GR11 Hiking

Day 41: Filler Day

Kilometres walked: 29km  / Total distance: 782km / Elevation gain: 965m / Elevation loss: 930m / Time walked: 6h26min

Today is a filler day. After the excitement of seeing the Mediterranean -my destination- for the first time yesterday, today is just a bit bland. Fine for covering distance, but nothing really special. The first section after town (Maçenet de Cabrenys) is quite nice with a rocky trail through the cork forest, but later in the day it’s a lot of walking on crushed stone track and asphalt.

Trees with…goats?

What breaks up the monotony is my ravenous hunger. I’m trying to slowly empty my food bag so breakfast was a weird combination of leftovers: half an avocado, some dried sausage and a few spoonfuls of peanutbutter. High in fat, low in carbs, and apparently that’s not the best foundation for a day’s walking because throughout the morning my stomach is grumbling. In the first town I pass I order a coffee, a bocadillo, and buy a pack of chocolate cookies. That’s better.

In the second town (La Jonquera), a sad affair of highways and mega supermarkets and parking lots I sit down in a bar and order a plate of meatballs in sauce with potato chips. Before I know it I’m stuck in a town vortex and wander around the (huge!) supermarket for an hour, weighing options and figuring out my food for the last couple of days. As usual I end up buying way too much, which I then drag up the climb to a picnic area about an hour out of town where I plan to camp.

Once there I meet the two Dutch women I met at the camping yesterday. They’re section hiking the GR11 and we have dinner together. I decide not to pitch my tent but to sleep under a roof in the picnic area. It’s hot, my sleeping bag is too much, and I between the heat and the lights of the town below I have a restless night’s sleep.

No tent camping

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