Carretera Austral in Chile - the report

Too much text and too many pics that simply don't show how amazing Patagonia really is... enjoy!

Day 1 (12/28/2007)

Route: Puerto Montt (Airport) - Contao
Miles: 43
Ridetime: 4 h 3 min
Weather: sunny all day



Touchdown at the airport Puerto Montt around 1 PM. Get luggage, rip open the bike box, and assemble the bike right outside the front door. I have no clue where I am exactly, but I just start riding from the airport door and follow the signs that say "Puerto Montt 15 km".

Funny, after about 2 min of riding I get passed by a guy in work clothes on an older fully with Camelback. Keep myself under control and don´t start to race him with my 30+ pounds of luggage on me...

Navigate based on good luck through busy Puerto Montt and end up on a road of which I think it could be the "Carretera Austral". A couple of miles later I get confirmation by a sign on the road reading R7 (Route 7 = Carretere Austral"). Wow, I realize this is where I wanted to be for the last couple of weeks.

Keep riding and know I need to take a ferry to get over a fjord. See the boat from the top of a hill, let it roll, right onto the boat and off we go. Never paid for a ticket, but I figured that compensated the big tip I gave the luggage carrier at the airport (didn´t know the currency conversion at the point of tipping, but had 40 km to figure out he got way overpaid).

Keep riding after the 1/2 hour boat trip - simply because I have no clue where I should sleep. Finally ask for "una habitacion" (a room) in one of the tiny towns I roll through, and get pointed to a B&B that costs $10 for a night. Oh yes, including breakfast.

Pretty much slept a solid 10 hours, only interrupted by some weired dreams. Also hear rain on and off. The Patagonia rain everybody talks about...

Let's get this party started


Take off from the airport


On the right road


Welcome, Mr. Dolpp, to the world of gravel


Exactly what I expected, and even better...



Day 2

Route: Contao - Hornopieren
Miles: 42.5
Ridetime: 4 h 17 min
Weather: around 60-70, rain in the evening



Rolling out late morning. Get to my destination in just under 3 hours of hilly gravel riding. Hmm, what now? Only way to get further south is via boat. Read about it, and that it officially starts to run in January, but sometimes they have unscheduled early surprise departures. Well, not this time... so I wonder around town, and meet Cullen and Kathleen from Alaska, who also counted on the unscheduled trips. Stuck.

Well, for now I check in a nice cheap lodge (Hosteria Catalina), and chat with the host. The conversation wasn´t too beneficial, since he only spoke Spanish, and I only German and English. But I understand that there are some hot springs about 10 km away, and I should go there. So I jump back on the bike, find the spot, and soak alone in some outdoor pools in the rain forest in the rain. Sweet.

With all the Salmon farming going on in the are I get Salmon for dinner. Perfect.

Good Patagonia gravel roads


Dropping into Hornopieren


On the beach


No smoke --> safe


Skinny dipping in the rain forest



Day3

Route: Hornopieren - Puelo
Miles: 50.9
Ridetime: 4 h 53 min
Weather: colder again, heavy rain. Too much rain in the end...



Big storm blowing through Hornopieren all night long, winds so strong and loud they feel like they are blowing right through my sleeping bag, even though I´m inside the lodge.

Rain still coming down in the morning, but I decide to ride anyhow. After all, that´s why I came here, and I did not come unprepared. So put on the rain gear and pedal back towards Puerto Montt. Boats going South leave from here as well.

The weather slightly improves, the rain stops for a while and the sun shows up. Fun. So I decide I´ll take a detour towards Puelo and ride around the fjord I crossed 2 days ago by boat.

Just when I start climbing into this fjord it dumps water. Well, I guess it is called rain forest because it is supposed to rain quite a bit.

No, I´m not turning around now. Rain keeps coming down... Meet a couple from Switzerland that is bike touring as well, and we stand in the rain in the middle of the road. They remind me to put my rain gear back on. Good point, but not really worth it since I´m soaked already. Shortly after, there are bikers everywhere. A supported group from Germany. Slackers...

And then it happens. Bang. My beloved Old Man Mountain Sherpa rack drops behind the bike. WTF? How can this happen? Panic. Can temporarily fix it, but get really cold doing it. Should have put on the rain gear in time...

Keep riding for another hour until I find a spot to crash for the night. Sweet fancy fishing lodge in the fog, and I´m the only guest when I check in. Almost spooky.

Riding in the rain forest


Climbtime # 1



In between the rain...



So what happened with the rack? Well, usually it is mounted to the brake bosses with angled aluminum brackets. But a weight weeny like me opted to use the alternative - a pair of standard clamps around the tubes - and those broke. To my defense, this worked on the last 2 trips...


Day4

Route: Puelo - Puerto Montt
Miles: 47.4
Ridetime: 4 h 38 min
Weather: drizzle early on, more and more sun towards the end



Woke up due to another crazy dream - once I got home from this trip I find contractors in my place remodelling it to look totally ugly. Should have seen the kitchen...

Due to the bike rack incident I decide to not go around the fjord now, but head back to Puerto Montt, so I can completely fix the rack.

Couldn´t see a thing yesterday, but today gave me an idea of what to expect in terms of scenery for the next couple of days. Blows me away that I´m riding in rain forest, but can see snow capped mountains.

Hear this randoms squeaky noise - first think it is some crazy type of bird, but then realize it is the front hub. Hmm, wonder how many more mechanicals will pop up on this trip... at least the improved temp fix to the rack seems to work perfect.

Legs are pretty tired once I get to Puerto Montt. Certainly feel that I have more luggage on the bike than on any other trip so far. So besides tomorrow being the first of ´08 I have another good reason to take a rest day. Crazy grocery shopping - the store was packed, so navigating the shopping cart through them all was the most technical riding of the trip so far.

On the way back to Puerto Montt


Back on the ferry



Day 5

Rest and do nothing.

OK, not true. Lubed the front hub and watched TV. Met up with Cullen and Kathleen (bumped into them yesterday on the boat again, so we decided to grab some coffee together). Nice chatting, plus I know now where to go in Alaska...

Realized the boat to Chaiten already runs today. So I head to the boat launch in the evening, and thanks to Wibke and Martina (2 girls from Switzerland) we get on via standby. Lucky. Glad I met them, since they spoke Spanish and arranged everything for me as well (while I distracted other standby travellers so we could cut in line).



Clouds ease up a little when taking off, and I get an idea what the volcano´s behind Puerto Montt could look like. Big.

The next 12 hours are spent trying to figure out how to sleep on 2 chairs...

Home for the next 12 hours


Martina and Wibke - the Swiss girls


Parts of the volcanos behind Puerto Montt



Day 6

Route: Chaiten - La Junta
Miles: 88
Ridetime: 8 h 02 min
Weather: heavy rain at the beginning, then cloudy, 55-77 F



Wow, the tailwind blows me right back into the rain forest. Hit dirt after an hour of riding. But even though it still rains, the dirt sticks to the ground, and I´m not getting dirty at all. Nice. Can we get that for MI, please?

Get passed by the older German couple I met on the boat. They pull over their rental SUV, and the lady tells me "I have the highest respect for what you do" and "aren´t you getting cold with your naked legs?" (somehow get the feeling she is trying to figure out what I´d look like completely naked...)

Hit the first really big climb of the trip after about 30 miles. Guess I probably pedaled up the hill for about 1 hour. All of a sudden it goes down again, and I can´t believe the view I have when dropping into the valley. Get goose bumps imagining that I´ll have to ride through this now. Sweet. So green, mountains so big, waterfalls to the left and right, crazy plants everywhere, some leaves are at least 2-3 feet in diameter. Simply do not want to stop riding today. Especially not after I see 2 tire tracks in the dirt. Sure, need to catch up to whoever that is now.

A little while later I chat to 2 girls (again from Switzerland) touring for 6 weeks. They are pretty impressed to hear that I started in Chaiten today and made it that far already. Always feels good to impress the ladies...

Besides a broken chain, navigating through cow shit, getting tired counting waterfalls and a little rock stuck in the tire making a freaky noise hitting the frame, I can say that today was by far the most amazing and scenic day I ever had riding my bike. Thanks.

Lago Yelcho in Patagonia


Lago "whatever" in Patagonia (there are too many to remember)


Me, riding in Chile


Hard to see, but dropping into this valley was simply amazing


Squatting while I took this pic...


Just to show what the road looked like


Crossing from Region 10 to 11 - feel like this is a big deal...



Day 7

Route: La Junta - Termas de Puyuguapi
Miles: 37.4
Ridetime: 3 h 41 min
Weather: perfect for riding a bike



Cleaned up all the bread at breakfast. The host laughed when she asked if I wanted "mas pan?" (more bread)..

Got to the next town after 2.5 hours. Rode a long time along this lake and got annoyed by myself taking so many pictures. Didn´t really know what to do - continue riding or make this a shorter day. Ran into 3 girls from New Zealand, touring for 3 months. What do people do so they can take so much time of?

The weather is good, the scenery mind blowing, so I jump back on the bike.

Find the boat launch to "Termas de Puyuguapi" a couple miles later. Read this is the leading hot spring resort of Chile, so I decide pro luxury, and jump on the little shuttle boat (resort is on an island). Get greeted by half the hotel stuff and some fresh squeezed orange juice, and head straight to the pools.

Met the older German couple (Andreas and Ulrike) again around the pools, and we make plans to meet for dinner. Too bad my laundry didn´t get done by 8 PM as promised, and I really did´t want to show up in the bath robe at the resort restaurant.

La Junta in the morning


This guy - again?


One of the 3.8 billion waterfalls along the way


I just like the mountains. Really


Downhill


The scenery past Pujuguapi


Tanlines? - Check.


Personal shuttle to the island with the hotel for the night...


Believe it or not, but this was the view from my room



Day 8

Route: Termas de Puyuguapi - Villa Amengual
Miles: 47.8
Ridetime: 5 h 02 min
Weather: ... can´t remember



Stopped under blue skies at the "Hanging Glacier" at Natl Park Queulat. Pretty famous in Patagonia, and totally worth to take a touristy walk to get a little closer.

2 hours later a long climb, another huge glacier on the left, big view into valleys, trees everywhere, massive granite rocks and it kept getting colder with every foot I climbed. Legs felt great, but went downhill - just as the road - afterwards. Didn't help that I hit some loose gravel in which it was impossible to find good lines. And just when I got really annoyed, I found it: pavement. Yes. What a surprise, my map didn't show it that early.

Enjoyed not being bumped around for a couple more miles and was glad to finally hit the next town, and didn't even care that the place I stayed for the night only had cold water in the shower...

Wondering around town I met another biker from Germany (Christian) touring Patagonia, but going the opposite way. We exchanged little info about what to expect on the next section of the road, and I went to bed hoping the legs would feel better again tomorrow...

Another sweet day on the bike


First glimpse of the famous glacier


Interesting bridge


Famous: the "hanging glacier" in Natl Park Queulat


Hard to see, but that glacier hanging there is huge


I actually did it - riding in Chile


This picture shows about 10% of all the singletrail I rode in Patagonia...


One more waterfall (Spanish: salto)


Climb through the rainforest


More gravel


Massive moutains


I really got excited after each climb what the next valley would look like, and I never got disappointed



Day 9

Route: Villa Amengual - Coihaique
Miles: 79.6
Ridetime: 7 h 22 min
Weather: 65-81F, and enough sun to get burned at the end



Left early in the morning, knowing I'll have to cover a good distance today and due to Christians info yesterday I knew what to expect. And he didn't even mention the wind...

Went through a little town and found an ATM. Perfect timing, didn't have too much cash left. So all happy about winning at the ATM I bought icecream, coke, some fruit and chocolate, refuelled and felt great afterwards.

But the wind. Got too annoying, so I decided to take a left and climb up into this valley, hoping I'll have a good tailwind descending into town. Luckily this worked out, and I had so much fun riding my bike, it took me quite a while to notice that the scenery changed quite a bit, and the rainforest seemed to be gone all of a sudden. Felt more like Switzerland than Chile...

Pullend into Coihaique Sat evening, had a lot of food (I like candy, but even more a big piece of meat), a tasty adult beverage and was probably the first one to go to bed that night in town.

Pedal pedal pedal


That's where I come from...


...and that's where I'll go


Hmm, why can't we have that in Michigan?


High meadows, the rainforest is gone


Wow, a reall town!


Tanlines still there? - Check.



Day 10

Resting. Laundry. TV. Coffee.


Day 11

Route: Coihaique - Puerto Ingeniero Ibanez
Miles: 71.3
Ridetime: 6 h 03 min
Weather: everything but snow



LBS fixed the shift cable. And this even though I don't know how to speak Spanish.

Pretty nasty today for the first 1.5 hours, rain and cold. And then the sun shows up and it gets warmer faster than you can take of the rain gear.

More wind. I read the further S you travel, the windier it'll get. True. Funny thing is that the wind changes so often, you can't really tell if it's a head- or tailwind... But you know it is a headwind when in addition to the wind it rains and it feels like hail in your face.

Even though I spent the whole day on pavement I had the roughest conditions to ride in of the whole trip. You start to wonder when you have to shift down int the middle ring on steep donwhills.

Rode through the region of "Cerro Castillo", a mountain range that can be found in every coffee table book about Chile. Too bad I only saw Chile's finest clouds there, and nothing of the massive granite formations... maybe it was a sign to come back here again at one point of time?

Bike shop Figon in Coihaique


Tailwind and sun


Headwind and rain


Lucky me - talked to some guys who crossed this path 2 days ago in snow showers...


Dropping towards Villa Cerro Castillo



Day 12

Route: Puerto Ingeniero Ibanez - Puerto Guadal
Miles: 63.8
Ridetime: 7 h 10 min
Weather: headwind and more of it, and did I mention the crazy winds?



A day that started with a 3 hour boat ride accross S-America's 2nd largest lake ended with the Dolppinator almost crying when climbing at 3mph on the worst gravel into ridiculous winds.

I was told about the "dramatic scenery" on the road S of this big lake, but couldn't really see too much other than big rain clouds. Luckily not too much rain, but they simply blocked the view of some amazing mountains. Guess that's why they have books to look at them...

Just when I got of the boat I ran into the 2 girls from Switzerland again. They recommended to stay at the cabins "El Mirador", but that would have meant I need to cover 100 km that day. That seemed impossible they way I felt, the direction the wind blew from and what I heard about the route. Many climbs, often not more than 1000 feet in elevation gain, but over and over again. Halfway through I found a good potential spot for a night to bivy, but then again it was only 6 in the evening, and there would be another 4 hours of sunlight.

So I hopped back on the bike and was hoping my 8 mph avg speed would increase from now on so I can make it into the next town before sunset. But instead of picking up the pace I felt slower and slower, and the roads got nasty. I got really frustrated and started to wonder about myself, why I'm doing this, bla bla bla, when all of a sudden the terrain flattened out, the wind changed, and I saw a sign that said only 20 miles to go to the next town, rather than the 25 miles I calculated. Big ring action from now on, and I made it into town at 9:30, wet from riding in the drizzle the last hour - and even got one of the nice cabins.

View of the port of Ingeniero Ibanez


Pilchero - today's boat


Impossible to capture on my tiny camera how big this lake really was


Just before I got unhappy


Some laguna alont the way


Repeat this for pretty much 40 miles...


Looks easier to ride than it actullly was... I wasn't too happy today



Day 13

Route: Puerto Guadal - Cochrane
Miles: 46.6
Ridetime: 5 h 5 min
Weather: little rain at the start, but then sun, yeah! (and some wind...)



Met the 2 Swiss girls again at breakfast. They were "shocked" to hear from the host that I actually made it there yesterday. They were gonna take the bus to Cochrane later that day, which was also my destination. We were joking who'd get there first... guess who won?

I had a late start, waiting for laundry to get dry and outwait the rain. Hit some rough gravel roads again, and on every climb my legs reminded me of yesterday. Pretty cooked once I got into Cochrane. Glad the day was over, but I also knew this would be as far south as my trip would take me. Pretty sad.

Of course I ran into Wibke and Martina again... who got there later than I did.

Business as usual - a lake and mountains


Ups and downs...


Another climb coming up - looks short, but guess what's behind the corner?


Always going up before going down


You're probably getting tired by now looking at mountains and lakes... well, I didn't!


Somewhere along Rio Baker


Last downhill going South



Day 14

Back to Coihaique in the bus, a rough 9 hour trip.

Almost no clouds in the sky, and I got a chance to see many of the peaks I missed the last couple of days. So that worked out perfectly.

Spent the next 3 days in Coihaique doing nothing (OK, I rode my bike a little one day).

Finally. Vacation. That was fun.

Scenery in Puerto Rio Tranquila


Famous view of Cerro Castillo (2675 m)


Cool - on the flight back I could acutally see the Carretera Austral leading up into the Cerro Castillo mountains


... and more of them


Thanks to all you guys who encouraged me to really go on this trip... now go yourself!