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hiking Lake Chaiguata, Chiloe, Chile

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

I cycled in to the Lake Chaiguata as part of my Patagonia bikepacking trip. Cycling is a great way to get to trailheads in this remote part of the world.

Parque Tantauco is fantastic. And fantastically well organized and funded.

The campsites are as good as I’ve seen anywhere. They put down wood chips to keep them dry.

There are a number of day hikes of various lengths, all well signed.

This is a wet, wet landscape. Thus they’ve built a LOT of boardwalk. And I love boardwalk.

Though the topography is fairly flat, trails are built to take you to overlooks.

It’s an interesting place.

This is the start of the best hike in Chiloe, the 4-8 day Sendero Transversal hut-to-hut.

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best hike Chiloe Island, Chile

Sendero Transversal is by far the best hike in remote Chiloe.

I cycled in to the Lake Chaiguata trailhead staying only 1 night and did some day hiking. 

It’s a unique and impressive Park. Very well organized.

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. …

Details on the Sendero Transversal.

  • 4 – 8 days
  • hike only 1 direction (counterclockwise)
  • download the map
  • start Lake Chaiguata, finish Inío
  • hut to hut
  • maximum 8 hikers / day
  • exit by floatplane or boat
  • peat bogs, Tepu forests, Cypress trees
  • plenty of boardwalk
  • trails well maintained, but you’ll be getting wet
  • only about 7000 people / year visit this Park
  • there are a couple of other multi-night options

Click PLAY or watch on trip on YouTube.

related:

Home page – parquetantauco.cl (Spanish)

WikiTravel – Parque Tantauco

Wikipedia – Tantauco Park

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Jenny Tough 650km solo in Bolivia

“No tienes miedo?” – Aren’t you afraid?

It’s the first question I got asked in every pueblo as I ran through the Bolivian Andes. For 17 days, I battled with the fear inside my head – and reflected in the people I met – as I ran solo and unsupported across the Sierra Oriental, the third range in my global challenge to run across a mountain range on every continent.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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2,600-mile loop in the Pacific Northwest

… a new thru-hike created by Ras and Kathy Vaughan.

Full-time adventurers, the Vaughans, married for 22 years, have made a habit of setting only known times where they establish never-before-recorded routes. They call themselves Team UltraPedestrian, and they named their new trail the UltraPedestrian (or UP) North Loop.

The thru-hike combines parts of four established long trails to create a 2,600-mile loop through the best of the Northwest. …

… Though much of the loop is rugged and less than ideal from a scenic perspective—it includes at least 200 miles of road walking and several areas with limited water resources …

Outside

They’ve got a book, as well.

98 Days Of Wind: The Greatest Fail Of Our Life

It’s an account of their attempt at at Grand Enchantment Trail yoyo.

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Continental Divide data

Mac has posted — for the second year in a row — stats he’s collected from 103 CDT thru hikers.

– 68% Male, 32% Female

– average age 37

– 59.8% began alone

– northbound start date April 17th

– southbound start date April 23rd

– 74% said they’d consider doing it again

– favourite pack was the ULA Catalyst (Hiker Rating: 4.8/5)

– favourite tent was the Tarptent Notch (Hiker Rating: 5/5)

– favourite stove the MSR PocketRocket 2 (Hiker Rating: 4.75/5)

– Altra was the favourite brand of shoe

There’s much , much more. Click through.

The Continental Divide Trail Thru-Hiker Survey (2018)

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Walking the Himalayas by Lev Wood

I was disappointed in this book.

Others disagree. It’s got fairly good ratings on GoodReads.

I learned very little about the Himalayas. Indeed most of the book has him nowhere near the mountains. He’s road walking in the lowlands.

I assume Lev’s boring route had to do with logistics for the film crew following along.

Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel ran much higher trails by comparison.

The book is poorly written too.

He got travel advice from the Dalai Lama. That bit I enjoyed.

And the tale of their vehicle crash was horrific. One of the real dangers of the Himalaya is motor vehicle accident.

related – TV series – Walking the Himalayas

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The Adventure Blog has moved

Our favourite site covering adventure worldwide — including hiking — has moved to a new URL:

AdventureBlog.net

The new theme looks great too. Follow them on the site, Facebook or Twitter.

related – The Adventure Podcast