Day three was our latest start and we didn´t head out until 11AM.  The trail is estimated to take about 6 hours to go 12 miles.  With all our stopping to photograph amazing views, it took closer to 8 hours.  The day started cloudy and in the mid 50´s, but cleared up and hit mid 60´s by afternoon.  This was the day we first learned that Chileans don´t believe in switchbacks.

As we left the enchanted valley, it was a climb straight up to the saddle. We passed a small lake on our climb up and there noticed the ¨green boulders¨dotting the hillside.  They were really some type of shrub, but instead looked like round boulders.  There can´t be much that survives the weather down here.  as we crested the summit-saddle and looked forwards, we were blown away by the spectacular view in front of us.  There lay Lake Paine in a long valley surrounded by enormous mountains.  We were so blessed that the majestic mountains clear across the valley were entirely visible.  The sky was still cloudy but the clouds were high and we could see enarly every peak and hanging glacier. With these views we had to stop and pull out the tripod.  :)  That lasted until the first gusts of Patagonian wind tried to blow us off the mountain.

The remainder of the day was spent descending into the valley and along the river (more or less) until we reached Lake Dickson at the foot of those mountains.  At one point the trail isn´t so clearly marked and we (and our delightful Australian friends) nearly took a wrong turn through the marshes.  We had read about marshy parts of the trek and wondered if this really was the trail.  Good thing Lee is a smarty pants and between he and the Australian´s guide we found our way back to the trail.  Although we missed the marshes, it was our first exposure to mud and muck and were grateful for the make shift bridges along the way.

When we thoght our feet were going to fall off - we climbed another small saddle that overlooked our camp and provided a pretty amazing view.  The camp was in a valley next to a lake with grazing horses and at the foot of the Dickson glacier.  It was incredibly picturesque.  It came to be our favorite campsite along the circuit.

We got dinner, breakfast and a boxed lunch here too.  All of which were hearty, but especially lunch and our sandwich was ginormous.  It was the only night we had clear skies and saw the nearly full moon.  It hit up the rocks of the mountain peaks and bowls and was so impressive.  Unfortunately, no one there could point out or identify the Southern Cross.  Hopefully ther will be another chance before we get home.

We really enjoyed that day and are excited about some of the pictures we took.