Cerro Castillo Trek

Jan. 21-24

After a day or so in Coyhaique, Rach and I finalized our packing organization and food rationing and headed to the bus station to start our 4-day trek into Parque Nacional Cerro Castillo. The bus dropped us off on the side of the road next to the Horquetas trailhead where we would start our through hike adventure. After a quick stop at the ranger station for a well needed explanation and heads up for what was to come from a CONAF ranger, a quick oatmeal breakfast, we were off on the trail. The first day was not too difficult…primarily just a long approach into the mountains. It reminded us a lot of some backcountry days in Montana. We got to the first campsite, Río Turbio, set up camp, practiced my juggling, and wandered around a bit to try and stay warm. Surprisingly, there was a running toilet that used water pumped up from the nearby silty river. We would later marvel at all the amenities Chilean campsites strive to have, except campfires were not allowed to Rachael’s dismay. It was quickly becoming cold so we slurped down ramen and soup and tucked into our sleeping bags for the night.

The next day, we got up early from the advice of the CONAF ranger so we could get over a mountain pass before it got too windy. The hike up and over was not so bad but as soon as we reached the remaining snow patches over the pass it quickly became very windy and stormy. The steep backside of the pass broke away to a basin just above tree line with an impressive hanging glacier above. There was an endless number of waterfalls trailing out of the glacier and scattering over the entire mountainside all flowing into the basin. We finally got to tree line and cover from the rain and were able to dry off as we descended further into the forest. The trail weaved through trees and creeks until we found our second campsite, El Bosque (The Forest). Dinner consisted of some very quick cooking thin pasta and a packet of bolognese. We hiked up to another lake just before bed to get a glance at another hanging glacier before the clouds rolled back in and soaked us again. We sat under a large overhanging rock to escape for a little bit then ran down through the scree field to duck into our little two-man tent for the night.

The third day we got up early again and started hiking up to Laguna Cerro Castillo. The views from this lake might have been my favorite of the trek due to the intense light blue color of the water contrasting with the white and grey glacier above situated just under the peak of Cerro Castillo. It was almost sunny out and we soaked up the warmer weather, then started up the next mountain pass. We scrambled up to a saddle point that was eye level with a hanging glacier and a nice view of the Villa Cerro Castillo valley below. As soon as we reached the top of the pass we were blasted by some insanely strong winds. It blew my rain fly off my pack and almost knocked us off our feet multiple times. We would later learn that a CONAF ranger was supposed wait at the base of the pass telling people to turn around because they had closed it for being too windy. Nevertheless, we bounded down the steep rocky slope as fast as we could, and after a few exposed hours we made it to tree line. A quick stop at Porteadores camp for some pb& honey wraps and then we headed up to the Neozelandes campsite. Dinner was a mix of instant mash potatoes and lentil soup.

On our last day we got up early and headed straight up to Laguna Duff to catch the sunrise over Cerro Castillo. This ended up being worth the early wake up since the clouds broke again and we were able to see all the surrounding mountains. The peaks in this region are very dark and razer like spires peering prominently above the glacial carved u-shaped valleys below. Back at camp we ate our typical oatmeal, granola, and peanut butter, packed up our stuff and headed down the mountain to the park entrance. We thought we would be able to hitch a ride after getting down but ended up walking 3 miles out before a truck finally picked us up for the last mile to take us to Villa Cerro Castillo. We started sticking our thumbs out to find rides back to Coyhaique (1.5 hours away) but instantly saw one of the backpacker groups we met earlier. They had called a private ride to come pick them up and asked us if they wanted to split the cost back into town. It was expensive but we were just grateful to be back in civilization after the long trek.

Next stop: Chile Chico