GR11 Day 23, Refugio de Cap de Lauset to past Refugi de Conangles.

 June 27th 

Stayed cloudy last night but the sky had cleared by the morning and the sun was starting to brighten the tops.

Looking back

Took the scenic route down to the Estany de Lauset to look at the dam. There is a carpark here, very useful if I ever come here again!

The first lake

The dam

A stiff climb zigzags up to the Coll d'Anglios and down the rocky hillside to the beautiful Estany de Baix with some lovely camping spots.

Estany de Baix 

The descent from there is fairly brutal, steep and bouldery before reaching a good path that follows the river down to the road.

Down through the trees 

The Refugio was full but I sat there eating and drinking until a pile of kids arrived and I moved on up the hill to find a nice little place to camp in the trees.

The flies were a nuisance and I had to lie in the tent with the inner zipped up to keep them out.

GR11 Day 22, Puen de San Chaime to Refugio de Cap de Lauset

June 26 

A warm morning with thunderstorms forecast for midday.

There is a gravel road up the Vale de Vallibierna, with a bus service that could take you well up into the hills if you were feeling lazy. It's a fine big lump of a 4X4 bus.

Bus coming down the track

Walking up through the trees was good as there was no wind but the trees gave some shade.

After the treeline, and bus stop, the going got steeper and it started to get very warm. there were great views though.

Two high lakes, 2500m, were passed with some difficulty through awkward boulder fields, there was still some ice in the first one (no I didn't have a swim).

The way up

The clouds started to build and look threatening for a while but the thunderstorm never appeared, it did help with the temperature though.

Up through relatively easy snowfields to the Collado de Ballibierna, my highest point so far at 2732 meters. The descent was through boulders and snow and rather slow.

And down

The Refugio came into sight, an amazing looking building in the boulder fields.

The Refugio 

The Guidebook said that I had just crossed one of the toughest passes on the GR11 and survived!

GR11 Day 21 Refugio Viados to Puen de San Chaime.

25th June

The Refugio was full last night but I managed to sleep well after a good meal of vegetables, it was slightly noisy at night!

Leaving the Refugio 

Some cloud on the high mountains but the day was set to be good again.

The climb up to The Cabana d'Anes Cruce was good as the temperature was still relatively low.

Meeting of the waters

Two people who had walked up in front of me had decided to take a swim at the junction of the rivers, it looked bloody freezing!

The next section was a steep climb up to some rocky bits and a couple of small snowfields before reaching the Puerto de Chistau (2572m)

Some snow on the way up

The way down was through a lot of snow on the northern slopes of the mountain but it was relatively easy following the other footprints although I was glad to have my microspikes.

A lot more on the way down

I met a German GR11 walker coming the other way who gave me some useful information before continuing the descent to the Refugio d'Estos for lunch.

Snow bridges I didn't cross

This could have been the end of the section but as it was only lunchtime I pushed on to the campsite at Puen de San Chaime.

Refugio d'Estos 

The afternoon turned very hot but at least there was some shelter from the trees.

Dam on the way down

A nice little campsite in the trees with a bar/restaurant.

GR11 Day 20 Parzan to Refugio Viados

24th June

Set off up the road after a coffee with Tim to start the day. Clear blue sky but quite chilly, another good day for walking.

Little shrine where I turned off the road 

A straightforward day today, starting with a long climb up a gravel track.

It was very pleasant in the shade

Passing a hydro dam and power station high in the valley before leaving the trees and climbing on.

The hydro dam and power station 

The last bit leaves the gravel road and climbs up to the high coll for today. 

Towards the top

I stopped outside the little bothy at the top to repair my glasses as the lens had fallen out. Failed to tighten them as I couldn't see what I was doing without my glasses! Put some tape on them, that fixed it!

At the coll

A nice descent followed all the way down. Nothing too steep or 'exciting' with great views of the hills.

The way down 

The campsite was open contrary to the guidebook but I had booked the Refugio so kept going up the hill.

A typical Pyrenean sight 

The Refugio only takes cash and there was some confusion as I didn't have any and the lack of a common language caused some problems, but all was well in the end.

Refugio Viados

A beautiful place.

View from the Refugio 

GR11 Day 19 Refugio de Lafarri to Parzan

 23rd June

A windy night with light drizzle coming over the mountains but the wind dried it almost instantly.

Looking back to the campsite in the morning 

It was quite cold as I set off up the hill wearing a fleece and jacket. I met a teacher of English who told me that the weather was very un-Spanish and it should be summer, this temperature suits me much better.

That's where I came down yesterday 

The route climbs up and meets a gravel track that leads to a beautiful 'hidden' valley before climbing to the coll at Las Coronetas.

The hidden valley 

From there a steepish descent takes you to a small car park at the end of a long gravel road down to Chisagues.

Down to the track end and car park 

Chisagues is now just some new holiday homes but you can still see some of the old houses.

Chisagues 

A series of zigzags on the now tarmac road and I arrived in Parzan. 

Coming down to Parzan

Parzan is a tiny place with large supermarkets on a border crossing road, the drink being cheaper in Spain than France.

Parzan

A good restaurant and an interesting conversation with Tim, a young Spanish/French hiker who was walking ths HRP from the east. Followed by a comfy bed, what more could you ask for?

On my balcony 

GR11 Day 18 Refugio Goriz to Refugio de Lafarri.

22nd June

A beautiful night, no wind, a touch of frost and dry. Done high cloud that built during the day bringing occasional light drizzle.

On the way down

A short climb up to the Collata Arablo was followed by a brutal descent on loose rock, steep rock and steep rough ground to reach the Rio Bellos.

A long steep climb up near the river, through a couple of rock bands and I arrived at the Collata la Valle o d'Anisclo.

Collata la Valle o d'Anisclo 

There is a 1200m descent from here in about 1.5km starting with a band of snow to negotiate.

It's steep!

I managed to avoid the snow by tackling a very steep scree slope that soon joined the marked way down.

Still more to get down

The whole slope is extremely dangerous and I can see why the guide book says don't attempt it in snow.

Just starting through the trees

Even when you get to the tree line the difficulty continues with a number of difficult rock steps and washed out water crossings.

Rio Real

I have never made such a continuous difficult descent and hope not to do so again!

The Refugio de Pineta was full so I continued to a good, but windy camp near the Refugio de Lafarri.

The two difficult descents made it a very tiring day.