Altos de Lircay: Piedras Blancas

Saturday morning, I fetch my rental car and drive Ruta 5 in northern direction. In Talca, I have to turn right and drive through San Clemente, to finally reach the village of Vilches Alto after a few kilometres of gravel road.

Some impressions while driving…

I find accomodation at Don Tito's, who runs one of the few guest houses that are still open after season. And then I'm off to have a look at Piedras Blancas.

On the way, there is an archaeological site, where they found arrowheads and small parts of ceramics made by a hunter-and-gatherer society.

Directly afterwards, I enter a (probably still uncharted) sector of a large boulder area. It sports nicely rounded, but very grippy granite rocks. In the picture, you can see an easy boulder (Fb 3) which I climb wearing hiking boots. I call it "Rinoceronte".

Also nice, the Piedra del Mono:

Two goat herders with their goats in the rain:

By the way, at some point, torrential rains start, and I meet many hikers fleeing in the opposite direction. But I want to see the piedras, and continue on my path…

Vegetation getting more sparse:

As everywhere in the mountains, cairns mark the way:

Clouds clear off, and I get to see a bit of the surroundings:

An exposed boulder marks the end of my hike today. I rest shortly to take some pictures, but it's too windy, wet and cold to eat.