GR11 Day 26 Estanh Obago to Espot.

30th June

Some rain overnight but it stayed dry for me to get packed up but there was some heavy rain and cloud after I had got over the col.

I couldn't get enough of the view back to the lake

I met a young lad from Poland who was doing the GR 11 in the opposite direction, he was impressed by my age and I was impressed that he was doing it on 10 euros per day.

At the top

Heavy rain as I went over the top which eased to showers on the way down.

The way down 

Again nice low temperatures, waterproofs and fleece, reminded me of home.

Car park and dam at Estany de Santiago Maurici 

The path from Estany de Santiago Maurici becomes a popular tourist trail and there were a lot of people about, being Sunday would have helped even though the weather wasn't good.

Trail down the valley 

Espot is a bustling tourist village with loads of accommodation, bars, restaurants and shops.

Old bridge at Espot

I bought some more gas and pole ends (one of mine has collapsed) from a little outdoor shop.

Espot church

The error of booking ahead struck again and I got here too early, nothing to do but eat and drink. It's a tough life!

Espot

GR11 Day 25 Refugi dera Restanca to Estanh Obago.

 29th June

Raining in the morning with some good cracks of lightning but the rain was only heavy for a while.

Climbing away from the Refugi 

What was nice was the temperature, very Scottish, wet and cold, ideal walking weather.

Just after the first downpour 

Took the GR11.18 in the morning to Refugi Colomers, as this is the recommended route in the guide book, and very good it was too.

What a view!

Wonderful scenery with clouds. Got to the Refugi for a few cups of tea and cake just as the rain eased. The place was crowded with fine weather walkers.

A group of French walkers thinking of going out in the rain

Across the dam

I couldn't go much further today as the guide book said that that it would not be possible to camp after the Port de Ratera, as it is then a National Park.

Up by the river

I found a beautiful perch above the Estanh Obago on the way up to the col.

Spot the tent

It was early but the weather stayed dry for a while to do some proper camping stuff, like sitting around drinking tea!

GR11 Day 24 Refugi de Conangles to Refugi dera Restanca.

28th June.

A warm night with some cloud. The cloud cleared fast but it remained hazy and it was hot in the afternoon.

I did my normal trick of loosing the path this morning but being pig-headed I kept on up through the trees and rocks assuming I knew where I was going.

Looking down, I should have been further to the right

After some confused wandering I just decided to go up to the ridge and then follow it to the coll.

Looking down to where I should have been 

When I got to the point I was aiming for it was in fact about 200 meters higher than I needed to be and needed some careful descending to reach the correct place.

Gun emplacement 

There are some old gun emplacements that Franco put in after the end of the war that guard this pass.

El Tejido checking out the gun mounting

The path goes round the Lac de Ruis before dropping steadily down the valley.

Lac de Ruis

Descending

The Refugi at the far side of the dam

The Refugi is reached by climbing round a couple of gullies to the head of the next valley involving some steep ascents and descents before arriving above the dam with the Refugi on the other side.

The Lake

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.