Futaleufu to Cholila through Parque Alerces

Learning about semillas in Futa

Learning how to make Empanadas(!)

Futaleufu is both a river and a town, the river being more famous I assume, by the number of signs I see mentioning rafting and guided tours as we walk into the town. It is a beautiful river, though the town also has a beauty to it, as a small Chilean border town with their busy (rafting/tourist) season dwindling to an end. It began drizzling as we walked into town, and thankfully we had a contact in town, so after stopping by the small tourist information center for directions and a coffee shop to warm up and grab a snack, we wandered over to Alejandra's. After a brief introduction and talk, she so kindly offered us space in her house to stay. We were again taken aback by the kindness and generosity gifted to us from another semi-stranger.

Me, Alejandra, and Fidgit in the yard

We moved into our space, which consisted of putting our packs down and taking showers. Over the next few days we were able to find that balance of relaxing, getting town chores done, and being able to spend time with our host family. Alejandra and her husband were so helpful with information and allowing us some space to decompress. The town of 'Futa' is a small town, so there were some things we weren't able to find, though it wasn't a big deal.

We left Futa after a few days' rest (unplanned, but much needed) and headed down the road to the Chile/Argentina border. Our plan was to cross and hike along Argentine side on the Huella Andina (pronounced way-sha ahn-dee-nah in Argentine spanish), as it seemed more available to us than we had originally thought. a few kilometers out of town, the border crossing was the easiest yet, both countries just waved us through after stamping our passports and we walked on.

The road was dusty, and we were happy to turn off of it onto the Huella Andina and begin our (mostly) off-road travels. The trail was well-marked and even had some infrastructure- we were so grateful for stream bridges and bog avoidance logs! We went to sleep that night quite happy in our little tent in the woods along the Huella. 

Trail marker! And a turnstile!

Fidgit and No Mio at our lunch break

The next day, we continued following the trail and came to the end of that section at the tiny 'villa' of Aldea Escolar, where we were hoping to find some supplemental lunch food. It was not to be, instead we acquired a border collie looking dog. She was super friendly and followed us the rest of the day, even when we tried to get rid of her. So of course we allowed her to continue with us and even named her No Mio. Fidgit was concerned because she had read of this happening to another group, and their dog-follower was chased and (likely) killed by a puma. Spoiler- this didn't happen to No Mio.

Potential trail marker along the investigatory route.

We did have quite the adventure getting into my favoritely-named town though- Futalaufquen. As mentioned above, there is a break in the continuity of the Huella Andina, so we were following Jan's 'Investigatory Route' of the Greater Patagonia Trail, and it was indeed quite investigatory. We bushwhacked through 10-15ft tall bamboo shoots all day, trying not to whack whoever was in the back while also wearing our upper bodies out shoving them (and our backpacks) through what seemed like billions of bamboo shoots trying to hold us back. If you've seen 'Alice in Wonderland,' it reminded me of the card guards multiplying and crossing their weapons in front of Alice.

Getting stuck on the bamboo...

After forcing our way through that hell for what seemed like all day, we were exhausted and hungry. We came to a lovely field and promptly set up camp, knowing we would get into Futalaufquen the next day, and it would be by following old road beds. We both fell into a deep sleep. I'm sure No Mio also slept well, even though she was covered in sharp burs from all the bushwhacking.

No Mio and I walking into Futalaufquen

I woke up with a pounding headache, intestinal distress, and nausea. Fidgit and No Mio seemed fine, but- kindly- were patient with me and walked with me the few kilometers into Futalaufquen, where I promptly sat under a tree near the grocery store and fell asleep to remove myself from the pain I was feeling. While I was sleeping, Fidgit ran our small amount of errands, one of which was to get No Mio to a place that was not following us. If we could've kept  her, we likely would have; she was a beloved part of our trek for that short time. I felt much better after my nap, though not fully recovered, so we decided to walk a short way into Parque Nacional Alerces to a nearby campsite where I could continue recovering. There was a lovely view of Lago Alerces, and we ate dinner and went to bed.

Looking out on Lago Alerces

The next morning, we walked along the side of the lake along the road. The road was dusty, and there was a bike race that day(we saw signs), so we decided to go along the beach area instead. It was rocky, but way nicer than being covered in a fine dust every time a car went past. We walked along for a few kilometers and then the beach cliffed out on us, so we had to go up a bit higher. Fidgit decided to continue trying to follow along the water. I still wasn't feeling 100%, so I decided to try and bushwhack back to the road and walk it to meet up with her at the next camping area- bad choice on my part. I was basically trying to 'swim' through head-height vines covered in spines- imagine a blackberry bush without the positives of having a food item on them. At one point, I was looking up a steep area to the road, with one foot on a tree branch and the rest of me being held up by the spiny vines, whimpering to myself that no one would find me if I died.....so, anyway, I made it to the road about 10 minutes after that, feeling like an idiot and covered in scratches. I reunited with Fidgit, and she allowed me to blubber for a bit to her before we headed onward and met up again with the Huella Andina.

Fall is coming!

Fidgit looking out on Lago Verde

I was still feeling queasy and weak, so after a full day of tough (my own fault) walking, I was ready for camp, and a beautiful lakeside camp it was! I slept soundly, even with some Easter festivities going on in another corner of the camp area. I woke up the next day rested, and I felt I started out strong, but I was still having trouble with recovering from whatever ailment was going on. We didn't have much wiggle room in our food supply, so we were discussed our options. Then we found a sign for a camping area with a small camp shop serving food and followed the side road leading to it. We had nearly given up hope on finding it along the road when we reached the end of the road and the campsite. We had some tea and bread and decided to set up camp. We had perfect timing, as the cook mentioned it was their last week before the camp store shut down for the season- another reminder that we didn't have much time left before winter set in.

Even though it was their last day of the season, everyone at the campground was friendly and helpful, even offering directions and information about the next town we would get to. And there were showers! Shower-laundry done and self-showered, I slept well that night.

Bushwhacking wounds. And peanut butter!

We made it to the end of the Parque the next day, and they weren't kidding about it being the end of the season- that place was packed and locked up! We camped there and headed into the town of La Bolsa the next day, which was a wet, dreary one. We got some resupply food and pressed on, determined to get some more kilometers in now that my lingering ailment had improved. Then it started raining. And we were nearing Cholila . . . so we decided to stop in and find a place to stay for the night. We stopped into the tourist information center, which is sometimes useful, and were directed towards a hostel at the edge of town. Walking up their driveway, we were greeted by a friendly dog, and then the owner, Dario. We asked him if he had space for the night, and they did, perfect! We ended up getting way more than just a room- we got directions on our next leg of the journey- it turns out Dario not only runs a hostel with his wife, Laura, but is also a local guide and was able to give us directions along the mountains we had ruled out, because we didn't think it would be possible. Turns out it is possible, and, though not commonly thru-hiked, a few had done it before us. Fidgit and I went to bed that night with full bellies (we showed up on a celebratory day and they had cooked up a feast of sorts) and smiles on our faces for not having to road walk.

Walking along the road into Cholila