Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.
Cam Honan has hiked everything. Everywhere. But for me his most impressive trips have been his extreme Tasmania epics.
Floating rivers on his NeoAir mattress, for example.
For us mere mortals, he summarized his advice on a route called Arthur Range Traverse.
It’s only 48 miles (77km) but will take you 10-14 days, on average. With no resupply. You carry all that food on your back.
If not already decided there’s no way that sounds like fun, click through to …
Tantauco Park (Spanish: Parque Tantauco) is a 1,180 km2 (456 sq mi) private natural reserve on the south end of Chiloé Island in Chile.
The park was created by Chilean business magnate and President of Chile Sebastián Piñera in 2005 …
The park is open to the public with two campgrounds and a 150 km (93 mi) network of hiking trails. …
Tantauco Park is an attractive ecotourist destination due to the remarkable biodiversity of its nearly untouched Valdivian temperate rainforest and the rather easy public access. Precipitations in the area average about 2,500 mm (98 in) annually. …
official website – parquetantauco.cl/en/
If interested, stop first at their administrative headquarters & information center in Quellón. Get up-to-date trail conditions. Making bookings there based on the weather forecast
Only about 7700 visited the Park in 2017. It’s not crowded. There are a number of huts available for shelter.
Unlike many other parts of Chile, this is a rainy cold temperate maritime climate.
Click PLAY or watch SOME of this video on YouTube. You’ll get the idea.
UPDATE from Mariano Rezk:
I walked it myself in January 2017. It is true that the government stopped the funding, but I must disagree about the fact that “a large proportion of the trails are closed”. Only about 5 out of 43 stages are closed (that’s less than 15%).
There’s a lot of room for improvement but Huella Andina is still one of the best ways to hike-thru and discover the argentinean side of the northern Patagonia.
The Huella Andina is a series of routes totalling about 600km. They are not all connected.
Some sections are signposted and marked. Some are not.
There are numerous resupply points along the way.
Jan Dudeck:
In 2017 the government of Argentina officially stopped funding the trail project Huella Andina. Some national parks maintain some routes with other funds but a large proportion of the trails are closed and becoming quickly overgrown. Several parts of the Huella Andina were not traversable since the season 2016/2017.
I checked in person with Club Andino Bariloche and the Nahuel Huapi National Park Office about their section of the Huella Andina. It exists. But is far less popular than the other hikes.
They gave me a free map of the Huella Andina showing about 27 hours of hiking over 4 sections. Difficulty of those sections was rated easy to severe. In fact, a parks officer recommended hiring a guide for the 10 hours between Refugio Jacob to Los Cesares.
In addition, there’s a section of road walking.
Click PLAY or watch 18 days of highlights on YouTube.
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Huella Andina connects to the Greater Patagonian Trail on the shore of Lago Puelo. Adventurers might try to loop sections of the two new long distance hikes.
If you want to know more check Wikiexplora – Huella Andina (Spanish)
The most beautiful place in a beautiful place. Nearest international airport is Calgary, Alberta.
So popular that it’s difficult to get a reservation to camp.
MB Guiding has everything you need to know to make it happen.
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Click PLAY or get a glimpse of my 3 day circuit on YouTube.
Getting to the trailhead at Camping Hue Nan is the most challenging navigation challenge.
You can road walk from El Bolsón as I did — 3 boring, dusty hours — or ask for bus directions to Camping Hue Nan. That trailhead may be changing. Check before you go. It was open to me February 2018.
Look for the Acceso Refugio Hielo Azul sign.
I used the free Maps.me app and it worked perfectly for the entire circuit. On the other hand, I wished I’d hired a taxi or found the bus rather than done 3 hours of road walking.
Alternatively, there’s a way to start and finish a circuit by bus at Warton. The most popular trailhead.
You could reverse my route too, of course.
El Bolsón, population 19,000 plus tourists is an excellent hiking town. It’s only 2 hours by bus from Bariloche, the bigger hiking destination in Argentina. Many hike both towns on the same trip.
Free registration is required. You don’t need to stick to your planned itinerary.
There are gear shops with camping fuel and fairly large grocery stores in town.
At the Mountain Information Office I bought a $4 amateur hiking guide partially translated to English. It’s not enough to navigate, but did provide some background information.
I was shocked to see some of the bridges here.
They are slowly being replaced by modern metal alternatives.
It was at least 1000m ascent and 4 hours up to Hielo Azul Refugio. My favourite alpine hut by far.
I was so happy to get there — and felt so warmly welcomed by the woman who greeted me — that I signed up for an 8pm $20 stew meal. My most expensive dinner in Argentina. (I brought my own wine.)
It really is paradise up here just below the glacier.
I paid $5 to tent.
Next morning I first registered at the mountain hut then scrambled the steep, 90 minute route up to the glacier. Beautiful.
I had some lunch on my return. Then set off on the clearly marked trail to Refugio Lago Natacion. An easy add-on.
From Natacion down to the Azul Canyon, however, was surprisingly steep and overgrown. Not many people do the circuit, I suspect, because this one section is quite challenging.
The canyon is impressive once you finally get there.
At one point you can straddle the gap, a long way above the crystal clear water!
I was reminded of Tiger Leaping Gorge. A tiger could easily leap this gorge, but not the one in China.
Tired, I decided to illegally wild camp by the river rather than walk the extra hour down to my designated refugio campground.
The trail out to Warton is a road accessible to motor vehicles. Swimming this river is the attraction, not the trail itself.
If my directions sound too sketchy, consider buying a map for about $10.
Aoneker 1:50,000 El Bolson
(covers the following refuges: Co.Lindo, Hielo Azul, Natacion, Atillio & El Reramal)
Aoneker 1:120,000 Comarca Andina del Paralelo 42°
(covers all the refuges in the El Bolson region)
The Pacific Crest Trail Association posted a terrific, thorough summary.
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Click PLAY or watch my HOW TO video on YouTube.
As many do on this popular hike, I walked from El Bolsón, centro. Three hours of dusty, but tranquil road walking to get to the parking lot.
(Actually, I tried a trail alternative recommended on my Maps.me app. Bad idea, as it turned out. Coming down I stuck to the road.)
Taxi would cost at least $25. Drivers don’t like going up here. You MIGHT be able to join up with others to split the cost at a collectivo office near the Via Bariloche bus station.
It took me about 4 hours to reach the Piltriquitrón hut and campground.
After a brief siesta I headed over to the nearby El Bosque Tallado (carved forest). $5 entrance.
There are over 50 crude wooden sculptures with new ones being added. A fire in 1978 inspired lead artist Marcelo López to initiate this tourist attraction.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The refuge has a superb location. People can’t get enough of the vistas.
I enjoyed dinner at sunset, myself, overlooking El Bolsón.
Alpenglow was lovely this evening. I didn’t edit this photo.
I was on the summit trail by 9am next morning.
Pack horses were grazing free.
Easy going until the final scramble before the top.
There’s a 360 degree vista from the peak.
A German living in El Bolson just spend 5 days up in those craggy, intensely glaciated peaks. Because there are no alpine huts, he had that wilderness to himself.
I could clearly see Tronador volcano about 100km distant.
I had done the 1800m ascent over 2 days.
I was back down to the hut by Noon. Back to town, very tired, by 3pm. That’s 1800m of descent.
Supposedly it’s easy to hitchhike back down from Piltriquitrón. I had no luck.
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | video | info page
After surviving day 3 I assumed day 4 would be a breeze. A stroll down to the lake.
No. ☹️
It’s very difficult and perhaps the most dangerous section of all.
It’s another early morning scramble to navigate along the far side of Laguna Negra. Some fixed ropes help on the downclimb.
Alone I was following the Lonely Planet route on my phone, increasingly distancing myself from all the day hikers heading a different direction up to a famed ridge lookout.
Very unsure, I changed heading and followed them up to a fantastic vista.
Turns out there are at least 2 routes out of Laguna Negra. Almost nobody does the LP variation any more.
From the ridge it turned out I’d be the only one that day trying for Lopez hut and Bariloche. Everyone else decided to take the easy way down including the big guided hiking group.
I was feeling fit and healthy. The weather perfect. Again.
I had to go for it.
Next — what else — a scramble along another ridge.
The views were beautiful today. Prettiest yet.
I came to the long, painful scree descent to another green, boggy valley. I crawled under a scrub tree at the bottom just to get some shade.
The similarly long ascent is on large, loose, sharp frost shattered rock. Going up is dangerous. I met 2 Argentinians descending there. SUPER dangerous. The worst of many bad slopes.
It took me about 2 hours of steady climbing to finally gain the ridge. It wasn’t until this point that I was convinced I would make the Traverse. The lake looked very close.
This was my final pass. It’s all downhill from here.
How to descend? Both left and right looked possible, but neither was appealing.
Turns out the trail takes you directly over the top of the rocks blocking the route.
There’s Lopez hut way below. Hours below.
It’s all scrambling to get there.
This seasonal snow melt tarn is one of the water sources for the hut.
I was getting close to civilization, however.
Here’s a water catchment pond at the hut. Not looking potable.
I got bad vibes in every way from Lopez hut. It’s privately run. Avoid it if you can.
I had lunch. Then headed down a likely looking trail with an escort.
Turned out I’d chosen a disused path on the wrong side of the creek.
Once we crossed to the true right, I quickly found the main trail down.
It was about a 2 hour wait for the next bus to town.
Jumping off close to my hostel I ran into British friends who had just returned from a different hike. We enjoyed a big carne and red wine feast at a Parilla restaurant on the lake.
Celebration. 🍷
day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | video | info page
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | video | info page
This is the BIG, BAD section.
Lonely Planet:
… harder and more hazardous …
… should not be attempted unless the weather is very good …
… crampons and an ice axe may be needed …
About an hour in I found myself crouched on the vertical wall here.
Lots of exposure. No clear markings for the easiest route up.
Should I quit and go back?
Happily a group of about 15 hikers arrived at just the right time. Their two guides knew the line.
Whew.
Aside from the risk of falling, it wasn’t that bad. We made it easily. Weather was perfect.
The guides suggested I follow them along the ridge.
I did. Until we got to the summit of a peak called Navidad 2060m. (Christmas)
After getting some directions on the descent, I went ahead. They were taking a long lunch.
Next came the impossibly long, slippery, scary, knee straining descent.
The only easy part was glissading on a couple of snow fields.
What a relief to finally reach the valley.
Life.
Unfortunately the valley section was endless too.
Some sections required bushwhacking and route finding.
At other times I had to boulder hop back and forth across the creek.
I finally saw some young people splashing in a river pool. They were departing Segre (Italia) and heading out down the valley.
They pointed me to one of the two steep paths upwards.
I was thrilled to finally reach the 300m spiralling switch back climb up to the Italia (Segre) hut. It seemed easy compared with the descent.
By the time they get there, most hikers have already decided NOT to take the high route on day 4 instead opting for the easier valley descent to the town of Colonia Suiza next morning.
The hut warden was a super guy. Very happy I had made the day safely.
Refugio Segre smelled great.
I went immediately for siesta.
Three hours later, at dusk, the group finally arrived. No injuries. But some of their people were very tired.
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