Summary The thrid section of the Greater Patagonian Trail leads you first through the forest and pastries along the rivers Rió Los Souces, Rió Roble and Rió Ñuble. Occasional farm houses show you till what point settlers have advanced but some abandoned buildings remind you that these settlers are retreating again. Making a living all year around in such a place is a challenge, that becomes invisible when passing on charming summer day. Eventually you will reach a first pass that opens your view to be issuedthe volcano Chillan who has a notorious poor sleep. Lava streams and ash become your trail again. After having crossed the slope of the volcano you decent in the “Valle Termal” where you can taste the heat that constantly leaks out. Dive in the hot stream and relax while watching the stars during a frezzing night. The trail continues though untouched forest, goes up and down, crosses streams and get you once more to hot springs, but this time nicely enclosed and with a well build refuge next to it: the hot springs “Los Peucos”. The final highlight of this trail section is the Laguna de Las Lajas that like the Laguna Dial was created by a volcano. The Laguna de Las Lajas is just one or two sizes bigger and was formed when the perfect cone shaped volcano Antuco had a series of powerful erruptions and plugged the drain of the valley. It is not possible to hike on the shore of the lake all the way to the section finish because steep rocky terrain blocks the path. So you need to climb the ridge on the western side of the lake. Depending on the weather and your explorers mood you can continue on the ridge to the trail section end or take the “bad weather escape route” down into the valley Polcura on the other side of the ridge.
And here you can read the detailed trail section description on wikiexplora: [[GPT 3: Volcán Chillan|Section 1: Volcán Chillan]]
==[[GPT 2-3: Alternative Long Distance Challange via Las Truchas|Section 2-3: Alternative Long Distance Challange via Las Truchas]]==
