Cambios

After heavy rain the lake level rises levels rise quickly, therefore camping close to water should be avoided in rain or instable weather. We noticed a 0.3 m rise in one night. Driftwood in elevated areas indicates seasonal water level changes of up to 3 m! Also, the rapids along Lago Copa appear to change significant depending on the lake water level. We have seen the final rapid where Lago Copa drains into Lago Escondido from Lago Copa Escondido once after weeks of heavy rain (Jan in January 2018) and a second time now after average summer weather (Jan in January 2019) and the situation was completely different.

The first documented traverse of this route was made by the explorer Augusto Grosse in 1944. Grosse with a couple of man explored this valley all the way to the port town Puerto Cisnes at the Pacific Ocean with a wooden boat. One or two decades later the first settlers attempted to “hacer patria” along the lakes and rivers of this valley. At both sides of Rio Picacho you still find cattle pastures and a couple of houses but all settlers left Lago Copa and only one settler remains on the more accessible side of Lago Escondido (Don Transito Lopez). A last visible reminder of the settling attempt at Lago Copa are two abandoned fishing lodges; one smashed by landslide and the other one still standing offering some shelter before it will collapse in a couple of years. We slept one night on the terrace under the roof of the abandoned building at Kilometer 47.8 (was a luxury fishing lodge, located right after where Rio Picacho flow flows into Lago Copa on the right Lake shore). Having a roof in rain was a delight but it remains unclear when this building collapses. We heard that occasionally motor boats travel on Rio Picacho to Lago Copa for exclusive fishing tours but they probably do no pass the first rapid on Lago Copa and certainly not the second rapid.