bus stop and señor Marcial comes from the other side to get you.
Ford Rio Ñuble: If you are a dwarf like me, you should ask your taller hiking partner to carry your backpack, otherwise it will get wet. Demanding.
Volcan Chillan: PLEASE NOTE: We were absolutely aware that our buddy Volcano could erupt or explode at ANY GIVEN MOMENT and that this was NOT a SAFE option to hike. (But it was beautiful! ...and a bit overgrown in some places. There is not much of the trail left before the first pass.)
Laguna de la Laja: It was beautiful but we definitively wouldn't recommend it. There is no trail along the Laguna. At the beginning you can walk on cow tracks close to the waterfront. Afterwards it's 15 km of cross country. The 3 km into the third inlet took us 3 hours and were really dangerous because of loose rocks and steep cliffs. The following investigation part (@08-04-#002) was mainly a quite nice trail, but we lost it twice and it took us ages to find it again, and in this steep and not very easy terrain you don't want to loose the trail. We were really glad when we got back to the regular route.
From Abanico there are several buses per day going directly to Los Angeles. Resupply in Abanico is possible.

* '''2019-Dec-30 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 1 / Matus & Anna '''

We had to register in Carabinieros. They didn't have a problem with leting us go even regular route, seemed like eventual crossing to Argentina is their primary issue.
Optional 1 - to the juction with valley walk without problem. Cross coutry part on the ridge was easy to navigate. On downhill there is no trail so we went crosscountry again. It's bit overgrown in some spots, we found trail cca after half of descend. Last flowing water is before juction with valley walk. We saw some water holes cca 2-3km before Laguna de Lobo.
Rest of the regular trail - cross coutry sections were demanding. Otherwise no problem.
We got hitch to Los Angeles after CONAF station so no idea about resuply or accomodation.

==Season 2018/19==

* '''2019-Jan-13 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin Lizondo '''
Volcán Chillán was in "alerta naranja".
Río Ñuble impassable at S36° 50.188' W71° 14.935' Better continue following the minor road in the alternative route. 
When hiking the alternative east route (Paso Aguila) do not descend to the valley at S36° 57.919' W71° 14.752'. It's unmantained and overgrounded, because of recent forest fires. Better stay above the tree line until Laguna El Lobo. 

=Resupply and Accommodation=

*Abanico
At least one restaurant with pizza
Store?

*Antuco (from Abanico)
Many smaller supermarkets, which have most things - easy enough to resupply here.
One of the two ferreterías has gas (the one furthest from Abanico).
Many accommodation options and some restaurants. March 2024: Good Accomodation with a nice Mapuche family in a single room, shared bath with hot shower, washing machine and including breakfast 18000 peso: Fanny, +56 9 9404 4771.
There is an ATM (Fee: 5500)at the town square southend of town which even gives some smaller notes.
Bus to Los Angeles

*Camping Parque Antuco :
10k for camping. Cabañas also. Nice calm place, swimming pool, shade. Electricity and hot showers. Homemade empanadas. Bernabe the owner is really kind and know about the GPT. His number +56 9 9507 2559.

*Puente Ingles
Store with chips, ice cream, bread, chocolate, sodas. Possibly some accomodation option at the store. Campground with one cabaña a little further down the room - sign says cabañas - 10,000 per tent, toilets with cold showers and a room with a fireplace for cooking

*San Fabián (from Puente Ingles)
Many accommodation options - almost everything was fully booked when we were there (Feb 2022).
Supermercado La Montaña seems to be the best option - not the easiest place to resupply, but definitely possible. Harder than in Antuco.
Great Venezuelan restaurant Canela Passion.
Bus to San Carlos

*San Fabian - Fev 2025 (Clara) :
- Very good resupply possible in the supermarket Los Alvis.
- Accomodation : cabaña nativa : very nice cabanas clean, big confortable bed, climatisation, kitchen, pools, jacuzzi. 35k for a 2 persons cabaña (for 1 person). Just in front when you go out, there is a place where you can buy very good tortillas de rescoldo and pan amasado. Lots of restaurants.

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

=Transport to and from Route=

* 2025 - 02 : there are direct buses from Chillan to San Fabian. Then San Fabian to Puente Ingles. Buses at 2 pm and 6 p.m. in front of the carabineros including Sundays and Holidays.

*Puente Ingles to San Fabián
Bus at 7 am and 10 am - leaves from the campground, drives to the shop and the back again towards San Fabián

*Bus from Antuco to Los Angeles about once an hour in daytime.

*A few buses from Abanico to Antuco or you can hitch fairly easily.

* Jan-24 / Joscha

Bus from Chillan (Terminal La Merced) a Thermas de Chillan at 8 am and 2 pm (weekends at 1:30 pm) for 3900 Pesos. The buscompany is "Rembus". Their Website isn't up to date, but you can check their Facebook page for informationen.

=Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=
* At the puesto (120,6/1513), the owner does not want us to pass through his land (as of 02/02/2025). He clearly stated that it is private property. It might now be preferable to take a detour through BB, passing well to the right beforehand and rejoining the path well after his house (which was under construction with many tents around it at that time)? (Peggy)

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT08 - Volcán Chillan]]

=Images=

[[File:Segundo_Rio_Termal_zona_cascadas.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|This river is hot! Aguas Calientes Valley]]
[[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (8).jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Laguna Laja and [[Volcán Antuco]], by Matúš Lašan]]

GPT08 (Volcan Chillan)

2025-12-11T17:08:58Z

Kris&Stiina:

'''[[GPTs|List of all GPT sections]]'''

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<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>

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<nowiki>* '''</nowiki>'''YYYY-MMM-DD / X days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Your name'''<nowiki>'''</nowiki>.

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=Overview=

=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=

==Season 2025/26==

*''' 2025.04.12 to 2025.08.12 / 4 days / SOBO / Opt 2A + RR + Var F + Var G + Opt 4 (Ruta Este) / Kris and Stiina '''

We connected the GPT08 and 09 via Option 4 (Ruta Este) recommended by Jan. Termas de Chillán to Trapa Trapa total 5.5 days. 4 days for GPT08 and 1.5 days for GPT 09.

Day 1 - Option 2A from Termas de Chillán. We started in Santiago taking 8:00 bus to Chillán and after 7h of bus rides we got to the start of the trail a bit after 16:00.
You have to go to a different bus station for the rural buses, bus schedule posted by Volker in earlier comments.

As it was already getting late we didn’t go down to fumaroles and took the higher trail unmarked as a variant but is on the map. A few easy snow patches on the way up. There is also and unmarked ford of Rio Diguillin around here (-36.90740, -71.37185) however we crossed it a bit higher up, late in the afternoon the water was really murky and fast flowing but just below the knee, easy, we are 184cm and 175cm. After that we took the trail that is on the map but is also not marked as a variant and follows the river which is not named but starts from the pass higher up. We forded it here (-36.91003, -71.36669) and camped pretty much right after it on a flat spot. The marked Camp {08} [42.6/2087] was nice looking from a distance but was actually on a wet ground. Great views of the Volcán Chillán Viejo, calm night.

Day 2 - Since many people recommended to visit Camping Los Peucos that was our goal for the day. The first “Ford {08} [47.7/1390]” of Rio Diguillín on RR was easier, the river was clear now and the water level was just below the knee. The second “Ford {08} [48.7/1334]” was a bit more challenging and the water was about waist deep. We managed to cross it individually. Tabanos (horseflies) wanted to introduce themselves relentlessly and pretty much became the theme of this section. Regardless of how many you “get rid off” same amount appears a few minutes later, like some sort of dark magic.
Camping Los Peucos was unfortunately still closed but there were other equestrian tourists camping there and no signs forbidding it, so we camped there anyway. The termas were really nice though the big one in the middle was way too hot to even stand in it. Luckily there were plenty of others to choose from, we really enjoyed a relaxing evening soaking ourselves in the termas.

Day 3 - Easy first half of the day mostly walking along the minor dirt roads. Fords on Rio Los Peucos very easy, shin deep. We took the Variant F and it was easy to follow and seemed well trodden the unmarked ford of Rio Polcura at (-37.06842, -71.39166) was really wide and just above ankle deep but very very cold, pain inducing.
After that the Variant F rejoins an even better traveled minor road. Two carabinieros cars passed us one stopped and asked how we are doing and where we are headed. They said if we need anything there is a police post just up the road, perhaps they meant this one “Police ? {08-H} [7.0/1357]”, however we didn’t plan taking the Variant H.
We also met 4 arieros on horses going the other way.
And we also took the Variant G staying on the minor road, I think the views were better from the road higher up rather than going trough the bushy valley.
The junction at “Trailhead {08} [80.8/1248]” is easy to miss if you are not paying attention.
The trail seemed barely traveled and for us this was the most difficult part of the section GPT 08. From: “Trailhead {08} [80.8/1248]” until about “Water {08} [83.2/1599]” - very steep, very hot, very thorny and overgrown - death by 1000 cuts type of trail (we were dressed inappropriately- shorts and shirts) and a lot of relentless tabanos trying to get a juicy sweaty piece of you at any cost. The water at 83.2 was a better lunch spot than the one before. Towards the “Pass {08} [84.5/1744]” once the trail entered more into forest it improved but there were a quite a few fallen trees, over the trail. It felt like if noone will maintain this trail it might disappear in the future. The trail improved going down from the pass.
A nice open valley with the first glimpses of Laguna Laja, however many cows in the valley some with young calves and there were a few bulls aswell. They weren’t agressive but very cautious and protective and we had to keep a safe distance to not provoke them.
We camped at (-37.19790, -71.31353) in the riverbed, pretty much the beginning of Option 4 (Ruta Este). Very windy evening but then the wind died and the night was completely still. We thought we avoided the cows.

Day 4 - We were woken up by about 10 cows “snorting” about 10m from our tent, not the most comfortable of the situations but it also was not our first rodeo, at least it wasn’t a one ton bull standing 2m away. We just stood our ground (kept lying in the tent) and waited for the cows to chill out which they did and eventually they moved onwards with their day and so did we.
We picked up the minor road that didn’t last for too long but we found what would have probably been a better campsite, not exactly at the coordinates but somewhere in this area (-37.21556, -71.30563). There was also some sort of abandoned small building across the road.
The minor road descended into the lake and for more or less the reminder of the coastal walk we stayed right on the coast as much as possible as there the ground was more solid underneath and we could still walk pretty fast. The lake had a lot of “terraces” on the side where the water had been at some point and sometimes to avoid obstacles or the path right on the coast disappeared we walked on those but they were soft beneath the foot and made the walking a bit more difficult. There were a few bluffs to go over but those were easy. Most of the lake side walk though CC was pretty easy and it did get a bit dull at some point.
Another potential campsite on the lake shore that we saw, approx. in this area: (-37.23748, -71.28333).

We also saw a few fishermen boats on the lake that later passed us at the distance and didn’t seem interested in us. They had their camp set up in Bahia El Colorado right before the “Ford {08-04} [12.5/1379] (Estero Colorado)” by the time we got there, we could see they were all fishing higher up the river so we didn’t talk to them.
Approximately the last km until the ford the coastal path disappears and the going gets a bit harder on a scree slope but it was because we stayed a bit too low. Higher up there was some sort of a minor road again, that came back out of the water but because the beginning of it looked a bit overgrown we didn’t take it. Later though it seemed better and we joined it but should have done it earlier.
The ford itself was fast flowing but shallow and easy.
A bit after that the day was getting hot so we took a dip in the lake and the temperature of the lake surprisingly was warmer than expected, but still invigorating.
After that we continued CC along the coast not following the gpx even though I can now see on the satellite that there was some sort of a trail higher up. We went along the coast almost all the way to the Estero Rucos and then turned up the valley towards the “Ford {08-04} [15.9/1397] (Estero los Rucos)” I don’t think that doing it this way was much slower. We forded the river a few times already lower down looking for the best way up the valley, the fords were very easy.
We had a lunch in the bushes near the ford and I believe it’s possible to find a campsite there aswell. The tabanos around here were vicious and they pretty much accompanied us all the way along the ridge walk that followed.
After that came a steep and very hot climb up to the ridge, there appeared some sort of a trail around here (-37.25442, -71.23348) but then we lost it and just aimed straight up for the trail that we could see higher up. Once we got to it it led us all the way to the ridge, though in some places we deviated from it to avoid some bushes.
The trail continued to where the Option 4A joins the Option 4 and went down in the valley. But we wanted to stay on the ridge and it was a very easy CC along the ridge with some really amazing views of Volcán Antuco, Sierra Velluda and the Laguna Laja.
There was also a very good Movistar signal here (-37.30267, -71.24928).
It got a bit harder going when the ground turned more soft under the foot walking on the loose pumice. It was challenging going up but very fun, fast and easy going down. Once we were approaching the pass (-37.36012, -71.25679) we could see trails reappearing crossing the pass and it was a well traveled path down to Estero los Timones. The moment the trail descended into the valley there was a 4x4 track going up the valley and continuing along the Option 4. We forded the little estero around here (-37.36871, -71.25077) and set the camp up right there on the slightly elevated ground on the river bed. It was nice and flat but sandy and a bit exposed to the wind. The wind luckily once again died down for the night and after a mega day I believe I had one of the best nights sleep ever.

Day 5 - In the morning we picked up the 4x4 track we saw yesterday and followed it hoping that the Option 4C would be possible to save us some unnecessary km. The option 4C was under the lake but a bit further we could see a possible crossing. We deviated from the Option 4 at around here:(-37.38999, -71.25340) to shortcut across and saved extra 5km of walking. There was a small ford in the middle of the crossing (-37.39198, -71.25376).
After that we picked up again the 4x4 track that roughly matched the Option 4.
We didn’t miss out on the opportunity to have another dip in the lake with view of the Volcán Antuco across, it was very refreshing and water felt a degree colder than yesterday in Bahia El Colorado.
After that started the loose sand section for about 10 km even though there was still a 4x4 track the ground beneath it wasn’t compacted and walking took some extra effort. Here we mostly followed what for us looked the best, not the track or the gpx. The 4x4 track went off the main Option 4 around where the Option 4D is drawn.
There were a few minor fords along the way. At the ford around here (-37.47633, -71.26346) we had lunch with some shade a bit higher up this side valley.
Our map showed that there is a trail coming down from this valley and after the lunch we picked it up just before the GPT 08 - Option 4 joins the GPT09 RR. We didn’t see any actual trail joining from the GPT09 RR.
This is where for us the GPT08 ended and GPT09 started. (Continued in section 09 log)

Option 4 - difficulty 4/5 attraction 5/5
Since most of it is CC with just occasional track or trail resemblances a lot of it on loose sand and some places steep, it gets 4/5. It wasn’t as difficult as some of the sections we have done. The views and lake swims were definitely worth it.

Section GPT08 in general - Muchos tabanos, more water than marked, good walking, great views.

For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures

*'''2025-08-09: Track file update 2025 and investigation suggestions of Jan Dudeck'''

- I re-route the Regular Route of GPT08 due to the right-of-way conflict at Mallin el Toro near the southern terminus of GPT08 (about 4 km north of road between Abanico and Laguna Las Lajas). The Regular Route now descents when hiking southbound to Rio Polcura and the hydro-power station El Toro. When going southbound exiting the hydro-power station El Toro is normally not an issue. When workers see you at the road you might be escorted out of the area (free car ride but connecting-footstep-hikers might cry when being driven out). Anyway, northbound hikers will need to make arrangements to be permitted entering the area going north. See the post from Manon and Robin from season 2024/2025.

- New GPT08 Option 6 (Cerro Gaston): One option to avoid the right of way conflict is this new exploration route. Satellite images suggest a vague trail or animal track up to the ridge starting either at the normally dry outlet of Laguna de las Lajas or somewhat higher up on the road after the first locked gate. Experienced hikers that don't mind scrambling in steep exposed terrain might investigate this exploration route but should turn back if this unverified draft route is unsafe.

- GPT09 and GPT08: Southbound and northbound hikers may also opt for the remote routes east of Laguna de las Lajas (GPT08 Option 4 (Ruta Este)). This is particular useful when combining GPT09 and GP08. When staring on GPT08 going northbound, hikers might first follow the regular route of GPT09 going southbound (around volcano Antuco) and then turn north on the remote eastern side of Laguna de las Lajas.

- Updated GPT08 Option 5 (Costa Las Lajas): Southbound hikers with enough food left may also follow the coast of Laguna de Las Lajas and ascent to the ridge on one of the 3 suggested routes. Note that route 05D is only traversable when the lake level is somewhat low (see Important Information Point GPT08-5D that provides a water level mark for decision taking). These detours promise to be quite scenic and remote combining lake access with walking high up on the ridge and avoiding the right-of-way conflict when descending on the current regular route to Rio Polcura.

- Northbound Start at Termas de Chillan: An other option for northbound hikers to avoid the right of way conflict at Mallin el Toro is starting at the Termas de Chillan halfway into section GPT08.

- Packrafting is also an option to travel along the lake shore or to cross the lake to hike on the eastern side. In this area, early mornings and late evenings are normally calm but in the afternoon wind can get dangerously strong.

==Season 2024/25==

* ''' GPT 08 - NOBO - right of way issue Mallin del Toro / Robin and Manon / Published on Facebook 2025-03-12 '''

With Manon Petit we walked GPT08 NOBO from Antuco. We had some kind of escape game in Antuco to find a solution to the right of way issue at Mallin del Toro. We were not super keen to try the ridge route from Célio Lebailly or Tobias Schorcht, as it trespassed the first gate and looked nasty from below. We talked to a local guide Jorge from Cardinal Adventure (+56 9 5848 1699, can rent material for Antuco), our host Fanny at refugio Antumapu (+56 9 9404 4771 very welcoming and nice, super cheap) and our friends Pablo and Rachel encountered in a hitchhike a few days before. All were aware of the events and did their possible to help out as it impacts tourism in Antuco. Here's what we can tell :

- there has been a serious events in December. Cyclists were confronted by the arriero and friends about some damage done apparently, then molested and their bikes were retained/robbed. Turns out one of the guy was the son of a Los Angeles judge, and there is a case open in court about the events. From there the access has been denied to anyone. We talked with Enrique Marisol the arriero (+56 9 6285 2347). Here is his answer : "Hola buenas tardes Desgraciadamente está restringido el tránsito por el interior del predio solo se permite el ingreso a los residentes,tenemos el lugar ocupado por animales en pastoreo ojalá entienda que no está permitido el paso por el interior Desgraciadamente los mismos turista han provocado en nosotros la molestia actuando de mala fe como rompiendo cercas .derribando nuestros portones dejando que nuestros animales se escapen a predios aledaños ocasionando gastos humanos logísticos y pérdida de algunos animales"

- Our friends finally found out who the dueña is, she is of a family nicknamed here "pichimosca" (small flies), known in Antuco for not being friendly and causing problems. She is the one forbidding access.

- the Antuco municipality is actively trying to resolve the situation

- Carabineros have no hold on this and advise to avoid the area

- Once the persons heard the name of the dueña, they all advised to avoid the area and not having problems with this family. The arriero Enrique is not well appreciated neither, and as far as we understood, he took part in molesting the cyclists.
Concerning options to avoid Mallin del toro

- the Rayenco central in option 6 is a private ground an permit is required to trespass. It is granted if prior permit from one of the two owners of the Campos higher up the Polcura valle.

- the two administrators are Engelbert Egger (+56 9 9239 2826) in fonde del Ciervo on the right bank. Working for an Austrian company of forestal management; and Juan Carlos Navarrete (+56 9 8514 3202) on the left bank.

- we got autorisation from Engelbert, who even picked us up in Antuco and dropped us in fonde del Ciervo. Nice guy, curious about what we're doing. Doesn't want this to be a touristic route, but seemed OK to grant permits to GPT hikers.

- he warned us about troubles with Juan Carlos. Turns out this is the same dueña as Mallin del Toro. The option 6 passes by his puesto and then veraneras before joining the ridge. Since Engelbert dropped us 14km upstream from the bridge, we crossed the Polcura there (not feasible earlier in the season I guess), backtracked on the left bank, and took an OSM route from S 37° 13.017', W 071° 25.823' to the ridge a little before the puesto. Didn't meet Juan Carlos. We joined the RR at S 37° 14.024', W 071° 23.514'.

- the local guide Jorge told us about another solution: bypass with a zodiac on the lake. Héctor Burgos (+56 9 4944 4909) has one and is willing to offer his services. Contact him beforehand as he works in the mines and needs to plan he mentioned 110 kCLP for the transfer.

- another solution is getting up the Polcura valle directly to Los Peucos. This is way shorter, and trail all the way on both banks. You'd miss the ridge, and the trouble !
Hope this is clear enough, lots of info, I'll put that in the wiki. Overall the Mallin del Toro situation should be taken seriously

*'''2025-03-27 to 2025-03-31 / 4.5 days hiking / SOBO / OH 02 + RR + OH E + OH G + OH H + own route around Puesto/ MiaimZelt'''

Day 1: Came from Talca and took the 2pm bus from Terminal Merced to Termas de Chillán. Arrived at 4:30pm and was the last one in the bus. Had to walk 1.5km on the road to reach OH 02. The trail to Pass {08-02} [2.8/2371] was easy, but very steep. No fun, i was stressed a lot because of time pressure, had only 3 hours of daylight left. Hurried down through the incredible Valle Aguas Calientes - what a pity! First hot spring was already occupied with tents. Could have camped near a hot river, but maybe not easy to reach the hot river in the dark. Therefore i continued until Camp {08} [40.4/2150]. Don't recommend this place, the evening and night was super windy, although it was less windy at the pass! Didn't dare to leave the tent to take a bath and didn't fall asleep before 3am.

Day 2: Prepared everything and took a bath in the morning. So good!! RR was wet and sometimes not visible in the valley. Improved soon. Ford {08} [47.4/1390] was below knee and fast flowing. Ford {08} [48.4/1334] was mid tigh (i'm 1.73) and fast flowing. At Puesto {08} [49.6/1423] i saw 2 simple huts: one was locked. Ford {08} [50.5/1305] was possible dry feet. Ford {08} [64.1/1164] was also possible dry feet. Went to Camping Los Peucos and met 2 guys from Conaf. They told me the Camping is now officially closed due to problems with administration. Arrived late and was allowed to stay, very nice gardaparques. I hope they reopen soon, this place is awesome.

Day 3: Short day due to weather forcast: 35l rain and 80km/h winds in the evening and night. All 4 fords at the MR were easy and low, but Ford {08} [71.3/1089] was very long. At least 5 apple trees at OH E! Sendero Los Ratones is nice, but some fallen trees. Searched for a camspot near the pass in the lenga forest. Stayed here on a not really flat place:
-37.128033, -71.3195. Indeed tons of rain after 8pm.

Day 4: Started late at 10am, when rain stopped. Again some fallen trees. Soon i found better and bigger places to camp in the forest, the altitude-lines didn't let me expect this. No more dust! Trail until Laguna Roble was nice and beautiful. Below Laguna Roble i found a rabbit caught in a wire loop. I freed the poor animal, 100m further i saw a dead rabbit in another wire loop. Both campspots at Laguna Roble are nice and well protected in case if bad weather.
Was lucky to climb to Pass {08} [100.6/2035] (El Encanto) on a cool day. Great views from the ridge! Also nice trail. After X {08} [105.4/1934] 200m CC. Camp {08} [106.6/1938] isn't flat. Followed the wrong trail and continued CC at the same altitude until i reached the RR again. Took OH G to get to Laguna Hermosa. Easy CC. Didn’t like the camp at the beach, not good in case of unstable weather. Stayed here: -37.27434, -71.383359 a bit further up. 100m below there is a well sheltered spot between bushes. Started snowing after i pitched the tent. Very cold night.

Day 5: Sunny day, but cold and some snow at the mountains. The following km at the ridge were a bit difficult due to snow and ice. Snow covered the trail and made it difficult to follow. Fortunately i saw animal footprints - wild animals appriciate our trails! Took OH H, there is a nice trail. The beginning of the descent was very steep and still frozen. Improved in the forest. Met two Arrieros with horses and 4 aggressive dogs. Wanted to sneak around Puesto {08} [120.6/1513] to avoid right-of-way issue. First try was a fail - the vegetation was way too dense. Here -37.347131, -71.391773 i could follow an animal trail, which leads to a big meadow. Hiked on the meadow to the MR. Only downside: i was visible from the house, nothing happened. I guess: it's possible to sneak in NoBo when walking early or late when it's dark. Nice trail near Estero El Toro. Walked on the PR and got a very friendly hitch with a chilean couple to Los Ángeles.

*''' 2025-03-14 to 2025-03-16 /3 days / HIKING/ NOBO / OH 02 + RR /Chloe and Mathieu

We tried to to take the OH06 to avoid the right of way issue but when you go Nobo you have to go through the hydroelectrical central. For that you have to go there with one of the landowner located after the central. So we followed the advice of Robin and Manon and contacted Engelbert Egger (+56992392826). He's very Kind but he wasn't in Abanico at this time so he gave us the number of an other man wo has a puesto after the central. He wasn't available as well so we decided to start from Termas de Chillan to avoid this part.

Day 1 : we started from Termas de Chillan and took the OH 02. We went up to the pass, easy trail. We went down to the agua caliente valley, very beautifull and almost all rivers are hot. There is one amazing just after the camp [37.3/2157] where you can bath.
We slept at camp 40.3 where the hot spring is so nice as well.

Day 2: we went up to the pass 39.1 quite sandy but the ascent is short. When we went down we lost the RR because we followed a more obvious trace so keep looking at the GPS. We
reached RR again and followed the route until pass 33.2. Then we went down to the valley of estero Quebrado. At camp 29.5 we lost the track and ended in bamboo fight, so stay to the right side of the estero and it will be fine.
We reached Rio Ñuble and crossed it preatty easily at the exact point on Locus because rivers are lower at this time of the year. We camped here S 36° 48.882', W 071° 15.278' but the camp 20.3 is fine also. The other places are protected by fences and big signs are saying that camping is prohibited.
Day 3: we walked all the way to Puente Engles and found a lift to go to San Fabian de Alico. We slept at the Jahuel camping (15min from center and 8000p/p) nice restaurant : Zambie I Canuta.
Took the bus next morning at 6:20AM to Chillan.

*'''2025-02-23 to 2025-03-02 / 8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Eric and Jakob'''

Route:
We sticked to the main route the whole time. !!!We had problems at the end of the main Route. Its best to use Option 6 (Rayenco) to avoid right of ways issue.!!!

Travel:
At this section our trip ended that’s why we hitchhiked to Antuco and even though it was Sunday we were able to buy a ticket for a nightbus directly from Antuco to Santiago. The bus left at 22:15 and arrived at 05:30 the following day costing the two of us 54 euros.

Permissions:
In the beginning is a gate a little bit before the marked gate at kilometre 22.8. The gate has signes on it stating that everything is private property and nobody is allowed to enter. The land is owned by a really nice man called Juan. His phone number is +56973133339. He is carrying his phone all the time so just give him a call before entering. He was really friendly to us and gave us immediate permission to cross his territory.
When entering Parque Nacional Laguna del Laja don’t worry about getting a permission to continue hiking. We went to the Park Ranger at km 63.9 and he told us that no permission is needed to cross the national park.
!!!The landowner at km 120.6 doesn’t let any hiker pass! No matter whether hiking SOBO or NOBO. There is also no way to get a permission. That’s why we highly recommend taking the Option 6 (Rayenco) to avoid these problems. He is a really straightforward person who makes you turn around no matter of how much water or food you still have left.!!!
 Resupply:
No shops on the whole trail.

Attractiveness: 4-5/5
Difficulty: 4/5

*'''GPT 08 / 2025-02-13 to 2025-02-07/ 7 days / NOBO / Mara & Tobias*'''

short: Avoided the right of way conflict at Puesto {08} [121.6/1513] by taking the ridge (difficulty 6). Water {08} [107.7/1951] is almost dried out. Aggressive cows in the valley close to Camp {08} [89.4/1449].

Day 1: startet at Gate {08} [126.2/1339] at 12:30 and met Enrico there, who told us to not pass. After chatting a bit with him he told us to wait 20 minutes, until he left with the car and go for the ridge. So we entered after a while, went up the road and found water at -37.35773, -71.38068. From the satellite images variant A (photo) looked ok, but in real live seemed to be a bad idea. So we went for variant B, which took us 3 hours. Very steep, loose rocks, one part with climbing (difficulty 2). With the food for 7 days in the backpack not a joy 😂. While we were climbing up, we saw 3 cars passing the road. So be aware when you sneak in. Camped at laguna los Cóndores. Perfect Spot!

Day 2: walked to Camp {08} [107.6/1938]. The marked spot should be shifted up to 37.24611 -71.39138 the shoulder right before (NOBO). Met Adrian, Julian and Valentin there who camped SOBO and camped beside us. Had nice conversations. Adrian warned us about the aggressive cows next day.

Day 3: Went to Camp {08} [88.1/1514] and met Clara on the way. Cows close to Camp {08} [89.4/1449] showed an aggressive behaviour. Maybe it was the herd who were hunting the boys the day before. We had to do a 20 minutes detour up the valley to keep distance.

Day 4: Went to camping Los Peucos and enjoyed the hot water.

Day 5-7: walked to Puente Inglés without difficulties. Crossed Río Nuble with dry feet on horseback’s. 2 Arrieros (Guillermo and Renato) took us on the other side. Water was not deep either.

*'''10Fev2025 - 17fec2025 / hiking SOBO / RR - OH1+new - varE - G - H - I - J / 7.5 days (with one half day at termas) / Clara'''

Left the bus to Puente El Ingles here -36,67295, -71,29201 before los sauces (as Tomáš and Natalie said), easy road to the river and dry feet crossing.
Lots of workers there, I was luckey to get a ride to El Roble after few hot MR walking km.
Carabineros are nice, just want you to register and check out you have a good gps + satellite.

Fords :
- Rio ñuble: at 10am deep and flowing fast, I didn't feel it (1.57m, alone and i'm not used to fords). I knew it would probably be like this so I took OH1 and went back RR (thanks a lot Peggy and Dorota!!). Ford at the indicated place on OH1 is easy, water to knee flowing slow at noon.

-Rio diguillin : 47.4 was easy (fast flowing but around knee). 48.4 harder (water to crotch, flowing fast), I did it few meters upper to tracks (exactly here : -36,93565, -71,40355)

Navigation :

- to avoid ford of rio ñuble : OH1 is easy with 2 nice camp spots (-36,85676, -71,22440 and -36,86615, -71,21507) and lot of streams flowing. Trail in the other direction is mainly in good conditions but sometimes disappear + cow paths make you going in bushes and loosing time (so if it can helps, this is 4 positions that I marked with my gps when I went back on the good trail just after loosing myself :
S36.852906° O071.228763° /
S36.850995° O071.230381° /
S36.844944° O071.235431° /
S36.839085° O071.245746°)

Maybe (probably), there are other easy spots earlier to ford Rio ñuble and take the trail at the opposite side, especially when it gets close to the river, but I didn't explore it at all.
And back on the other side of Rio ñuble... 3h30 later !! But I was very happy with it as it worked and was very easy.

-I found not so much bamboo fight, maybe it have been cleared by all the people passing. I avoided one taking the good trail on the other side of the river around camp 29.5. 2 additional fords but very easy. (Cross river here S36.856564° O071.75578°, and then here S36.858440° O071.279470° to go back on RR)

- CC part on the ridge after km113 is more demanding in terms of navigation and terrain. Some cairns helping (but once leed me in wrong and exposed direction). I ended up on varH without noticing but it felt good as there was less wind than directly on the ridge and a good trail.

- I had still lot's of food so I took the ridge slow and went for the lakes (thank's to Sergio advise, and food!). Var G for laguna hermosa is easy CC, 20 min down. The lake is a beautiful ++ spot to camp (or lunch/swim), I found it way nicer than Laguna El Roble ! No water flowing upper to the lake at this time but water from the lake is perfectly clear and fresh.
Var I looked nicer than RR for this steep going down.
Then var J : good trails to go to laguna El Toro and to the viewpoint of laguna los condores. Not sure if you really can go down at this one and didn't look like there is place to camp.

Camp :

- Planned to camp at Camp 20.3 but the place was not nice and no water so went to next spot not marked here -36,81470, -71,25463. (Camp 21.6 is not good too, there is a fence and private property)

- -36,85684, -71,27580. A bit before camp 29.5.

- termas 40 : very nice spot. Incredible termas !!

- camping Los Peucos : nothing to add about termas and camping. Sergio is amazing and very generous. The day after he had to do some stuff with trashes and he proposed me to come with him by car. He took me to the viewpoint of salto del blanquillo on OH3 that was nice and then left me around beginig of VarE

- camp 87.1 : nice fresh water flowing just down to the spot.

- camp 102.3 : there is actually a thin water just down, sufficient to cook and drink. The spot has an amazing view. Flat spot perfect for tent exactly here -37,21391, -71,37187. Not totally wind protected so better watch before how it's gonna be for the night !

- laguna El Toro : is not as perfect as laguna hermosa (and water is not as fresh and clear, maybe better to take water from the little stream on the path going down to the lake) but it's still a nice place to camp. Frozed in the night.

Water : 27.5 is not really good (more muddy and stagnant water). Other markers are good.

No snow.

Right of way issues :
- at puesto 120 : 5 very agressive dogs running and barking on me when I arrived. As others, the guy told me it's a private property and doesn't let people go since this season (because of trashes and fires). He was not angry and had to let me pass in this way but precise me that he won't let anyone in the opposite. Need to find an alternative way if you really want to go NOBO here, and don't approch the puesto.

- cows around km88 where not aggressive with me but not friendly type neither.

I can advise camping parque Antuco. Nice and calm place with shade and swimming pool. Homemade empanadas. Camp10k with electricity and perfect hot showers. Bernabe the owner is really nice and know about the GPT. Had really good talks with him !

* '''2025-JAN-29 to 2025-Feb-2 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 1 / Elijah & Michael

Rio Nuble remains a challenging crossing with water coming waist high at 174 cm. Trail is overgrown with Bamboo Grass up to the second pass, however improves thereafter.

Both the undeveloped termas after the second pass, as well as Los Peucos are highly recommended. Camping & rustic cabanas available at Los Puecos; as noted, Sergio is warm, welcoming, and generous with his available supplies.

El Puesto {08} [120.6/1513] informed us that we were trespassing on private property and allowed us to pass on the stipulation that we never return.

Antuco Base Camp sells hot coffee, cookies, chocolate, and at lunch, pizza. Light traffic on road to Antuco (Sunday).

(Option 1: Michael split from RR to hike this option. Second marked puesto busy & welcoming. No water available after basin before ridge walk, until Laguna el Lobo. Good views, comparable to Traversia Polcura.)

'''2024-01-16 to 2014-01-26 / 1day+10days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+OH 1+new trail / Dorota+Peggy till los Puecos, after that Dorota'''

Very demanding stage because of Rio Nuble

1Day: I walked alone and have idea to cross the river Nuble at km 22.0 km (-36.82021, -71.25381) at first gate. Then followed river, and after puesto I found trail. My idea was destroyed for next river and also on the other side I did not see possibility to continúe. So I backtrack to camping El Ingles and joined Peggy.

Day2: We could not crossed safely Nuble. Night at km 21.6

Day3: We continued option 08-01. It was possiblity of storm so we went to puesto (08-01)[8.0/1136]. We spent here night and learned how to made sopapillas and bread. Patricia y Juan gave us a lot of food. Juan explain us that exist path on other side of river (reffering to option1) which leads to termas.

Day4: We risked to follow his innstruction and we reached the track RR. So if you would like to do this option: take variant 01, cross the river Nuble at about km 6.5 (-36.86712,-71.21317). And then not followed option 1. Instead turn right and followed path on the other side. You need to make some adicional kilometers, but it was worth of it.

Day5: we reached termas. There was nice spot with two places for tent.(-36.90435, -71.35763)

Day6: volcano Chillan using variant Natalie-Tomas. Till 2500 m nice visible path. Then sometimies. There were snowfields, only one with spikes. We met pair from Germany.

Day7: We spend a lot of time for find good place for passing river Daulagin. We have crossed 100 m down stream. I have 1.64 cm, peggy 1.60 cm. Cuarrent very strong, water to hips. I reached camping los Puecos.

Day7: Rest day at Puecos. Night at "quincho" house with place for fire. Price 15.000 clp. Ranger Sergio gave us a lot of food, breakfast and dinner. Also gas and food. He didnot like money adicional. Hot springs excepcional.

Day9: I followed trail alone. Between 82.9 and 84.2 a lot tress and sometimes trail is not visible. Night at km 88.4.

Day 10: views from the ridge were amazing. Between km 110.2 and 113.1 the trail very often is not visible. I camped at km 111. Water from snow.

Day11: There were not water till km 117. Meeting with Rodrigo at his puesto were not so bad. At the beginnig I started to apologize that I am on his territory. Night at camping Antuco in luxury cabana for 4 personas. Price 30000 clp. Owner in the evening took me to Abanico to restaurant and buying some food. Very nice place.

'''2025-Jan-20 to 2025-Jan-27 / 7 days + 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR from thermas de Chillán, Option 08-D + volcano Chillán / Chris & Julia
'''

Tldr: Final ridge is difficult (navigation & terrain), we had insane winds. Water [118.3/1733] is campable. All fords managable (2 pers, one 181cm), one a bit tricky to navigate. Option 08-D preferable. Dont miss out on Los Peucos!

Skipped due to Rio Nubles to valles de agua caliente.
Climbing volcan Chillán was a nightmare made from ashes and loose rocks. Saw condors from maybe 5m away and got blessed with amazing views. it took us in total approx. 7hrs. Many snowfields to cross and no real path, its just... very very steep.
Valle de agua caliente was very nice, but also crowded. The water is not particularly hot, but relaxing & nice during daytime. The first river that needs to be crossed to join the RR was pretty hot (almost burned my foot when crossing). We were a bit bummed, we didnt try to find a bathing spot there, away from the people and with some steam ;)
Fording Rio Diguilli approx hip high and medium current, second crossing was easier than first but hard to navigate. At the marked location is a good spot, just hard to get there as the path was swept away. We followed horse tracks, last 20m pushed through bushes, climbed down and then traced the river approx. 20-40m upstream to the marked fording and crossed there.
Los Peucos is a heaven, no shop though, so plan supplies accordingly! If lucky and he had a recent resupply run, he might sell you some food, but its not certain. Sergio is super nice & welcoming, hot pools are suuuuper relaxing! Wifi available. 15kCLP pp.
We took Option 08-D (some CC that Sergio (Los Peucos) recommended) to only cross Rio Polcura once. We crossed approx 200m downstream of the marked location where it was more narrow, less current but a bit deeper. We did this because it was easier to judge whats coming and it was belly high, but due to little current very managable. Rather a nice cool dip. We saw horse tracks exiting the trail a bit earlier to the left than the Option 08-D. Arrieros know best, i suspect this might be their trail, worth checking out!
As others mentioned before, we also took the road and not the RR parallel to the river. We saw arrieros use it on horses, but with backpacks its hard and not enjoyable.
Camp [97.8/1456] at Laguna el Roble was a dream spot. The ascend after was a dream too, 2hrs, amazing views.
Final ridge approx from the salida de emergencia ongoing was hard to navigate, challenging terrain, insane winds! Took longer than expected!
Camp [106.6/1938] looked not flat but okay, but water supply rather trickling than flowing.
We camped at not-marked location very close to Water [118.3/1733] (when the path gets muddy, after crossing the little flow from the left, little ascend and then to the right is a nice flat spot between fallen trees). The water is actually a source and had wonderful cold & fresh water flowing.

In Antuco we found through asking a shop owner a little room, hosted by nice lady Sara: 3 beds, power outlets, wifi (fast), shower (warm-ish), watercooker, microwave, clean, central (near bigmarket) for 40.000CLP per night for it all. Her Whatsapp: +56 9 8503 8261
No kitchen though.

Wonderful and diverse section! Loved every bit of it!

'''2024-Jan-02 to 2024-Jan-12 / 3 days+8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, backtrack from Rio Nubles, OH02, OH02A / Nimrod & Tamar
'''
In short - we didn't cross Rio nubles and backtracked to opt 02.
Great hot springs
An angry guy at puesto [120.6/1513]

Trail from Puente Ingles is an MR. There is a lot of worker traffic and it's easy to hitchhike.
At Camp [21.6/873] there is a fence and it's currently impossible to camp there. At the same spot there is a cable bridge. We climbed the fence and tried to cross, but the cart was on the other side of the river and we didn't see anybody.

We camped near Rio Nubles ford waypoint in order to try it early in the morning.
The current was too strong and we didn't maage to cross the river (we are 170 cm)
We decided to go upstream using option 10, cross the river, and try to go back to RR on the other side.
We crossed the river at (-36.86714, -71.21322) and started hiking south.
It was hard BB and we hiked about 1.5 km in 4 hours.
We saw the river got wide so we decided to cross it again, stop suffering, backtrack and take a bus to thermas de chillan.

We took a bus from Chillan to Termas de Chillan at 13:30 on Sunday. We walked about 1 km on the paved road and climbed to the first hot springs. There was a small not so warm pool.

2nd day - we climbed to Volcan Chillan. There was some snow but it was easy without spikes.
Slept in the amazing Valle de Agua Caliente and enjoyed a hot bath in the hot river at night.

3rd day - We planned to get to Los Peucos but decided to spend more time in the hot springs valley and started hiking at noon. The ford in [48.4/1334] was quite hard. At afternoon the water reached our belly button, current was strong, rock at bottom slippery.
We camped near ford [50.5/1305]. There was a fir pit.

4th day - we hiked to Los Peucos. Sergio the ranger accepted selling us some food (flour, eggs, cheese, pasta, tuna, pastrami). Payed 15,000 clp each for food+hot spring+camp. The hot springs were amazing! The best so far for us. You get to fill your own pool before going in so it's clean and warm! There's wifi and a place to charge as well.

5th day - we camped at (-37.10491, -71.31605) no water. Saw puma foot prints the next morning, and a research camera a little before camp.

6th day - saw Laguna de laja and volcan Antuco from afar for the first time. camped near Laguna De Roble, swem and rested in the afternoon. Beautiful place! A lot of ducks.

7th day - the path was clear most of the time and the view really nice.
We camped at (-37.178223,-71.235131) - beautiful place with a view to volcan Antuco, water from melted snow.

8th day - watch out as going down the trail to the last valley- it looks innocent, but is actually quite steep and dirt is slippery, and land is hard and painful to fall on. Had some nasty falls on our butts!
At puesto [120.6/1513] a guy named Ricardo was angry at us for entering his private property, but had no choice but let us continue down.We think he might not let NOBO hikers go up the valley.
Finally we hitchhiked to Antuco. There was a lot of traffic on Sunday.

'''2024-Dec-21 to 2024-Dec-26 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR, variant E, Option 2 / Sean & Neele
'''

At the park entrance on the road they asked where we were going, once we explained we were going north to termas de chillan they asked to see the route. Wasn't a problem they just seemed curious, let us in without paying.

Puesto 120km - lots of people camping in this area on a Friday.

117km to 107km - snow present. It's manageable but slowed our progress. Around 113km is the worst of it. North of 107km some very small patches but nothing difficult.

Camp 106.6km - very wet at the moment there's a better option about 500m sobo.

Camp without water 102.3 - currently has plenty of water.

Camped at camp 87.1km - lots of horseflies

Ford 71.3km - easy at 4pm

Ford 66.4, 64.1 and 63.7km - also easy

Camping Los Puecos 63.9km - great spot hot spring was a bit too hot for us. Host was a legend; he brought us breakfast on Christmas.

Ford 48.4km - Very strong. Crossed around 5:30pm hip deep for Neele (1.61m). We took our time finding a suitable place to cross and ended up about 250m upstream from RR.

Camped at Ford 47.4km eastern side downstream there's a great camp spot with a fire ring.

Hot spring 40.4km is really amazing

We took option 2 to Termas de Chillan to avoid Rio Nuble. Some snow but really not a problem.

* ''' 2024-DEC-18 > 20 / 3 jours / Randonnée / SOBO / frontiere argentine(voir GPT07) > RR > frontiere argentine > RR / Pierre-Marie '''

Etape : GPT07+GPT08
| Meteo : soleil
| Eau : facile
| Neige : beaucoup
| Intérêt : 5/5
| Difficulté : 4/5
| Danger : passage de rivière difficile, foret d'arbres morts, neige sur pente raide.

Le passage du Rio Nuble n'est pas facile, meme le matin. La fin du sentier avant la grande montee est vraiment difficile a suivre car peu empruntée et milieu humide avec beaucoup de vegetation. En revanche la montée est parfaitement entretenue.
La crete est un vrai plaisir, mais elle est exigente physiquement et il n'y a pas d'eau ni de sentier. Les parties sableuses sont difficile car il y a des trous sous le sable. Pour la descente vers le Rio Polcura, il suffit de suivre le sentier. La riviere est facile a passer.
Ensuite la premiere partie vers le lac est en mauvais etat meme si le chemin est bien visible. La foret est morte alors attention aux chutes de branches. La derniere crete est tres belle, mais il y a beaucoup de neige dans des endroits tres raide. Impossible a faire si la neige est glacée. La derniere descente est propre mais il y a beaucoup de moustiques dans le grand pré. La fin du dernier jour s'est faite sous un ciel menaçant, je me suis depeché de descendre pour retrouver de la chaleur et des endroits plats en cas de pluie. J'ai rejoint Los Angeles le lendemain avec 4km de marche, 5km en stop, puis en bus depuis Abanico par le bus de 8h45.
DEC-21 : Repos Los Angeles.

* ''' 2024-DEC-13 to 2024-DEC-17 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH (var. E, 06, 06B) / Ivan, Jakub, Daniel '''

This stage is full of incredible diversity, encompassing almost everything. Epic views, challenging terrain, walking on snow, beautiful wild forests, the majestic Chillán volcano, hardened lava flows, hot springs, arrieros, a ridge trail, and, so far, the most challenging ford we’ve encountered here (see below).

We got back to the trail by hitchhiking from San Fabián in the early morning. The following section [km 2.8 to approx. 21.9] is not a trail as described in the track files, but rather a solid MR that is being worked on by laborers. The settlement at El Roble [12.7/758] is actually a police station where we checked in and provided our contact details.

The ford [23.7/950] across the Ñuble River is the biggest challenge of this section. We first attempted it in a line of three, but our tallest member, Daniel (198 cm), who was first, found the water almost up to his chest and the strong current was beginning to pull us in. We turned back. It wasn’t safe to cross. Eventually, we found a rock 100 meters upstream where the water was deeper but the riverbed was narrower. With a run-up, we jumped one by one as far as we could, and on three steps, we made it to the opposite bank. We sent our backpacks across the riverbed using a rope and carabiner.

The ascent to the saddle of the Chillán volcano is a beautiful hike, and the extensive and geologically fresh lava flow at the Trailhead [34.6/1873] is definitely worth mentioning. The crossing point is unmarked at about [35.1/1852]. Above 2150 m, everything was completely covered with snow. Spikes came in handy.

The descent to the Río Diguillín valley was okay, and we camped near the ford [48.4/1334], which is also a nice spot for a bivouac. We crossed the mentioned ford in the morning, and the water reached my waist at a height of 178 cm. It’s worth noting that the marked ford [50.5/1305] could be crossed with dry feet. The trail towards Termas los Peucos [63.9/1191] is a relatively well-defined path trodden by local arrieros. At the hot springs, which cost 7000 CLP per person, there is also a camping, but we continued further along the MR. At about [75.0/1160], we originally turned down the RR, but due to the challenging BB, we reversed our decision and continued along the MR to variant E.

From the Trailhead [80.5/1248], there is a pleasant path leading to the beautiful Laguna Laja. We camped at Camp [98.3/1459] by Laguna El Roble, where you need to slightly clear some bushes, but there is a nice spot for three tents and a fire pit. The ascent to the Pass [100.6/2035] (El Encanto) is quite pleasant due to its zigzagging path. There, we were captivated by the literally breathtaking view of the Antuco Volcano and Sierra Velluda. Unfortunately, due to an injury to one of our members' arches, we had to skip part of the ridge and finish the section using variants 06 + 06B. We deviated from the RR at point X [105.4/1934] and at Bus point {08-06B} [2.9/734], we hitchhiked to Los Angeles.

* ''' (2024/Dez/01-2024/Dec/07) 7Days/ Hiking and Packrafting/ SOBO/ RR / Lukas, Basil and Tabea '''

Entry point st puente el Ingles. The street to el Roble is beeing newly built and very easy to walk ou but also boring. The crossing of rii nuble was only manageble with packrafts, the river crossing ob foot is not possible at the moment. The mountain Pass at 39.1 km was duable but there was still a lot of snow from ca. 36.2 to ca. Ford 47.4. The hot springs were worth all the effort! The crossing at 50.5km was at the limit (for a person 170cm, over belly button). It was only possible in a line, manageble but not recommended.
Hot springs at camp 63.9 km are great. Ranger station has all the necessary commodoities, we spent an extra day there. From there on the road was well maintained until the laguna de la laja.
Packrafting before 3pm was very hard and slow due to SO wind, in the afternoon the west-wind made progress possible. Water levels are unusually high at the moment. As we were tired cold we hitch hiked with a fisher boat to the end of the lake afer ca. 14 km paddeling. exit over highway next to national park laguna del laja.

==Season 2023/24==
* '''24-11-29- 24-12-4/ 6 days / SOBO, OH02, RR, OH08F, RR, OH06/ Volker'''

A great spring hike, but not an easy one!
To avoid Rio Nubles so early in the season I took OH02 (bus from Chillan, rural station, to Valle las Trancas at 10.10 a.m. (2 buses each day go to Termas de Chillan, schedule:
https://busesrembus.cl/en/services.php)
and walked/hitchhiked the last kilometers to Termas. Started around 14:30. The snow began immediately after the hot spring at 4.8. I walked CC on the nearly untouched white coverage to the pass. The valley was almost completely under snow with some green patches. Rio Diguillin (no ford indicated): why keep feet dry, why keep anything dry? It‘s a stream at about 38 C with many whirlpools. I stayed over an hour there and camped not far: 10qm for a tent inmidst all the snow on a warm spring evening. The night and the following morning: quite cold. It was a good decision to add some 800g to my base-weight for a warm layer and gloves.

Day 2: Got up at 6.a.m and climbed with a mini-backpack CC on Volcan Chillan Viejo, at 9 a.m. on the summit, great view! In the afternoon I walked NOBO to the hot spring at 40.3 on RR. Back at the tent, it started to rain, mixed with snow.

Day 3: Started late, waiting for the weather to improve. To avoid the NOBO detour to the RR I climbed CC to join it. This was easy, the problems began on the RR. The whole trail was under snow, I had to permanently use my device to find the point of reentry into overgrown area after steep snowfields. Later less snow, but now many broken trees and branches blocked the way. No major problem, but I advanced slowly. First ford at 47.7: difficult. Second ford at 48.4: very difficult! That was no fun, strong stream over my thighs, I could dare it only, because I found a spot, where two rocks are quite close, so I had to stand the stream only for a second, before I could cramp to the next rock. The OSM here is not correct, perhaps the river has a new bed. After the puesto the trail was cleaned up/bypassing broken trees easier. I finally moved quicker. Camp at 57.0.
Day 4: Difficulties continued. Very cold in the morning, wet socks and shoes frozen; 5 fords, that are not indicated, all no major problem, but none with dry feet. The swamp before the puesto at 61.7 is bigger now (in spring?), several hundred meters of the trail under water. Again more fords than indicated, all easy, but one: water (flowing slowly) to my belly (1,97m!). The water reached to the lower part of the backpack. Didn‘t see anyone at the Los Peucos camp site. At the ford at 71.3 the water was neither very high nor very strong, but more than 100m to go the other bank! The following MR very welcome, finally allowed to move quicker. Camp on RR at around 77.5 directly on the trail.

Day 5: I took OH08F and walked the 28,6 km MR. Met several arrieros (very friendly!) and at the Embalse Vega Larga two fishermen, father and son, who „sold“ me (they didn‘t want to take
money, I insisted) two fishes, they had just grilled over a fire. Ford at the end of the MR to get back to RR: difficult. The Laguna Laja has more water than on OSM, at the spot, where the ford is indicated, one could swim to the other side, but the backpack… Camp at Laguna Laja with an extraordinary view on the mountains in the south.
Day 6: RR, trail first hardly visible, very good after the lake. On the ridge very windy, a lot of snow - but great view. On the way down the weather seemed to turn, so at 105.4 I took OH 06. The weather kept good, but nonetheless a good decision. When you are down in the valley, the trail and then the MR lead through a wonderful forest. Great spots to camp along the MR after the puesto (gate) but 100 before the Enel substation.
Day 7: Clouds at around 900 hm, good to be down in the valley. On a hot summer day, it’s probably very annoying to walk 15 km on a dusty MR - on a cool morning in spring, it was the opposite, and shortened by half, as an Enel worker gave me a ride to the exit of the hydropower area; from there 30min to the PR, then hitchhiked to Antuco for resupply and walked back into the direction of Abanico, as I found a nice cabana in Peluca (Villa Peluca, +56 9 8920 5676). 15 min. after my arrival heavy rain and storm for several hours.

*'''2024-04-12 to 2024-04-15 / 3 Days / Hiking SOBO) / RR / Alex + Andrey'''
Option from Termas de Chillan
My favorite section for autumn and a perfect weekend escape from the big city.
Difficulty: Moderate
It’s not hot and there’s almost no dust after a little rain.
The foliage of the trees turns into autumn colors!
Fords are simple.
Although Ford (easy) {08} [48.4/1334] has unusually more water for mid-April, photo attached in FB post.
Thanks to Matthias de Austria for clearing access to the stream at the west shore of Laguna Robles. It is a whole year source of fresh water before the ridge.
The Lagunillas Camping now is https://www.parqueantuco.cl/

* '''2024-03-24 to 2024-03-28 // 4,5 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + VARIANT E + VARIANT D // Quentin Clavel'''

After few days off at Los Angeles, I took the bus to Abanico then hitchhike until the junction between the trail and the road. I had to pay at the park ranger gate the 5K CLP for the entrance of the park (online reservation only, impossible to pay cash, and there's hardly mobile service up there, so prepare yourself by advance ☺️).

Then, you go straight up, and have stunning views over volcan Antuco and siella velluda. I had to check my GPS few times on this first part, and to change my trajectoire to stay on the RR and don't miss trailheads.

I slept at Laguna lágrima. I don't know if it comes from the water here, but I had stomach issues the following days ...

Views on this first part were absolutely wonderful !

The thermals of Los Peucos are just amazing ! Worth the stop, clean, well maintened, and with perfect temperature of water ! Sergio was so kind, he even invited me to lunch with him, that was a very nice break in this day !

Some swampy parts after the Puesto {08} [61.7/1298].

The hike up to the plateau (KM42) was physical, but it results to stunning views over the volcan chillan, and all the wonderful surroundings! There were hundreds of cows on that plateau and it was quite swampy, at the end you reach a super nice camp with incredible thermals ! Best hot springs of the GPT so far for me !

Continue to the pass and arrive in the volcanic plateau, very great too. I was too amazed by the landscape that I lost myself ! I was following a pretty clear track and missed to go on the right of the valley. I had hard time to join the RR as I tried to shortcut, but it was very demanding, sleepy and with losing rocks. Would have been better to backtrack at the junction and find again the RR, anyway...

After a way down where there's just a little overgrown part (for no more than 300m) I reached the terrible Rio Ñuble, that was (I was fortunate) easy to pass for me, at this time of the season, even with quite strong current.

From then I only met amazing people, up for a chat and full of an absolute kindness ! Carabineros first, locals, and Sandra at the microshop in puente el inglés (that was my only option for ressuply (chips, biscuits, fresh drinks, pastas) but at the middle of nothing I was happy about that !)).

* '''2024-03-18 to 2024-03-23 / 5.5 days / SOBO / RR,E,RR,H,RR/ Marilyne'''

Day 1 - Took the bus from rural terminal in Chillán at 8am to Termas de Chillán. After option 2, I walked NOBO on the RR to the nice hot springs at 40.3, spent the day there and camped at 40.4.

Day 2- Walked the dusty trail to Camping Los Peucos. Ford at 48.4: crossed about 400 meters upstream of the waypoint for the ford. The main flow is quite strong, so I looked for a spot where it was slightly more diverted. Got to camping Los Peucos and got offered a cabin with electricity for the same price as camping as heavy rain was forecasted for the next day (10k/night). Used the wifi which is pretty good around the ranger’s cabin. Hung out in the hot springs being chatted up by a 80-yo man who didn’t seem to care whether I understood all of what he said or not.

Day 3 - 45mm rain - Rest day. The nicest campground attendant, Sergio, let me hang out in his cabin by the fire all day.

Day 4 - Walked mostly on RR but using variant E on the road as the RR trail is overgrown and the trees were soaking wet after yesterday’s downpour. Met two people in a truck that worked for the pipeline that is along that road. Didn’t see anyone else. Camped at Laguna Laja.

Day 5 - Followed the RR except for variant H. Camped at the edge of the forest before the camp waypoint 119.7/1520, didn’t find ants to be problematic. Met a group of 5 young hikers going to Laguna Los Condores right before camp.

Day 6 - Hiked RR and GPT09 option 1A to Salto de las Chicas. Got a ride quickly to Antuco, where I went to the nice supermarket and took a room in town.

* '''2024-03-11 to 2024-03-16 / 5.5 days / SOBO / OH2, RR, Variant C, RR, G, RR / Tobi & Fangwen'''

Bus to Thermas de Chillan departs 12:30 from Rural bus station in Chillan arrives around 5pm

Hot springs @ KM40.3 indeed one of the best on the GPT - nice mix of hot waterfall and cold spring in one pool. Campsite there is not sheltered from wind, and a fair bit of trash left behind. Definitely worth the small detour from Thermas de Chillan

Baños de Peucos are great for a half rest day, Sergio (caretaker) is the nicest and most welcoming host.

At Laguna El Roble, the better campsite is on the western shore - there is one flowing water source along the edge of the forest a bit north of the campsite (lake gets a bit gross end of season).

Between El Roble and Hermosa, there is cellular reception when on the western side of the ridge (Movistar).

Laguna Hermosa is nice, there is one flat and South wind sheltered campsite behind the bushes on the north side of the lake. It's nice to walk around the lake, some easy scrambling. Do expect power lines overhead.

The two hot springs, and the last ridge hike were definitely the highlights of this GPT section.

The bus leaving Albanico for Las Angeles goes at between 5-6pm -ish

Rest very straightforward, and as described below (dusty, dead horse).

* '''2024-Feb-25 to 2024-March-4 / 7.5 days / SOBO / RR B D/ Matthias de Austria'''

No snowfiels, almost no Tabanos, except in the forenoon (none in the evening) at Laguna El Roble, about 30 to 40 Tabanos in 3 hours, on 1st of March!
Mostly plenty of water, lots of unmarked streams. No water at 106.7 and at camp 119.7, dried up.

Lots of dirt roads and paths veeery dusty.

No camp at 106.6. Flat spot few hundred meters after at -37.24567,-71.39142. But no protection and no water.

Fordings: all very easy except Rio Nuble. Crossed Nuble at ford 23.7, did not scout. It was deeper then it looked and for a meter or so I (187cm, 100kg) had a little fighting with the current. It was the first somewhat serious ford in my life. Got my undies a bit washed. Forded Rio Diguillin at -36.93549, -71.40313, where I saw horsetracks on the ground. Water around kneedeep, for a half meter strong current, but I simply step over it. I marked this easy ford position with a vertical tree stump, might be there until the next storm or flooding. Ford 66.4 was possible dry foot a bit east, but go back to RR afterwards, the road on the map does not exist anymore and this area is a jungle.

At -36.94783,-71.41243 easy to miss junction.

Camps: 1st shortly after the bridge at puente el ingles in the sand. Nice swimming next to it, but no morning sun until noon. 2nd abou q00 to 200m upstream of ford 23.7 next to Rio Nuble. Nice bolders, big pool, but strong current and very cold. 3rd camp 36.2, meadows quite wet, limited protection, just a few bushes. Small cold pool 150m away at Rio Las Minas. 4th a few hundred meters before ford 47.4 on a small flat spot next to the path. Nice camp shortly northwest of trailhead 80.5. Big nice pool at Rio Polcura for swimming next to where option 1 fords. West side Camp at Laguna El Roble as east has shallow water. Stream next to camp dried up, I found a small one a bit further north along the shore. Had to clean up 2m of thick bushes for water access. Camp at Laguna Hermosa very windy, but just follow the black cable to the west for maybe 20m, then go 3m through the treebushes and you are in a little quit well wind protected clearing: -37.274802,-71.383647. Camp 119.7, but water dried up, and very dusty and limited protection, not a good camp. There are some meadows a few hundred m further around the puesto, also no water there in March.

Men cleaning up the RR path north of Los Peucos. Some workers at the camp, but the ranger is working on the trail. No ranger means no firewood for cooking, no wifi and the thermas are without water. So no point in staying there and I move a bit further camp on some dusty place next to the road with a bit clambering river access. Next morning first morning frost.

Hot spring 40.3 is absolutely amazing. Best one I saw on the GPT. Stayed there for hours naked and got a bit sunburned. The "smoking river" a few hundred meters further west is also worth seeing.

Lots of blackberries along RR Rio Los Sauces.

Hardly any paths around camp 29.5 for a few hundred meters, overgrown or landslided. Not a big problem, just slows you down.

Long boring road, but hitch until police station shortly after ford 12.2km. Police friendly, wants passport, detail plans and phone number in case of emergency.

Gate at -36.81995,-71.25333, entry forbidden sign. easy to climb.

RR after junction E is partly overgrown, but still walkable, just slows you down.

Combined Section 7 and 8, in total 17 days, with lots of bathing and sitting around. Run out of food the last few days and had to restrict to one portion per day, which made me even slower due to lack of energy. But it was totally worth it. Still have way too much body fat. Last ridge one of the most beautiful parts of the GPT, stunning views and diverse path.

Hitch ruta Q-45 to Antuco.

Work in progress

* '''2024-Feb-24 to 2024-Feb-28 / 4.5 days / SOBO / RR / Gabriele - Trails of Wander'''

Day 1 (0.5) - Termas de Chillan - near Camp 08 [42.3/2087]. Late start at around noon from OH-Tl-V 08-02 [2.6+3.3] (Thermas de Chillan Parking) after hitch-hiking from Las Trancas. Reached Las Trancas with RemBus from the Chillan Rural Bus Terminal La Merced. The Sendero Valle Aguas Calientes have been re-routed for a few 100s meters after the fumaroles and it stays higher than the original track. Easy to follow. Once in the Valle Aguas Calientes I continued to Hot Spring 08 [40.3/2173] NOBO which is really a must do on this section and then retraced back to a camping area about 200 m lower than Camp 08 [42.3/2087] that I thought was dryer, flatter and had good access to water.

Day 2 - Camp 08 [42.3/2087] Valle Aguas Calientes - Los Peucos CONAF Hot Spings Camping. I followed the RR for this day. The only note of relevance is that the ford of Rio Diguillin at [48.4/1334] is still hips high with strong current and need to be approached with trekking poles and cautiously. The critical part is only about 2 meters wide, but the current is strong. Water is not particularly cold.

Day 3 - Los Peucos CONAF Hot Spings Camping - camp on Laguna Del Laja shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614]. I was lucky to get a ride for 3-4 km right out of Los Peucos by a CONAF maintenance crew who was going to do some tree cleaning on a minor road down the valley. This route branched out from the RR MR and according to the crew it is shorter to get to the Camino Oleoducto road. The alternative route turns into a faint trail for the last km or so and it crosses Rio Polcura in a very easy and shallow spot with water always below knee and calm current. After the crossing it overlaps with OH-CC-a 08-D for the last km, then it meets RR MR shortly after the ford on the RR. This alt route is flat and easy and possibly shorter of about 1-2 km than RR. On Camino Oleoducto I was also able to hitch-hike for about another 3-4 km to reach the start of the Sendero Los Ratones RR-Tl-V 08[80.6]. Thanks to the rides I was able to reach Laguna Del Laja quicker than expected. I decided to camp on the lake shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614] rather than continuing to Laguna El Roble as the spot was scenic. There I met Hugo, the Arriero who stays at the Puesto nearby Laguna El Roble.

Day 4 - Camp on Laguna del Laja shore at [-37.12935, -71.18614] - Laguna Hermosa. I just followed the RR for this day with the exception of the short CC to Laguna Hermosa where I camped for the night.

Day 5 - Camp at Laguna Hermosa - Camping Lagunilla (10k CLP per day). Also followed RR for this final day. Camping Lagunilla is very good with hot showers and very nice camp sites. Unfortunately no more homemade empanadas, only bebidas from this week moving forward for the remaiming of the season. The following morning I easily hitch-hiked to Abanico where there are small stores and took the bus to Los Angeles at 1 pm.

Overall a good section with variety of landscapes and views particularly around Volcan Chillan / Aguas Calientes and along the traverse above Laguna Del Laja with great views of Volcan Antuco and the Sierra Velluda.

* '''2024-Feb-20 to 2024-Feb-27 / 8 days / Hiking / NOBO / El Abanaico - Puente El Inglés / RR + Option H + Option B / Alex & Christophe'''

It was a really nice section for us. The part we really loved was from Thermas de Chillan to Rio Nuble. It felt more wild and with less people. So even if you fear Rio Nuble, avoiding this part would be a mistake for us. We think that the edge between km 117.3 and 100.6 also really worth it but can't totally know as we were in the fog.

A lot has already been said but here is what seems important to us:

We started the section hitchhiking from Antuco with a easy and fast ride to El Abanico.

There is some apple trees in the valley near Ford {08} [71.3/1089] and apples were nearly ready to be eaten.

Los Peucos were a nice stop to relax but we weren't alone as a lot of the previous comment. 2 other parties (horse riders) were also camping the same night as us. The road is being improved so this will maybe become a bit more popular than the last 2 months. It was 10'000 CLP pp for us, with firewood and Internet. We didn't try to connect so we can't comment on the speed and quality.

Ford {08} [48.4/1334] (Rio Diguilin) wasn't that hard. Just follow the horse track as it's a good place to ford and there will only be 1m with some current. It's still deep but we ford it at 6pm without any trouble. The best thing with this ford is that the water is warm and you can try to ford it without your backpack a few times before you're sure of the place you like the more. All this without frozen toes ;)

Ford {08} [23.7/950] (Rio Nuble) was ok but still not a piece of cake. We crossed it at 11:30 am and didn't thought it was so deep before going in. I had water nearly to my waist (I'm 174cm tall) and the current in the center is clearly present. The good point is that the river is not ice cold, so you can take your time and go slowly, being sure of the position of your feet and poles.

For the last 12 km, between El Roble and Puente El Inglés, it's full of fruit trees. It felt like being in a free fruit market. We could pick apples, pears, a lot of blackberries. There were even fig tree but it was a little bit too soon. So nice to have a bit of vitamin and fresh food after 8 days.

Finally, after asking at the mini-shop in Puente El Inglés, we learned that there is no more bus going to San Fabián. So we took a beer and some french fries before camping near the bridge after a pretty long day. The next day we walked an hour before we could catch a ride to San Fabián.

* '''Feb-9-2024 to Feb-14-2024 / 5 days ( of which 2 half days) / SOBO / Oh2, RR, var B, D, E, H / Matthieu'''

Very beautiful and diverse section, with the volcan, pastures of agua caliente, the forest and the rock and thorny bushed mountains.
At the end of the section, I suggest to follow RR to the lagunilla camping, it's an easy trail in the park, and 2 very nice cascadas to see. From the park entrance there is an osm track that cross Section 9 RR, direclty to the campsite, so you never have to walk on the road.
I started at Oh 2 to avoid rio Ñuble.

Trecking difficulties :
1) River crossing of rio Diguillin 48.4 is still not a peace of cake. The current is strong, and where i crossed it was max to the hips in the rapid water. I went on a large place with big rocks on the way to hide behind, it cuts the crossing into 3 difficult but very short parts, and you can hug the rocks not to fall.
2) The pass before Laguna Laja is a cemetery of trees, so the progression is a little bit slow but nothing difficult, it's basic gps navigation.
3) The part between laguna hermosa and Water 118.3 is steep, sliperry with rocks and sand. The tracks are difficult to follow at times. So the progression is slow, i suggest not to start it at the end of the day. I finished on var H without noticing it, just saw the trail from below. I was exhausted when i put my tent at camp 119.7 (an horrible mistake, see below).

Camp :
At Fumaroles at the beginning of Oh 2, some flat spaces in the valley and a clear cold river - Ford 50.5, arriero camp super nice - 300m before water 1.5 on var E, a nice flat place but very exposed. I wanted to camp at 72.9, incredible place, but a freshly dead horse was waiting for me, the whole place stinked like hell. Wanted to try to camp on RR along the rio after but it was overgrown at the beginning and it was late so back on var E - Laguna el Roble 98.3. It is an arriero spot with a clear river that goes into the lake. There is a trail into the trees that takes you into the beach for nice camp places. You don't really want to drink directly from the lake, so i don't suggest camp 97.8 (no fresh water). There is a puesto before the last uphill to the lake, really nice arriero inside who advised me this - Camp 119.7 : DON'T sleep there, the whole hill is an enormous nest of unfriendly red ants, I had to cook directly in my inner tent. The river runs very slow to so the water not good. So i suggest camp at the lagunas before, or if you still have courage to follow until the cross country after puesto 120, it's heaven for tents with view on antuco and the river is not far.

Water : all markers correct, no concerns until the final ridge.
For the ridge walk of cerro el toro, you can find water at camp without water 102.3 (so this year its name should be with water), water 106.6, laguna hermosa, laguna lagrima (the very little one after the cerro), and nothing after on RR until water 118.

Snow : one patch on Oh 2 on the track, but you can avoid it by a sendero litteraly 10m above, with no problems. No other patches.

Accomodations : bus from Chillan rural terminal, to thermas de Chillan at 14h, you have to walk from vale hermoso to the beginning of Oh2 - Camping Lagunilla, 10k per day, homemade empanadas sandwichs bebidas and cakes, very calm i loved it. For buses, you have to walk to albanico (6 per day for los angeles, of which 9h30, 11h, 15h30, 18h30).

* '''2024-Feb-05 to 2024-Feb-08 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 02 + RR + OH E + H + J / Joscha'''

Day 1: OH08-02

I took the bus at 2 pm from the rural bus station in Chillan to the Thermas de Chillan. From there I had to roadwalk 1.5 km to get to OH08-02. There are a few snow fields left around the Pass Pirigallo, but its easy to walk over them. At km 1.2 of OH08-02 I took the Valle de Agua Caliente Trail as short cut to the Camp at 42.3 on the RR. I did not like the spot there, but close to it at -36,91092, -71,36632 are some decent tent spots.

Day 2: RR [42.3-75.1] + OH08-E

The Ford at km 47.4 was max. knee high at 10 pm. (I am 191 cm tall). Be carefull fording Rio Diguillin at km 48.4. The water was just below my hips and the current was pretty strong (around 10:30 pm). I forded it about 60 m upstream of the gpx tracks. There was a big rock in the middle of the river to which I could hold on to. At km 59.6 is a closed barb wire gate that I couldn't open. I managed to climb over it, but it's a little tricky. The RR leads on to the property of the Thermas Los Peucos (km 63.9). After the ford at km 63.7 I had to step over a barded wire fence (no gate). Los Peucos was closed and I didn't see anybody. I didn't like the idea of trespassing so I climb over the front gate (km 63.9) and continued on RR. OH08-B might be a good alternativ to avoid Los Peucos. But I meet Ricardo a few km further south. He was on his way to Los Peucos. If I understood him correctly (my spanish is pretty basic) than he is going to be at Los Peucos for the next two months. So they should be open now if you are interested in taking a break there. There are two easy fords at km 70.0 and 70.6 on the RR. The river at Ford 71.3 is wide, but water was below knees in thr evening. I wanted to camp at km 72.9, but I found the body of a horse directly at the camping spot. It looked like it had died a few days ago and it smelled pretty bad. Therefore I continued to the camp at km 78.6. I accidently stayed on the dirtroad and walked variant E. It has some extra altitude but therefore some nice views into the valley. Water 0.7 on variant E was dry. All other water and ford Waypoints I passed today had water.

Day 3: RR [78.5-107.0]

Laguna El Roble is a nice break spot and the last water source until km 106.7. At the Camp Marker km 106,6 is only a overgrown meadow which isn't flat at all. But there is a descent camp spot at km 106,9. The Water at km 106.7 is only a trickle and might dry out soon. All Water markers I passed by today had water.

Day 4: RR [107.0-115.2] + OH08-H + RR [116.3-117.4] + OH08-J + RR [117.4-134.5]

The next water source after km 106.7 is Laguna Lagrima at km 113.5. I accidently hiked OH08-H instead of RR. Laguna Los Condores is pretty nice. But the last few hundred meters of OH08-J are overgrown and not so easy to walk trough. Its easier to follow the trail that leads to the eastern side of the Laguna and forks of at about km 0.6 of OH08-J. From this trail you can go down to the Laguna. There is water at all markers.

The part from km 100 to km 117 is very spectacular.

* '''2024 Jan 25 to Feb 5 / 12 days / SOBO / Opt 2, Opt 3, RR, Var D, Opt 6 + 2 OSM routes / Michael and Kasia'''

TL/DR: A beautiful but exhausting section.Reserva Nacional Ñubles is officially closed, but they are still letting people in. If taking Opt 3, look for the trail that starts just after El Trumao heading NE for a more interesting hike. Los Peucos is open, but has no food or power so not currently a resupply option.

Day 0 -
We took the bus from Chillan to Recinto hoping to camp for the night and take the early bus up to Termas de Chillán to begin the hike. (The bus that goes all the way to the hotel only goes twice a day. Both leave from the Terminal Rural in Chillan one at 08:00, the second at 14:00.) There were no camping options in Recinto, so we walked to Los Lleuques. We found a hostel called Antupiren at the entrance of town. 13.000 pp for private with shared bathroom, very nice owners. They have a restaurant too. There were some other places with signs for hostal and campamento further down the street. There are 4 or 5 shops and grocery stores in town. If you stay in Lleuques, a little further on is a nice public access beach along the river called La Playita that is popular with locals and a good place to escape the heat for the afternoon.

Day 1 -
We got up early and were at the bus stop at 08:15. The bus arrived at around 09:30. It only goes as far as the hotel and then you have to walk about 1 km up to the ski center where the trail begins. The beginning of the trail was steep and dusty, then leveled off a bit. It passes by some fumeroles. There are two paths up to the pass. One is not on GPT or OSM at the moment, but it is a marked path that is clearly visible. It goes more to the left and up. The other is a horse trail which is the one GPT goes along. They both meet about half way up. We took the horse trail up. There is some grassy area and access to a stream. Nice views of the valley on the way up. Close to the top there was still a small snow field left and the way around it was walking above it on large, loose rocks. We had resupplied for 8 days and our packs were around 25 kg each. Due to this we felt it would be unsafe for us to try to navigate the section so we decided to walk back. It was disappointing, but we were also thinking about the difficulties others had in crossing Rio Diguillin further on and figured it was an early warning. On the way back we took the marked path which was actually more difficult than the GPT track, which surprised us since it looked more like a tourist trail. We were rewarded at one point however with a spring gushing out of the ground and took the opportunity to get fresh cold water without the need to filter. When we got back to where the fumeroles were, we chatted with some mountain bikes and a couple of hikers. There is another route down which had an OSM track on the map. The bikers explained that it is the route they all take down. It is open to hikers as well and there are signs advising bikers to watch for hikers, but the biker said there are a lot of curves and it is possible to get hit on the way down if you are unlucky. It was around 18:30 and he said they were the last group, so if we just waited for them to leave we should be able to hike down without worrying. We waited, and it was totally worth it. The trail down is very dusty, but with much less incline than the way up, and at a certain point goes through a really beautiful beech forest with lots of wildflowers growing. There is no access to the estero until the bridge at the end. We tried to find a place to camp, but no luck. We ended up walking the highway back to a point where we had seen a dirt road connect to the estero and camped there for the night. Not optimal, but it was already dark by that point, so we were just grateful to sleep.

Days 2 and 3 -
We walked the highway until the Los Coltrahues nature trail that runs parallel to the highway and then walked that to Las Trancas. It was a pretty path and a nice alternative to the highway. In Las Trancas we bought food for lunch and dinner at a shop next to the bus stop. There are one or two other stores back the direction of Lleuques as well. A micro picked us up and dropped us off at the beginning of Opt 3. We had barely started walking when a family in a truck passed and offered us a ride to the river. We were incredibly grateful as the first 3 km of the road is incredibly dusty and there is actually a lot of traffic moving through. From where they left us we walked to the bridge and down to the river to have lunch and coffee. Lots of families were camping around the area. After lunch we got back on the route. A little further on the road was closed to vehicles due to storm damage and construction adding new culverts. No issues walking it. About 6km from the bridge there is a campground called San Antonio. It was also closed since the road was closed, but it was easy to get into. There are picnic tables and plenty of camping along with river access. We camped two nights to give ourselves a rest day. A few locals passed through, but no one else camped. It was very peaceful except for the tábanos. I killed more than 50 over the course of the day and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Day 4 -
We got up early to beat the heat and walked the first hour in the dark. We passed the area where the road has collapsed and where they are doing a reroute. No issue to walk it. We arrived at the gate that Lilian mentioned, the one with the dogs, at 08:00. There were 4 dogs that bark a lot. The guard came out, it seemed like we had woken him up. We explained what we were doing and he actually had no problem letting us through, but asked rhetorically what we were going to say to CONAF upstairs. The road up is in good shape. There were a few places to fill water along the way. When we arrived at El Trumao there was a CONAF guard there as well as some other people. He was incredibly nice, just registered us and then told us because the park is officially closed there was no fee to enter. He looked at our route and told us about another option, charged our phones for us, let us take water, and then even walked with us part way. The OSM track that runs along the river is a really nice option and we really enjoyed it. The first part is no longer relevant as the river destroyed part of the road and CONAF had done a reroute. If no one is there to show you, head along the GPT route toward Valle Hermosa until you see a trail branch to the left. It will be very obvious as it has wooden posts painted yellow on top and the whole trail has rocks lining either side. Follow that up. The first part was a lot of up and exposed, but after a while we entered native forest and enjoyed stretches that were in shade. There was a rest area with river access. Just after the waterfall lookout the trail dropped down a bit into a grove of old oak trees that was really nice and we camped there for the night (-36.95540, -71.45022) River access was about 100 m further on. This is a really great route option. It is along a trail instead of a road, it drops into RR about 18 km further north than finishing Opt 3 as marked, if you want to go to Los Peucos, you don't need to back track, and it stays on the south side of Rio Diguillin, connecting with RR just after the ford point others had trouble with this season. (Jan, if you read this, we enthusiastically endorse this as a variant for Opt 3!).

Days 5 and 6 -
The pass was a little overgrown, but nothing too challenging. On the way up we passed through a beautiful forest. We stopped at the last marked water point on the way up for a snack and coffee. The way down was dusty and then it opened up into a plain. The plain was easy, but as we went around the corner it turned into a swamp. The GPT route avoids the worst of it, but careful foot choice is important in some places. It was also really hot and humid. Then it was up again and then down again to get to Los Peucos. We initially followed RR, but the ford point looked challenging and there was barbed wire on the other side. I went across without my pack to try to find a way up. The rocks in the river were really slippery and I feel in at one point, but no injury. On the other side I climbed under the wire and up a hill. Then I had to climb under more barbed wire. I walked onto the property and ran into Ricardo who manages Los Peucos. He was very nice, and took me to show me the front entrance and a much easier ford point that is defined for cars to pass, which turned out to be Var B. So if going to Los Peucos SOBO, I recommend taking Var B. I went back to get Kasia and my pack and we camped there for two nights in order to clean out gear and take a rest day.

A few notes on Los Peucos. Los Peucos is open, price this year is 5.000 pp for termales only, 10.000 pp for camping, 24 hours of access to termales and wood to make a fire in a fire pit. They were having trouble with both their generator and solar panels and have been without power for two months, so don't plan to charge anything there. Also a section of the road there was destroyed over the winter, so almost no one is going there and they aren't getting any resupply for their tiendita, so don't plan on this as a resupply point until someone posts that this has changed, which may be awhile since there seems to be some bureaucratic issue preventing the road from being fixed.

Day 7 -
We left Los Peucos just as it was getting light. The road and trail are in good condition for walking. We took Var D to cross Rio Polcura. River ford was easy, thigh high but very little current. We stopped at the camp at [72.9/1104] to have lunch. There were some arrieros and Carabineros already camped for the night, and it was too early to stop for the day, so we continued on. The valley path that RR follows is surely more interesting than walking the road along Var E, but it is fairly overgrown with spiky plants and it was slow going. There is almost no river access along the path, but there were one or two streams. We do not recommend the camp at [78.6/1203], especially if you are using a trekking pole supported tent. It is overgrown and difficult to access, anything that is not sand is covered in those annoying plants that leave tiny spiky balls attached to your clothes, and river access is not great. We ended up camping in the old road grade just above, but it was pure dust. We really regretted camping here, however it was late and we didn't know if there would be any place else to camp further on. (There is though!)

Day 8 -
We were to tired to do the pass, but we didn't want to stay camped in the same place for the day. We found a better campsite just 2 km further up trail (-37.09454, -71.31211). Just before the trailhead to the pass, on the left side of the road, there is a dirt path going down to a camping area that arrieros use (it is the same road as the end of Opt 1). It has grass and could fit probably two or three tents. The river access is about 100 m away, but it was really clean access with a stone beach and even a small sand beach and a great swimming spot to cool off. There is essentially no shade so it wasn't great for a rest day in that respect, but it was directly below the pass, so a great starting point for that. We took advantage of the river and washed all the dust off the tent. The fabric felt like new afterward!

Day 9 -
We got up early to try to tackle the pass before sun hit. The trailhead is a little easier to find now as more arrieros and hikers have gone through. The pass up is overgrown in places, but not as bad as we had expected. There were some great early morning views. Something killed most of the forest in that valley some time ago and all the dead trees are sun bleached white which was really interesting. As Lilian mentioned, there is a place where the trail collapsed. People have been walking about 5 m upstream and crossing there, but the short reroute is eroding and it looked a little sketchy to us. We went into the stream bed and climbed up through the bamboo to regain the trail. It was lovely forest higher up and on the other side for some time. Keep a lookout for a nice view of Laguna del Laja from a distance on the way down. The valley was another world entirely. Completely exposed, mostly dry but with some sections of swamp, we lost the trail a few times in a maze of overgrown thorn bushes. We took an afternoon break at the puesto just before reaching the lake. We were a little underwhelmed by the lake itself, I think because it has no trees around. We got a little lost on the way up to Laguna Roble, but a very friendly and helpful arriero staying at the puesto at the end of the valley saw us and came out to help direct us up. We stopped at the marked campsite at the east side of the lake. Previous entries had suggested the west side campsite is more wind protected. I went packless to scout it, but I could not see any way in and the water access near the site looked like marsh. We stayed on the east side, no wind issue for the night. The water in the lake was not too cold, so nice to swim in.

Day 10 -
We started early to get through as much of the pass as possible before the sun hit. The beginning of the trail was actually hard to find, but once we were on it, it was clear. The up was very demanding and exhausting, and it was overgrown in parts. There is a saddle just before the final push to the pass where we stopped to take a break and some pictures (great view of the lake, volcan Antuco and Sierra Velluda) but there were biting ants everywhere that swarmed us and our packs so we moved on. Good views of both valleys as we walked along. Reports from previous years suggested no water between Laguna Roble and Laguna Hermosa. There was at least two water points between, one of which was a very nice spring with shade around (-37.21425, -71.37259). Being exhausted and running low on supplies, we had already decided that Opt 6 would be our exit from GPT08. The route down was steep and thus slow, but clear and easy to follow. There are multiple water points on the way down. We camped about 1 km in at the first marked campsite. There was a shady, somewhat flat, somewhat grassy area that arrieros use for camping and a spring flowing just below. It was a nice spot after hiking so many hours completely exposed in full sun.

Day 11 -
The first part of Opt 6 down was really nice. There were nice views of the mountains as the sun came up, then it goes into forest for awhile before the arriero path finally meets the service road. We were also fortunate to have cloud cover for most of the day. There are a few unmarked water points between the last marked one and Rayenco. Rayenco is not a settlement but connected to the power plant. Shortly after Rayenco there is what looks like an abandoned picnic area and sports concha. We stopped for lunch, and it could be used for emergency camping if necessary. Hitchhiking out seems essentially impossible. It's just cars associated with the power plant, and our experience is that those vehicles don't take hitchhikers, probably a company policy. We walked to the highway, chatting with the gate guard on the way out. On the highway it took about half an hour, but finally a kind soul, Sergio, who had actually passed us, turned around and came back just to pick us up and dropped us at Plaza de Armas un Antuco. We found lodging at Cabañas Puelche 2 blocks east of the plaza, 15.000 pp for a private room in the hostel portion of the establishment, shared bath, fridge, pool.

* '''2024 Jan 05 to 2024 Jan 09 / 5 days/ SOBO from Termas de Chillan / RR / Hannes&Christian'''

1. Day: Walked from Termas de Chillan to Rio Diguillín. Slept there at -36.935262, -71.403804 and forded the next morning around -36.935730, -71.401841. Thought there would be less water running in the morning, but actually it looked pretty the same as the day before…
2. Day: Walked to Los Peucos and further down for a nice campsite near the river -37.046868,
-71.415394
3. Day: We took Option D to short cut the minor road…easy to walk, CC, recomendable…then along road and path and road again, up to a pass in the woods and down to a widening valley, camped at -37.15603, -71.32019. As others already wrote on wikiexplora we had there as well a pretty freezing night around 0 degrees Celsius I think, although the spot was not that high….around 1450m. A lot of humidity.
4. Day: For us here the nicest part started, walking down to Laguna de la Laja, up to a pass and then all along ridges to Laguna Hermosa. Amazing views. Instead of walking down to L. Hermosa you can camp as well a little above the lake around -37.269841, -71.381748 with water access, at least in early summer I guess. Personally I think it isn’t worth to go down to the Laguna (except no water possibility above) , first because you’ll have an electric power line over your head sleeping there (there is a hydroelectric power station in the valley nearby), second because it can be a windy place at shore…at least for us it was like this. Third: Still something like 1 km from the ridge. Choose yourself.
5. Day: From L. Hermosa to Estación de Esqui. Pretty nice views of surrounding peaks, at the end we walked a pretty annoying road out to the ski area. Then we hitchhiked to Camping Lagunillas, an amazing place with very nice owners. Feels there like being on the Gpt, but with running water and shower. Probably depends on the season…

* '''2024 Jan 13 / 5 days / SOBO / RR, OH-TL / Anh'''

Everyone feared Ñuble, me too, so I took option 2.

The trail was difficult to find from km 112-117, I left RR and took OH-TL. Otherwise the trail was easy to see. There were only a few snowfields that were easy to cross.

Ford km 48.4: Disclaimer: please do not my mistake! I first tried two best possible spots (hip), but the flow (13:00) was too strong, I couldn’t hold my hiking poles. Then 50m further on I saw two tree trunks arranged like bridges from other GPTs. After crossing them, however, it was not possible to go back to RR after a few attempts. My best possible option was BB with 70 degree slope straight up. It was only possible with bamboo trees, but was very dangerous. I'm writing my mistake here so you can avoid it!

Camp km 106.6: I included this camp in my daily plan (about 20km, 1000m uphill, 350m downhill). here is not possible to find 1qm flat spot. So I had to walk 4km further from my reserve.

* '''2024-Jan-11 to 2024-Jan-15/ 4.5 days / SOBO / Termas de Chillán(Var 2)+RR+Var G+H+J(Lakes)/ Matthias'''

Started in Termas de Chillán. Hiking, most fordings (see day 1) and orientation was quite easy on this section. Only on last part of Travesía Pilcura some steep snowfields to cross. Warm and hot creeks on first day (Fondo Aguas Calientes), views and lakes on forth day (Travesía Pilcura) were spectacular. Plenty of water everywhere. A lot of annoying horse flies.

Day1: Termas de Chillán - km53.6
Only minor snowfields. Ascent of Volcán Chillán Viejo should be possible without crampons, no snow on steep upper slopes. Fumaroles on ascent from Termas, warm creek with pools right when you come down to Fondo Aguas Calientes. Also people camping there. I underestimated ford at km48.4 (Rio Diguillín), water was up to upper hips and current, I was washed away… But overall no dangerous crossing and with more cautious selection the fording should be easier. Arrieros at puesto at km49.6 (Coihuería) were the last people I met until end of section!

Day2: Reserva Nacional Ñubles
Officially the reserva was closed. I entered Termas Los Peucos via RR, watering of meadows was running, I said „Hello“ but nobody answered.
Took a bath in the beautiful hot springs, two stone-walled pools.

Day 3: km78.6 (Rio Ñubles) - km98.3 (Laguna El Roble)
Easy day … nice swimming at the camp with fireplace in the evening

Day 4: Travesía Polcura - Laguna ElToro
Spectacular day: great views, mountains, lakes and path.
The detours to the lakes (var G+J, Laguna Hermosa, ElToro and Los Condores) are worthwhile!
Some steep snowfields on RR below Cerro El Toro, I used microspikes, but in a warm afternoon you can also safely cross without. Beautiful (!!) camp at Laguna El Toro with sun until 19:45 though it’s deep in a cirque.

Day5:
Nice view of Volcán Antuco from the ridge just before the volcán (ca. km125). I left the road and walked +-height parallel to the solar collectors which are visible on the ridge from the MR.
From Curva El Candado I tramped down most of the road to the junction to Abanico, where I ate lunch at the friendly cafe/restaurant „Roca“ and where the bus to Los Angeles leaves at 15:00.

* '''2023-Dec-28 to 2024-Jan-01 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {08-03} - {08-C} - RR - {08-06} - {08-06B} / Lilian'''

Avoid of crossing Rio Ñuble, i go for {08-03}.

There is a bus from Chillán to Los Lleuques at 18:00, take about 1.5 hour. A small shop and some tiny shops there, friendly and good resupply. Look like have some restaurants too, but i'm too late so they're already closed.

{08-03} km3.3 : tiny shop selling drinks.

Km4.3 : camping spots or camping possibilities start from here to south.

Km11.3 : ranger station for guard of Reserva National, look like need booking in advance or some permits. Otherwise you can't go in by this gate. (It is impossible for sneak in, two dogs here.)

Luckily after i took 10min to explain what I'm doing, where does my routes go, why i'm here, I'll pack out all my trash, no fire, no pick plants, dig a hole for poop, etc. He let me go in, 1000% thank you to him!

Km19 : bridge for crossing Río Diguillín.

Km19.45 : El Trumao, Camping Relbún. Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here.

Km19.7 : closed gate, you can open it on left side. Old, steep and rocky dirt road behind this gate, look like no cars on it for some years. (Some place landslide, cars impossible to pass by)

Km21.3 : Rio Relbún, good water flowing nice, rock hopping for dry feet.

Km22.8 : view point of valley, also some flat spots with trees can fit 2-4 tents.

Km23.7 : pass, Paso Atacalco, descent to a beautiful valley.

Km25.3-km26.2 : some tiny streams flowing with good water, but maybe dry up soon.

Km28.4 : Valle Hermoso, Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here. Río Blanquillo flowing at here too.

Some more tiny streams flowing across the road at south, but i think they will all dry up soon.

Km35.6 : a side trail to see a waterfall, I think it is just soso.

Then connect with {08-C}, then back to RR.

{08-C} km2.4 : a very beautiful demon rock hill on your left side, worth take a look!

RR Ford[71.3/1089] : crossing of Río Polcura, it's a wide river crossing about 80m, luckily it is already made for vehicles crossing so have a rock bar underwater, easy to cross. Mostly just half of calf, in the middle about 10m, up to knee and flowing very fast.

Camp[72.9/1104] : it's a really nice camping spot with tree shade and beside a river.

Camp[78.6/1203] : this spot is not beside RR. When you finish valley trail walk, if you don't join dirt road and keep going walk in the valley then you'll arrive here.

Water[79.1/1214] : log bridge crossing.

Trailhead[80.5/1248] : not easy to notice the trailhead, although it have a fallen board on the ground.

North of the pass is overgrown, south of the pass lot of fallen trees block the trail.

Didn't see any camping spots until almost to valley.

Water[81.8/1475] : when you get close, be careful dont walk too fast. Just before the stream dont follow the trail to left side and go down, it is already landslide and you'll fall off 2m vertically.

Pass[84.2/1744] : tons of huge dead trees and ready to fall down in next second. Don't camp here, it is dangerous.

Km85.8 : flat spot can fit 2-3 tents.

Km86: flat spots can fit 1 tent before and after a stream crossing.

Km95.2 : excellent view point of Volcán Antuco, look like some flat spots at downhill side close to the beach.

Camp[97.8/1456] : beside a tree, can fit 1-2 tents with fire ring. Last reliable water when you climbing up.

Km102 : snow start here, but all you can go around.

Camp without water[102.3/2063] : no camping spot as now, wet, muddy and lot of stream are flowing by snow melt, a fire ring is in the stream too!

I camped at km103.45, just before the pass, there is some brushes provide wind protection from west. Can fit 1-2 small tents.

Km104.1 : a large flat area, but no wind protection.

X[105.4/1934] : no more trail junction at "X", you need to go down a little, then CC to connect the trail at south.

Camp[106.6/1938] : wet, grassy and steep spot. A large flat area after you climb up the stream at km106.95, it is in a valley and no wind protection.

Km109.45 : a small pass, excellent view point of Volcán Antuco and Sierra Velluda!

Snow start at km109.9, unfortunately when i almost climbed up to ridge, i found that km111.8 to km113.5(at least) , all covered by snow on a very steep slope. It is not a good idea to go through this high risk area, also Cerro El Toro is a very sharp rocky peak, not possible walk on the ridge to go around the slope, so i turn back to "X"[105.4/1934], and join {08-06} continues to south.

{08-06} is a nice trail to go down, and look like somone have maintained it, nearly no fallen trees and just very little overgrown, easy to follow and walk.

{08-06} km4.5 : junction of {08-06} and {08-06A}, look like {08-06} in a better condition, also {08-06} from here to km5.6, it is an old dirt road and no more using.

Km5.6 : junction to join a good dirt road. Camping spot just before the junction, and there are also lot of camping possibilities along the good dirt road.

Gate[8.6/808] : locked, climb over it.

Km9.3 : another gate, you can open it on left side, if you want to camping, better before this gate.

Km22.4 : i join {08-06B} for shorter distance to main road for hitching to Antuco.

* '''2023-Dec-19 to 2023-Dec-20/ 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / Antuco RR and Option 6/ Jens'''

Tried to go up the main route. First pass was steep and full of snow. Decided to turn around and try Option 6.

As option 6 is on private land owned by the Hydroelectrico, a guard picked me up and told me to register with the Carabineros in Antuco. Frustrated I decided to skip section 8 in favour of section 7.

* '''2023-Dec-21 to 2023-Dec-24/ 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / San Fabian - Las Trancas / Ella'''

TLDR: River fords are still heinous, especially Ñuble. Bring micro spikes if crossing Paso Prigallo to go towards Las Termas de Chillan.

Day 1: Hitched a ride part of the way from San Fabian, and then caught a bus (was a Thursday around 1 pm) until Punilla. Camped at a small, windy site with good river access and near the Punilla swimming hole, which is definitely worth a visit. Some friendly caballeros came around 8 pm to camp as well.
Day 2: Walked towards Los Sauces, splitting off to the right where the road/trail led. Could not cross river here because of construction. Went back to the main road and walked North to where there was a (padlocked) cable car and did a challenging ford - current was somewhat strong and water went to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm). In retrospect, would have been better to just walk/bus all the way into Los Sauces and make a safer crossing there. Cabineros in El Roble were nicer to me that the ones in San Fabian. Camped just before Camp {08} [21.6/873] since it now seems to be on private property.
Day 3: Had to trespass for about a mile before reaching the Ñuble river but didn’t run into anyone. Ñuble was really difficult. I got there just before 8 am. Crossing the river at designated spot was not possible. I went upstream, around the bend, and about a hundred meters further to where the river widens and gets a bit shallower. I crossed with water about up to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm) but a little past midway the current took me off my feet and I went for a brief swim before grabbing a rock and recovering on the other side. After getting to the other side, I had to scramble/bushwhack up a near-vertical slope to where there appears to be sort of a terrace in the landscape. I found the best spot was behind where the bank of the river flattened out a bit. Thankfully once getting to the top, you’re blessed with a faint trail leading back to the main route. This approach was not very fun at all - it is probably best to wait another week or two before attempting the river.
After that, the trail gets harder to follow, especially after entering the larger valley. As per others advice, I tried crossing the river in the valley to the right side, but also ran into impassable shrubbery/broken trees there so I ended up crossing back and forth as needed. The first pass didn’t have any snow. There is a difficult ford after the marker for Trailhead {08} [34.6/1873]. Camped at Camp {08} [36.2/1953] which was lovely.
Day 4: Headed towards Las Termas de Chillan. Both passes were very snowy. The second pass, only necessary if going off main trail towards Las Termas, had steep sections that called for micro spikes. I was lucky that there were some people who had just come through and kicked steps in, making this part easier. Hitched a ride to Las Trancas where there are multiple well stocked mini markets and nice hostal options. Not sure if I will continue on GPT 08 given the snow and river conditions so far.

==Season 2022/23==

* '''2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-06/ 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Los Peucos - Recinto / RR + OH03 / Hannes & Luisa'''

Hitchhiked from San Fabian to way after El Roble, rather easy on weekends as it seems many locals around. Ñuble crossing with strong current and water above knees (me 185cm), but still ok compared to other months I think. Went up the mountain and into this valley with beautiful oak-trees. Getting out of this forest we crossed the river to the orographic left side as suggested by others...initially a good choice, all the same we had to switch like 2 to 3 times river bank to avoid some nasty Bush bashing...We reccomend to just open your eyes and see which side works best for you after the initial crossing at approximately -36.856679 -71.275261. After the last camp in the valley path clearly visible and steep ascent to the pass. After the pass we got into this amazing volcanic landscape east of Volcan Chillàn. After the second pass we descended to Aguas Calientes, hot thermal pools at the end of a valley surrounded by some green yellow pasture and loads of cows. Good spot to camp...Then we went to Termas Los Peucos, took us 3.5 days till there. Just for the pools they take 10k, pools and camp was 14k. As one of us felt little sick we decided to hitchhike out over OH03. Do not consider this an emergency exit as it is rather difficult to hh out there, very few cars on the road as access is limited due to a private tunnel and only Carabineros and some oil- and gas-pipeline companies are around there with their cars it seems. All the same we were lucky and got out to Recinto (further down in the valley of Termas de Chillán, near Las Trancas...) In this valley or if you get out at Termas de Chillán we highly recommend Cabañas Ayunkoyam owned by Vincente Ruiz in Recinto, +56999991737, call him before. For this rather expensive valley quite a good option. Vincente is a local mountain guide who seems to know every mountain in his country and is a nice guy to talk to.

* '''2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-02 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Volcán Chillán - Termas de Chillán / Noémie'''
Very short section because I got a lift from San Fabián until after El Roble (21.0), a bit before the end of the minor road. Carabineros checked ID and asked for sufficient equipment. Ñuble crossing was not that hard but I had water until my waist, even at the end of the season (I am 1m60 though...). Camped the first night at Camp {08} [29.5/1441], on the left bank of the river, where there was a bit of space. The next morning, it was a bit hard to go up the valley with all the dead trees and no path visible. Tried to follow fellow GPT hikers advices, but ended up crossing the river multiple times to find a walkable path without too many bushes, until Camp {08} [31.3/1629]. After this tricky part, both paths are beautiful and quite easy. The thermal river is amazing. There was plenty of space with beautiful hot water pools but also cold water at Camp {08} [40.4/2150]. The last day, I took OH {08-02} and OH {08-02A} to go up Volcán Chillán and then exit at Termas de Chillán. Beautiful ascent with no specific difficulty except the steep last 300 meters. The place is full of condors flying really close, super impressive.
There are no housing options and no buses during the week leaving from Termas de Chillán. You can walk/hitchhike until -36.910163, -71.417798 where buses leave regularly everyday for Chillán. Found many cabañas options in Trancas de Chillán a bit further down. Overall, very beautiful and diverse section (forests, rivers, sand deserts, volcanos) with amazing hot springs!

* '''2023-Mar-13 to 2023-Mar-18 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Abanico — Thermas de Chillán / Iris, Alexis '''

Starting from Los Angeles, we took a bus (at 12:30) towards Abanico and then two rides until the start of OH-MR-V {08-K} [0.0+0.1]. Then, there is a gate (after the Bridge, Gate {08} [126.7/1339] point) locked with a padlock but easy to climb. The CC section (RH-CC-A {08} [26.4/122.0+1.9]) is actually following the MR so we thought better stay on the road. When we reached Camp {08} [120.2/1520], it was completely dry so we continued a bit and found a nice spot in the forest (close to -37.32983, -71.39823).

On Day 2, we continued on the trail, simply taking the shortcut OH-TL-V {08-I} [0.0+0.2]. Then, we chose to take option 08-H to stay high, it was really beautiful. We stayed on the rim until a hard part and then we diverged on the trail that was present a bit below us. As other as noted, on RH-CC-A {08} [18.1/113.7+2.0] you follow a trail or a set of footprints. When the trail and the trace diverge, follow the trail, it is usually the best option. And don't miss Trailhead {08} [113.7/2184], we tried to go around it but regretted it. Then, the trail until Laguna El Robles (Camp {08} [98.2/1456]) is nice but the descent is steep. We believe the path has been cleared recently because lot of fresh fallen branches on the ground. On the lake, we camped on the east side but it was very windy. The other side looked more protected.

On Day 3, we followed the RR until Camp {08} [73.3/1104]. It was a rather uneventful day except we met a lot of arrieros in the morning that went for a wild bull hunt. The camp is nice and felt like a campground.

On Day 4, we hiked for just a few kilometers to reach the Thermas Peucos. It was a very worthy stop, an oasis in the middle of the hike : 10k PP for the camping and hot springs (stoned pools). We even bought a lunch from the minishop which has quite a nice selection. Like others, we used the option 08-C to avoid the pointless climb in the RR.

On Day 5, we did a rather long walk until Camp {08} [40.4/2150] to enjoy the natural pool. The trail is a bit overgrown after the thermas but nothing bad. The day was full of going up : 2500 on the tracks but the GPS said only 2100 at the end of the day. The hot springs are amazing, truly the best we encountered. And we were alone there.

On Day 6, we met a horserider when leaving the camp a bit angry because he did not sleep. He camped near a group that partied the whole night (we believe it was close to Ford {08-02} [1.6/2097]). Then, option 08-02 and variant A to ascend the volcan. It starts with a nice trail and ends up with sand that is really hard to climb. Nothing difficult nor dangerous but extremely tiresome. It took us 3h to go up but we enjoyed our lunch at the top! Then the descent is really fast, thanks to this sand (about 1h). The rest of the trail until Thermas de Chillán is a bit overrun, we met numerous hikers (but it was a Saturday). There, we hitched a ride until Recinto and took the 7:00PM bus to Chillán for a ressuply.

Overall our impressions on this section are a bit mixed. We enjoyed the numerous hot baths and the volcan summit but we were less amazed by the landscapes compared to the previous sections (of note as we did go up quite a lot, we probably were a bit too exhausted to truly enjoy it completely!) . Perhaps it is more rewarding when going SOBO?

* '''2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-08 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + emergency exit / Martial '''

Puente Inglés - Los Peucos - Antuco
Super pleasant trekk in various landscapes and sweet hot springs. Met Ondrej at the start and shared the road walking before he eventually escapes in the first climb ! Met again finally at the hot river for a deserved rest after big climbing day. Next the descent to los Peucos is rather long with overgrown detour of the swamp at the end. That’s where my phone died for no reason. May it RIP with all my pictures :’( Still if there’s a good soul out there with a machete and long trousers feel free to save this beautiful trail ! Then los Peucos was a paradise oasis for a 14000$ 24h rest day. Not so expensive to me considering the quality of the hotspring service and resupply in the middle of nowhere ! « El Toro » hotspring is a once in lifetime experience for sunrise and had the all domain for myself 😌 Do not hesitate to stop there and meet Ricardo who doesn’t see many souls otherwise.
4th night spent 3km down near los Peucos in a super recommanded magical waterfall bassins with perfect « nuit à la belle étoile » on the hot rock.
After km 80 the forest is kind of colonised with annoying flyes and thermites wich makes it not an enjoyable place. Also recommend taking plenty of water from laguna el roble cause dry climb and ridge walking ahead (there’s still a little stream pond under a tree a few km after the pass if you look well). Arrived there in late afternoon with no place to camp and saw emergency exit on the right which triggered green light in my brain (as gear failures were acumalating and motivation low). Felt good after a few tears but the long road walking in the hydraucentral gave me some regrets until i eventually arrived in Antuco after hotish hitchhiking.

* '''2023-Jan-28 to 2023-Feb-04 / 7.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + volcán chillàn & volcán Antuco / Natalie & Tomáš'''

Day 1
Got off the bus here (-36.67295, -71.29201) instead of Los Sauces for an easy ford. The bus driver knew of this place. The ford was here -36.67738, -71.28739, knee-high. We crossed around 3pm. The road section until the carabinieros was surprisingly popular on a weekend: we got a 3km hitch, but if we started earlier, I am sure we could have hitched a lot more. The valley is nice to walk in though.
The carabinieros basically just wanted to know if we had a proper GPS and map. We could not understand if they were telling us "not" to go close to Volcán Chillán or just "warning" us. I checked online the day before and it said the volcano is in green, but the cabineros said it was yellow.
Made camp at the 17km waypoint because it was a good spot. Lots of unmarked water waypoints on the road such as -36.69615, -71.27770 and -36.72718, -71.26420.
Day 2.
Crossed Nuble with no problems around 9am. The water was not strong but not totally calm and was under our crotches: I am 170cm and Tomáš is ~173cm. Hats off to the others that crossed when water levels were much higher! Remember to turn right and not left after the ford.
The path was better than expected, but still can be easily lost until the first pass at 33.2km. Thanks to the tip from Will, we took the path on the other side of the river once out of the trees to avoid the blow down, somewhere around or close to camp 29.5. Hot pass.
We made camp at the hotsprings ([40.3/2173]) after the second pass, their beauty and heat made up for the long day. There are a couple of perfect spots near the hotsprings with some cold water for drinking, -36.90156, -71.35089. Spent two nights here. The hot springs are regular creeks, most of which in the valley are hot. Saw some locals camping in other spots, seems like a popular place.
Day 3.
Volcán Chillàn. Easy climb following the standard route but the last 600m was slow sandish-like material which made for a very quick descent. Instead of going back the way we came, we followed an unmarked/unmapped "road" on the south side of Volcán Chillán that lead to switchbacks down to the hotsprings that we saw earlier that morning. Basically if coming from volcano, follow the road east from here -36.89199, -71.38543 and aim for the switchbacks to the hotsprings camp here -36.90336, -71.36145 [as of 2024 included in our suggestions in the released Track files]. There is some dirty water on the way but very interesting and scenic. I am slightly worried about posting this because it is likely not meant to be walked, also not sure it actually saves time compared to the normal trail but it allows for a nice roundtrip. One can get Internet on the way to the volcano when the ski resorts are visible. Camped again at the hotsprings.
Day4
Nothing to add for this day, trail was nice and under trees a lot of the way, all fords easy or jumpable. Met two French who were doing the GPT northbound. Camped near the puesto 61.7 before the hotsprings, path was always there, just a little overgrown.
Day5
Trail to hotsprings was not that bad, just overgrown bamboo but otherwise nice. The hotsprings is not actually CONAF but a concession. Prices were as described 14mil for camping and 7mil just for hotsprings. If you want to buy food from them, I recommend going at the beginning of the month as that is when they restock, for us there was still lots of food left but nothing fresh or good, very expensive.
On the road we used option C to avoid the hill as others suggested (seems like the main road now) and as for variant D, we did not see anything, so we back-tracked a bit and took a different unmarked trail here that was successful -37.06894, -71.39599 and forded river here -37.06857, -71.39158 to meet the RR [now in the suggestions too].
The trailhead at 81.0 is hard to see, be ready.
That trail from 81.0 to the pass was more overgrown in my mind than the rest of the days but still not terrible. Camped on the other side 88.9 (actually a bit further down were nicer camp-spots with lovely short grass).
Day6
Somehow at camp 88.9 we woke up to frost over everything. Have no idea what kind of phenomenon this is because I don't think it froze (forecast was for 16 in the night) but even the little moisture in my breakfast bowl froze shortly after eating it...
Quick trail to Laguna el Roble except the trail is easy to loose just before the Laguna in the grassy section, keep climbing left towards an unmarked puesto here -37.20868, -71.33023.
There should technically be a better water source than the lake itself at camp 98.8, but I just took water from the lake:S. The next pass towards the ridge was hot but easy. Good trail until you hit the X at 105.9. Then the path is harder to follow. The camp at 107.1 seems silly and would be better higher above the listed water source. We ended up going cross country all the way from a pass like structure here -37.25066, -71.38499 to Laguna Hermosa because there was a trail on the other side (a bit lower than official RR so it made sense to follow it elevation-wise) that eventually faded away.
Laguna Hermosa was worth it as others have stated but unfortunately very heavy winds crept in that night. It was way less windy on the East side of the lagoon, which we only noticed in the morning.
Day7
Very heavy winds. We made a small short cut to the RR from the Laguna by heading west sooner [included in our suggestions]. We considered turning around on the ridge as the winds were likely around 80km/hr at one point near the pylons, but luckily since the route is not actually on the ridge but under it, the rest of the way was okay, still windy but not pushing us over. The rest of the ridge was no problem for us, slower of course since there is sidehilling and edging but nothing scary or exposed. There was no snow though.
El Puesto at 121 had two dogs but we did not see anyone. We camped at Laguna Laja (not nice) to climb Antuco the next day. To no surprise the restaurant and cafe at the ski resort are closed. Other than the water in the lake, there are no good water sources past the last water source before El Puesto if heading in this direction. There is Entel 3G coverage here.
Day8
Started early to beat the heat for Antuco. I turned back after the top of the ski lift because of a stomach bug (probably food but still nicer to vomit in the shade...) but Tomáš went on to finish the climb. The climb was not worth it. The volcano is not black sand but rather loose rock (boulders to pebbles) which made especially going down annoying. A rock fell on my waling stick and partially destroyed it. After the ski lift there is virtually no trail. Plus the fact there was only a small crater on top and the weather was very hot and windy in the early morning. I think we were there during a small heat wave, supposedly the day before was 38°C in Antuco proper. After the climb we hitched to the campsite Lagunillas (10mil/person) in hopes of going back to Los Angeles but after analyzing the smoke situation of the forest fires we stayed here and used it as a base for preparing for GPT09-10.

It took us 168 hours but without climbing the volcanoes the trail could have been walked in five full walking days. End of January means there were virtually no horseflies.
Nice trip but due to foot issues, things breaking down and a stomach bug at the end, it was a bit of a suffer-fest for Natalie (Tomáš's new shoes are unfortunately painful too). However, the hotsprings, Volcán Chillán, Laguna Hermosa and the trees (especially the ones with usnea) made it worth while!

* '''2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 08-C / Ondrej '''

Puente Inglés - Camping Las Lagunillas
Overall an extremely beautiful route, my favourite in GPT06-08. Compared to GPT06 and 07, this section felt most diverse but also most challenging to navigate. I accidentaly got off track much more often. Still, the route is visible most of the time except the last day after Laguna Hermosa. Even there, sticking to the gpx files makes the section easily passable. One just need to pay a higher attention to where their steps are placed. The fauna is quite rich too - I had a chance to see a tarrantula (the minor road on day 1), crayfish in the rivers, and a snake which I believe was Tachymenis chilensis (on the shores of Laguna El Roble). I believe this section is much more demanding in Dec or early Jan when snow is still present on the slopes. Horseflies were not a problem in my case. I encountered some between km 75 and 85 but that was far from frustrating. I recommend gaiters due to dusty roads in some sections. From thermas Chillan I haven’t met a soul until the end of the section.

Details:
On the first day, it is easy walking on a minor road that winds through a forest so you can enjoy shade most of the walk! No complications, just need to climb some gates. I enjoyed a company of a fellow GPT hiker Martial, who shared some useful trout fishing tips and gear with me. We camped at the Nuble crossing.

Second day, Nuble crossing was no problem. Knee-deep at the recommended ford. Then I got lost in the forest numerous time. Checking the gpx frequently definitely helped. I followed the advice of others to cross the river and find a path om the right upstream side. That worked really well, didn’t have to cross any fallen trees! I camped at the hot springs - it is actually a whole thermal river. Amazing, amazing place. Loved to lay in it and watch the stars. Quite a few other people were there (some arrieros and a Chilean family) but there really was enough space for everyone.

The third and fourth day were rather uneventful for me. Very beautiful views along the trail, which was mostly through forests and relatively simple to follow all the way to 2km before Los Peucos. Even there the trail was visible, it was just overgrown. I worried about this part too much based on the previous reports. The path actually felt quite okay in my case. Unfortunately, no soul at Los Peucos. I saw a parked car and a horse, but no human in the area. So I decided to walk 3km more and camp at the next river ford at km 66.4. I also took option C as recommeded by other hikers below, it was perfect!

The 5th day was easy up to the laguna El Roble. Then the climb is quite demanding. Most importantly, there is hardly any water between Laguna El Roble and km106.1. I found a little stream at km102.8 but I wouldn’t rely on it. My strategy was to drink about 1 liter at the laguna El Roble (I filtered the water there as the laguna didn’t seem that clear) and then I took 1.5l with me. It lasted me all the way to Laguna Hermosa. Maybe next time I would take only 1 liter. However, I felt safe to have the reserves. Once you get to the pass, the views are beautiful, as is Laguna Hermosa where I camped for the last night.

On the 6th day, I started from Laguna Hermosa at 8am and reached the main car road around 3pm. The trail after Hermosa disappears and requires a lot of attention to your GPS to navigate. The scree traverses are entirely manageable. I had to think twice before placing my feet though. The trail becomes visible and much easier at km115 when the valley trail connects. No one was at the puesto at km121.1, just three dogs. Trekking poles were enough to fend them off. There is indeed a new metal gate with a lock at approx km 126. No guards are positioned there. I climbed the gate without issues. I then hiked to Camping Lagunillas. There is a very kind owner and his son. Really good people to chat with. After listening to my story they also let me a cabana for a price of camping (10,000 CLP) for the night. The owner’s son is keen to learn more about the GPT and to potentially hike part of the route too. The camping has a small almacen there with some lentils and rice to buy (however, the selection is not enough to resupply). They also sell beer, cookies and can make you a soft dinner and breakfast (empanadas, lentils, waffles, coffee, sandwiches). I hitchhiked to Abanico the next day. It seems there are many more buses from Abanico to Antuco/Los Angeles than just two these days. The bus schedules could be looked up on the Internet. I caught one at 9:30am.

*2023-Jan-16 Frank RR SOBO 5 days

Crossed the river before Los Sauces where a dirt road goes right, crossing was only ankle deep. The cable car at Los Sauces is locked & there is often no one there. River is a lot deeper by the cable car (at least waist deep)

At Los Robles the carabineros were not very friendly, which was unusual, & were not too happy about me hiking solo, but after I told them I'd walked there from Santiago they allowed me to proceed. They had no info. about the activity level of Chillan. The 'shop' in Los Robles only had 2L bottles of soft drink & eggs. Rio Nuble was thigh deep late in the evening but you need to pick your spot: a few metres downstream from the RR crossing, before some boulders in the water. Camped a little after the crossing. Before Rio Nuble there is a no entry sign & locked gate but you can climb over it easily & there was no one there. Campsite marked on track file before the crossing was fenced off with no entry sign.

Coming down from the pass late on day 2 there is a cold water spring just before the hot waterfall. Filled up at the spring as the water in the valley is thermal, not sure if it's good to drink. Camped in the valley by the hot stream.

At the CONAF hot springs it was 14,000 CLP to camp but they allowed me to use the hot bath for free. They have a shop but most items are too bulky for one person. I continued for about 10KM & camped in a 3 sided hut 100M to the right off the road before a wide but easy ford. The hut has a dirt floor so you can pitch a tent inside. After Laguna Roble you climb to a pass & there is a spring a little after the pass. I camped just before the spring (room for one small tent, had to clear away some rocks but it was OK) The traverse after the aerials was a bit sketchy but soon improved & I picked up a tiny trail through the scree. Walked to the CONAF entrance gate on the road & hitched out from there. There is a lot of traffic on the weekend.

* '''2023-Jan-13 to 2023-Jan-18 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Start in Termas the Chillan opt. 2 than RR from 40km to 105.9 and finished using opt. 6. / Maks&Gabi '''

Trail is visible almost all the time. All the fords are easily passable. We had met arrieros 3 times, they were nice and helpful. One of them asked about why we are hiking, as there is a lot of people going this way, but he seemed to be okay with it.
There is a lot of really horseflies especially between 83 and 93 km.
There were also quite a lot of cows on trail, that were not so happy to see us, but we just walked around them (with some bigger distance). Be careful as the bulls seem to be very protective over the small ones.

Option 06A is probably overgrown - we spent about 15 min trying to find the trail but we gave up after all ( it was about 300m after crossroad ).
Gate on 8.6km of option 6 was locked with the padlock, but noone was there so we just walked over the fence.

All other gates on all trail were easily passable. One of the arrieros just noted that we should close them after crossing.
From the hydro powerplant till the end of the option 06B there were a lot of people working on a road but none of them seemed to have a problem with us being there.
We hitch hiked to Antuco.
It was our first try on the GPT (recommended by a local mountain guide from Termas de Chillan) and it was definitely worth it!

* '''2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-08 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will '''

Probably my favorite section so far! A nice mix of remote alpine stretches, forests, and fields. However the horseflies made it hard to appreciate at times, they were pretty much constant during the later section around Laguna Laha.

I hitched from San Fabián around noon and did most of the road walk the first day. The campsite at 21.6 is fenced off. I stayed at 20.3 which didn't have great water access, just a muddy spring. Scrambling down to the river wasn't feasible but I found a bit of clean flow partway down.
The Nuble crossing wasn't so bad for me, it was just below my waist (5'11/181cm). Still the hardest one so far. I found the trail afterwords pretty hard to follow, with lots of side paths eventually leading to thorny bushwhacking. It finally convinced me to pull the route up on my watch for the first time, definitely worth it here.
A ways after the river crossing you'll come out of the woods into an open river valley. I recommend crossing the stream there and finding the path on the other side, instead of struggling through the blowdown/landslide debris along the gpx track.
The trail was fairly slow from the Nuble crossing to los Peucos. After that it's super fast except for a few stretches in the mountains above the Laguna Laha.
The natural hot springs just below the pass near the Volcan Chillan were very nice, but full of little flies. They didn't seem to bite.
The camping at los peucos was very expensive, but they had a bit of food for sale (fruit!!). Comfy grass, wifi, well maintained bathrooms. The hot springs there were too hot for me, slightly painful.
I missed option C and definitely regretted it. The road up was super rocky, and hot with no shade.
The stretch above Laguna Laha was the driest I've passed so far. Thankfully there were a few snow fed streams/ponds left, but I should have carried more water to be safe. Laguna Hermosa was true to its name, a nice place to camp my last night.
The main road at the end was pretty busy, you could hitch right away and skip the entire last 13ish km. But the extra little stretch of trail at the end was definitely worth it to me.
It took me a while to get a ride to Antuco even though the road was busy. Most people were just going a bit further along. It's not the nicest town but there's decent selection for resupply. I got a room for 15k/night at a cabana/hostal place on Sgto. Aldea street. For some reason I didn't have cell service there, with Movistar.

* '''2023-Jan-01 to 2023-Jan-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option C / Martin & Helena'''

We took bus from San Fabian (corner on the other side of the gas station) in the afternoon, and camped after ford of Los Sauces river (water only to the ankles). A lot of annoying tabanos, but plenty of space to camp. Quite a lot of locals go there as well. The next day we continued to the ford or Rio Nuble that turned out to be the worst so far for us. Doing it in the afternoon was not the best idea - the current was strong and even when it was just waist-high, we were not able to pass through the fastest part where the path takes you. We figured out to go more upstream, but just like 30m maybe? to a point where the water was really deep but completely calm. There is a rock wall on the other side. The water reached our chest at that part and our hands holding poles were under the water, making it hard to gain stability. We decided to take our chances and try to cross, using rocks covered with some grass to gain traction. There were times when we were floating in the water with close to 0 stability but we eventually made it. Best to be there early to have the best possible conditions. Until the end of the day we managed to get up through the forrest. Before you get out of the forrest you are crossing a stream that is going down between the rocks, but if you take a minute or two before it path that goes lower than trail, you will find a nice spot by the water with some wooden bench and nice covered place to camp. We prefered to be out of the forrest so we continued, but found only a field of fallen trees caused by landslide. It was possible to find a place to camp closer to the river. It is best to continue on the other side, which we did the next day. You will soon connect to the trail again, before going up.

The way up from the valley is quite steep. From the pass you get a nice view of the Chillan volcano. Going further down to the lava field, we followed advices of others and get up to the top of lava field right away and continued walking on it. After the pass you will find a valley with hot springs which are simply amazing. Good to plan camping there so you can enjoy it fully. From the valley the trail is clear, until a short section before the official camp (1-2 kms before it), where it’s more of a bush-bashing. This part starts near a puesto where we came across herd of young bulls that seemed to be more curious that we would like and we had to go around them, a little off the trail. We struggled a little to find our way into the camp, which was not so clear from our gps (eventhough the path is clear all the way to the river) - the camp is secured by wire fences that we wanted to avoid, but at the end we crawled under them to get to the camp, aprox. according to our gps. If you follow the river downstream you might get to the official gate / entrance, not sure. Like other mentioned the price is quite high, and so are things in the little shop - most of it are classic camping things that last long like pasta, rice, canned fruits, a lot of cookies… but we were grateful for it anyway. The hot springs there are also amazing, man-made stone pools, with the view of the stars in the night it is perfect and worth the price. There are maybe 10 dedicated places to camp with wooden desk and bench, covered by roof (good when it’s raining). More space is close to the showers and the common, shared house with kitchen, fireplace and again desks with benches. We met there some workers from a gas company, fixing pipes close to the laguna, who were sleeping in the camp. The guy watching over the camp (from CONAF) was also nice and helpful - if you need anything, this is the right person to ask.

On the next day, we continued on the minor road, where we took the C option, like others. Following the RR we found the 08-E option (which follows the MR) to be a better choice since the RR is a little overgrown in the beginning and with thistle-vegetation. Easy pass in the forest, and nice places to camp in the valley. We were lucky to find their cows again (luckily on the other side of the river), but bulls woke us up in the morning - this must have been the fastest packing in the history. We enjoyed more fun with the cows and bulls later in the valley, that were blocking our way and refusing to go away - that made us to take another short detour around them.

A lot has been already written about the last part of this section that takes you up to the plateau. The climb is quite steep and long so don’t forget to take water from the last laguna - that is the last option. The next stream we found was about 2 kms from the point where you reach the ridge. We camped before Laguna Hermosa with nice view of the volcano. There was some melting snow above the laguna and we found 4G signal there (where the pole is). We found the descent down to be quite ok, there are small slippery rocks so it’s necessary to be careful, but nothing too bad. The descent gets very dusty later (when it’s dry) and is still steep in the forrest with a lot of water from the snow. We got to the main road in the afternoon and were lucky to catch a ride all the way to Antuco. We booked the only available place we found on booking called Puelche de Antuco, a really nice cabin. The town is nice with a lot of restaurants and shops.

* '''2022-Dec-28 to 2023-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Los Sauces - Antuco / Anna & Christopher '''

We took the bus at 6 pm from San Fabián to Los Sauces and camped next to the river.

The path until the river crossing of Rio Ñuble is basically a dirtroad, so we got there pretty fast. Only the horseflies were very annoying. We recommend bringing insect repellent.
Christopher is 1.88m and the water went up to his navel at the main route crossing. Anna with 1.63m was not able to cross the river there.
After some tries we found a possibility a couple of hundred meters upstream, where the water just went up to Anns knees. The tough part was to get up to the path on the other side. After some bush bashing, you have to get up a 3 to 4 meter high, almost vertical slope. We found a tree, whose roots we used to climb up, which was not super easy. Once you are up there, there is a good path that leads to the main route.

The next day was nice until the valley around km 25 (where the river is not correctly positioned in the gaia app). There are tons of fallen trees and it was really hard to get through and there was mostly no visible path. It's probably best to stick to the upstream right side of the river.
Afterwards the path gets really nice. Especially in the evening sun, it was very beautiful to cross the volcanic landscape. We camped in the valley at km 40 at the hot springs.

The third day has a good path at the beginning. Just the last 3 km it gets more difficult, especially approx. 2 km before Los Peucos, where it's mostly bush bashing.
The camping at Los Peucos is nice, as well as the hot springs, but we had to pay 14k CLP p.p. to camp there and in the evening there are tons of mosquitos. We would have camped a bit further downstream, if we had known that to be honest.

The next day we took option C, like Veronica suggested, to avoid an unnecessary climb. Then we made an unnecessary climb following the road and not the main path, because we couldn't find the entry to the path right away and feared more bush bashing. But the path looked great from above.
The rest of the route until shortly after Laguna Hermosa was really good. There is not much snow left and therefore there are not a great many places to fill up water.
After Laguna Hermosa the path gets very hard to cross, due to lots of stones and gravel without a visible path.
But it's very beautiful up there and finally not hot anymore.
The descend has a easy to find path but is pretty slippery. Once you pass that the rest is pretty easy until the road, from where we hitchhiked to Antuco. We stayed at Camping Rucue for 15k CLP the camping lot. You pay for the lot not per person.

* '''2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-19 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT08-02 / Véronica '''

Route: Los Sauces - Río Ñuble crossing - backtrack to Los Sauces - hitch to Termas se Chillán (GPT08 option 2) - Los Peucos - Laguna Laja - Laguna Hermosa - CONAF near Abanico

San Fabian is a great place, loved swimming in the Ñuble River when it got hot. The owner of Cabañas San Fabian is super kind. I hitched back to the trail because I didn't want to wait all day for the bus that leaves at 6pm.

Registered with the carabineros at El Roble, but I could not ford Río Ñuble at the RR crossing. Current was very strong, and has I been able to stand up in it, the water would have easily reached my chest (I'm165 cm). I tried several times to ford the river at three different places, several km apart from each other, with no success. I would advance in the stream until I felt I couldn't take another step without being swept, and couldn't get halfway across. I suppose I should have expected this - it's a very high snow year and mid-December. I even tried calling out for help at the puesto on the west side of the river near the "no trespassing" gates, but no one was there. The long walk back to Los Sauces felt very defeating. Also, the "wooden bridges" described by Jo and Veronika are actually only cable crossings, and inaccessible by two barbed wire fences. Not possible to cross the river there either. Ríos Los Sauces and Las Truchas only came up mid-thigh though.

Regained the GPT at Termas de Chillán, Option 2. Basicall took almost the whole second day to hitch there. Beautiful trail, but steep. You get to ford hot creeks, which was pretty cool.

The trail is overgrown in some places, the worst spot is between the last puesto before Los Peucos and Los Peucos. Very hard walking through, wished I had a machete. Only lasts a km or two thankfully. All three puestos before Los Peucos looked abandoned.

Didn't meet anyone at Los Peucos since I got there fairly early in the morning, but the hot springs there are amazing. Really hot, clear water, a little stone pool in a garden. Loved spending time there.

Taking GPT08-C avoids a pointless climb and descent on the regular route, and has a nice path the whole way.

Trail gets more difficult once you start climbing up to the ridge after Laguna El Roble. The views are incredible though, absolutely spectacular. Lots of water sources up on the ridge due to many lingering snow patches. Most of them are not a problem. After the junction with GPT08-06, the trail kind of disappears. Keep an eye on the GPS as you climb and descend steeply on the slopes. It reappears again after the following camp and water waypoints.

Laguna Hermosa still has a couple snow patches on its shores, cold place to camp, but beautiful. After Laguna Hermosa is where it gets really challenging. There is no trail afterwards that I could find, basically cross country the whole way to the TR at 116.8 km. As you approach the "trailhead" waypoint, there is LOTS of scree traverses, and steep snow patches which require microspikes or extreme clambering to get around. Treacherous in some places. I fell a couple times. The ground is very loose and unstable. Things get better actually once you reach the official cross country section at Laguna Lágrima. Still some steep bits, but the ground is more consolidated, and there's more bedrock to help with traction. I reccomend taking the optional route CC-08-H. There's a faint trail to follow and it avoids clambering up on the ridge.

Very glad to see a clear track again at 116.8. But still some problematic snow fields in this stretch above Laguna Toro, where it was too steep even with microspikes, and I had to do some very careful/serious climbing around. Not fun. Fell again here. Once you reach the long descent into Valle de los Carpinteros it gets much better. Still some snow in the woods over the creek. Right now you can walk on top of it like an ice bridge. There clearly was a LOT of snow here this past winter, it lingers until 1750 m or so in the south-facing valley.

The puesto at 121.1 looks abandonned too. Lots of downed trees in the area. There was no one, and no metal gate (or any gate) whatsoever before reaching the road in the National Park.

The 4 days from Volcán Chillán to the end of the section, I saw no other human. I found this section also to be harder than GPT06, especially the last day. The snow complicates things. If you wish to avoid dangerous clambering and sketchy snow and scree traverses, take Option 06. The trail is good before then.

==Season 2021/22==

* '''2022-Jan-28 to 2022-Feb-06 / 10 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika & Jo'''

Los Sauces -> banks of Rio Ñuble -> hot springs at flanks of Chillan (-> escape to Concepción via Termas de Chillan to buy new shoes -> hot springs at flanks of Chillan) -> Los Peucos -> camp before Laguna Laja -> Laguna Hermosa -> camping Lagunillas (6 proper hiking days)

Nice section again. Hot springs in the first half, beautiful views of Laguna Laja, Volcán Antuco, Siella Veluda in the second half. Laguna Hermosa is true to its name, and was the first to not have horse or cow droppings on its sandy shores :D Sad to not have crossed Molly and Melissa.

- The lady at the cable car was not sure whether we could cross with our heavy backpacks, so we forded the river at Los Sauces.

- From about km 20 the sides of the road are fenced. The camp at km 21.6 is no longer available.

- There is a gate at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (blocking access to the trail) marked private, no entry. We saw some cars returning through a second gate (blocking access to the river) and asked if it was ok to cross the first gate. They said "For you, sure." I get the impression that Chileans rather want to keep Chileans out... This gate is not a problem NOBO.

- Fording Rio Ñuble was the deepest ford we ever did. Balls deep indeed! Quite doable though, as the water is clear.

- There may be an alternative path on the western bank, starting at the wooden bridges at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206'. Some local at the San Fabián tourist office mentioned having hiked this way.

- The trail at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (around km 30) has eroded. After searching, we had to push through some bushes on a steep ridge to continue the trail. Maybe more obvious NOBO.

- At the start of the cross country at km 34.6 get to the top of the lava strip after fording the river. For us, this was easiest at S 36° 52.853', W 071° 18.793'.

- The water at the camp at km 37.3 was mostly dried up. Don't count on it by the end of January.

- The bus stop at Termas de Chillan is close go Hotel Nevados de Chillan. There are way more buses at Las Trancas de Chillan, 8 km down the road. Fortunately, the whole area has great 4G coverage with Entel, so you can look up the bus tables with the key words "REM bus Termas de Chillan".

- The CONAF camp Los Peucos has excellent hot springs and a mini shop. Camping costs 10.000 pp. The guards are very friendly and donated some fruit :)

- The CC section around km 95 had a clear path, but the subsequent TL section before Laguna El Roble did not.

- The trail after Laguna Hermosa was hard to find, we went quite slowly clambering on the loose scree or sand. Going down the mountain ridge at the end of the CC section was similarly difficult. Fell twice - could not find solid footing on the slope.

- The lady at the puesto at km 121.6 was friendly, asked where we came from, went to, and pointed us to the exit road. She seemed friendly, but a subtle hint to "please stay off my land" would have been lost on us in translation. The new metal gate is easy to pass through. The CONAF guard's wife at the final CONAF post mentioned that we were hiking the "sendero biologico" when we mentioned Laguna Hermosa. This trail must pass over the lady's land too?

- The ATM at Antuco is broken.

- Supermercado Santa Teresa in Antuco sells 125ml bottles of alcohol desnaturalizado 96° in the nail polish section.v

* '''2022-Jan-24 / 6.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH Cerro Las Águilas / Molly and Melissa'''

At the "gate" waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.

We took the bus to Abanico and hitched to the national park, not the easiest as all the cars were full. The car was stopped at the entrance, and we had to explain our route. We weren't asked to pay, probably because we weren't really going to the national park. You walk a little through it though on some nice paths, and then you reach a gravel road. Shortly after, at the "gate" waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.
As noted previously, after climbing to the ridge on the rr, the terrain is difficult, but the views are amazing. Not a lot of water, but we managed. Many of the campsites off route, including Laguna Hermosa, require quite a climb down.
You stay high up quite a while, which gives amazing views.

The cross country along Laguna Laja has a nice path all the way. Then you reach Patricio's puesto. He's very welcoming, and has had people stay in his puesto before. We just drank coffee with him though. His brother German lives in the valley right after Laguna el Roble, but his puesto is hidden in the trees.

Alternative route Cerro Las Águilas
We chose the Cerro las Águilas alternative, because Volcán Chillán was in yellow alert. While walking there, we met two carabineros on horseback who wanted to know which way we went. Don't know if they would have forbidden the rr. The ascent to Laguna el Lobo is through deep sand, it was very tough and took way longer than we thought. We ended up camping at the Laguna which was nice enough. The ascent from there of the first little hill seemed completely unnecessary to us, at least if you have been by the laguna, as you descend to the same level. It would be worth it to walk to the right and ascend directly on the brown mountain, following the GPS from there. The ridge walk was tough as well, a lot of scrambling. The GPS often wanted us to go right of the rocky tops, where going left or directly over often seemed easier/safer. There is no water until the valley between the two passes. There, we also found a nice campsite right after the big stream on the bottom, a little to the left.
After reaching Rio Ñuble, you follow it for a long time. There are multiple streams running towards it where we had to take off our shoes - no lack of water here, though. The alternative also fords Rio Ñuble itself in a different location compared to the rr - we had no problems whatsoever there. It reached mid-thigh and wasn't too strong, and we are both around 160 cm. It is a very low snow year though, and very dry. Here would be a nice place to camp.

After rejoining the rr, we decided to continue to the waypoint "camp". That was a mistake, though, as everything around there is fenced in with big signs saying "private property". The second campsite right after is not fenced in, but doesn't look that good on the first glance. The rest of the way to Puente Ingles is gravel road. El Roble has a house that sells sodas - it has a "bebidas" sign.
We crossed Rio Los Sauces beneath the cable cars quite easily, the water was mid-thigh - again very dry year.

Puente Ingles
In Puente Ingles we stayed at a campsite a little north of the cable car crossing, marked on the map in Locus Maps as "lugar". It is 10,000 per tent, there are bathrooms, cold showers and tables. They also have a cabaña which was occupied. Puente Ingles has a small shop with sodas, ice cream, tortillas, biscuits, coffee and chips. It is quite nice to bath in the river. The bus still leaves at 7 and 10 in the morning.

* '''2021-Dec-15 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony'''

Beautiful view of volcán Antuco when walking up towards the ridge line by Laguna Laja and a staying at Los Peucos camping site was a big highlight on my journey on the GPT. Had my dinner in their wonderful hot spring while staring at the clear starlit sky in the cool night. Two nice guys working here and they even donated me some pasta, fruits and vegetables. Walking near the active Chillán Volcano and watching the fumaroles while being circled by a group of condors was also a cool experience.

With that said, this section kicked my ass. Mainly due to some bad fitting shoes I recently bought in Los Ángeles and because I suffered from bad chafing in my butt which made me walk like I had shit my pants for a couple of days. This combined with some tough terrain (specially near Laguna Laja) and countless of horseflies made this section quite challenging for me. But definitely worth it!

Like mentioned by hikers in the previous years fording Rio Ñuble can be a bit demanding especially for shorter people. It was getting late when I reached the river so I decided to camp nearby and cross the river in the morning. Had water up to the balls (i’m 189cm) and the current a bit strong but it was not too bad.
Hitched a ride from Puente El Ingles to San Fabian and later jumped on a bus to Chillán to buy new shoes once again. Room with private bathroom for 15.000 at hostal El Molino in San Fabian, nice lady who owns the place.

==Season 2020/21==

==Season 2019/20==

* '''*2019-Nov-10 / Jan Dudeck'''
Volcan Chillán remains active. The regular route passes the crater closely therefore Option 1 appears currently the saver if someone does not want skip section GPT08 completely. This option passes the danger zone with more distance. In case of an eruption volcanic ash is likely to affect Option 1 but the risk of direct volcanic effects is lower (flash flood from melting snow and glaciers, land slides, lava and flying rocks).

* '''2019-Dec-30 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias'''

Overview:
Just want to say quick that the termas vapaors in Mèdano are worth checking out, I highly recommend them. Please consider checking them out, they are only ½ km off the trail and absolutely worth it. They are sauna boxes built around a few hot rocks emitting hot steam. The result is a steam room/ sauna experience. I personally spend over 4 hours chilling out in the steam rooms.
After a 2-hour road walk on the side of the highway you make your way back on trial. This section takes you thru many areas used for grazing livestock with puestos in sight almost all the time. Carizales a small settlement right on trail has a small store and the family also sells bread. There was also a puesto that sold us fresh goat cheese and Coca Cola. It is marked as a waypoint on the GPX file about 20km south of Carizales. Much of the trail is very dry and exposed and the landscape is void of trees and vegetation. There are many great places to jump into the river and cool off. The section up and around the lake offers great views of the mountains, volcanoes nearby and Laguna Dial. The trail itself is well established and never had any real trouble navigation. There were also quite a few hot springs on trail or close by.

Difficulties: Hot and Exposed (especially in summertime). Resupply Distance.

Highlights: Hot springs. Great sweeping views. Pools of cool water to jump into in the middle of the day.

Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com

* '''2020-Jan-20 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option l start south OH 08 - 02 / Martin '''

Solo. Because I was not allowed to walk close to the Volcanoe by the carabineros, following the RR, had to take the optional start south OH 08 - 02, in Nevados de Chillán Ski Resort. Funny enough, I walked the first day across the volcanoe anyway, it had some smoke coming out but nothing dangerous happened. Then followed RR to the end. Cross country segments in the ridge close to Laguna del Laja were demanding and not ideal for a solo hiker. But it was worth the effort, one of the most amazing views I have seen so far. Beautiful section. Resupplied and stayed for one night in Abanico.

* '''2020-Jan-05 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR /Ty & America '''

Can ford river @ los sauces easily rather than walking from Puente Ingles. Cable Car was all
Locked up. Registration @ El Roble like the others. We camped at the hot rivers close to Volcan Chillan and I fucked up with the gasoline in my stove. Buzzkill...: but Fortunately there was an exit to Termas De Chillan close. We got rides easily from the road.

* '''2020-Jan-03 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie & Tom '''

Starting at El Ingles and hiking southbound towards Abanico. Lovely section however can be slow at times when the track is hard to follow.
We had to register with the Carabineros at El Roble. Before crossing Rio Nuble there is a large gate with ‘private property: no entry’ written on it. We found this off putting. The river crossing itself was fine in the early morning but could be challenging without trekking poles and with a very heavy pack.
After the Laguna de La Laja the track becomes especially more challenging and rocky. In poor weather it could be dangerous given the slippery slopes and steep descents.
We honestly found this section harder than GPT06 and would swap the difficulty ratings.
Took a bus into Los Angeles at 5pm to resupply for the next section. Did not investigate Abanico as we caught the bus as it was leaving.

* '''2020-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + optional hike along Laguna de la Laja / Martina & Ivo '''

Los Sauces to Abanico.

Los Sauces: If you tell the bus driver you want to cross the river by cable car (carro azul) he honks at the bus stop and señor Marcial comes from the other side to get you.
Ford Rio Ñuble: If you are a dwarf like me, you should ask your taller hiking partner to carry your backpack, otherwise it will get wet. Demanding.
Volcan Chillan: PLEASE NOTE: We were absolutely aware that our buddy Volcano could erupt or explode at ANY GIVEN MOMENT and that this was NOT a SAFE option to hike. (But it was beautiful! ...and a bit overgrown in some places. There is not much of the trail left before the first pass.)
Laguna de la Laja: It was beautiful but we definitively wouldn't recommend it. There is no trail along the Laguna. At the beginning you can walk on cow tracks close to the waterfront. Afterwards it's 15 km of cross country. The 3 km into the third inlet took us 3 hours and were really dangerous because of loose rocks and steep cliffs. The following investigation part (@08-04-#002) was mainly a quite nice trail, but we lost it twice and it took us ages to find it again, and in this steep and not very easy terrain you don't want to loose the trail. We were really glad when we got back to the regular route.
From Abanico there are several buses per day going directly to Los Angeles. Resupply in Abanico is possible.

* '''2019-Dec-30 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 1 / Matus & Anna '''

We had to register in Carabinieros. They didn't have a problem with leting us go even regular route, seemed like eventual crossing to Argentina is their primary issue.
Optional 1 - to the juction with valley walk without problem. Cross coutry part on the ridge was easy to navigate. On downhill there is no trail so we went crosscountry again. It's bit overgrown in some spots, we found trail cca after half of descend. Last flowing water is before juction with valley walk. We saw some water holes cca 2-3km before Laguna de Lobo.
Rest of the regular trail - cross coutry sections were demanding. Otherwise no problem.
We got hitch to Los Angeles after CONAF station so no idea about resuply or accomodation.

==Season 2018/19==

* '''2019-Jan-13 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin Lizondo '''
Volcán Chillán was in "alerta naranja".
Río Ñuble impassable at S36° 50.188' W71° 14.935' Better continue following the minor road in the alternative route. 
When hiking the alternative east route (Paso Aguila) do not descend to the valley at S36° 57.919' W71° 14.752'. It's unmantained and overgrounded, because of recent forest fires. Better stay above the tree line until Laguna El Lobo. 

=Resupply and Accommodation=

*Abanico
At least one restaurant with pizza
Store?

*Antuco (from Abanico)
Many smaller supermarkets, which have most things - easy enough to resupply here.
One of the two ferreterías has gas (the one furthest from Abanico).
Many accommodation options and some restaurants. March 2024: Good Accomodation with a nice Mapuche family in a single room, shared bath with hot shower, washing machine and including breakfast 18000 peso: Fanny, +56 9 9404 4771.
There is an ATM (Fee: 5500)at the town square southend of town which even gives some smaller notes.
Bus to Los Angeles

*Camping Parque Antuco :
10k for camping. Cabañas also. Nice calm place, swimming pool, shade. Electricity and hot showers. Homemade empanadas. Bernabe the owner is really kind and know about the GPT. His number +56 9 9507 2559.

*Puente Ingles
Store with chips, ice cream, bread, chocolate, sodas. Possibly some accomodation option at the store. Campground with one cabaña a little further down the room - sign says cabañas - 10,000 per tent, toilets with cold showers and a room with a fireplace for cooking

*San Fabián (from Puente Ingles)
Many accommodation options - almost everything was fully booked when we were there (Feb 2022).
Supermercado La Montaña seems to be the best option - not the easiest place to resupply, but definitely possible. Harder than in Antuco.
Great Venezuelan restaurant Canela Passion.
Bus to San Carlos

*San Fabian - Fev 2025 (Clara) :
- Very good resupply possible in the supermarket Los Alvis.
- Accomodation : cabaña nativa : very nice cabanas clean, big confortable bed, climatisation, kitchen, pools, jacuzzi. 35k for a 2 persons cabaña (for 1 person). Just in front when you go out, there is a place where you can buy very good tortillas de rescoldo and pan amasado. Lots of restaurants.

==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==

==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==

=Transport to and from Route=

* 2025 - 02 : there are direct buses from Chillan to San Fabian. Then San Fabian to Puente Ingles. Buses at 2 pm and 6 p.m. in front of the carabineros including Sundays and Holidays.

*Puente Ingles to San Fabián
Bus at 7 am and 10 am - leaves from the campground, drives to the shop and the back again towards San Fabián

*Bus from Antuco to Los Angeles about once an hour in daytime.

*A few buses from Abanico to Antuco or you can hitch fairly easily.

* Jan-24 / Joscha

Bus from Chillan (Terminal La Merced) a Thermas de Chillan at 8 am and 2 pm (weekends at 1:30 pm) for 3900 Pesos. The buscompany is "Rembus". Their Website isn't up to date, but you can check their Facebook page for informationen.

=Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=
* At the puesto (120,6/1513), the owner does not want us to pass through his land (as of 02/02/2025). He clearly stated that it is private property. It might now be preferable to take a detour through BB, passing well to the right beforehand and rejoining the path well after his house (which was under construction with many tents around it at that time)? (Peggy)

=Links to other Resources=

Retired Section Article [[GPT08 - Volcán Chillan]]

=Images=

[[File:Segundo_Rio_Termal_zona_cascadas.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|This river is hot! Aguas Calientes Valley]]
[[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (8).jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Laguna Laja and [[Volcán Antuco]], by Matúš Lašan]]