Never before have I been so hot and so cold so many different times in one day! Today started out in the rain. I decided to wait in the tent until it passed over a bit, since taking down a tent in the rain is not the most fun thing.
It was probably 10:30am when it finally stopped, and I got going. I had a 1,000m climb ahead of me, over the Col de Sellente. And to make it that much harder, I had a few extra kilograms of water soaked into my tent and backpack from last night’s deluge.
I was glad to start in a lull in today’s storms, and the ascent began in a forest that looked identical to those I got used to in the Pacific Northwest! Very wet, hiking up the ravine of a big cascading stream, with lush green vegetation like ferns and fir trees all around.
I crossed a bridge and carried on up the mountain, meeting a group of hikers headed down to where I was before, the Pla de Boavi.
The trail weaved it’s way around and up one of the walls of a large bowl in the valley, where two streams came cascading down from opposite valleys to form the one I hiked up along. Once at the top of the right cascade, I was at the remains of the refuge Sellente, which looks like it would’ve been a good place to rest at one point. I was hoping it would at least have a roof…
Ah well. I filtered some water for lunch and carried on up to the col. Once up there, I was able to see the Lac of Baborte, and the orange refugi just above it. Perfect spot for lunch, given the dismal weather! I really love all the unstaffed refuges they have up here. You just stay there if you need it, and it is built and cleaned by a local alpine club, who use it as a base to climb mountains.
I crossed the valley and came up to the refugi, meeting two other hikers I had been hiking behind for an hour or so. We all took off our wet boots and closed the two sets of solid metal storm doors, and sat down at the table with another man who was staying at the refuge.
While they poured over a map of the area in Spanish, I took the opportunity of having a table, to make a delicious pouch of soup and a cup of coffee! Yum! And out of the rain, too!
As much as I would’ve loved to stay there, I had to keep making progress today (it was about 2pm now) in order to make it to the small village of El Serrat tomorrow afternoon, so I can hopefully get a hotel room and recharge after a tough 6 day section of the high Pyrenees.
I said goodbye to the refugi people, and sailed down past the lake and down the valley, passing through more beautiful grassland and forests reminiscent of the PNW.
After crossing a river and coming to a large parking area, I found what was called the Pla de Boet, where you can apparently pay to pitch a tent for the night. However, it just looked like a giant bathroom for cows to me! Not a suitable place for a thru-hiker to stay. It was 5pm and I felt good about the next 700m climb over a mountain pass leading back across to France, where I could sleep at a high glacial lake, far from cows, for free.
The climb up was gradual enough to be enjoyable, and every step up brought more and more views of the surrounding mountain ranges.
Eventually, near the top, a foggy drizzly mess started blowing straight at me from the pass I was headed towards. It would coat my glasses and make it pretty hard to see, so I had to clean them off every 30-60 seconds.
Finally, near the top, I met another hiker going the way I had come, coming from the way I was to go. We were both surprised to see another person, given the conditions! We exchanged some trail info and carried on. I walked over the pass and followed a well-blazed trail down to the Etang de la Soucarrane (2,300m above sea level, a lake).
It sounded right to camp here tonight. Found a nice level spot in the grass by the lakeside, and made dinner. Then, I wrote this post. And finally, I drift into a dream state, satisfied with the day’s progress toward the Mediterranean.
Good night!