GPT33P (Rio Ibanez)

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* 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

Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.

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Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions

Season 2022/23

• REGULAR PACKRAFTING ROUTE :

Kilometer 0.0 to 98.7: Same as Regular Hiking Route.

Packrafting Kilometer 98.7 to 131.4: Packrafting the coast of Lago General Carrera from Puerto Avellano to Levicán

Due to the normally strong wind and the resulting high waves packrafting Lago General Carrera is challenging and not inherently safe even if paddling close to the shore and in the predominant wind direction (from Puerto Avellano towards Levicán). This lake is infamous for suddenly starting wind, therefore don’t rely only on your observations but check the wind forecast before inflating the packraft. Only if a sufficiently long window of calm weather is predicted consider packrafting. The steep and rocky coast often inhibits exiting the lake and connecting to the trail. The 8.5 km long segment between [Lake In/Out @33H-104.6] and [Lake In/Out @33H-114.7] is without a suitable connection to the trail.

First 6.6 km till from [Lake In/Out @33H-98.9] to [Lake In/Out @33H-104.6]: Continuously easy lake exit and good trail access

Next 4.3 km till [Emergency Lake Out @33H-109.8]: No safe lake exit and no access to trail

At [Emergency Lake Out @33H-109.8]: Small beach for emergency lake exit but very difficult access to trail

Next 4.2 km till [Lake In/Out @33H-114.7]: No safe lake exit and no access to trail

At [Lake In/Out @33H-114.7]: Easy lake exit and good access to trail

Next 2.0 km till [Lake In/Out @33H-116.7]: No safe lake exit and no access to trail

Next 1.7 km till [Lake In/Out @33H-116.7]: Continuously easy lake exit and good access to trail

Next 10 km till [Lake In/Out @33H-127.7]: At least every 2 km beaches to exit lake but very difficult access to trail

Packrafting from Levicán to Puerto Avellano in south-western direction is not recommended due to the opposite predominant wind direction.

Kilometer 131.4 to 143.8: Walking from Levicán to Rio Ibañez at [River In @33H-143.8]

Packrafting from Levican to Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez in northern direction is not recommended due to the opposite predominant wind direction. Therefore packrafter should walk the hiking route from Levicãn to Rio Ibañez at [River In @33H-143.8]. Only when travelling from Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez to Levian packrafting might be considered on an exceptionally calm morning or evening.

Packrafting Kilometer 143.8 to 147.0: Packraft crossing of Rio Ibañez and walk to Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez

With a packraft it is normally not necessary to roadwalk 12.6 km via [Bridge @33H-148.7] and [Bridge @33H-149.5] to Puerto Ingeniero Ibañaez but Rio Ibañez can be crossed by packraft. Therefore, packrafters should consider inflating the packraft at [River In @33H-143.8] and take the 3.1 km short cut into town.

• GPT33H Option 9 Laguna Verde

Packrafters that hike the section GPT33H northbound i.e. after crossing Lago General Carrera from Fachinal to Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez best terminate this section via Option 9 to use the packraft on the final 21 km to Villa Cerro Castillo. For more information see Combining GPT33H with GPT32.

• GPT33H Option 10 Río Murta

This option is attractive for packrafters that use public transportation to cherry-pick easily accessible water routes or that plan to hike Option 4, Option 5 and Option 8 or that want to packraft GPT33H Option 11 along the shore of Lago General Carrera.

Rio Murta is a beautiful turquoise river that meanders through a wide valley and is surrounded by snow-covered peaks. The 44 km long river section from the recommended put-in till the outlet into Lago General Carrera is free of rapids and can be packrafted southbound only. The river descends gradually 70 m (elevation difference) over these 44 km what results in a moderate to fast river speed. The water volume changes substantially between seasons and depending on rain. Especially in late summer and autumn this river can be rather shallow even for a packraft resulting in ground contacts. A bigger hazard for packrafters are the dead trees in the bends where the current often accelerates. Many wide gravel banks facilitate entering and exiting the river. The nearby Carretera Austral can be easily reached in various locations

• GPT33H Option 11 Lago General Carrera Oeste

Packrafters that look for a special challenge may consider paddling along the shore of Lago General Carrera. But only patient packrafters without a tight schedule may attempt this route should as the normally strong wind makes packrafting most of the time unsafe. During spring or autumn chances are better to have some days with less wind than during summer.

The proposed route follows the shoreline close to lake exits and in parallel to land routes to continue walking if wind impedes packrafting. Due to the predominant wind direction this route can only be paddled in westbound direction. The crossing from Puerto Tranquilo to Puerto Sanchez requires particular caution and should only be attempted on a very calm morning or evening [ OP-LK-2@33H-11-#002]. It is not advisable to packraft between [Lake In/Out @33H-11-#006] and [Lake In/Out @33H-11-#007] as the steep and particular wind exposed coast impedes exiting the lake in this 12 km long area. The advises to the #Regular Packrafting Route are equally applicable.

Season 2017/18

• Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:

Walk out of Villa Cerro Castillo along a dirt road to the put-in for Río Ibañez located at a rocky beach. At the time of our hike, there was construction going on in this area so don’t be surprised if the put-in changes. The river is wide, slow moving, and at lower flows there are many sandbars hidden just below the surface that will beach even packrafts. After about 20.5 km, packrafters must take out to portage around a Class V+ waterfall at a sandy beach surrounded by steep gravel slopes. The portage is a short cross-country route through farmland which ends at a gate. Just past the gate is Highway X-735. The put-in for the second part of the Río Ibañez float is at a sandy beach. This section of the river to Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez is also very slow moving. Strong winds may make packrafting impractical.

Town: Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez is a small town with a few food options and a small grocery store. The docks for the ferry to Chile Chico across Lago General Carrera is located on the southeast edge of town.

Links to other Resources

Retired Section Article GPT33P - Río Ibañez

Images

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GPT33P: Río Ibañez

GPT33P: Río Ibañez				Hiking		Packrafting
Group	H: Aysen Sur		Total	-	-	34.3 km	7 h
Region	Chile: Aysén (XI)		Trails (TL)	-	-	-	-
Start	Villa Cerro Castillo		Minor Roads (MR)	-	-	2.3 km	6.6%
Finish	Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez (Puerto)		Primary Roads (PR)	-	-	2.4 km	7.0%
Status	Published & Verified		Cross-Country (CC)	-	-	1.9 km	5.4%
Traversable	Sep - May		Bush-Bashing (BB)	-	-	-	-
Packraft	Required		Ferry (FY)	-	-	-	-
Connects to	GPT32, GPT33H, GPT34H, GPT34P		Investigation (I)	-	-	-	-
Options	8 km (Variants Only)		Exploration (EXP)	-	-	-	-
	Hiking	Packrafting		Total on Water		27.8 km	80.9%
Attraction	-	4 (of 5)		River (RI)		27.8 km	80.9%
Difficulty	-	3 (of 5)		Lake (LK)		-	-
Direction	None	Only ↓		Fjord (FJ)		-	-
Comment	Hiking: Hiking not feasible
Character	Farmland, Settlers, River Packrafting
Challenges	-

Elevation Profile of Regular Packrafting Route

Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)