Carretera Austral - The last ferry crossing

With fresh legs, I started early to catch the ferry to Rio Bravo. Aside from the lack of internet connection, I knew this was the first time I would have to find a non-established place to camp. Other than around Vargas lake or in Caleta Tortel, wild camping is the way to go in this part of the road (at least when I travelled as it turned out).

Catching the ferry in Puerto Yungay

The morning was bright with a few clouds, not too cold and not raining. I quickly went through the tranqueras back to the Ruta 7. Once back on the road, the gravel was much more easier than previous years. The bright morning sun passing through clouds made for some amazing landscapes. The road was soft passing in and out of forests, farms, rivers and next to lakes. Close to Lago Vargas (which wasn’t quite visible from the road) two camping sites appeared. I had considered staying here, but I chose for a larger stay in Los Ñadis. These camp sites were offering internet, probably thanks to Starlink.

Once Lago Vargas has passed I stopped near a place called Caleta Cachorro, though the only sign of people living here were a few farms and a community center. From here a white wall could be seen down the road, so I put on my rain gear. It turned out to be rain and sleet, which passed by really fast. Once out of the rain, a plain opened up, without trees, brown and with some kind of pasture arranged next to the road. Getting to the end of the Vargas river (where it will join the Baker river) a guy waiting for the bus asked me for fire to light a cigar in the cold morning road under the trees. I chatted with him for a few minutes, luckily he was picked up by some guys going down to Caleta Tortel after fishing.

Once again travelling next to the Baker river, I stopped for some sandwiches. So far the road had been relatively flat with nice soft gravel, but as I was getting close to the junction with the road to Caleta Tortel the gravel started to get worse. This didn’t matter though, right after the junction the largest climb of the day started. The first few switchbacks offered ample views of the Baker river and the mountains surrounding it. Then after the last curve, a few snow flakes started to fall, but the day was still sunny with some clouds over the mountains.

Two lagoons gave a welcome to the top. At this point I was doing a good time, enough to catch the second to last ferry. So I took the descent carefully, arriving to Puerto Yungay soon after the ferry had arrived (but 2-3 hours before the next ferry). A small store, which online reviews say it sells empanadas, was closed. Luckily I was well stocked, with cookies and bread. Other 4 cyclists were waiting there, I didn’t talk much with them there, but I was going to meet them again on our way to Villa O’Higgins.

Wild camping

Looking online several places were marked as good places for wild camping after Rio Bravo. So after a calm ferry crossing, everybody got on their wheels to find a place for the night. I inspected a place under a bridge, but decided to continue. Here, one of the couples caught up with me and we chatted for five minutes before I stopped to the second place I saw online. They continued down the road, while I decided to stay in that place next to the river but separated from the road by shrubs.

With the sun going down behind the mountains, the afternoon was getting cold quickly. So I had a quick meal and got in my sleeping bag. Even though there was a last ferry, not many cars passed by during the night. Inside my tent, a strange noise felt outside. I thought it was some kind of animal, but couldn’t see any when I looked around, just a breeze moving the trees. The sound persisted during the night, which added to the cold didn’t let me sleep very well.

Being the first time wild camping alone, I was feeling a bit uneasy by the noise. So the next day I woke up early for the last day on the Carretera Austral

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