Kilometres this section : 223
Kilometres completed : 998
I was pleased to see the river running through Tres Lagos has plenty of water, a fair current too. It flows from the north, where I'm heading of course, hopefully a sign that there will be water - the next section is exciting in various ways, it would be good not to worry about being able to drink. In fact, my route follows Rio Chalía all morning, along what I guess is a glaciated valley, steep sides of bare stone and gravel, with a broad, flat bottom that is relatively lush with vegetation. It's a pleasant walk, and easy again though my pack is heavy, along provincial road 31, another gravel track with little traffic. The wind is not so bad today, although as usual it gets stronger in the afternoon, biting cold of course as I climb up to an arid high plain, no way I am camping here. It is nearly 8 by the time I start to lose height again, and find a shallow bowl where hopefully the somewhat weaker wind won't break my tent.
The tent survives, I get up and keep walking Ruta Provincial 31, the wind blows, I am approaching snow-tipped mountains, but honestly now my ambition is limited to, going somewhere that isn't windy all the time. Well, it takes until the afternoon, now on a track leading to an estancia, it follows Rio Tar upstream, and not only is there water, but a spectacular steep sided canyon, idyllic grassy terrain underfoot too. Before long I am into one of the challenges of this section, 80km or so with no path. I leave the river, and what I expected to be a gentle climb turns out to cross many arroyos - dry streams, some of them very deep, progress is slow. Thankfully after a km or two things improve, I make a good pace for an hour before camping, and, whisper it, there's not much wind. From here I am relieved to find that as I hoped, I am able to head due north over a flat plain, grass, sand and stones underfoot, it isn't too bad at all. Plenty of water too, little lakes and ponds dot the landscape, and I wade a substantial river at one point - only ankle deep, but cold and with a strong current. Sadly in the afternoon the wind returns, crazy strong as ever, I am getting a little tired of wind now. Nothing doing but to press on, following a stream for a while, also tracks made by alpacas, wild horses, or both. A circular dent in the ground near that stream is the best shelter I can find to camp in.
I am getting through the wilderness, a few ups and downs, I wade another river, climb a bit then descend to another river which I follow upstream. A lovely place this, horses and alpacas graze on the grassy banks, and the wind is... tolerable. The climb is gentle enough, though at times I need to scale the banks, and more than once wade across. As I ascend, the terrain grows bleaker, eventually the river runs between lifeless slopes of sand, gravel and stone, with patches of snow here and there. Up to a pass, 1500m is my highest point of the trail so far, has anyone ever been here? No sign of a cairn, so I make one, then descend, wow, very steep and narrow on the other side. I lose altitude fast, good as it is time to camp, a flat patch of moss will do. Continuing downstream, the surroundings grow greener, and in an awesome moment, an eagle hovers in the air mere feet away. From below I hear the bleating of sheep, and in the distance there are trees - I have missed trees, not least the way they provide shelter from the wind. Before long I am on a proper gravel track, wow, I got through the wilderness. I follow tracks all day, lovely walking through the forest, then the magnificent broad valley of Rio Mayer, high snowy mountains to either side. Not a bad place to camp.
15km along provincial road 81, lovely walking with Rio Mayer to my left, but today a few of the obstacles that make this section so exciting crop up - specifically, it is time to try to get back into Chile. I've worried about this in particular as, having failed to consider what date I was leaving Tres Lagos, I'm arriving at the border on Christmas day. Well as it turns out, jovial chaps in colourful football tops at the Argentine post are happy to stamp my passport. I then have another 15km to the border itself, and wow, this must be one of the world's most scenic border crossings, a grassy trail in and out of woods with mountains all around. With 5km to go I cross the churning Rio Carreras on a dubious pedestrian suspension bridge, from there the path vanishes, only my GPS gets me through. On the Chilean side the border guards are most hospitable, I get to charge my phone, use their WiFi, there's even orange juice and cake! Well, it is Christmas. But I also wait around for an hour... Apparently the Argentines should have given me some paper? Or maybe their head office is checking that I didn't commit any heinous crimes last month - well in the end I get another stamp, success! A few km more and... camp in the middle of nowhere. Yes, the excitement isn't over, I started with a heavy pack for a reason, it is still 140km to the next town. But that can wait until tomorrow.
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