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For Rio Colorado to Villa O’Higgins see: m.facebook.com/story/graphql_permalink/?graphql_id=UzpfSTY3ODk3MzQ4OTpWSzo1Mzg1NDI0OTMzMTgzMDg%3D
==Season 2017/18==
==Season 2016/17==
→Season 2025/26: moved Bailey & Ohad's entry to 36H
Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format:
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=Overview=
=Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=
==Season 2025/26==
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2026-02-11 to 2026-02-14 / 4 Days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP / Antoine, Lisa & Michel'''</span>
Key take aways
- Rio Baker is a different level then the rivers we previously did on the GPT, large amount of water and big boils and whirls that appear out of nowhere kept us attentive.
- Enjoyable fast flowing river makes for a relaxed way down the river, except for the strong headwinds that can appear.
- Lots of beautiful campsites all along the river, never had to look long for one.
- If paddling all the way into Tortel: with high tide it should be possible to take one of the smaller channels to get a shortcut into town, don‘t depend on it though or be prepared to portage - we talked with locals and they weren‘t absolutely sure. BThe wind in the fjords can change very quickly and there seems to be a dangerous riptide so only do it in good conditions.
- Tortel is a very interesting town that although touristy had a lot of charme to us and was well worth visiting. Resupplying here is hard, very expensive groceries and small selection.
- camps: Day one [-47.35958, -72.87020], day 2: ~ [-47.35958, -72.87020], day 3: [-47.76292, -73.26723]
In more Details:
Day 1
We started in Cochrane, taking the bus (6:30am) to a few km north (Balsa Baker). Cold and early start. A bit of sun. Easy going at first. Wind picked up in the afternoon. Views kept getting better. Went through First rapid after scouting. Michel and Lisa took the right gate, powerful eddies became even scarier when one of their paddles broke. Antoine went for the left most gate, this requires to stick to the current line but worked best. Camped few km later in the forest as paddling with less than half of the paddle on one side proofed difficult. Managed to fix the paddle by glueing it together with epoxy - worth to bring it with us after all. Without it getting out would have been difficult.
Day 2
Start at 11:15, sunny but windy day. Feels tiring paddling against the wind and reduces the speed. Views were incredible, with big mountains around, snow-covered tops. Strong eddies at river turns kept Antoine entertained but were not too much of Lisa/Michel's liking - the fixed paddle was not fully trustworthy.
Stopped right before the second rapid "Gonzalez". Portaged as per the track file, then Antoine studied the river for ~1h before running it solo (all gear transferred to the 2nd packraft), with the double packraft further down as safety.
Antoines analysis: there was a rather safe line on the very right, with some wave/rock to overcome at the very beginning, then eddies to account for. The middle line has the major wave train and quite chaotic waves that suddenly appear/crash/vanish (definitely variable). It could be tempting to take it and move right to avoid the major waves but may prove tricky. In the end I went for the left line which has the fastest flow and minimises the central waves but lies finely between currents (repulsive currents coming from the shore/cliffs and the waves in the middle). Sticking to the line was challenging and I got drawn into some of the central waves. These were quite unbalancing, sometimes spinning the packraft sideways and filling it (no spraydeck, making it difficult to manoeuvre at the end). I managed to run the rapid overall (close to capsizing twice). Definitely challenging and full of adrenaline :)
(Equipment: solo open packraft, dry suit, full PFD, some white water experience).
We then ran down the river a few more km until the confluence with Rio Ñadis, where we found a nice campsite. There is a camping 1km off the shore (8k CLP for the night, another 8k for the sauna and they sell some dry food, eggs, bread, milk, drinks... We chose to not hike over but just slept on the riverside. Saw two beautiful big magellanic horned owls there, incredible.
Day 3
Start at 8:50. The double packraft T-Zip started leaking slightly once inflated (even after cleaning it). Rising sun on the river among fog in the fresh hours, along with beautiful cirrus sky and no wind. Big canyons giving a feel of Tarn canyon (France). Incredible landscapes all day long, very close mountains, wandering rivers surrounded by nice woods and views on glaciers and snow covered peaks. El Salto rapid portaged. Wind started around 11-12. Lunch on the water, collecting miles by the clock. Stronger winds in the afternoon but still fast river. Stopped after ~53km.
Day 4
Waking up at 7, left at 8.40 with no wind.
Easy going, nice scenery. Wind started a bit later, with some light drizzle but overall an enjoyable ride down on the last section. Took the left arm to the aeródromo at ... which barely had any flow so it was slower than expected. However timing was perfect as we arrived right when a small private jet plane landed on the short runway. Nice chat with the pilot and soon with 2 sailors (Gabriel-CL, Tim-US, Aspen) who came by to pick up rocks. I gave them a hand and they offered a ride on their motor boat to Tortel. Great views, sunny and calm weather on the shore. We got invited to Tim's house (a former restaurant) for a late lunch and tea. So enjoyable arriving by the sea to this pirate-looking harbour and sharing their company.
==Season 2024/25==
==Season 2023/24==
* <span style==Season 2022"background-color:aqua;">'''2023-Dec-31 /23==3 day / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + Variant G / Tom Pieper'''</span> For alternative entering of the Rio Baker via Rio Chacabuco see also Section 35 I really enjoyed the ride on the rio baker. Technically it was not difficult but indeed it’s a mighty stream and you will observe big boils from time to time. Due to the high speed its easy to make 50 km or more per day. The first rapid {36P} [41.8/77] can be run on the right side in the main current but watch out for strong whirlpools after. I portaged rapido {36P} [56.9/70] ‘gonzalez’. It might be not impossible and the line is quite obvious and straight, but the consequences if not sticking to the line could be severe. Jan is right mentioning losing your boat there is a catastrophe. There is a good camp spot in the woods at the begin of the portage. I think the third rapid Jan mentioned is at Settler {36H-03} [6.8/63]. I found that rather easy and went on the left side. El Salton must be portaged of course. Massive forces here. The portage trail has nice campsites, too. I found a nice camping spot at one of the small islands at S 47° 40.282’ W 073° 06.376’ with lot of ripe calafate berry and even some of the first strawberries. Most of the bigger islands have cattle. There is one last rapid at S 47° 46.027’ W 073° 17.559’ called rapido borquez. It can be easily run on the right side. I left the river at the airport an toked Variant G to the beautiful town of Caleta Tortel.
==Season 2021/22==
* <span style==Season 2020"background-color:aqua;">'''2022-Feb / Packrafting / Mikhail Bogdanov&Masha Ovchinnikova'''</span> See for https://web.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/posts/1319249015247648/21==
==Season 2019/20==
*<span style="background-color:aqua;">'''GPT36H Regular Packrafting Route / Southern End: Laguna Clara to Villa O‘Higgins/ 2020-Jan-08 / 1.5 days / Meylin Ubilla & Jan Dudeck'''</span>
The Ruta de los Pioneros“ is one of the historic routes that was created and used by the first settlers in the last century. This route connected Villa O’Higgins with Cochrane long before the Carreta Austral was completed in the year 2000.
Multiple route variations are feasible that link in further lakes. Short bushwhacking portages might be required in this case but the landscape and vegetation seams generally more open than the Valdivian rain forrest on the Aysen coast. Someone can easily spend up to 5 days discovering other packrafting routes in this area.
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2019-Dec-28 / 6 days / Option 3: Lago Quetru, Rio Pascua, Lago & Glaciar Bergues, Fiordo Buzeta / Meylin Ubilla & Jan Dudeck'''</span>
This 5 to 7 day round-trip is an fascinating hidden gemstone that combines some of the finest packrafting on lakes, rivers and fjords in touching distance to the Southern Patagonian Icefield with some demanding bushwhacking and visits of remotely living settlers. It’s South-Western Patagonia in a nutshell. The entire route traverses an area that is practically never visited by tourists and this not because of lack of attraction but because it is simply off the trotted path and requires a packraft.
Carretera Austral to Villa O’Higgins: Once you hit the Carretera Austral consider to backtrack to the refuge at the ferry landing point Rio Bravo. There you may sleep sheltered and it is the best point to hitchhike or catch a bus towards Villa O’Higgins. Diehard Thru-Hikers need to get prepared for 60 to 70 km of road walking. The regular packrafting route of this section becomes attractive again at Rio Colorado about 30 km before Villa O’Higgins.
For Rio Colorado to Villa O’Higgins see post: mhttps://www.facebook.com/storygroups/222224388283455/posts/graphql_permalink538542493318308/?graphql_id=UzpfSTY3ODk3MzQ4OTpWSzo1Mzg1NDI0OTMzMTgzMDg%3D
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2019-Dec-27 / 1 day (40km) / Regular Packrafting Route / SOBO from Tortel to Rio Bravo via Canal Montalva and Fiordo Mitchell / Meylin Ubilla & Jan Dudeck'''</span>
After packrafting Rio Baker from Cochrane to Tortel last season we verified now the continuation from Tortel to Rio Bravo in the fjords.
For Rio Baker see: mhttps://www.facebook.com/storygroups/222224388283455/permalink/graphql_permalink533705217135369/?graphql_id=UzpfSTY3ODk3MzQ4OTpWSzo1MzM3MDUyMTcxMzUzNjk%3D
We timed our travel to Tortel to arrive just before a series of low-wind day. The yr.no page predicted wind between 1 and 3 m/s during the entire next day which is exceptionally calm for this region (we had actually gusts of wind exceeding 10 m/s). We left Tortel paddling at sunrise to use the normally calmer morning to advance as much as possible and to cross in particular the most wind exposed area called by locals “quatro viento” as early as possible. “Quatro viento” means “four winds” and refers to a 2 km wide area where 4 fjords join and where often strong wind and high waves make paddling with a small raft unsafe.
To continue towards Villa O’Higgins I recommend hitchhiking or taking a bus. Diehard Thru-Hikers need to get prepared for 60 to 70 km of road walking. The regular packrafting route of this section becomes attractive again at Rio Colorado.
This packrafting route should only be attempted on two consecutive calm days. Don’t plan to complete the entire fjord route in one day. This is only feasible if the afternoon remains reasonable calm.
==Season 2018/19==
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2019-Jan-25 to 2019-Jan-27 / GPT36P Rio Baker Southbound / Regular Packrafting Route / Part 1 of 3: Cochrane to Tortel / Ricardo Campos, Jennifer Schmitz(Jen Ni), Markus Legner and Meylin Elisabeth Ubilla González'''</span>
The Rio Baker is with approx. 900 cubic meter per second Chile's largest river in terms of volume of water. Few rivers this large in the world remain undammed and free flowing. And apart from a few settlers on some of the river beaches you see barely any signs of human intervention. This makes this 170 km long river a beautiful but giant beast.
In Tortel you can resupply and bus to Cochrane and Villa O‘Higgins. A good continuation for packrafters is the Rio Colorado, Lago Colorado, Lago Cisnes, Lago Ciervo and Rio Mayer southbound on the way to Villa O‘Higgins
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2019-Jan-29 / GPT36P Rio Baker / Packrafting Route / Part 2 of 3: Tortel to Rio Colorado / With Jennifer Schmitz (Jen Ni) , Markus Legner and Meylin Elisabeth Ubilla González'''</span>
The Carretera Austral connects since 2003 Tortel with Villa O’Higgins and several buses per week connect both villages.
3. Follow GPT36H instead of GPT36P.
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2019-Jan-30 / GPT36P Rio Baker / Regular Packrafting Route / Part 3 of 3: Rio Colorado to Villa O’Higgins or Puerto Bahmondez / With Jennifer Schmitz (Jen Ni), Markus Legner and Meylin Elisabeth Ubilla González'''</span>
This packrafting combination of 4 river sections and 3 or 4 lakes (depending on finish point) makes up a senic and quite diverse packrafting day (30 to 35 km). You can remain continuously on the water till either leaving at the suspension bridge over Rio Mayer (to resupply in Villa O’Higgins) or paddle all the way to Puerto Bahmondez (if you already have a ticket for the crossing to Candelario Mancilla and all your supplies for GPT38).
When hiking on land someone can open overgrown parts by machete but when packrafting I don’t want to rely on a machete to smash a passage into an overgrown mini-river. So better skip the 22 km of Exploration Packrafting Route completely ([email protected]) or investigate only the last 8 km of this Exploration Packrafting Route that seams open on satellite images. For this investigation seak your way from about Las Turbas at the Carretera Austral to Rio Colorado (see images with updated exploration suggestion).
=Resupply and Accommodation=
==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==
=Transport to and from Route=
=Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=
=Links to other Resources=