Lesser Patagonian Trail : Lago Puelo to Ensenada

Kilometres this section : 202

Kilometres completed : 2,325

My day off in Lago Puelo went very well, but there was just one moment I could have done without - the ladies in the tourist information office telling me that the nearby border crossing, the trail leading to it, and indeed all the trails, were shut.  Too much risk of fire, they said.  Well, I have to try, this is the pass I need to go through, the best alternative I can see would be a couple of hundred kilometres north, a fair bit of that on a highway.  Also I am down to my last 6,000 Argentine Pesos, enough for one pint of beer...  Well, the short route out of town seems well walked, I do have to wade Río Azul, waist deep but no current.  From there, a well maintained trail in the national park, I see plenty of signs, saying how far to the border and so on, nothing saying it's shut.  In fact it's an easy 9km through the woods to the border post, where the friendly guard assures me that yes, I can cross.  He seems impressed by my adventure, and even shares his 'mate' with me, something of an honour.  It's not unlike tea.  Anyway, the day continues, close to one lake after another, Lago Puelo of course, then Lago Inferior after the border.  I only get glimpses of the water though as the trail, still good, stays in the trees.  To the Chilean border post, with a real life other hiker, I have not seen many.  Again the guard is super friendly, that is my last crossing of the trip done!  One more lake, Lago de las Rocas, and some difficult walking, several km of little used trail, lots of clambering over trees.  Later, there's some tricky bouldering by the lake, but still over 30km done, it will do.  Once again I saw animals on the trail, if not very exotic ones - at one point, surely a feral pig, then later three very cute piglets!

For another 10km or so, a mix of well maintained trail, not so well maintained, and some nice logging track.  Then I hit a road, route V729, next to Río Puelo.  The river is broad, deep, and fast flowing, and my planned route involves crossing it, then again later on.  Yes, I think this is a bit of the GPT.  Honestly after the last week I am not up for this, I don't have much faith in there actually being a trail on the other side, and how to cross?  I think the idea is to pay a local with a motor boat?  Well no, I can stay on the road for the rest of today, as a bonus this saves 12km.  Not easy though, plenty of steep up and down, not terribly scenic either as I walk between trees, briefly glimpsing yet another Lago Verde.  Still, seems a popular tourist destination, many campsites and cabins, this explains why this dead end road has so much traffic I guess.  Also why the tiny village of Llanada Grande has a large supermarket, I really didn't need to carry so much food from Argentina.  Well, I get some bonus biscuits, and why not, a carton of wine to celebrate my return to the country.

From my camp by Río Manso, the route follows the river upstream, trail for the next 70km or so, as ever the question is, will the trail be walkable, or even exist?  Well it starts off just fine, then I meet an actual hiker!  He is even English, and tells me the trail is just fine, if a bit muddy, this is good.  Of course it does involve plenty of gruelling ascent, I can cope with this, and in fact there is little mud.  Plenty of people too, I stand aside for a big party of Americans, and later a group of horses barrel towards me, some with riders.  One guy warns me of wasps, I guess a horse got stung?  They don't bother me anyway - thankfully I have been largely untroubled by insects for a while.  Anyway, more climbing through woods, with respite from time to time as the trail passes through pasture.  More, smaller rivers, Río los Morros, then Río Desague, which leads me to a campsite by Lago Vidal Gormaz - facilities may be pretty basic, but 7 dollars gets me a place and a can of beer, splendid.

There's more trail before I return to civilization, to begin with an easy enough bit past the lake - it doesn't even climb much.  At the north end, a guy greets me and I assume he also has a little campsite - there are tents!  But in fact he is some kind of official, and wants to know my name, passport number, etc., well fine.  Then more climbing, past Lago Chico, then Lago Grande, and finally a pass, anticlimactic as it is just a little way above the last lake.  So all downhill now, more or less, should be OK - or maybe not.  I meet a Scandinavian couple, they say the trail is really bad, they have taken nine hours to do 14km, so starting from where I want to finish today.  At that pace I'll get there around midnight...  Well, it is downhill, steeply at first, then following Río Cochamó downstream, without too much random uphill.  The problem is the mud, yes there's a lot and it is pretty bad.  But I struggle through it, reaching a campsite before 8pm, just short of La Junta where there's actually a store, I doubt they'd take credit cards up here though.  I suspect I ought to pay to camp here too...

Well, an early start, I get asked for my details again but payment is not mentioned.  There really are a lot of people here, this makes me more confident about the last 10km of trail, and indeed at first it is not so bad.  All along Río Cochamó I've walked on decaying boardwalks and steps, but here there's new construction, even bridges.  But still a lot of mud, the worst is where passage of water and horses has worn a long tunnel into the ground, the bottom is a pit of mud... Only 10km though, it is done by midday, and then it is very nice to walk on road, a couple of hours to Cochamó the town.  I only need three things here, food for lunch, gas for cooking and some cash.  The last proves impossible, in a town that clearly subsists on tourism there is no ATM, aargh.  I eventually find gas, and a store that can get their card reader to work, but wow, two and a half hours wasted.  Onwards, Ruta V69 is a lovely walk, with long, long Estuario de Reloncaví to my left - yes, I am basically on the Pacific here.  I'd been aiming for a campsite on my map at around 35km for the day, but passing another a km or two early, I can't resist.  Yay, they take cards, camping and a couple of beers for eleven dollars, all good.

One more day of walking and I can have a rest, fortunately it is an easy day, road all the way.  I enjoy glorious panoramic views of the estuary, then briefly climb, mostly this is pretty flat going though.  It's clearly all about the tourism here, seems like every few hundred metres there's a campsite or store.  As I walk, a looming presence appears ahead, the massive cone of Volcán Osorno - I also start to see signs indicating I'm on an evacuation route, with a little picture of an erupting volcano.  Hmm.  Well, I reach Ensenada safely, it is just a little collection of campsites, cabañas and restaurants, but what more do I need.  Yay, a bed to sleep in, and yes, beer and pizza.