Kilometres walked: 21km / Total distance: 486km / Elevation gain: 1463m/ Elevation loss: 1316m / Time walked: 6h30min [I still have to write a wrap-up of the Carros de Foc loop I did with Antonio, but in the meantime I’ll continue with the regular programme of GR11 blogs. Photos are included via links] I wave goodbye to Espot. It’s a nice town, but after two days being ‘stuck’ there because of a stomach bug (or…
Kilometres walked: 20km / Total distance: 465km / Elevation gain: 579m/ Elevation loss: 1327m / Time walked: 5h10min Today I get to town! And tomorrow I’ll take the bus to pick up Antonio! After missing him for almost a month, I am very excited about this. I’m not sure if it is because of that or because the trail is beautiful or because I got my hiker legs or because I had extra coffee this…
Kilometres walked: 14km / Total distance: 445km / Elevation gain: 973m/ Elevation loss: 848m / Time walked: 4h46min I say goodbye to Ernesto & Jan in front of the refugio. My two adoptive fathers, we joke. Another trail goodbye, we are taking different routes today. I’ll follow the official GR11, which is longer, less pretty, and with more elevation change. They take a shorter, more scenic, and flatter variant. One last photo with my trailfathers…
Kilometres walked: 12km / Total distance: 431km / Elevation gain: 949m/ Elevation loss: 520m / Time walked: 4h31min It rained late into the night yesterday. Retreating was the right thing to do. But still, it messed with my planning and even though it’s part of the game that you can’t ‘plan’ these kind of things, I don’t like my plans being messed with. More specifically, I’m not happy about the logistical consequences. We’re about to…
Kilometres walked: 14km / Total distance: 419km / Elevation gain: 303m/ Elevation loss: 1153m / Time walked: 5h18min Breakfast at the refugio. Café con leche from a thermos, toast with mini packages of jam and Nutella (of which I steal one to snack on later), little dry muffins wrapped in plastic, and some undefined fruit juice without actual juice. My hiker hunger has finally kicked in and I eat it all. A tiny climb to…
Kilometres walked: 18km / Total distance: 405km / Elevation gain: 1531m/ Elevation loss: 400m / Time walked: 6h3min My pack is heavy. We did groceries in Benasque yesterday and I’m carrying 4,5 days of food. The next town, Espot, is five stages away and although I don’t think it’ll take five days to get there I rather not run out of food. This is, I think, the longest food carry of the GR11, and the…
Kilometres walked: 22km / Total distance: 387km / Elevation gain: 1131m/ Elevation loss: 1441m / Time walked: 6h16min While I arrived early at the campsite, the rest of my hiking bubble continued to the next refugio. That meant I set out alone in the morning (which I prefer) and have the first ascent up to Pleta d’Añes Cruces all for myself. Grassy slopes, easy climb, still in the shade. The sun is not out from…
Kilometres walked: 15km / Total distance: 365km / Elevation gain: 826m/ Elevation loss: 877m / Time walked: 4h16min Today was, dare I say it…a bit boring? I’m probably getting spoiled with all the grand and magnificent landscapes. I woke up after a shortish but good night of sleep, and set out to continue the climb along the dirt road that I started yesterday. The ascent is steady and easy, and the sun is not out…
Kilometres walked: 27km / Total distance: 350km / Elevation gain: 1400m/ Elevation loss: 1042m / Time walked: 7h2min Another day, another pass, another up, another down. This is what life is, this is what we do now. We walk. Breakfast at the refuge (Pineta), easy forest trail, and suddenly there is cell service. I leave a long voice message for Antonio -to let him know I miss him, and that I’m proud of how I…
Kilometres walked: 12,5km / Total distance: 323km/ Elevation gain: 836m/ Elevation loss: 1807m / Time walked: 7h15min 12,5 Kilometer in over seven hours. For a runner like me, where distance and time are the only metrics that matter, this is ridiculous. But it’s a testament to the fact that distance matters very little here, and elevation and terrain are the determining factors in how much you can do and how far you can go. On…