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| LOOKING BACK TOWARDS SALARDU |
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| DESERTED BAQUEIRA-BERET SKI RESORT |
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| THE APPARENTLY UNCLIMBABLE TUC DE MARIMANYA |
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| VIEW FROM THE EAST SIDE OF TUC DE MARIMANYA |
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| LOOKING SOUTH OVER ESTANY DE AIROTO |
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| ORANGE 'TENT' OF REFUGI GRACIA AIROTO |
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| ME AND MY SHADOW AT COLLADA DEL CLOT DE MOREDO |
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| CHURCH AT ALOS D'ISIL |
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| THOSE BIG HORNS MADE ME FEEL SHEEPISH |
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| VERY BASIC CABANE BY RIU DEL PORT |
Thursday 13th of September and the weather was looking good. Refugi Rosta didn't serve breakfast particularly early, so it was 10.00am by the time I left.
The village of Bagergue overlooks Salardu, and I climbed up to it on the road. I was feeling the strain of a full load of food and water in the rucksack. Soon I was walking in an easterly direction on footpaths, past the ski resort of Baqueira-Beret (no snow, so no people), and ascending to Estany de Baciver where I stopped for lunch. On continuing, I soon reached two more lakes. As I passed the second, I could see ahead of me the steepness of my next goal, the 2,662m high Tuc de Marimanya. Indeed, at first it looked unclimbable. However, once I reached the base of the mountain, I could see the route up ìt. This is the first time I have reached a mountain summit in my 2018 return to the Pyrenees. All the other high points have been passes (cols) although many have been of similar altitude. The advantage of reaching a mountain top is that the views are all the way round and, given the clear weather, they were amazing of course.
From here on, there were no obvious paths, so I was pleased that I had purchased the additional map. I continued along a ridge to the east of Tuc de Marimanya before dropping down to the Col de Airoto. From there I could see the orange-painted, tent-shaped Refugi Gracia Airoto at the southern end of the Estany d'Airoto, but the boulders and foliage surrounding the lake made getting there extremely hard work. The Refugi is unmanned and has 6 beds. There were three middle-aged French hikers already there eating, so I joined them. The light was fading so we were soon in our sleeping bags. It had been a really exciting and satisfying day, partly because of the excellent weather and partly because of the challenges I'd successfully overcome.
I was last to leave in the morning and immediately headed north to the Collada del Clot de Moredo. From there it was a long descent to the village of Alos d'Isil. Routefinding over the last kilometer was particularly tricky, but I got there with a bit of improvisation.
It was only a little after midday, so I had a quick snack, filled my water bottles at the village fountain, and continued on. There was a short north-easterly road walk, and then I turned right to ascend the Comamala valley. The weather had been clear, but now the sun was really beating down on me. The heat made me feel incredibly weary and I was now only able to climb at snail's pace. I had regular rests in the shade, drank frequently, and dipped my hat in any stream that I passed. Eventually I reached a small lake called Bassa de Sobriu, with a bit of flat grass around it, and decided that this was a good place to pitch the tent for the night.
I heard grunting noises outside the tent in the evening, and again in the morning. They do say that there is the greatest concentration of black bears in this part of the Pyrenees, but since I chose not to get out of the tent I will never know if it was one. It could have been a wild boar, of course.
Saturday was cloudier and cooler, and my usual energy had returned. I had three high passes to cross: Coll de la Cornella (2,485), Coll de Curios (2,428m) and Coll de Calberante (2,610m). That made it a tough day. Route-finding was a challenge too, particularly around the Coll de Curios. Eventually I made it to the next refuge, which was called Refugi Enric Pujol (also called Refugi Mont Roig). It was only mid-afternoon, so I carried on down the valley with a view to finding a cabana or a place to camp further on.
Shortly after, I met a chap called Martin who was on holiday and walking locally. He suggested a ramshackle cabana by the Riu del Port. It was basic, but not the worst I had slept in. It had no door, but wooden poles were criss-crossed in the opening to discourage horses or cattle from trying to enter, and there were lots of both grazing in the pasture that surrounded the cabana.
I thanked Martin, who suggested that we might meet again at my next day's destination, the Refugi de Certescan.
