It rains during the night, but stops as we wake. The sun breaks through and blasts our rain fly, allowing us to pack up dry. I make coffee, oatmeal, and enjoy another smashed Honey Bun. Brian takes a quick shower and we are on the trail by 9:15 am.

Looking back to Dickson Glacier

The hike out of Dickson is up, but pays us back with great views of Dickson largo and glacier. The trees becomes lush and rainforest like. Brian asks why I did not tell him about the awesome trees. Not completely distracted by the trees, Brian’s knee begins to bother him. At a creekside stop he takes Ibuprofen and borrows a knee support from Mark. The going is slowed, but no one seems to mind as we soak in the views and enjoy the songs of the song birds. The sun appears and disappears frequently enough to keep us guessing as to what to wear. We stop at a waterfall cascade for a lunch of salami, cheese and crackers.

Los Perros Glacier

After a steep scramble up loose rocks we crest to spectacular views of Los Perros Glacier. It is windy and cold, but we hang around long enough to be rewarded with an entertaining snow avalanche, which spills over a cliff like a Yosemite waterfall.

At Los Perros we check in, then set up tents in a brief hail storm. The weather is fickle and constantly changing. We join a group in the cooking shelter. We are the only USA representatives, but feel quite welcome, and squeeze in to make our meals. I cook Thai curry rice with Thai tuna. Brian makes a concoction of fettuccine noodles, soup mix and tuna, which he declares a success, even though he burns it on the bottom of his pan.

Later Brian and I play pitch, while Mark looks on, between bites of mashed potatoes and spam.

We plan to go over the pass and stay at Paso, but Mark never figured out how to make a reservation. We are hoping they will not turn away a limping Brian in a knee brace. The Ranger said the weather tomorrow should be like today, which means sun, clouds, rain, hail, and wind.

Welcome to Patagonia.