Kilometres this section : 150
Kilometres completed : 1,443
After finding the last eight days or so of walking very hard work indeed, I decide to take things a bit easier, from Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez it is around 40km to another small town, Villa Cerro Castillo, and I am doing it in two days. So, I don't even start until 11:30, walking north on provincial road X735. As is often the way, the road is a lovely walk, following Río Ibáñez but without any need for steep up and down. I stop for lunch by the astonishing Salto del Río Ibáñez, vast quantities of water gushing down the rocky hillside. Then a gentle enough climb, onto route X723 which runs alongside Río Claro in a dramatic gorge. Then up to a pass, the road levels off despite the rocky cliffs rising on all sides, and an early camp, not even 6pm yet. I am so lazy. I don't work much harder the next day of course, a little more road, then one of the best footpaths I've encountered here, passing between Lago Central and Lago Tamango, before climbing into glorious natural parkland, pine trees and grassy clearings, with a view north to the towering mountains I'll be walking through next. The route is regularly marked by poles with red and white stripes, and the gates even have steps for walkers! By mid-afternoon I am in Villa Cerro Castillo, another lovely campsite, and a fine dinner, a massive salmon fillet with 'mil hojas de papas' - basically pommes dauphinoise.
Right, into the mountains then, this route is supposed to be pretty special, through the Cerro Castillo national park. Six kilometres out of town to the trailhead, I am expecting to have to pay to get in, but in fact it's much worse, the official simply won't accept my plan to walk north. Apparently there is a rule, you see, this route can only be walked the other way - from here it would be difficult, and steeply uphill. The horror! Well, no help for it, I retrace my steps, then head up the Carretera Austral. It certainly is a very scenic road, climbing via a series of switchbacks to a viewpoint looking back over Río Ibáñez. From here, easy walking up to a high point, between dramatic walls of rock, and a gentle descent alongside a river. Eventually I reach Las Horquetas, the other end of the oh so difficult trail - recommended pace for it is four days, I gather, although my route involved veering off north before here. Well, an easy enough day at least, and I find a sneaky spot to camp by the river without difficulty.
I think I am only 60km or so from Coyhaique, along the Carretera Austral - it is annoying not to be on my planned route, which has waypoints every 5km so I always know the distance pretty well. So anyway, my thinking is, rather than walk the highway all the way there, I can detour onto minor roads, avoid the traffic, and even get back to my route this afternoon. Well, the first detour, on route X678, works well, it is indeed traffic free, barring a couple of friendly Gendarmerias. Lovely countryside here too, seems more agricultural than what I have seen prior to now, lots of cows and mown fields with bales of fresh hay. Back to the highway, wow, lots of cars now, I can't wait to get off it, onto route X674 now. Again charming, through green Valle Simpson, with mountains ahead. But when, getting into late afternoon, I see a sign reading, 'Villa Frei 20km' I am not best pleased, this means I am still nearly 60km from Coyhaique. Nothing for it but a forced march until 8pm or so before camping. From Villa Frei I take route X648, there are signs telling me I am on the Sendero de Chile, well nice to be on a named trail, and indeed it is a pretty route, winding past numerous lakes. I can see why this way is so much longer than the highway, the road snakes back and forth, but it's pretty flat and I make good time. I could really do without the resurfacing work on the last 10km past the airport though. But I make it before 6pm, time enough to check in to a hostal, and have a shower before heading out for beer and yes, a giant burger. Coyhaique - a fun name for non-native speakers of Spanish to say - is the provincial capital, big enough to have supermarkets and a variety of restaurants. Still not the most impressive place, but good enough for me.
Incidentally, keen readers (ha) may notice that I have changed the name of this little adventure. It turns out that Mr. Dudeck, who came up with the name 'Greater Patagonian Trail', feels a... strong sense of ownership of the name, and the idea of a collection of routes with that name. Out of respect for that, and given that I am walking my own route which only sometimes follows his, I am changing the name. At time of writing, posts prior to this one still use the GPT name, but I will go back and edit them at some point, adding a note to the first post.
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