Greater Patagonian Trail Section 08 - Volcán Chillán to Volcán Antuco Traverse.
Backpacking through the land of the Volcanoes.
Termas de Chillán, Fondo Aguas Calientes, Coihuería - Los Peucos, Travesía Polcura
Ñuble and Bío Bío Regions, Chile
February 2024
Trailhead: Termas de Chillán
Itinerary:
Day 1: Termas de Chillán - Valle de Aguas Calientes
Day 2: Valle de Aguas Calientes - Los Peucos
Day 3: Los Peucos - Laguna del Laja
Day 4: Laguna del Laja - Laguna Hermosa
Day 5: Laguna Hermosa - Volcán Antuco base, Chacay
The GPT08 Volcán Chillan section of the Greater Patagonian Trail features the traverse from the Chillan Volcano to the Antuco Volcano. This GPT section also includes more hiking further north of the Valle de Aguas Calientes but I decided to start the traverse from Termas de Chillán from where the previous day I hiked to the summit of the Chillan Volcano.
If you have any interest in hiking the GPT08 Volcán Chillán to Volcán Antuco traverse route please consult the Greater Patagonian Trail wikiexplora page (www.wikiexplora.com/Greater_P...) to learn about GPT's long distance route hiking/packrafting and download and carefully read the latest version of the Greater Patagonian Trail Hikers Manual (download link on the same page). Also, carefully review the content of the GPT Section 8 wikiexplora page with the section specific information and the latest hiker reports (www.wikiexplora.com/GPT08_(Vo....
Hiking Notes:
GPT Section 08 features a nice variety of landscapes. Of course there is the opportunity to hike the volcanic terrains around the Chillan and Antuco Volcanoes. But throughout the traverse the hiker experiences far more: the beauty of the Aguas Calientes valley with green meadows and amazing hot streams surrounded by mountains; then a section through the woods passing through a couple of puestos of arrieros to reach Los Peucos camp and its hot springs (CONAF Camp); then after some road walking out of Los Peucos the traverse reaches the Sendero Los Ratones which goes through more woods and down to the open valley which leads to the vast and beautiful Laguna del Laja. From there the traverse climbs up to the mountains alongside the laguna offering all-day spectacular views of the Laguna del Laja, several other small lagunas as well as great views of Volcán Antuco and the Sierra Velluda range. This part also includes a "mandatory" camp night at Laguna Hermosa (the name says it all). The only "cons" of the traverse is the fact that there is a significant part of dirt road walking out of Los Peucos until the Sendero Los Ratones is reached. This part is frankly pretty mundane, but I was very lucky to get two hitchhike rides on that day which essentially shortened my trip by half a day.
When camping on the shores of Laguna del Laja I met Hugo, the arriero who stays at the Puesto near Laguna El Roble. He was very friendly and welcoming. We had a nice chat.
Thanks to the unexpected rides on the roads I was able to compete the traverse in five days. Overall the trails on Section 08 were not difficult; elevation gain is significant and there certainly was a lot of dust. Because of the high snow/rain year the second fording of Rio Diguillin was hips high with strong current and needed to be approached with trekking poles and cautiously. Luckily the water was not particularly cold.
Landscape variety and great views were the treats for my second backpacking trip in Chile. I hope to go back for more hiking further South in Patagonia.
Music:
A New Creation by David Celeste
Licensed by Epidemic Sound.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
01:11 - Trip Highlights
03:31 - Day 1: Termas de Chillán - Valle de Aguas Calientes
08:36 - Day 2: Valle de Aguas Calientes - Los Peucos
11:59 - Day 3: Los Peucos - Laguna del Laja
14:32 - Day 4: Laguna del Laja - Laguna Hermosa
18:43 - Day 5: Laguna Hermosa - Volcán Antuco base, Chacay
Негізгі бет Greater Patagonian Trail Section 08 - Volcán Chillán to Volcán Antuco Traverse
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