First hike back from pneumonia and a cracked rib.
I've been laid up for a while and finally, after training and buying lighter gear, I went out for a hike high up in the Spanish Pyrenees.
I just did an over night, to see how things went. Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey, as they say.
I hiked in Mount Roig, in the Catalan Pyrenees, leaving from a refuge called Piera del Prat. I went up at about five in the afternoon, and walked until eight that evening, and set up camp next to some high lakes. The walk up was fun, and I was very nervous, as it has been over a year since my last over night trip. I was trying out a lot of new gear too- a new pack, the GG Murmur, and the MLD SoloMid in cuben- Just for fun, and for practice, I was carrying a weeks worth of food to bump up the weight. Pack weight was only 7.5 kg, which is incredible considering three years ago I got back into hiking with a pack weight of 20 kg. Water is plentiful and clean, so I only needed to carry half a litre.
I climbed up to 2400m and made camp next to a beautiful lake. There was still snow on the ground, above and below me, but the weather was fine, over night temperature of about 4 degrees celsius, and about 19 degrees during the day.
After I made camp, I had some visitors, who stayed around all night munching grass and playing. I love horses, having earned my living on them for a while- it was great to see so many foals. They were very inquisitive, especially about the shelter, and came up and gave it a sniff.
There were a few strong gusts of wind during the night, but otherwise, I slept like a baby. I poked my head out of the shelter every now and then to star gaze- what a sight!
I woke at sunrise, and hiked up to the nearest peak, Pic de tres Estats at 2700m. The snow had fallen in this area only last week, which is quite late for July, and the high peaks required crampons. I managed to get up to 2700m, but higher than that, and the park office insisted on people carrying crampons, which I don't have.
I strolled down and stopped to chat to a shepherd I had met the day before. He's from Morocco, and spent his day looking after the sheep as they grazed. At night he parked them below in a temporary yard, and slept in town.
The Pyrenees is littered with old shepherds huts and you can still see the ruins of many on the trails.
I hurt my knee coming down, so I'll have to let that heal before the next hike- but it's only minor, and I plan to go back to the area when the snow melt in another couple of weeks, and climb up some Tres Miles (3000m peaks) in the area on a longer route involving sections of the HRP. This hike was a test for that, and I think I'll reconsider some gear choices- not sure. Stay tuned, and thanks for looking.
It's great to be back on the trail again!!
cheers,
fred
