Hike to the base of Lanin Volcano

This was the first day we set out with our AndesTrack tour guides, Patricio and Liz. Our destination today was to the base of Lanin Volcano, one of the highest peaks in Patagonia. The Chilean border runs through part of the mountain.

We were driven in a comfortable Sprinter-type van to the trailhead, nearly 2 hours away (some of it over bumpy gravel road!). The scenery along the drive was beautiful, a bit like the Wild West—rocky buttes and mesas and scrub brush, but less dry, with some lakes and rivers, and occasional views of the volcano.

Our hike started through the forest and followed a river with little streams that we had to cross — with bridges and without, but no one got wet feet! We learned about the Araucaria tree, a conifer that is native to this part of the world and produces pine nuts larger than the ones we are familiar with. Monkey Puzzle tree is a common name for it, and we do have them in North America.

We are in late spring, so we walked among wild roses, sweet peas, large-flowered thistles and orchids near the top!

Lanin Volcano has long been dormant and features a glacier and permanent snow covering on the south side (remember, we’re in the southern hemisphere).

We had many glimpses of the volcano along our mostly gradual ascent, although the last 45 minutes was quite a steep climb — on a good trail. The view at the end of our hike was worth it — volcano and glacier in one direction and lake views below.

By the end, we had hiked 13 miles, longer than any of us had done before!

Check out this really cool ‘slide show’ that Patricio put together for us. The app auto-corrected WALL to WALLET 😂
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