Time to get back to the grind! We woke up bright and early and Paul and Chantal drove me an hour to the highway, where they picked me up 3 days ago.
We said our goodbyes; they were taking the opportunity of coming out this way to hike the trail up to lacs and Col de Mulliers, as it is a beautiful, special place for them as residents and advocateurs of the Pyrénées.
I set out for the 1,000m climb of the day with 6 days of food on my back:
-A huge breakfast bag with all kinds of packaged French pastries and two different forms of coffee (instant and loose grounds + filters)
-A snack bag of equal size with peanuts, 4 almond and hazelnut chocolate bars, 2 packs of chorizo, 36 granola bars, 10 snickers, and some peanut M&Ms, and
-A dinner bag with 6 tins of tuna, tubes of mayo and tomato sauce, 6 packs of ramen, a small bag of instant noodles, 6 different instant soups, and some camomile tea.
Plus, Paul was nice enough to give me an extra medium gas canister for when my large one runs out. Between the two, it should last all the way to the Mediterranean.
All that adds up to quite a bit of weight, but I’m feeling great after all the wonderful food and drink with my friends.
The trail winds up to Lac d’Arrius, where I stop for lunch.
Then another large lake, which I hike away from up and over a col.
The Lac de Mar (lake of the sea) on the other side was quite a sight:
I climbed down there and hopped in the lake to refresh myself, as it was the hottest part of the day now.
Then I hiked on from that lake and down to the Refuge Renclusa, planted on yet another pristine glacial lake.
From there, I climbed up to the Estany deth cap deth port ( what a mouthful ).
Then up over the Col de Crestada, entering Aiguestortes Parc Nacional for a bit. I hike on, grab water, and camp just above a small tarn (pond).
Around 8:30, I was blinded for a moment by a flash of white.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5… KABOOM!!! A massive lightning strike just a mile away. It shook all of the water out of the clouds and hurtling down towards the ground. The temperature dropped nearly 30 degrees almost instantly, from what felt like 70° to 40°F, as the winds mixed the perfect ratio of warm and cold air to create a superstorm.
A minute later, another blinding flash, and another thunderous explosion.
And a third one.
And a fourth one.
The fifth and final (of the loudest lightning strikes I have heard in my life) gave no warning.
A synchronized flash and explosion erupted maybe 500 feet from where I lay my head. I started to think that maybe I chose the wrong campsite.
These were not your average lightning strikes, mind you. The shockwaves shook the entire earth beneath me and punched me in the chest like a good beat coming through an arena-sized subwoofer.
By this time, the deluge of rain and hail was a cacophonous rumble on the tent roof. I huddled up in my sleeping bag, glad to be “indoors,” dry and warm, while witnessing this extraordinary storm.
My plea to the thunder gods:
“Dear Nature,
Please don’t strike me with lightning.
I try my best to do good things on your behalf.
Yours truly,
Dan Morriss”
And as quickly as it began, the storm vanished. I looked outside in the calm and was in awe of the state of the beautiful valley that was my home for the night.
First, everything around me was coated in about an inch of marble sized hail.
Second, there were huge puddles and streams of freezing water that had formed seemingly out of nowhere. One ran under my tent, but luckily I was camped on an incline, so it didn’t pool up.
And the sky was… blue?! How can that be? I was surrounded by clouds of all sorts, but now they were painted by the oranges and pinks of the sunset.
This all took place in a 30 minute span. Like I’ve said before, the weather in the mountains can turn in an instant. This is a perfect example.
I was honestly terrified by the lightning. I’m not exactly camping in the ideal place to be safe from lightning, in a big open taiga grassland at 2,500 meters surrounded by conductive tent poles. Luckily it seems the storm decided to stick to striking the surrounding peaks.
What else can I say? That was a truly awesome display of the force of nature, and I’m happy to be alive to talk about it. I’m still shaking as I write this. (Mostly because I went outside to get photos after and got a big ol scoop of freezing cold hail stones in my camp shoes.)
What a day!
I’m worn out. Good night!