41st Day (September 17th, 22nd)

We started our third stage relatively early in the morning because we couldn't make a reservation for the next hut and were afraid we would have to walk two stages. Accordingly, we walked at a brisk pace. First, we went downhill into a small valley with pastures and cows. The landscape was lush and intersected by slow-flowing streams. Then the ascent began. The huts always warned before this stage and as it turned out, it was indeed challenging. First, we had to jump and crawl over the old glacier boulders. Over time, the path became steeper and led over slippery gravelly paths, requiring us to be careful not to throw stones at the person behind us. For the last section, I had to put my poles back in my backpack because it was time to climb. Slowly and securely, I placed my hands on the holds and pulled my feet up. It didn't take long before we reached the pass, and Eva caught up with us during the climb, so we took a pause together at the top.

However, we couldn't rest for long, so we quickly descended. We passed a deep blue mountain lake, constantly searching for the small stone piles on the rocks, and after a while, we reached a small weather station from where we had a view of the valley.

So we continued down into the green valley. I walked a little ahead because I quickly got into the flow of the descent and let gravity carry me down the mountain. From a distance, I heard Merle and Paul getting into a little argument. When they caught up with me again, they had calmed down, and Merle continued walking with renewed energy. We stopped briefly at a small stream and examined the mushrooms that were shooting out of the ground there.

The last section of the stage went by quickly. We walked down on overgrown paths to a roaring river in the valley, which we crossed. We then walked a few meters upstream to the hut. The Refugio Estany Llong is a small stone hut with a small terrace, and the clothes of hikers are blowing on clotheslines in front of the door. Merle entered the hut to check if we could spend the night there. After a few minutes, she came out with joy and said that they could accommodate us. Relieved, we carried our luggage inside and enjoyed the fact that we still had the whole afternoon ahead of us to relax.

I spent the extra time doing laundry, reading in my hammock, and in the evening, we played cards together. The food was as abundant as usual, and even as a vegan, I was satisfied.