From Puerto Varas to Osorno and then further to Entre Lagos at the eastern end of lake Puyehue (2000 + 1300 pesos)
I Finally made it out of the city and tourist hotspots and am on my way by foot. Walking along the lake on the paved road through the countryside I was feeling much better. The freedom of having everything I need with me and having the choice of taking whatever path I want is relieving. I took the carretera 215 up until Termas Caliente and then headed right along the U485 up to Aguas Calientes where I spent the night. Walking along the road for two days got my foot aching badly because I only brought along my mountain boots which have hard soles. The camping ground is very nice and the hot springs outdoor bath did miricales for my foot. The downside was that they charged me 25'000 pesos for a night as apparently you can only book a campground for four people :P. In the national park now drenched by heavy rain, I made my way up to Antillanca where my real trek started. Navigating in the rain and thick rainforest was a challange on its own and my heavy backpack didn't make things easier. It took me two more days to get to Anticura where I spent two nights at another camping ground (foot got worse again). Following that I made my way to km 89 on the carretera 215 again to the start of the hiking trail to the volcano. As of October 2018 they charge 10'000 Pesos to go up the mountain. The trail is a steap climb along canals of Lava ash from the erruption in 2011 and made harder with the bad weather that made the ground soft and slippery. The Forest however is incredible it starts with the typical rainforest scenary, then you get to the burnt forests that consist of dead trees sticking out of the earth like a scene of LOTR in "Mordor" and ends on lava stone fields and snow planes up to the summit. I spent two nights at the refugio El Caulle trying to get a clear sky for photography which never came. On the third day I went back down and caught a bus at 09:00 heading back to Osorno (2000 pesos). That was it for my forst trek. Back in Osorno I restocked and planned my next step.
Trek Route along GPT 19 & 20
