The Los Alerces National Park protects another stunning section of the eastern lee of the Andes, including stands of alerce or lahuan (Fitzroya cupressoides), a perennial cypress growing in humid Valdivian forests up to 1500m. In one remote location of the park one majestic specimen is recorded at 60m high and 2600 years old. The park measures some 260,000 hectares, the most of which is locked up against any public activity. However we did see power boats and many petrol ferries cruising on the lakes.
Before leaving Esquel on the bus we didn´t really know what we wanted to do out there, as there were no promoted multi-day hikes or areas of defined wilderness to explore. However on the way I snuck a peek at the folks in front of us´ photocopied park notes, and it mentioned a four-day in-and-out hike to Lake Kruger. So we set our sights on this - it looked a little more than we wanted to do but still do-able. When we got to the rangers´office (where you have to check in and out for even minor day walks) we were told the walk was not yet open but would possibly be open the next day, even though the following day when we did do the walk we saw hikers walking the other way, which meant they must have left at latest the day we were there. The Park rangers were very controlling and seemingly a bit random. So we set up camp close to Lake Futaleuafquen, had some lunch and returned to register - just to do a day walk! But no, of course, it was too late in the day to do it, sorry you aren´t allowed! $·"&%?¿?·" So off we slunk to regroup and do it anyway, but because it took us a long time to find the path and we had to pretend not to be doing it while the authorities drove passed checking up on us, we only managed to go up and back a little. But it gave us our first experience of the Valdivian forest, the undergrowth choked in places with Chusquea bamboo and in other places ferns, orchids, weeds, shrubbery and various herbaceous plants. The over-storey was still tall Nothofagus, though this species might be different from further south. We passed many lovely stands of trees and came to a nice lookout of the lake, then turned back. Camping that night on the beautiful lake was made very uncomfortable by literal clouds of mosquitoes, possibly the worst I have ever experienced.
The next day we set out to Playa Blanca, not all the way to Lake Kruger as intended because of the change of schedule and only being permitted to stay one night there because apparently its a small campsite and we had to make room if others wanted to camp there too. This turned out to be not the case, we could easily have accomodated 2 or 3 more tents there. $%&$& parkies... We walked a long dirt road to the start of the trek, ate lunch and set off. The wide path and steady uphill soon changed to a narrow track and steep trekking, with the omnipresent bamboo clawing at our packs and tripping us up. We journeyed under the beautiful forest for several hours, crossing rushing creeks mostly without bridges and continuing to climb higher. Michelle secured herself a bamboo walking stick and we trudged on, finally emerging from the forest at about 900m. Here we could see the surrounding mountains and our surroundings too, which was essentially just a bamboo thicket. We followed the path through this until it turned downhill, and we dropped probably 200m of our gained height. At this stage we were knackered, and I tentatively suggested we pull up stumps for the day and pitch a tent somewhere near some water. We both wanted to, but instead continued on through more woods and eventually saw what we thought was the pass that we were aiming for. After more deliberation about stopping for the night we decided to try for the pass. At one stage Michelle felt very light headed like she was going to fall over - but we rallied for one last push.
Upon reaching the pass however, all the struggle faded away as we sat and admired possibly the most scenic vista I´ve ever seen. Snow-capped mountains clothed in rich green forest above blue lakes stretching as far we could see, condors ascending the thermals. Ahh, it was all worth it. We could see our Playa Blanca from there also. Where most of Lake Futaleuafquen was a deep blue, nestled in a sheltered cove was a few streaks of white under the water. Should we descend the almost thousand metres, knowing we´d have to return the next morning? Of course we should.
The downhill was intensely steep and slippery, difficult with heavy packs and rubber legs. The bamboo soon gave way to magnificent Beech forest, with some gigantic trees. It was here we finally could see the full biodiversity of this forest, with probably 7 or 8 tree species including the alerce and many more different understorey species becoming obvious. After a full hour of testing our quadriceps on the consistent downhill we levelled out, following the path through what was more like a bush-bash than a walking path. It was beautiful. At a water stop we saw this little frog, see photo. We eventually came to Playa Blanca, pitched tent and went for an amazing swim in the lake. It was paradise - a complete wilderness. Michelle said it reminded her of the movie ´The Beach´, though without the marijuana crops.
The next morning we arose earlier and began to psychologically prepare ourselves for the impending 2hrs straight up. We breakfasted and set off. At the base of the mountain we stopped to consume large quantities of chocolate and I set my brain to animal mode. The next few hours were very uppity, but surprisingly easier than we had dreaded, despite me experiencing a similar light-headedness to Michelle from the day before. At our wonderful pass we stopped again, delighting in the fresh air and wonderful day. As we ate we were treated to seeing an unidentified raptor (maybe a Peregrine Falcon) swooping up the thermals and then quickly dropping 20 or 30m at a time, revelling in the sheer joy of it and shrieking as it did so.
As we followed the path back to Lake Futalauefquen we observed large cumulo nimbus gathering overhead. We again struggled through the bamboo thicket, with the unpleasant thought of having to camp at the lake with the mosquitoes again because there was no return bus on Tuesdays. We arrived at the forest and began the longer but comparitively less steep downhill, and decided to try out a ´universal manifestation´, The Secret-style (in the way of Chris and Chaz from The Chaser in the carpark). It went like this - when we got to the road back to the lake we would hitch-hike with someone from there all the way back to Esquel, stopping only to check out with the Nazis(nice Nazis, though). When we finally arrived and began walking the road no one would stop. Then it began to rain, heavily. I had ensured I was prepared by packing my rainjacket at the bottom of my pack. Michelle took pity on me and sheltered me with her jacket as I took out essentially all of my stuff from the backpack, put on my jacket and repacked, all the while swearing as offensively as I was able. Then the rain stopped. Heh heh heh. You have to laugh about it. But The Secret sure wasn´t %&$/$ working.
However soon after Michelle´s magic thumb worked. We jumped in the tray off a Hilux ute and got a lift all the way to Trevelin with some lovely rich locals, stopping only in "Berlin" for formalities. In Trevelin as we were waiting for the bus back to Esquel the same family that had given us a ride earlier stopped in on their way to Esquel and we jumped in the tray again! Freekin´awesome man! Michelle´s magic thumb, you rock! The Secret, you can get stuffed.
Before leaving Esquel on the bus we didn´t really know what we wanted to do out there, as there were no promoted multi-day hikes or areas of defined wilderness to explore. However on the way I snuck a peek at the folks in front of us´ photocopied park notes, and it mentioned a four-day in-and-out hike to Lake Kruger. So we set our sights on this - it looked a little more than we wanted to do but still do-able. When we got to the rangers´office (where you have to check in and out for even minor day walks) we were told the walk was not yet open but would possibly be open the next day, even though the following day when we did do the walk we saw hikers walking the other way, which meant they must have left at latest the day we were there. The Park rangers were very controlling and seemingly a bit random. So we set up camp close to Lake Futaleuafquen, had some lunch and returned to register - just to do a day walk! But no, of course, it was too late in the day to do it, sorry you aren´t allowed! $·"&%?¿?·" So off we slunk to regroup and do it anyway, but because it took us a long time to find the path and we had to pretend not to be doing it while the authorities drove passed checking up on us, we only managed to go up and back a little. But it gave us our first experience of the Valdivian forest, the undergrowth choked in places with Chusquea bamboo and in other places ferns, orchids, weeds, shrubbery and various herbaceous plants. The over-storey was still tall Nothofagus, though this species might be different from further south. We passed many lovely stands of trees and came to a nice lookout of the lake, then turned back. Camping that night on the beautiful lake was made very uncomfortable by literal clouds of mosquitoes, possibly the worst I have ever experienced.
The next day we set out to Playa Blanca, not all the way to Lake Kruger as intended because of the change of schedule and only being permitted to stay one night there because apparently its a small campsite and we had to make room if others wanted to camp there too. This turned out to be not the case, we could easily have accomodated 2 or 3 more tents there. $%&$& parkies... We walked a long dirt road to the start of the trek, ate lunch and set off. The wide path and steady uphill soon changed to a narrow track and steep trekking, with the omnipresent bamboo clawing at our packs and tripping us up. We journeyed under the beautiful forest for several hours, crossing rushing creeks mostly without bridges and continuing to climb higher. Michelle secured herself a bamboo walking stick and we trudged on, finally emerging from the forest at about 900m. Here we could see the surrounding mountains and our surroundings too, which was essentially just a bamboo thicket. We followed the path through this until it turned downhill, and we dropped probably 200m of our gained height. At this stage we were knackered, and I tentatively suggested we pull up stumps for the day and pitch a tent somewhere near some water. We both wanted to, but instead continued on through more woods and eventually saw what we thought was the pass that we were aiming for. After more deliberation about stopping for the night we decided to try for the pass. At one stage Michelle felt very light headed like she was going to fall over - but we rallied for one last push.
Upon reaching the pass however, all the struggle faded away as we sat and admired possibly the most scenic vista I´ve ever seen. Snow-capped mountains clothed in rich green forest above blue lakes stretching as far we could see, condors ascending the thermals. Ahh, it was all worth it. We could see our Playa Blanca from there also. Where most of Lake Futaleuafquen was a deep blue, nestled in a sheltered cove was a few streaks of white under the water. Should we descend the almost thousand metres, knowing we´d have to return the next morning? Of course we should.
The downhill was intensely steep and slippery, difficult with heavy packs and rubber legs. The bamboo soon gave way to magnificent Beech forest, with some gigantic trees. It was here we finally could see the full biodiversity of this forest, with probably 7 or 8 tree species including the alerce and many more different understorey species becoming obvious. After a full hour of testing our quadriceps on the consistent downhill we levelled out, following the path through what was more like a bush-bash than a walking path. It was beautiful. At a water stop we saw this little frog, see photo. We eventually came to Playa Blanca, pitched tent and went for an amazing swim in the lake. It was paradise - a complete wilderness. Michelle said it reminded her of the movie ´The Beach´, though without the marijuana crops.
The next morning we arose earlier and began to psychologically prepare ourselves for the impending 2hrs straight up. We breakfasted and set off. At the base of the mountain we stopped to consume large quantities of chocolate and I set my brain to animal mode. The next few hours were very uppity, but surprisingly easier than we had dreaded, despite me experiencing a similar light-headedness to Michelle from the day before. At our wonderful pass we stopped again, delighting in the fresh air and wonderful day. As we ate we were treated to seeing an unidentified raptor (maybe a Peregrine Falcon) swooping up the thermals and then quickly dropping 20 or 30m at a time, revelling in the sheer joy of it and shrieking as it did so.
As we followed the path back to Lake Futalauefquen we observed large cumulo nimbus gathering overhead. We again struggled through the bamboo thicket, with the unpleasant thought of having to camp at the lake with the mosquitoes again because there was no return bus on Tuesdays. We arrived at the forest and began the longer but comparitively less steep downhill, and decided to try out a ´universal manifestation´, The Secret-style (in the way of Chris and Chaz from The Chaser in the carpark). It went like this - when we got to the road back to the lake we would hitch-hike with someone from there all the way back to Esquel, stopping only to check out with the Nazis(nice Nazis, though). When we finally arrived and began walking the road no one would stop. Then it began to rain, heavily. I had ensured I was prepared by packing my rainjacket at the bottom of my pack. Michelle took pity on me and sheltered me with her jacket as I took out essentially all of my stuff from the backpack, put on my jacket and repacked, all the while swearing as offensively as I was able. Then the rain stopped. Heh heh heh. You have to laugh about it. But The Secret sure wasn´t %&$/$ working.
However soon after Michelle´s magic thumb worked. We jumped in the tray off a Hilux ute and got a lift all the way to Trevelin with some lovely rich locals, stopping only in "Berlin" for formalities. In Trevelin as we were waiting for the bus back to Esquel the same family that had given us a ride earlier stopped in on their way to Esquel and we jumped in the tray again! Freekin´awesome man! Michelle´s magic thumb, you rock! The Secret, you can get stuffed.
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