Refuge de Fortverd to Refuge de Engorgs

6 september 2022

There are some days that just top it all - this turned out to be one of those.

I woke and set of early. The sun was up soon and the weather was absolutely glorious. The valley from the refuge towards Refuge de I'lla, my breakfast destination, was spectacular. I was deep in Alpine scenery and loving every minute of the walk.

At the refuge I had a hiker's breakfast, omelette and toast, before heading onwards towards through the Vall Cavera. It was on this stretch that I met the incredible people doing the race through the valleys and up the peaks of this part of the Pyrenees. They are so incredibly fit and still able to smile, talk and enjoy what they were doing despite having spent the morning up and down some serious mountains. Inspiring.

At a flat valley, Cabana dels Esparvers, I met some of the race support team providing food and drinks. They were also able to make sure I was on the right route - it followed the race route so I was in good hands.

I ascended my last peak of the trek before I would need to stop - the last section up and over the grassy top was a slog with the usual steep descent to navigate too. I celebrated this milestone at the lakes on the other side - another achievement completed on this amazing trip.

I dropped down to the unmanned refuge at de Engorgs to find I would have company here - two Spanish hikers and later a German hiker became our merry crowd for the night. We stayed high above the valley bottom, next to a flock of sheep corralled for the night and guarded by three sheep dogs. We watched the sun set behind the mountains and the star filled sky hang over head. There was a hush across the mountains and a peacefulness across the valley.