Anders is writing:
The weather forecast for Pucon June 25: rain with chances of even more rain. Today’s plan was to hike up to Nido de Aguila (1547m) in Santuario El Cani, from where we’d have a grand view of the surrounding volcanoes. This private reserve managed by the Lahuen foundation is located 22 km to the east of Pucon. The trail starts at the El Cani administration building, right by the road. It is possible to drive about 1,5 km up a dirt road and park the car there. The hike is rather steep from the dirt road, zigzagging up the slope through the forest. We started off in rain, but it was clearly visible from the valley floor that there would be snow at higher altitude. And so it was, the rain slowly changed into snowfall and the ground was covered with a layer of snow that got thicker the higher we got. A few cows greeted us along the trail. Ilgonis went back to the cars after a while. About halfway up (at 1047m) was a hut where we could take shelter from snow and wind. I decided to go no further from here, partly because I was a bit ill with a cold and didn’t want to push myself too much physically, partly because of the weather conditions and the presumption that there would be no view of anything from the top. The others pressed on. I had a few hours to kill in this place, which just was a big hall around a fireplace with some simple wooden benches/sleeping pads. I spent my time trying to keep warm, with gymnastic exercises but also by huddling up on one of the benches. After an hour or so I realized I was going to have company. A threat to my peaceful existence in this desolate shelter presented itself. It was not human and it was moving with speed and determination towards the hut.
Across the snow came a small mouse. Soon it was inside and my first instinct was to chase it away. The mouse wasn’t easily scared off though. It just hid somewhere then came back looking for some more leftovers to feast on. I eventually started to accept it’s presence. As long as it didn’t try to steal my chocolate bar, everything was fine. In the end I almost cherished it as a friend.
After 3,5 hours Dora and Andra returned and was soon followed by Juris. Imants hurried past and after a while Dace and Agnese also had made their way back. They had not been able to reach the top, the snow was too deep. The descent to the cars was a bit slippery, but I managed to stay on my feet.
By the end of the hike most of the group was more or less wet and cold. After turning our living room into a big drying cabinet, Ilgonis made us some delicious soup. All but Imants then went to Los Pozones thermal baths, a 40 minute drive from Pucon. There were several pools, varying in temperature, next to the thundering Liucura river. The hottest one was about 45 degrees warm, a bit to much for me, at least initially. There were a few other people there, but not many. It was possible to occasionally have a pool all for yourself. Leaning against a boulder with the warm water waist high and the cold rain drizzling down my head and shoulders, I listened to the sounds of the river and was for a moment mesmerized by the patterns on the water surface created by the falling rain.
Agnese’s comments:
Initially the plan was to reach the top no matter the snow or the view. The hike was steep, but soon after the hut where Anders decided to stay, it became more level and more beautiful with ancient huge trees pretending to come out of Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. Some time after that we reached a frozen lake. Two Chilean guys who passed us on the way to the hut had had a break here and showed us the Chilean national tree Araucania through the fog on the other side of the lake. We let them again go in front of us as they knew much better where they were supposed to go and it was much easier to follow in their footprints. We had a map as well, but navigating plain snow between the trees is not that straightforward after all.
After some quite level walk we came up to a group of araucania trees. They were really beautiful and our new Chilean friends told they are endangered species and the tallest of them in the group was some 2000 years old. On a close-up view they look a bit like cactus and their ‘needles’ are very sharp.
The snow had become deeper and deeper and by this time we were walking almost knee-deep in the previous person’s footsteps. Imants, Dace and Agnese went right after the Chileans and reached the second hut at Laguna Negra. This place was next to another lake, supposedly about 20min walk from the top, but since there was no end to the fog and also it had started to snow, we decided to turn back. I had had a small hope to reach the level above clouds, but at this point it seemed to not be so smart an idea due to all the snow and the slow pace it forced on us. So the beautiful view stays there for out next time in Pucon.