Thinking of spending November trekking, packrafting, traveling, etc. Just starting to hone in on locations....ideas, suggestions, trips?
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Thinking of spending November trekking, packrafting, traveling, etc. Just starting to hone in on locations....ideas, suggestions, trips?
Peru, Bolivia
Nepal isn't in the Andes.
@ Z - you're asking an awfully open ended question. I just got back from a month in Peru. Ask some more specific questions and you'll get more specific answers.
Pretty open ended for sure....Ideas so far:
-Torres del Paine area - Cordillera del Paine circuit?
-El Chalten based treks
-Cerro Castillo - maybe too much snowcover to travel without skis?
Really up for any other ideas that fit the timeframe & have potentially good weather less/snowpack in November.
The mountain biking out of Huarez Peru looks pretty sweet.
Crowds start trickling into Paine and Chalten in November, don't expect to be alone. Higher areas around Chalten will likely still have snow but the standard treks should be dry. Probably less people around Cerro Castillo. Again depends on what you want to do exactly but I'm pretty sure you'd be able to find some snow-free hiking. Peru, Bolivia and the Northern parts of Chile and Arg would be better to avoid snow. Also probably way better chances of good weather.
Was figuring maybe beating the crowds in Paine, but it seems like November is starting prime time. Just looks like some good packraft options to add in to the classic circuit. I have been thinking about more northerly options, looks like some cool areas in the Aysen region.
Really open ended at the moment but hoping for either a few shorter backpacks or a longer traverse, hoping to take advantage of spring runoff and float some miles....
Thanks for the tips!
well, I think as soon as you get off the main routes (or in a packraft) I doubt you'll see too many other people. I was thinking much further north than Aysen for nice weather and no snow but if you want water then that's probably not so good. I know nothing about packrafting, what sort of river does that require? The Futaleufu area is pretty but I think that's very whitewatery... Los Alerces NP is also cool imo and doesn't get nearly as much traffic as Paine and Chalten, of course those are both rather more spectacular in terms of general setting of awesome granite needles and glaciers and stuff. Nahuel Huapi zone?
Class 2 or 3 water would be ideal for the type of gear we will bring with.Quote:
Originally Posted by klar
Floating is not mandatory, but we will have boats. Figured it could be a good way to get off the beaten path if we choose the more popular circuits. We should have time for multiple trips as well.
Thanks for the ideas! I will look into those areas. Wilderness river information is hard to come by. Any more info or ideas you have is most appreciated.
You've probably found rio baker/cochrane? that seems like it would be good and it could potentially get you quite a long way down the carretera austral between cerro castillo and villa o'higgins. do lakes work? could do the rest of the way to v. ohiggins by bus and go from there to chalten via lago o'higgins. there is a hiking trail that crosses the border at lago del desierto.
Queulat National Park looks like there would maybe be options for trail/float combinations? Not sure how many trails they actually have... There is some red tape if you go into any of the parks. If you want to do anything other than hike official trails (and you don't know for sure that people paddle there) you can either try to not tell the park ranger people about your plans and hide your boats or try your luck and explain what you want to do, which can be pretty hit or miss when skiing. No idea how they feel about boats. With skiing they don't actually mind you going in the park but they like trying to force you to go with a guide. In my experience most of the rangers do not have a good understanding of what skitouring is and worry about people getting themselves killed if they go off the trails. I suspect this might be similar with boating.
Might be worth having a look at fly fishing tour companies and the itineraries they run, many have "float and fish in patagonian wilderness for a week" type tours and that might at least give you a few ideas about rivers? There is a lonely planet "trekking in patagonia" book which I have found quite useful for general info about how stuff works and where things are...
I'd skip Patagonia... way more for your buck in Bolivia and Peru plus less crowds.
From La Paz there is top notch hiking/trekking/mtn biking in the Cordillera Real, Peru check out Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, Cordillera Blanca in Huaraz north of Lima.
I'd fly roundtrip into Lima. Then bus to Arequipa -> Cuzco -> Lake Titicaca -> La Paz. If you still have time it would be a gnar haul but bus back to Lima -> Huaraz.
Cruz del Sur is pretty safe and reliable, plus by far the comfiest bus line I've ever taken. Those Bolivian micro buses though out of La Paz... way different story
I spent about 6 months in South America last year from Ecuador all the way down to Patagonia. If you have any specific questions hit me up!
Thanks guys! Just picked up that Trekking in Patagonia book - great resource for sure.
Will look into Peru & Bolivia - finding good fares to Santiago so that's the idea at the moment. The lady has been throughout the area so has some ideas too and has been wanting to get back to actually get into the mtns...
My GF and I got roundtrip tickets to Lima for ~ $375
We need naked pics of the GF to know if that's a good dealQuote:
Originally Posted by AlexK.
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
Crazy. How/from where did you pull that off?!?Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexK.
This looks really cool. Any ideas on bus or air transportation to Cochrane? Seems a bit tricky....Quote:
Originally Posted by klar
cordillera huayhuash in peru. girlfriend and i did it in 10 days. absolutely unreal, we saw very few people other than locals. huaraz makes a great basecamp. the cordillera blanca gets the publicity but the huayhuash is where its at.
From Boston to Lima with a transfer in Ft Lauderdale. Booked a few months ahead with Jet Blue and picked a range of dates to get the cheapest price. I think JetBlue's South American hub is Lima, hence why way cheaper than any other city