Greater Patagonian Trail: GPT 8

Along the road to the power plant

I decided to tackle this route on an alternate trail because I could reach this section terminus by bus. I knew from the map that there was a hydroelectric plant in the valley I had to ascend but did not think much of it ... When I approached the valley on a well used dirt road I saw a big guard station at its entrance. There were lots of signs but none said "no entry". So I tried to just walk by while the guard was dealing with some cars. Of course I was stopped. The poor guy did not really seem to know what to do with a hiker - and in order to play it safe he denied me access. I decided to not make a scene. This was all open landscape with no fences and it would be easy to just sneak in. And hopefully that late in the evening nobody would stop me once inside.

My designated camp site ...

It was easy to bypass the guardstation without being seen and soon I was on a huge maintenance road leading towards the power plant. I just made it 2 kilometers in before I was discovered by another security guy in a car. He stopped immediately and asked me where I was going that late. "Have you registered at the guard station?", was his next question. I mumbled something about cross country and hoped for the best. At least it now looked like hikers were allowed here. He told me to get into his car because he wanted me to register at the guard station and promised to bring me back afterwards. There was nothing I could do about this - but I wondered how the security guy at the guard station would react when he saw me again ... It would then be very obvious that I had disobeyed his orders ....

But I was incredibly lucky: In the meantime a new work shift must have begun because a different security guard was sitting at the entrance. He copied my passport details and off we went going back. Unfortunately the driver would not let me out where he had picked me up. He told me again and again that this was too dangerous and there were pumas and so on. He would take me to a safe spot. Again there was nothing I could do. After five more kilometers he finally stopped, showed me a very nice camp spot close to the river and left. I don't want anyone to know where I was camping but it was already getting dark. I decided to trust the guy and stayed. And indeed nobody showed up while I was camped there although vehicles were coming and going to the powerplant all night long.

I never made it down to these lakes ...

I did't see a single person next day! I passed the power plant, ascended 1000 meters and walked in breathtakingly beautiful country. At the end of the day I wanted to descend down to the lake in the photo and camp there. I could already see on the map that this 400 meter descent would be difficult because it involved a 1 km long traverse of a very steep slope. When I stood at the beginning of this traverse and looked down things were a lot worse than expected. The very steep slope had eroded so badly that there was no more trail whatsoever - only sun baked dirt covered with loose pebbles. If I slipped there I would fall almost 400 meters ... I retraced my steps very carefully. I felt too exhausted at the end of the day to tackle this difficult section and walked two kilometers back to the last water source. Next morning I deliberated my choices: If I took the risk to traverse the steep slope (and survived!) I would immediately be confronted with the next problem. The GPT passes very close to the volcano Chillan which was in "alerta naranja", orange alert now. As hikers were not suppposed to get closer than four kilometers I would have to take an alternate route that involved a very long and very exposed cross country section ...

 

I came to the conclusion that no trail in the world was worth this risk. I just did not feel comfortable continuing - and therefore decided to turn back and skip the rest of this section. In order to get some variety I wanted to hike out on the regular route which turned out to be incredibly beautiful - and full of steep slopes with eroded trails ... After 16 kilometers I came to another section where a slip would have meant immediate death. As spectacular as the scenery was - I did not want to risk my life for it. I turned back and hiked out the route I had come in. For someone who is 100% sure footed and free of vertigo this would probably have been easy. And even for me the chance of an accident was minimal - but I did not want to take that risk ...

I arrived back in the valley after a very long day and steep descent, set up my camp and slept very well. In the morning my decision to turn back was confirmed by the fact that my shoes were falling apart. The sole was coming off and I would have felt even more uncomfortable in this difficult terrain with defective shoes ...
But before I arrived back in civilisation I was in for another surprise. A lonely puesto near the trail that had been empty two days ago was now full of people, probably a family. When the father saw my clumsy efforts to climb over the gate next to the puesto he immediately invited me over. "Have a drink, have a peach, relax!", he told me and offered me a chair.

Hugo and yours truly in front of the puesto

Hugo was here on holiday with  most of his family. Only one son was back home looking after the cattle. They had brought a goat from their herd as food for the weekend. When I jokingly told him that I had never ever eaten goat, I was invited to try a bit. His wife put a huge piece of meat onto the open fire inside the hut and thus warmed up the rest of last night's barbecue. Despite the rather primitive hut I was served this meal on a porcelain plate, with silverware and napkins. The meat tasted delicious and Hugo even sang for me!

When I left these friendly hosts my luck continued. When I reached the power plant and the road again I was picked up by two locals who had been cutting wood here. We passed the guard station without any problems and they took me to their village, where to only direct bus to Chillan, my next destination stopped for me within five minutes ....