July 16th, 2018
Okhabe to the Randonnee Refuge at Col d’Bagargui
Distance Forward: 8km
I set an early alarm for 6 a.m. this morning, but I was first awoken by the sound of rain on the tent. Really not the worst wakeup call ever. I slept in until 7:30 to give it time to blow over, packed up, and started hiking at 8:30.
My aim was to make it up and over the Peak d’Orhy, the first mountain of the HRP above 2,000 metres! Exciting stuff, but the weather did not seem to want to cooperate with my plans.
After a bit of morning fog, the clouds cleared up a little for the first 3km down the mountain and on a road past Chalet Pedro and an old emergency refuge. Then the rain returned right as I made it onto another trail and into the trees.
There are many people who would be miserable in these conditions, but I just found a nice tree for shelter, whipped out my umbrella, and made a cup of coffee with some tea cookies. Ah, the sound of the birds and the river rushing and the rain in the trees. Very relaxing.
I made it to Col d’Bagargui and had a beer at the local restaurant. Alas, the restaurant part is closed on Mondays! So no hot meal today.. oh well! I asked for the owner to open the shop next door and bought some luxury items like orange juice, milk, chips and cookies to refuel myself before setting out tomorrow. The forecast shows the fog and rain clearing up overnight, so perfect conditions to hike the badass Pic d’Orhy.
I walked back down the road to inquire about a room at the refuge. It was only 15 euros, and they hand me a key for room 12. Little did I know the intensity of the luxury I was about to experience! After 7 days in the wilderness, I felt like I was staying at the Ritz.
- My own private room with two beds and a beautiful balcony window!
- Bathrooms! Hot showers!
- Electricity! Charging of my phone, battery pack, and the ability to use the internet!
- A place to dry out my clothes!
- An actual kitchen to cook in!
- A sink to wash everything in!
- A wood fired stove for heat!
Oh my stars. I died and went to hiker heaven. After cleaning up and resting a bit, I went down and sat in the common eating area and had a big bowl of coffee with milk, followed by a full 1L pot of Knorr’s 9 legume soup, made using their electric kettle. I sat around and sipped it while listening to all the other travelers talk.
Oh, I lived up to my trail name today! I helped two older women make a roaring fire in the wood stove like a true Dragon would, so that everyone could dry out their gear. Some people were less prepared than I was for the rain, so they got utterly drenched. “Llueve gatos y perros (it’s raining cats and dogs)” I said.
For dinner, it was seasoned vegetable couscous and tuna with mayo and crackers, and hot chocolate for dessert. Oh, and a nice couple that helped me find the place shared their baguette with me! Sweet.
The sun finally came out as I took the hot coco and walked to the Col. I could almost see the Pic d’Orhy in the distance, masqueraded in the clouds.
