GR11 Hiking

Day 31: Decision Making (I made it to Andorra!)

Kilometres walked: 21km  / Total distance: 539km / Elevation gain:  1588m / Elevation loss: 806m / Time walked: 6h58min I’m in Andorra! I walked all the way here, can you believe it? I’ve never been in Andorra before. But let’s back up a little. I wasn’t supposed to be in Andorra yet (according to my own arbitrary planning, at least). This morning I left the camping in Areu early after a rainy night. I was…

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GR11 Hiking

Day 23: Rain (Halfway!)

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…

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GR11 Hiking

Day 18: This Is What We Do Now

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…

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GR11 Hiking

Day 11&12: Storm

Kilometres walked: 17km  / Total distance: 249km/ Elevation gain: 995m / Elevation loss: 417m / Time walked: 4h51min (both days combined) First thing I do when I wake up in my hotel bed is checking the weather forecast. It is not looking good. The forecast for today has improved a bit, but tomorrow is looking worse. The Pyrenees are known for having afternoon thunderstorms that are short but intense, but the forecast is now predicting…

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GR11 Hiking

Day 9: Fog

Kilometres walked: 19km / Total distance: 212km/ Elevation gain: 872m / Elevation loss: 900m / Time walked: 6h45min Last night was windy, my tent again flapping in the wind. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong when pitching it: all the guylines and corner points are taut but the fly is still billowing. Or maybe I just need to get used to the noise? In any case, earplugs seem to be the remedy. At least…

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