After half an hour walking I cross the tarmac road, leading to Argentina. At this early morning hour there is no traffic. I quickly cross the road and continue on the other side. A herd of cattle gives way, causing a huge dust cloud.
I continue trailless across the flat plain, leading to Laguna del Maule. It is quite chilly, so I wear fleece and jacket. Once I need to cross the creek barefoot.
The lake is about 15x25 km wide and contains the caldera of volcanoes which are still quite active. It is possible, that in the not too distant future there will be massive eruptions...
I follow the eastern shore of the lake. For a short while there is a cattle trail, but mostly I hike trackless. After a flat, sandy stretch, the walking is mostly on rocky terraces above the Laguna, not too hard to walk.
There are quite a lot of birds and once I spot a huge fish. The water of the lake is crystal clear!
The stoney terraces give way for a wide white shore out of fine gravel and white sand. Speed hiking terrain!
At around noon I spot another pedestrian, walking towards me. First I think of another GPT-hiker, but than it turns out that the guy is carrying a fishing rod. Sargente Rakwitz is a carabinero, who's basecamp is not too far away near the southern end of the lake. He is very friendly and we chat a bit before we continue walking.
Until after noon there was no wind, but during my lunch break it takes only two minutes until a stiff breeze is blowing. Any packrafter should stay very close to the shore...
I walk around the southeastern bay, but am able to do a shortcut across a muddy plain, part of the lake at higher water levels. Only for a short stretch I need to walk barefoot, to avoid my shoes getting totally mudded.
Soon the lake is behind me and I walk on cattle trails into a nice little valley, with a lively little creek. I want to camp low, because of the warmer temperatures and even fear that higher up, I might not find wood, therefore I pitch camp early.
When I do a long evening stroll upstream, I realize that many small birds live in this sheltered valley. They are not too shy, so I take a number of photographs.
On my way back I see interesting clouds, messenger of changing weather?
Early in the morning I continue walking upstream. The valley is still in shade and quite cool. All the birds not active yet...
It doesn't take long before I leave the valley and Jan's GPS- Route.
My friend Bernd has been to the area some years before and suggested to climb up to the border ridge from where superb views towards Laguna del Maule on the chilean side and Laguna Fea in Argentina are possible. As Bernd is probably one of the most experienced hikers in the world, with a great love of beautiful wilderness places, I can't resist to follow his advice.
Soon I am on barren brown slopes which are not too hard to negotiate, although I sink frequently in the soft sand.
The view reaches back to Laguna del Maule.
I traverse a steep, rocky slope before I get to the ridge.
The view towards the deep blue Laguna Fea is breathtaking, while Laguna del Maule looks less impressive from here.
Following the ridgeline is not so easy, because steep, rocky outcrops often make long detours necessary.
At about 2900 meters there is a cold, intense wind. Although my body gets enough exercise here, I need to wear my fleece. Finally the long descent down the rocky scree slope starts. Not the best terrain for my already hard beaten trail running shoes. They show some holes and the tread is almost totally worn down...
At about 2600 meters the first grass appears and there are even some cows. Huge pillars of moss grow in patches. This soft looking, but hard feeling moss I already know from Bolivia.
After a last steep step I reach the floor of the valley and there are again cattle trails to follow. The valley of Rio Melado which leads to Laguna Dial I will follow for some days.
I pass a puesto with people outside, and later, where the valley bends to the left there are masses of goats and another puesto. Probably a settler is living here, the big landowners usually only keep horses and cows...
After passing a wide, open area, the river disappears in a gorge, where I find a sheltered, nice, grassy spot. For my taste this is too near to the puesto, but probably there are more downstream and the spot is really beautiful.
After cooking spaghetti I go for a stroll. Soon I find a trail that leads out of the gorge. The low evening sun illuminates the scenery with the multicoloured rock layers perfectly.
The next day is very special for me, as I am turning 50! During the last days I thought quite a lot about this birthday, which feels quite special. Of course, there are some thoughts how getting older will affect me and my still ambitious hiking plans. But for now I am very grateful to be here and be able to enjoy the walk. And as I still feel strong I am quite sure that I will be able to continue my wandering lifestyle for many more years to come.
The valley is sometimes broad and at other times more narrow. There are some puestos far from each other, but I never get the expression, that many people are living here. The walking on the good horse tracks is easy and fast.
Around midday a group of riders approaches me. As usual I ask if they speak english and it turns out, that this is a group of french riders from Paris who do a week long organized ride here. The load of their packhorse has to be better balanced, therefore we have some time to chat, a real birthday present!
Unlike most days in Chile, when the sky is perfectly blue, today there is a milky haze. It looks like the weather is going to change....
I find a beautiful place to camp on a plateau above a gorge. Thanks to modern technology I can receive some birthday messages! For the first time I use a device which does not only allow me to send messages via satellite, but to receive as well.
For some time it seems like it will be bad weather. There are thick clouds and cold wind gusts. But in the evening it is calm again, and I enjoy the view on the illuminated slopes around me.
Next morning thick clouds are threatening. Immediately after breaking camp I need some time to find the horse tracks again. In spots, especially in little ravines, there is quite a lot of brush.
Already at 9.30 light rain starts to fall further down the valley, but soon enough reaches me as well. When the rain becomes more intense, for the first time of this trek I wear my raingear and seek shelter under a overhanging rock, when the downpour becomes heavier. But luckily the strong rain lasts only a short time and soon I continue walking. It is interesting how different and green the newly refreshed landscape presents itself. A nice change from sun and blue skies...
For some time there is even thunder in the air, but already at noon the sky clears and the sun comes back!
I only pass two puestos and see a whistling rider on the other side of the river which often changes from tight gorges to open valleys. Sometimes I need to wade when the trail changes the side. Although the Rio Melado is quite long, the crossings are easy and I do them barefoot.
Later in the afternoon I turn left into a side valley, where I get on the main route of the Greater Patagonian Trail. Although with rain and clouds the landscape was quite beautiful I found the walking in the valley a little monotonous and am looking forward to Laguna Dial which is not far away. But anyway for today I have enough and pitch camp. While I am cooking two grey hummingbirds visit the wild rose bush next to me. But unfortunately they are too fast to get a picture...
Before dinner is ready, disaster strikes: The stone which I had erected to stabilize my stove collapses and I loose some spaghetti. What can be worse for a hungry hiker!
Later I do a short evening stroll, and follow the trail above a basalt gorge, in one place a little exposed.
The next morning is perfectly clear and blue again, although unusual chilly. After one and a half hour climbing I reach the very beautiful Laguna Dial when the sun just has illuminated the shore. There is a perfect camping spot so I regret a little bit not to have walked here yesterday...
Soon the track climbs steeply up a hillside and I am stunned to witness how a man drives his herd of goats down the slope.
A riding woman with a packhorse follows him. Settlers who wants to sell their goats somewhere or just moving to a new pasture? We greet each other, but there is no time to chat.
The track climbs to a pass with beautiful vistas on the lake.
A valley is filled with dark old lava rocks.
Mostly the slopes rise steeply from the lake, but there are flatter stretches as well. Beautiful camping areas on this roadless lake!
Later in the morning the temperatures here at just 1350 meters are high again and I can't resist the temptation to take a cooling bath in the fantastic clear blue, but cool waters of the lake, when I reach a nice bay.
Nice swimming spot
There are quite a lot of birds, ducks, geese, divers and smaller ones.
Most of the time the good horse trail traverses the slopes above the Laguna.
There is a lot of up and down. While I am descending to the shore I notice that there are hundreds of goats. About 10 people have put up a provisional camp.
Finally I reach the end of the lake. Down below somebody has his camp and there are even two small boats with fishing rods attached!
I follow a valley upwards. For the first time since Siete Tazas there is green Nirre brush. But a little higher just yellow grass remains.
As I want to camp at a probably waterless pass, I cook in the valley below and then walk on into the evening.
Just below the unspectacular pass at about 2000 meters I pitch camp. Another fine day with beautiful Laguna Dial as high point comes to an end.
Hallo Gerald, danke für deinen Bericht über den Trail, eine gute Mischung an Text und Bildern. Hast du von diesem Abschnitt zufällig irgendwo GPS Koordinaten veröffentlicht? Ich würde diese gerne zur Planung nutzen. Danke, Carola
AntwortenLöschenHallo Carola, nein, ich veröffentliche keine GPS- Tracks. Willst du nur diesen Abschnitt laufen, oder ein größeres Stück des GPT?
AntwortenLöschenIch schlage vor, du schreibst mir eine e-mail, die Adresse steht ja auf dieser Seite unter meinem Bild.