~far end of Laguna Laja, turn-off to Trapa Trapa right before the argentinian border.

Given my previous “trail” experience in Chile, I was shocked and amazed how rideable this trail was and the mellow grade that lead to the pass. I spoke to a man carrying some roofing back from town and asked him if i can find internet in TrapaTrapa or a store. I asked him if the trail was good like it is here and he said that it is. I know not to trust trail feedback from people riding a horse.

and after a nice section at the top, the trail got harder but all sursprisingly rideable on a fatbike. I took several breaks to give the brakes a break from heating up and descended into the land of the resting cows and the nice looking trees.

The valley’s topography and steel sides suggested a major hike-a-bike but it was 98.5% rideable! It is great to know that Chile is also home to such improved trails. Riding down and listening to Mark Knopfler songs (as I am hoping to use one or two in the next video). I eventually made it to a road.

it seems that something isnt opening completely on the big camera, having this black things appear in all the photos, seems that the problem is on and off but likely something that can be fixed. I mainly use the camera for zoom so it is not a real issue.

I opted for a longer and likely easier road down a valley and up again as opposed to a trail, mainly lulled into civilization by promises of hotsprings and the new episode of game of thrones. It turned out to be a very dusty way down with plenty of hills, luckily I chanced upon a completo (hot dog) stand at a small place and i ate four.

there were lots of piglets running around, sometimes following other times just watching me. Realizing I wont make it into town while its light, I continued into the fading light looking for a quiet place to camp

Three dogs came by my tent, one stayed. He pee’d on my tent and on my bike. I gave him food. This is not how things should work but i had some extra bread and tortillas that i did not want to eat.

I said hi to the bus drivers where one bus was broken down on the road.

“you are the guy from alaska who is traveling and sleeping in the forest?”

interesting how quickly word travels here, i spoke to few people yesterday at the little food stand. One of them seemed a little concerned that i would sleep out here.

I rolled into the town of Ralco and straight to some restaurant. Coffee and 1 good hour with internet before lunch was ready. Lunch was mediocre as are most chilean restaurants but there was a stove blasting inside and it was so warm and nice. As I was getting ready i spotted a kayaking brochure at the counter. It was for rio Biobio, like right here. The daughter of the owners was a kayaker and she put me in touch with a friend who guides trips here, while he couldnt help me (and obviously i couldnt go on a tour) he put me in touch with a friend who was going tomorrow and had an extra life vest. The rooms were $15 and clean so I settled for the night here.

just as we were getting ready a group of kayakers saw us and invited us to join, my new friend was also not very experienced but i was a complete noob! bike helmet and no dry suit (these rivers are very, very cold). They guided us through some rapids and it truly felt quite safe and enjoyable. Unlike my first river rafting down the cajon del maipo where it was just plain terrifying.

I still had to lie down in the sun for half an hour to regain my core body temperature and in the evening it seemed fitting to watch an episode of game of thrones while in the bathtub!

the story with the biobio river is that it used to be the best river in chile….

back in the 1990’s before it got dammed

and i couldn’t help but think that being here on a weekend was just bad timing. I was quite tired of eating dust and when people kept stopping to offer me a ride, i did not say no!

this also meant that i got to the lake too early and i had already planned to cross it tomorrow in the morning when things are calm. I had half a mind to take that invitation for an asado (barbeque) by these guys at another lake very high up but i kind of wanted to keep going!

it wasn’t pretty. I got to set up the raft with the blasting wind and paused few times to wonder if i should really be doing this.

it was great to have the wind at my back and all i had to do is keep the boat straight and make sure i dont flip on the waves.

I had to stop on the short to re-inflate the boat, as they lose some pressure from the cold water but the more i looked at the lake the less i wanted to go back in. so i decided to find a camp on the shore.

the boat does definitely have a hole somewhere which i will need to find at some point… it was mostly deflated in the morning

and this morning was a learning experience. packrafting, first thing in the morning at 7am is not high on my to-do list. its an incredible cold experience and it get even colder while you pack up your stuff on the other shore.

while I was buying the new camera last october, the main decision was go for mark 3 or mark 4. mark 4 was “famed” for its focus and frankly all the reviews i saw about it were positive and so on. makes you wonder about the people who do these reviews. image stabilization is crap. focus - is not worth the extra $600 (at the time) over the mark 3. Auto focus: 2, iohan: 0

aside from that i rolled through some picturesque ranches and great changing colors

but the road was a full 2-5 cm of fine dust, chasing cows around did not make things better.

probably the same dust that killed the dinosaurs!

As i was taking a dip in an incredibly cold lake (kind of your head hurts after 20-30seconds), a buggy was about to go up and with the current gearing situation (this will be fixed around late july***) I figured it was best to join the dust makers to the top, rather than walk my bike.

one could really admire how drastically volcanoes have shaped these lands. 1900-1988 - nice farm land. 1990, no more farm land, valley full of lava

with that ride, i arrived right on time for an invitation to a mountain lodge near the volcano. it went from pasta and oatmeal to big meals and the best shower in south america! thank you pedro and family from posada del rio!

until next time!