Our campsite last night, although desperate, turned out to be a good decision. We were up our earliest yet, at 7am and when we left around 7:45, we didn’t see another good campsite for about an hour.
We had to cross into an active cattle pasture this morning, which I can only assume is some sort of easement. The cows weren’t as used to people as I expected. They seemed very interested in us. I was interested in not being trampled. It’s also unnerving when there’s a bull amongst the cows. I don’t have a good mental model for how bulls act, so I assume they’re wildly unpredictable and I tread very lightly.
We made it past the cows to our first, real off trail section. I wouldn’t say we botched it so much as we didn’t take the optimal route. That section warranted paying more attention to the guidebook and map than I gave it. We eventually made it up the peak and from there we had a long descent into town.
It was on the descent that we realized our map might not always have our best interests in mind. The track we were following wanted to start one one trail and then cross over to another trail at a point where there was no connecting trail. This would normally be fine but the terrain didn’t support it and the two trails met up shortly anyway. So begins the interpretive version of the HRP for us. I think we’ll hike what makes more sense to us, rather than religiously adhering to the route.
On our way into town we passed two groups, one couple from Montreal, and another pair from the Netherlands. We talked to the Montreal couple a bit whose names I unfortunately forgot. They have 60 days to do the trail before their deadline.
In town we had to do our first resupply. Now we definitely needed food, but charging, showers and laundry were optional. The convenience store available to us for food was an interesting experience. I’ll list some of the items we bought: 2 loaves of bread (no tortillas), 16 pan au chocolate, cous cous, pasta, canned tuna, Nutella, peanuts, cashews, 24 tiny granola bars, 2 types of cheese, bouillon cubes, 3 bags of chips, cookies, a sparkling water, and a coke. This was supposed to last us 5 days. We had some leftover dinners, but we think it’s a bit light on snacks. We pass another town in a couple of days and if we find out we’re severely under fed, we’ll supplement there. Anyway that ran us about 70€.
The shop keeper let me charge our power banks while we ate lunch on picnic benches outside. We talked with the pair from the Netherlands and found out they only had 2 weeks, so they’re only planning to get to Gavarnie. I don’t think we got their names, but they left before us.
At 12:30 the shop closed for a 3 hour siesta, despite being in France. So I grabbed our power banks and we prepared to head out. I felt bad for the folks arriving at 12:30 who now had to wait around for 3 hours before they could buy food, but maybe I don’t have enough chill.
Before leaving town, I soaked my hat and shirt in water. The climb out of town was really steep. Somehow our packs with 5 days of food didn’t feel as heavy as we expected. Maybe we are under fueled. Today was hotter than yesterday but significantly less humid. The climb out of town was pretty exposed but also very breezy. The breeze felt great and made it feel less hot than it was. We passed a stream coming out of rocks on the way up and I re-soaked my shirt.
The summit of the climb was very windy. Again, it was quite warm so as long as our hats didn’t blow away, it was nice. The descent down the other side was very steep. As soon as we got down we had to climb up again. The descent wrecked our legs, which quickly became obvious on the next climb. We took an extended break in the shade most of the way up the climb and explored our options for camping.
We were supposed to pass some water sources soon, so we decided we’d camp soon after one of them, if not directly at the water itself. The water source was on an exposed ridge which was very windy so we opted to carry the water forward to a more suitable location. We found a large grassy pullout on the side of the road we were walking that will do just fine. Today was shorter but we needed a shorter one. It’s very hard coming off the couch and starting a new trail. It’s much easier to keep going. Hopefully we’ll feel more fit soon.