Thank god I didn't get a lift!

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So, my bus from Coyhaique dropped me in Villa Cerro Castillo, and after dumping all my unwanted gear at the tourist office, I hit the road to start my hike. I say hit the road, because the trailhead is 25km outside of town, so I needed to hitchhike there. However, an hour later, nothing had happened, and it was now 2pm. I was very aware that it was starting to get a bit late being as I had 17km of walking ahead of me, so I looked for other options.

It turned out you could walk up to what is marked as the final campsite. As you can do this from town, I made a start. The first few kilometres were fine, but then I started to lose the trail. I had been warned that the trail was badly marked, and as there was still remnants of a path I started pushing my way through the undergrowth. Eventually, at around 5pm, I came to a dead end. Therefore, I did the only sensible thing, and gave up. I'd try again tomorrow. I should have known I would have trouble being as the trail was called El Sendero de Chile. And we all know what happened last time I came across that.

Anyway, the thing about being lost in the undergrowth is that when you retrace your steps, you end up lost again. And thats what happened to me. But in this case, getting lost means stumbling upon a very obvious, and very well marked path. Game on! Even better news was meeting folk on their way down who told me it wasn't far to camp. This proved to be true, and after my first glimpses of the famous Cerro Castillo (Castle Hill in English, perhaps I was just outside Huddersfield!) I arrived at the site.

Here, I found a couple who had pitched up for the night. They informed me that this wasn't the actual camp, which was another hour up the path. However, they also told me that this camp was empty, therefore I decided to sleep there, being as I'd have some company, and tomorrow I could leave all my stuff there, and go for a day hike.

That night, it rained. It turns out that rain is something my tent doesn't like, and I woke up distinctly soggy. Nonetheless, I was determined to get out and see the Laguna Cerro Castillo, so I packed up, and hid my bag under a tree. Incidentally, just after I left camp, I realised that last night was Valentine's Day, and I'd probably ruined the couple's romantic night. Whoops!

Back to the walking, and I'd been informed that the path was pretty rocky. This was an understatement, as it was entirely up a riverbed. For the first part, it was fine, as the valley was protecting me from the winds. Eventually though, I reached open ground, and the path steepened, still over loose rocks. Worse though, was the gale force winds, and driving rain that I was having to cope with. Having fallen a couple of times, I decided it just wasn't safe to continue, and headed back to camp. If I'd got my lift on the first day, I'd have had to tackle this with my full pack. Let's just say I'm very glad, and possibly very alive, because I didn't get that lift.

By now, I knew I wasn't staying another night up here, but before I descended, I needed to finish the Sendero de Chile, which meant getting to the high camp, Camp New Zealand. This was achieved, and I'm very glad I did this, as from just outside the camp are fantastic views of glaciers, and the other mountains around Cerro Castillo.

It was now time to descend, so after recovering my bag from its hiding place I made for the path. The walk down was a thoroughly miserable one, I was getting soaked, and visibility was very poor for the most part. It turns out that being away for a year isn't all fun and games after all. I was further annoyed when I discovered that all my pushing through bushes yesterday was pointless, and I'd just missed the turnoff for the proper path. It was a wet and pretty depressed Stewart that found a place to stay in Villa Cerro Castillo, and found his dreams of a hot shower battered by the news it wasn't working.

My mood only really lifted after a change of clothes and a cup of tea. But what really sealed the deal was the lady who owned the house I was staying in obviously taking pity on me, and inviting me to eat with her family. I was served with a lovely bowl of piping hot soup, along with rice, vegetables, and a sizable chunk of delicious patagonian lamb. All was right with the world again.

Next stop, Rio Tranquillo.

Stewart

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Photos

And heres some proof that I made it into the reserve
Even if it wasn't for long