Day 39 (15.9.22)

I woke up early in the morning and started packing my things. I had breakfast with the leftovers from the previous day and went to the market to buy provisions for the journey. I said goodbye to Leonie and left her a bottle of Bordeaux. Merle, her mother, and Paul were already waiting for me on the street with the car. We set off towards the south. The southern French landscape was characterized by its bright buildings and tall cypresses. On the way, we took a break at a café to strengthen ourselves. I took over the steering for the rest of the way. In the afternoon, we arrived in Arties, a small town in the Spanish Pyrenees.

We saddled our luggage and started the ascent to Carros de Fog. First, we walked along a field path through a forest next to a river. After a short time, it started raining, and we took a little break at a shelter. We strengthened ourselves with provisions, and because it didn't stop raining, we changed clothes and continued walking. At a small hut, we left the field path to make the final ascent to the first refuge on a hiking trail. It went steeply uphill over rocks and roots. When we had already covered many vertical meters, a dam stretched out in front of us. We climbed up and could see the hut by the lake. We walked along the dam and were greeted by the hut dog.

We put our backpacks in the luggage room, hung up a rope for our wet clothes, and sat in the common room. There, we played Tissue (a Swiss card game) with a German hiker. Eventually, the lights were turned off, and we had to continue playing with our headlamps. Exhausted, we all finally went to the dormitory and quickly fell asleep.