Didn’t find what I was looking for

In the previous post, I described how I left Ecuador in a hurry. The reason for this was my unsuccessful search for good trails, especially those lasting several days, without having to book a tour. I finally found these long hiking routes in Peru.

After my long hike of over 3000 km in New Zealand , I wanted to get back on my hind legs after a month’s break in Brazil . But as it turned out, finding hiking routes in Colombia and Ecuador wasn’t that easy. In the relevant apps such as Alltrails and Wikilocs, I could only find short day hikes, if any at all.

It turned out that there are many mountains in both countries, but no real hiking culture. I was asked several times by locals why I was doing this to myself and wandering around seemingly aimlessly. On the other hand, the mountains are also controlled by “special” groups who don’t want a big white man just stumbling through the area.

I caught the hiking bug around 2019. Logan, my Kiwi friend, invited me to join him in New Zealand to hike part of Te Araroa, 400 km along the Southern Alps from Mavora Lakes to Arthurs Pass. It was the first hike for me that lasted longer than a day and we had everything we needed to survive in our backpacks.

Back in Germany, I could hardly wait to repeat this experience. Again and again I was drawn to the surrounding forests. I fulfilled my long-cherished dream of walking the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James, in 2020 and completed it in 2022 due to the Covid lockdown. Thomas and I crossed the Alps together in September 2021 and I walked along the Portuguese coast from Figueira da Foz to Porto in 2022.

All of these were small adventures compared to what I put myself through on this trip: I have hiked over 4000 km in the last 12 months. Motivating myself to hike an average of 28 kilometers almost every day for four months, as I did this year in New Zealand, while carrying a heavy backpack with everything you need to be “off grid” for a few days, seems almost fantastic to me now. Although there were days when I lacked motivation, most of the time I could hardly wait to pack my seventeen things in the morning and sink back into my cozy sleeping bag in the evening, exhausted. Somehow now, almost three quarters of a year after I arrived in Bluff, it feels like a different life that has nothing to do with the one I have now.

Peru

I slept in buses for four nights in a row. Four days with stopovers, only to sleep in a night bus again. Finally, my long-awaited destination, Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca, the Mecca for hikers. I wanted to be one of the pilgrims. I have never climbed so high in my life. From Olleros to Chavín, I had my first altitude pain at 4600 meters. The Alpamayo took my breath away . Each subsequent pass gave me a new thrill. The Huayhuash pushed me to my limits. In Choquequirau and Machu Picchu, I discovered the wonders of the Incas. And Ausangate completed the 600 kilometers to the Rainbow Mountain.

Peru, I love you and you will see me again.

Big plans

When I was somewhat desperately looking for hiking routes in Colombia, I came across the Greater Patagonian Trail (PGT), a network of trails in Chile and Argentina that runs from Santiago to Tierra del Fuego. I read all about it on the bus ride from Medellin to Santa Marta. I was so excited to do this hike that I could hardly wait to set off. I would have loved to get on a plane and start hiking right away if it hadn’t been for the time of year, which made me wait until November.

The PGT is not an official hiking trail, but a community that was set up over ten years ago by a German to find hiking trails that are not listed on any map. In the meantime, a network of over 20,000 kilometers of trail data has accumulated, which is updated annually by the members.

The highlight of my trip to South America will be exploring a good part of the Andes using the data from this community. I have planned to hike 1000-1500 km from Santiago in three months. Let’s see how far I get. In any case, it seems to me to be a great adventure that not many people have experienced, apart from those who live in these areas or drive their cattle through them.