GPT25H - Aldea Escolar

• 2022 Nov 12 Frank

The Information centre at Villa Futalaufquen said the trail is closed, no one has hiked there in 2 years & there are a lot of fallen trees across the trail

• 2023-Mar-05 / SOBO / RR + 25H-F and 25H-01 / 1.5 days / Martin & Helena

We followed RR for the first 10kms until the barbed wire fence. It was well marked and maintained. We spent the night before settler waypoint at around km 8, there are many good campspots around this part with nice view of the mountains and lake, but no water, that is actually after the settlement. At around km 10 we jumped on the main road to save some time as the trail seemed to become a little less visible and with barbed wire fences in front of us. Later we continued with the F option to connect back to RR.

Once back on the RR, we were not sure which way to take next, bc recent report stated that bush-bashing is involved on the RR. We decided to go with the shorter, but suspiciously straight Option 1. It is nice MR in the beginning, later leading into the forest where you follow a clear trail. It kind of disappears after reaching the river, where you have 2 options. It seemed like the trail continues with the western option but we soon run into a very thorny bush field with some barbed wires on the ground which made us to look for a different way. We tried to go around without success bc of dense bamboo, so we got back to try the other, a little shorter C option. It turned out to be pure bush bashing without any trail to follow, full of fallen trees and dense bush. Very slow pace. After around 2 hrs we connected back to the RR trail that is marked with little color flags. We have seen them from different directions so there might be some path to follow, that would avoid that long BB. After you reach the MR, there is a settler waypoint, that is now a refugio, but we didn’t check. The way down is without problem. Couple of small shops in Aldea Escolar. We asked for cabana in the first one we met and were lucky.

Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka

• 2022 Nov 13-14 Frank SOBO

As rivers were running high & the route was officially closed I went around it on the road. 1 day Villa Futalaufquen-Trevelen then 2 hours to Aldea Escolar

• 2020-Jan-15-16 / Shaun / Regular hiking route southbound

The southbound start of this section is now open and so there is no need to initially re-route along the road. The trail is overgrown in a number of places which slows progress. But the only tricky piece was a few kms around km14 where the trail disappeared several times under bushes or fallen bamboo for a little while. But it always reappeared exactly where the gps projected. There were lovely views in many places along the section, especially early on where the past fire damage allows you to see a ring of mountains in every direction.

Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route

Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)

The Regular Route is best hiked from November to April.

Hiking in either a northbound or southbound direction is feasible and recommended.

The section is 40km long and takes about a day and a half to complete.

There are panoramic views, and an openness not common in adjacent sections. There are also a few kms of interesting bamboo forest.

Due to the ocasional overgrown state of the trail, bush bashing is required in several places and progress is a bit slow in many other places. However, the trail has been passable throughout.

Resupply Town

Town: Trevelin/Esquel. Trevelin is a large town with all necessary amenities for resupply and rest.La Anonima supermarket is 2KM south of the centre. There are 2 shops with hiking gear. Lodging options are primarily cabañas, but there is one local hospidaje. A bus to Esquel, a slightly larger town with more grocery and lodging options, runs every hour for 42 pesos. It is also worth noting there is a hospital in both towns. Although we spent a fair amount of time in the Esquel hospital, we heard rumours the Trevelin one was way nicer. Who were we to complain though, Argentinean healthcare is free!

In Aldea Escolar itself, there are at least three basic food shops and accommodation at Cabañas Rosa.

Shopping: Food

Shopping: Fuel

Shopping: Equipment

Services: Restaurants

Services: Laundry

Services: ATM and Money Exchange

Accommodation: Hostals and Hotels

Accommodation: Cabañas

Accommodation: Camping

=Transport: Ground Transport

Transport: Ferries

Transport: Shipping Services

Resupply on the Trail

Location, Names, Available Items and Services

Access to Start

Return from Finish

Escape Options

Regular Hiking Route

Previously, the opening few southbound kms of this section were officially closed, but they have since reopened. There is clear evidence of past fire damage in the opening segment and this has contributed to the openness of that segment.

Regular Packrafting Route

Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18

This section was not completed. We left the route after 24.5 km and went into Trevelin due to sickness. See below for notes about the part we did complete. Alternate: At the Villa Futalaufquen information center, a ranger informed us that the part of GPT25H in Parque Nacional Los Alerces is closed due to fire closure. She could not give us any information about when the trail would reopen. To bypass this part, walk along highway RP71 to the entrance gate for the national park. 2 to 3 kilometers past the national park entrance, turn off onto a gravel road that heads south southwest to rejoin the regular route. The route becomes a maze of dirt trails that can be hard to follow. There was heavy GPS use in this section. Within a few kilometers, the trail disappears into thick brush and begins to follow a fenceline. It is slow going through here. After reaching the end of the fenceline, we decided to go to Trevelin for a week of illness and misery.