The 1,900-mile-long thru-hike winds through the southern Andes from Santiago to the climbing mecca of Mount Fitzroy. To complete it, adventurers need a lot more than physical stamina.
In late 2017, I contacted explorer and (Swiss) German engineer Jan Dudeck, who was just completing a decade-long quest to create a new long trail through South America. The Greater Patagonian Trail (GPT), as he named it, would come to be 1,900 miles, stretching through the southern Andes from Santiago to the Argentinean climbing mecca of Mount Fitzroy.
“This trail rewards the humble,” Dudeck replied in his e-mail to me, “and humiliates the proud.” …
I set out on my own GPT attempt in the summer of 2017. I quickly learned that Dudeck’s creation bears little resemblance to the famous thru-hikes of the U.S. …
It’s still a very rare occurrence to meet other GPT hikers. …
Outside – The Quest to Complete the Greater Patagonian Trail
