1/3/2014 to 1/7/14 Volcano Villarica & The Villarica Traverse
Signed on with Summit Chile to climb Villarica. It's the most climbed mountain in Chile. 2846 meters. Ice axe and crampons required. We got the last 2 spots of 12. Summit Chile is a very efficient and well run company. They supply boots, crampons, ice axe, waterproof pants and jacket, gaiters, gloves, fleece hat, and helmet. So pretty much everything any tourist would need.
At 7 we piled into the van for the hour ride to the ski slope. There were 6 people from Poland. A couple from Chicago. A guy from Brazil. One from Chile. And us. We rode the lift up to the snow. Then put on crampons and were off.
The 4 guides were great. They set a super slow pace and were very encouraging. There were lots of other groups up there. By the time we got to the top half of our group had turned back as had many of the other groups. It was more icy than usual and didn't soften up. Villarica is still active and vents some noxious gases at the top. Not pleasant if the wind is blowing your way. At the top we could see several other volcanoes including Lanin and Quetrupillan which we will see closer on the Villarica Traverse.
Usually the descent takes about half an hour because you can slide on your butt all the way down. But today because of the ice we had to walk all the way down. Near the bottom we had a Mapuche ceremony. Mapuche are the indigenous people of the area. Claudio, owner of Summit Chile, has a special interest in their culture and told us some about it. He pulled out a bottle of red wine, poured some on the snow and passed it to the next person. We each took a moment with a special thought, poured some on the snow, took a sip and passed it on. Very nice ending to the climb.
It was about 3:30 when we got back to the van. Our backpacks were in the van so we made a quick change of equipment. My feet were so happy to be back in trail runners.
The ski resort was mostly closed for the season. But there was a guy, Pedro, who lives up there. He sold us a couple of beers to help with the transition of climber to hiker. We walked about 30 minutes and found a sheltered campsite in the trees.
Day 1 of the traverse: completely different terrain than anything we have been hiking thru. Villarica dominated the view with it's constant puff of steam. The vegetation was sparse but beautiful. Yellow, pink, orange and white flowers interspersed between the brown, black and red lava rock. Stunning. We hiked in and out of forests. A new tree, araucaria, is very unique looking. The largest ones have thick trunks with the branches starting very high up. It's a conifer but very different than anything I've ever seen. It's also called the monkey puzzle tree. There are also lots of Lenga trees which we have been seeing all over Chile and Argentina. Later in the day we got views of Lanin and Quetrupillan, 2 other volcanoes. We combined the first 2 days of the hike as described in the Lonely Planet Patagonia Trekking Guide. That plus yesterday's hike up Villarica made both of us very happy to finally lay down at the end of the day.
Day 2: Late start at 8:20 because I slept in. Hard hike. Lots of up. Hot. I ran very low on water. But gorgeous views of 5 close volcanoes and more in the distance. We saw no one all day until after we set up our tents. 3 local mountain bikers rode up and stopped for water at the creek right next to us. It was fun talking to them even though their knowledge of English was only a little bit better than my Spanish. Nice guys. Later 3 hikers, also local, came by and are camped just around the bend. Their destination tomorrow is the same as ours. Early to bed tonight. The horse flies (tabanos) made us run for our tents early.
Day 3: we combined 2 days into one again. Beautiful moonscape like surroundings. Also went by a couple of lakes. We met a young couple from France going the other way. We asked about the camping by Lago Avutardes. They said it was beautiful, like Switzerland. After the last pass the landscape changed to meadows, waterfalls and trees, and views of more mountains. Unfortunately, signs of cows appeared. Then the cows themselves and all their mess. Am I back on the CDT? We had to sweep away the cowpies before setting up our tents. Yuck! Switzerland? I don't think so.
Day 4: Hiked down thru the trees and cowpies. Got to the dirt road. To the right led to Argentina. We went left to stay in Chile. 2 20 something year old sisters from Sonoma caught up to us. We walked to the pavement at Puesco then a couple hours more before finally getting a hitch to Curarrehue. We ate a delicious Mapuche stew for lunch then caught the bus back to Pucon.
In summary the hike up Villarica was great. The traverse had many splendid views and was way different than the other hikes we've done down here. It had a bit too much lava. The cows at the end made this hike our least favorite of the trip. But, remember we have been to some amazing places. Still loving it down here. Might do something besides hiking for the last week down here.
