Route:
GPS readings (all 19L) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Leave Tinqui past the school, crossing a bridge (
Continue along the path, which is a bed of pebbles and needs to be pushed. Your reach a brow (
It remains a good earth road with kilometre posts, though the upward trend is pronounced. The road arrives at a village where it gives out to a footpath which is not always obvious. It follows a stream which is now quite small. You climb (push) to a brow above the village (
Please note that the routes here are crossed frequently by drainage ditches. Do nothing which could damage them. If necessary carry your bike across them.
The quebrada has boggy margins and the thought crosses your mind that at some point you are going to have to cross it. In is an obstacle unmentioned by the guidebooks. For this reason we hugged it through the horrible Bog of Upis. Tracey memorably expressed her gratitude to Colin for choosing such a delightful route.
There is no bridge of any use to cyclists, and you are better advised to follow the scant path which contours round the edge of the bog. As you pass through the village, spare a scowl for the thieving Upideans.
We crossed the quebrada at the narrowing of the valley (
The path is now good and mostly rideable, but our only shoes were wet through. We stopped for lunch and it started to snow. Not liking this we pitched camp only a few yards on (
The route we covered was about 50% rideable and needed very little carrying. The passes are probably harder. Route-finding was no problem. However the IGN map is less than averagely accurate, misplacing the Q. Upismayo by a km. The route we followed was probably the best for cyclists, but not perhaps the best for walking.
We had wondered whether to take a muleman. He would certainly have slowed us down, but he might have been some protection against theft.