Cambios

* 2022-Dec-04 / SOBO option Option 1: Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo / Tomáš

I really wanted to try the option through Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo. I took the bus MB-74 to Pirque. The last stop is here: 33.7290444S, 70.5371567W from there one can walk along the airport (there . There was a sign saying it is prohibited to enter, but some people told me I can pass), once . From there one can walk along the airport. Once you get to the main road, there is a locked gate, but the fence can be crawled under. I would recommend to take the standard route for cars, the walk eas was schorching. It was sundaySunday, I am not sure the other bus lines were on in service. I have not seen them, MB74 seemed to be going once every twenty minutes or so for 900 pesos.

Once on the standard route, I hitched a car going to the reserve, we put my backpack to into the trunk, so the CONAF guards did not notice me at all and did not tell me anything. I had a reservation made online, there is a day limit of visitors. It cost 1150o 11500 pesos.

Once in the reserve, I took the trail going west of the stream, nobody (so the stream was on my left hand going uphill). Nobody noticed me and then I have not met anybody for 4 days. The trail is fairly clear, one goes up along a stream up until around 1900 metres (up to the last recommended camp). From then on until the next nextother side of the mountain, there is no reliable water(I slept near a marsh around 2650m, but the water would not have been great).

The route is quite attractive. Walking in the lower valley in the heat is really sweat inducing. It took me two 1,5 days to go up to the border of the reserve, I was weak from not much sleep before and the heat. But also it is quite far and I have not managed to get to started walking until six or so on the reserve before noonfirst day as I rested quite a few hours waiting for te heat to pass.