April | 2026 | The Philtrons

This is a short entry that only covers a few days. We chose to split these days off from the following because the next entry will cover a gravel ‘shortcut’ that had a long list of misadventures. The days in *this* entry were pleasant and uneventful in comparison! In any case, we have reached the part of Chile that has very few North/South routes besides the major highway, route 5. We jog west/east to get around Villarrica and Collico Lakes, and then are well-positioned to ride through a national park to get farther north.

Changing scenery from one volcano to another

Day 93: Pucón to Villarrica (33 km / 21 mi)

Pucón is a very busy tourist town that was particularly full of Chileans celebrating the long Easter weekend with their families. Our departure was scheduled to be on Sunday, which promised extra traffic from families driving home from their long weekend. The route between Pucón and the next town is narrow, crowded, and I actually remember hating it when we came through eleven years ago. Determined to not repeat the experience, this time we found an alternative.

The alternative route was only paved a couple years ago and meanders through small communities in the foothills above the lake. It was blessedly quiet and lovely for us, even if we paid for that quiet in elevation gained. The road rose steeply away from Pucón past many luxury condominium developments until we turned off onto a very quiet sideroad. Every car we saw on the side road was full of people with their families (it was Easter Sunday after all) and they were all delighted to see us.

The road had steep up and downs, so despite the quiet road conditions we started to feel a little downtrodden and tired. Like magic, a grocery store appeared at the top of a particularly big hill. It wasn’t a typical grocery store though – it was a local co-op full of fresh vegetables, sourdough bread, lattes, and American-style oatmeal cookies and brownies. In short, it was just about fabulous.

We ate our packed lunch at the picnic tables outside (while I sipped a fresh espresso drink), then went in to load up on treats and bread. We rarely get to enjoy sourdough bread, and basically never get brownies and cookies. This was a true treat.

After that too-good-to-be-true store we started downhill. We honestly didn’t pedal for about three kilometers! It was not exactly awe-inspiring scenery but it was a lovely, quiet slice of country life.

As we entered Villarrica it started to rain. Of course, despite the 10% chance forecast, after all the Philtron family was riding. We were happy to have a nice separated bicycle path that lead us toward the center, and then many separated bicycle paths to navigate. It was actually quite remarkable to have so much bicycle infrastructure. We enjoyed it!

I had reserved us a house for the night on Booking right near downtown. For the first time, the host just told us where a spare key was hidden and then asked us to leave cash under the tablecloth when we left. It was a lot for the homeowner to entrust in complete strangers, but we were happy for the peaceful quiet night.

Day 94: Villarrica to Los Laureles (40 km / 25 mi)

Despite the shorter mileage day today we had our work cut out for us because 15 of those kilometers were on steep dirt climbs. At least it was good weather and nearly traffic free! The trees are changing colors here, and even in rough conditions it’s pretty magical to ride through the South American fall.

The first half of the day had us passing the lakeside and looking back one last time towards Volcan Villarrica. Almost immediately we turned away from the main road that leads back towards highway 5. The traffic all vanished and it was just us climbing through the countryside. For lunch we stopped at the next major road intersection. There wasn’t really a town there, but there were two minimarkets, an elementary school with kids playing soccer, and a tiny stand selling hot dogs.

We rolled up and asked for four hot dogs. The owner was happy to have us but had to leave to buy the bread for the hot dogs! He asked us to watch the stand for him while he walked back to the nearby minimarkets. We were of course happy to, and the hot dogs were yummy when they were eventually ready. We continue to enjoy the Chilean ‘completo’ which is a hot dog with tomato and avocado, usually for around $3 USD.

Immediately after lunch it was dirt road time. Challenging but pretty.

When we descended into the next river valley (and onto pavement) we were in logging country. The traffic was light, but included logging trucks carrying trees to the nearby mill. The town we reached, Los Laureles, is sustained by the tree farms and milling industries. It was a small but tidy little town built around a central square. We rented a simple cabin behind the town’s ice cream shop. It seemed like it was brand new.

Enjoy the pics below showing how chaotic our stuff can be sometimes when we reach the end of the riding day

Day 95: Los Laureles to Melipeuco (55 km / 34 mi)

The day dawned overcast and surprisingly cold. We pedaled away from Los Laureles onto a lovely smooth road heading towards the Andes. All day long it gradually climbed, so gradually that we hardly noticed.

We were climbing up a wide and fertile river valley, so every ten kilometers or so we passed through another tiny settlement. In the biggest one, Cunco, we stopped in a coffee shop to try different types and sweets and warm up with a latte. It was cold enough that we all really needed a break inside.

We only stopped twice this day: once for coffee and once for potato chips in a tiny settlement with a nice plaza. We were making excellent time, and were also just too cold to stop for long. Perhaps we should have eaten lunch, since I got very hungry when we finally arrived, but we made it all the same. I was crabby but it was nothing a sandwich with barbecue sauce couldn’t cure.

That is an Araucaria tree growing through and out of the house

A couple new friends wanted to share our chips

Some farms have these tall wind-break trees along their border, and they look amazing in yellow! In this case there were probably 500 in a row.

Our destination, Melipeuco, is the last tourist output before Conguillio National Park. It has everything you could need, mostly along the one main street through town. I remember this town feeling dusty and sparse when we came through eleven years ago, but my impression this time was different. I like it. It has a perfect grid for a layout, and everyone is a few blocks flat walk from a grocery store. The plaza is lovely, the neighborhoods have sidewalks and interesting houses. It was a nice place to spend a day resting.

Typical meat display. Sometimes everything is frozen by the chunk

Day 96: Resting in Melipeuco

We really took this rest day seriously and did almost nothing but play video games, update journals, and prepare for the next stretch of road. The only road north from Melipeuco goes through the national park and climbs nearly 3,000′, mostly on a gravel road with no services. There are several opportunities to camp or stay in cabins in the park, and we had to make decisions about where to stay and how far we expected to ride each day. In the end we decided to take two ‘short’ days, thinking we’d have lots of time to enjoy camp and admire the scenery.

I think we’ve seen this ornamental grass in Colorado

Exploring the plaza. In warmer times, this would be a fountain

Children “resting.” Almost every town has these outdoor exercise equipment stations. The Chilean children also love to play on them.

Our decision was correct, but the days were not short! As you will read in the next update, we encountered the most challenging road conditions of the entire trip. Of course, the challenges were overcome and the scenery was spectacular. You’ll have to wait for the next update to see though!

In this entry we ride the famous seven lakes (“Siete Lagos”) route through Argentina, rest in the fly-fishing destination of Junín de los Andes, and ride past the mighty Volcano Lanín to re-enter Chile. This section of riding felt like a greatest hits of the western USA. The first two days reminded us of the high Sierras in California, then we were reminded of Eastern Washington, and back in Chile it was similar again to Western Washington or Oregon.

Riding with volcano Lanín and the famous Araucaría trees

Day 85: Villa La Angostura to Camping Pichi Traful (52km)

After weeks of rain in Chile it was such an odd feeling to climb on the bikes under a cloudless blue sky. Of course, it wasn’t *warm* exactly, and it was downright cold in the shade, but the sun was shining! This day was just a series of beautiful lakes and mountain views. Pictures below:

There are lots of options for camping in this region, including designated free camping areas, but for whatever reason the girls had their hearts set on a campsite by a lovely lake that had real bathrooms and picnic tables. It was absurdly expensive for a campsite in Argentina (about $50 USD) but they insisted and we went with it.

In the end it was a beautiful camping area. The girls ran around for a long time chasing butterflies. The grownups enjoyed the lake and river views. Anticipating another cold night, we got to bed early and bundled up.

Day 86: Camping Pichi Traful to San Martin de los Andes (60km)

Shockingly, we awoke to a rather warm morning… with clouds and drizzle. It wasn’t what we were expecting but as usual we knew how to handle it. Rain coats on and ride!

The rain didn’t last long and the clouds moved away by afternoon. We passed a beautiful river and then spent the morning climbing. The traffic here has been very nice – zero trucks and polite tourist cars. Jason and A continued their quest to read all the info signs at the lake overlooks.

The viewpoint view for one of Jason’s favorite’s: Hidden Lake (Lago Escondido)

We met two friendly Austrians, and enjoyed chatting as we crossed paths over a week of riding

There was a lot of climbing to get up and over the hills between the lakes – over 2,500 feet over the course of the day. Near the end of the biggest climb we saw our most amazing info sign yet: a description of the divided stream. The nearby stream (that we filtered water from and were drinking as we read the sign) is near the continental divide. As it flows down it hits a large boulder that splits the stream in two directions. One side eventually drains to the Pacific and the other to the Atlantic. We thought this was just incredible.

Teacher A, explaining the Divided Stream

The source of this “cool” stream is right up there

After the divided stream we started a long descent towards San Martin de los Andes – a tourist town that reminded us of Big Bear Lake in California. The descent was spectacular, and even more remarkable was how warm the wind was as we got close to town. No one needed to bundle up. Suddenly we emerged onto the shores of Lake Lácar with the brilliant sun shining. On the far side of the lake we could see deep into the Andes. On the other was the hopping tourist town. The road along the lake shore was packed with people out walking and enjoying the view. Honestly, it was pretty spectacular and we were a bit shocked.

San Martin de los Andes across Lago Lácar

We made our way across the bustling and fancy town to our cabin. The food in the grocery stores was expensive in this town, and we thought it was simply because of the tourism density. In later towns in Argentina we would simply find that grocery stores are very expensive, at least compared to Chile. My understanding of this region was that Chile is the more expensive country, but apparently in the last year there has been a huge surge in food prices here in Argentina.

This sign was in Junín, but we missed the one in San Martin so it will suffice!

Day 87: San Martin de Los Andes to Junín de los Andes (43km)

San Martin was a great place to resupply, but it was a bit too hopping for our tastes. We prefer the smaller, slower towns. Even knowing that San Martin was busy didn’t prepare us for just *how* busy the road would be on the way out. It was PACKED. There were tons of passenger vehicles, big buses, little buses, pickup trucks, delivery trucks, and semi-trailers. Of course, there was no paved shoulder to speak of. When a bike path magically appeared we got right on it.

Bike path out of San Martin. We were thankful to avoid the traffic!

The lovely, paved bicycle path eventually became a not-quite-paved path and finally disappeared. Then it was back to the road. Luckily by this time there were enough huge speed bumps in the road that we were able to ride about as fast as traffic. By the time the bumps disappeared we were able to duck off on a side road. We wandered through a little Argentine town that truly didn’t have a whisper of tourism. It was mostly gravel roads and dirt sidewalks, but there was also a tidy plaza and kids walking around.

The side road took us up a very steep hill to the next small city. We were slow enough that a pedestrian overtook us, but we were able to ride! When we emerged at the top of the hill the scenery had changed dramatically. Instead of the green hillsides we’d been seeing for days it was dry and dusty and tan. It was like suddenly riding across the Sierra Cascades in Washington State. Hello, Eastern Washington!

We enjoyed a gentle downhill with a tailwind for about an hour. It was an utter thrill to literally not have high enough gears to even bother pedaling. We stopped for lunch and gave some cheese to a black lab that waited patiently for our scraps. After lunch the road turned… and the tailwind became a headwind. It felt like we slowly approached the flat riverside town of Junín for half a day, but it was only an hour.

Junín was a really fun town. It has about 20,000 inhabitants and is laid out in a perfect grid along a river. Most of the tourism focus in the area is on fly fishing. The main road is pavement, but the side roads through town, even downtown, are gravel. The sidewalks are just dirt paths. We saw the locals riding bikes to get around. We decided it was the perfect place for a rest day.

Day 88: Rest day in Junín (0 km)

In addition to our typical rest day activities (laundry, resting, eating, planning) we walked downtown to visit the tourist info and a small museum. The museum seemed to be mainly random items people had donated, but it was good fun all the same.

We also walked down to the river to enjoy the fall colors of the trees lining the banks. After a South American summer that was honestly pretty darn cold, we are enjoying this beautiful moment of fall.

Day 89: Junín to wild camp by a yellow bridge (45km)

Today was another one of those rare cycle touring days when the beauty is everywhere and the conditions are perfect. It felt like a dream come true.

We left Junín with the blue sky above us and the fall colors blazing around us. We turned off the main route and onto an almost traffic-free road that led back towards the Andes. For lunch we ate leftover pizza and gazed across the big open landscape. The volcano Lanín peaked over the hills, waiting for us.

The ride from Junín to the Chilean border climbs up only about a thousand feet over 40 miles, so the ascent is gradual through a huge open landscape in the shadow of the looming volcano. For visa reasons, we needed to dilly dally in this section for two nights. The campground we had planned for was inexplicably closed, so we carried on through the beautiful valley looking for a free place to camp.

We decided to camp near a small bridge about 2km off route. It was down a gravel road past a quarry that was busy with dump trucks making trips up the pass to redo the road near the border. Our intended campsite was in a stand of glowing yellow trees next to a river, and when we rolled up we found a group of fly fishermen drinking mate. We asked if they were planning to spend the night, but they were just there to stage their fishing gear. They were very friendly, on a ten-day family fly fishing trip. We set up our tent and used their camping table for dinner while they went out to fish. It was an incredibly picturesque spot to spend a (cold!) night.

Day 90: Wild camp to Camping Tromen (25km)

It was a perfectly peaceful night and a chilly morning. When we walked away from the river to do our business we found ice curls in the volcanic sand. I also found a yellow jacket nest about one foot away from where I had decided to pee. Yikes!

As we passed the quarry that morning on our way back to the main route we made a decision to try and befriend the dump truck drivers. There were so many of them making trips up and down the next section of highway, it seemed like a good idea to wave and smile at them. Sure enough, they gave us lots of space and honks and waves. I think most of them passed us four or six times as we slowly made our way up the pass. Our progress slowed quite a bit as the road turned to gravel.

Road work and some locals running their horses

We entered a forest of Araucaria (monkey puzzle) trees. These are the national trees of Chile and extremely distinctive. It is a magical feeling to ride through them in the Andes. As we slowly made our way through the forest a dump truck driver stopped and waved us over. He gave us lunch! It was incredibly generous and honestly we were extremely excited to eat some fresh food. We immediately stopped and ate the entire thing, waving wildly in thanks as he drove off.

When we finally reached the construction area all the workers and drivers stopped to take our picture. This route is extremely popular with cyclists (for obvious reasons) but it sure seems like very few cycling families make it through!

We stopped for the night at a campground right at the base of the volcano and extremely near the top of the pass. It was unbelievably picturesque. The clouds blew in overnight and were gorgeous in the light of the full moon, and in the early morning I saw a pink cloud resting atop the volcano. The pictures just don’t do it justice.

Day 91: Camping Tromen to Pucón (78km)

The morning dawned a bit cloudy, but there wasn’t any rain (yet) so we happily rode away from the campground to cross the border back into Chile. Unlike our last border crossing, the two border stations were less than a kilometer apart. Leaving Argentina was easy – they hand you a piece of paper when you enter the area, stamp it twice to prove you stopped and answered their questions, then they collect the stamped paper when you leave. They don’t even stamp our passports! Entering Chile is always a more complicated process.

Just like last time there were three steps. 1: Passport control. We got our stamps and permission to be in the country for 90 more days. 2. Bicycle import. We have to describe the bikes and get documentation to import them temporarily. The process was different here than in Tierra del Fuego, but since we are leaving with the bikes in boxes on an airplane in 88 days time we didn’t worry about the details. 3. Food inspection. No fresh products are allowed to enter Chile. Many cyclists end up getting a thorough bag inspection, but we have been lucky. We had a pile of food that clearly couldn’t enter (lentils and raw eggs), a pile of food that we weren’t sure about (powdered milk, cheese) and the clearly ok food was packed away. The official took our sacrificial eggs and lentils, waved through the cheese, and made sure to take our photo with us on the bikes before we rode away.

Near the top. The road was gravel on the Argentine side, and paved on the Chilean

Back to Chile! Seems like a few too many stickers on the sign

The fall colors up high at the pass level were truly lovely. The clouds had really rolled in though, and it even started to sprinkle. There was also a headwind. We made a quick joke about how it rains on us in Chile, but we didn’t linger and pedaled to leave the high country behind.

The Aracuaría trees received National Monument status in Chile in 1990, preventing their destruction. So, the road got built around this one!

With over 3,000’ to descend we zipped down past the clouds and around a lot of tight curves. We emerged from the clouds and mountains to find ourselves in a flat river valley. We would spend the rest of the (long) day riding along the flat road towards the big fancy city of Pucón. Happily, when we got close and traffic got busy a separated bicycle path appeared and whisked us all the way downtown to our lodging. It was quite a shock for the whole family to pedal into a bustling town resembling Boulder, CO.