18
ediciones
Cambios
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* Jan-26-2024 to Jan-31-2024 / 6 days / SOBO / 2A - 02 - RR Matthias de AustriaVery difficult.
Fording: no problemsBig locked gate at 76.7, all water levels lowsome dogs barking, I wait a bit until a friendly lady shows up. Dogs now calm. We chat a bit and I continue, climb over the stonewall a few meters right to the gate.
Camps: Day 1: with water -34Car picks me up shortly after and drives me to La Higuera in Agua Buena.4001Very friendly,-70.5742can take a shower, Day 2: with water -34.4823do laundry,-70.6143 Day 3: with water -34.5094wifi,-70.6531 sandy next to big bouldervegetarian dinner+little desert, Day 4: shortly after pass 55.9beers, very, very little waterbreakfast, got a matress in the still unfinished rooms (no good campelectricity, Day 5: windows, doors nor bathroom). But he gave me a lamp and a power cable for charging. Unfortunately it was extremely noisy at night due to barking dogs and several roosters. Total cost 55k pesos. I also got some free fruit and lunch the next day, and was allowed to go with the car when they drove to San Fernando, they drove me to Puente Negro, from where I quickly hitchhiked to Las Peñas.
→Season 2023/24
==Season 2023/24==
*2024-Feb-29 to Mar-03/ 4 days/ 104 km/ Alex + Andrey
GPT03 (Rios Claros) Exploration:
Option 3 (Rio Claro Alto and Paso Coligues) SOBO
Option 7 (Baule Valley) EABO (new, but no, Tomas did it in 2022)
Option 1 (RN Rio Los Cipreses) NOBO
Base weight 2.9 kg
Brief summary:
This exploration unexpectedly turned into the discovery of one of the most beautiful mountain valleys I have ever seen in Chile.
In my opinion, the combination of options 3, 7 and 1 is a very difficult, but very attractive alternative to the northern part of the regular route for section 03.
The difficulties on options 7 and 1 are not exceptional, but their density and variety in such a short section pose a serious challenge even for experienced hikers:
Steep scree and rocky slopes and traverses.
One very difficult ford
Passing narrow gorges with an active river
Bushwhacking
Even swamps (!)
Details, tips:
The first part of the route (Option 3) until Pass3 (Pass ? {03-03} [23.6+0.2/2634]) is pretty easy.
The trail between Pass3 and Pass4 is not always in place, but CC here does not present significant difficulties.
The main obstacle for us was the navigation challenge for Baule Valley after Pass4.
This valley consists of several beautiful amphitheaters separated by a series of vertical rock belts with numerous waterfalls.
Although we found the remains of an old horse trail in the valley, the lack of any signs of its use in recent years raises questions about its relevance.
Also, the upper amphitheater (from the Pass4 to the first rock belt) turned out to be (at the end of February!) under snow, which complicated the search for the remains of the old trail and we were forced to create our own foot path. After some exploration we managed to find a northern passage (a steep but simple green gully) in the upper rock belt towards a small intermediate valley with a lake to the north, from where the path winds through three more rock belts to the middle valley, a very spectacular point.
We walked around the lower rocky belt along the very steep scree southern slope. The path below on OSM maps is represented as a trail, which it is not. This is a very demanding 100% CC on the bottom of a canyon with an active river. In my opinion, in this place it is worth trying to find a bypass of the canyon 100-150m higher along the right (southern) bank of the river.
Attention! The following is information about Option 1 RN Rio Los Cipreses actual as of the end of February 2024:
The southern part of the Reserva nacional Río de Los Cipreses (the Río de Los Cipreses canyon itself) for visiting requires authorization from CONAF, which is extremely doubtful to obtain, so passing SOBO through the valley may be a violation of the rules, but at the moment there is no registration for exiting from the park.
Ford 9 (Ford {03-01} [39.1/1468] ) is very difficult even in late February and can be impossible early-to-mid season.
The valley above this ford apparently has not been visited for a long time and is significantly overgrown
More photos and trek are here:
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/rios-claros-valle-baule-rio-los-cipreses-chile-163289798
* 2024-Jan-26 to 2024-Jan-31 / 5.5 days / SOBO / 02A - 02 - RR - D - RR / Matthias de Austria
Option 02: Large gate with various prohibition signs at -34.2746,-70.5931 on the H-35 road, so I take 02A, a good choice, a nice, easy path along a canal with clear water, in the shade in the morning. Apparently a favourite hiking route for the locals, with numerous fire pits, some of them quite dirty.
Parts of the path before the pass 03 36.5 are overgrown until you reach higher altitude. You are very often in close physical contact with the local flora. I saw a snake there, a culebra de cola. Thought about it later while bushbashing - how many of them are right now close to me? A short section of the path is impassable with dense thorns (at -34.4261,-70.5885), but you can get out of the way with some light bushbashing and boulder climbing over the river, maybe 200 metres. Good training for the serious bushbashing after the pass. There stay close to the gps track, trying to go back to the track, even just 50m through the bushes, can be very hard as I learned by trying.
Water: Plenty in the beginning, unmarked at -34.3191,-70.5698, possible camp shortly after.
Water at -34.3651, -70.5603
Locked gate shortly before 25.3/1096, climb over
Plenty of little streams afterwards almost until the pass. Fill up before you reach it, no water afterwards for some time and bushbashing might take longer than planned and can be exhausting. Fill up water at the stream (also nice pool) at Settler 03 49.7(there was a closed gate but you can bypass it on the little riverbed next to it, where also the pool is), long exhausting hike up to the pass 03 55.9 follows, with only one stream quite far up.Nice spring at -34.5670,-70.7224, 2 or 3km before 05 starts at the final pass. Fording: no problems, all water levels low. Except Rio Claro, wild river, lots of water with strong stream. I camped nearby, but next morning it was only a bit less water, scary. I took the detour to the bridge (water waves over bridge, but crossing no problem) at -34.4820,-70.7278 Camps: Day 1: with water -34.4001,-70.5742, Day 2: with water -34.4823,-70.6143 Day 3: with water -34.5094,-70.6531 sandy next to big boulder, Day 4: shortly after pass 55.9, very, very little water, no good camp, Day 5: camped next to an old fall down tree over the river at 71.5/957 with pool but very cold water
Small supermarket (+ a mini market, but did not visit) in Agua Buena, was open from about 10am, but may vary. Enough good food for the next stage.