with lots of short breaks, 30mins at bothy refugio de Fortverd, 30mins at bothy refugio Riu dels Orris and 60mins at Refugio de LIlla
So today we made it out of Encamp! Whoohoooo! A steep in parts but enjoyable climb up out the town and back into the forest, led us all the way to a dam, which is obviously accessible and popular for the locals as even though it was early, there were plenty of runners and dog walkers about. With a weirdly familiar feeling, it was a little more like the local areas wed get at home which was nice.
Having continued the climb along easy rocky paths, we reached the top col and opted for the higher route, along ridges through woods giving slightly more technical terrain but great views. Rejoining the official GR11 lower by the river we met the first unmanned bothy which, to our pleasant surprise, was really nice and even had toilet. Amazing. After a cuppa and some biscuits we continued on a more gentle climb up into the valley, mixing between open sections and pretty
woodland, where we spotted BIG prints in the ground. Still uncertain, we have convinced ourselves they are bear prints! Eeeek!
Another unmanned bothy, also very nice, made a great lunch spot before continuing again the climb into the valley. The terrain here became more mountainous with large boulders dotted around and small lakes. Winding up the increasingly steep trail, we then spotted one of the new refugios which was rather fancy looking, and saw some donkeys! Knowing the weather was due in stormy later, and with the refugio being so nice, we were tempted to stay, but it was still quite early and we were feeling good so we decided to keep going.
Just a little more up and we were at the col where we crossed out of Andorra; having spent much longer in Andorra then most we were super happy to have managed to walk back into Spain. The following descent down into the valley was super pretty and we were glad we had chosen to keep going. Some steep scree bits at points but mostly all rock steppy and then along easy terrain by sidelining the river. With the in, we
managed to pitch up on a lovely flat spot in the woods, near the river for easy water, near the emergency hut if needed, have a wash & change, cook & eat, and stretch before the rain began; Cue some anxious sitting in the tent as the rain got heavier and the thunder got louder and the lightening got brighter! Thankfully it didnt last too long and wasnt too bad (looking back at it) and we soon drifted to sleep.
with a few short breaks, 15mins on top col, 30mins at bothy refugio Engorgs and 30mins at Refugio Malniu
After an anxious evening, we did manage to sleep pretty well, but we were still super slow and getting ourselves up & going. Eventually walking, we were then perked up with a really cool sign; Cap de Creus (the end) only 233km to go!! Unfortunately the perk did not last long, as we began the climb up out of the valley; actually, Paul was in a good zone and whizzed on up, but I was feeling pretty low in energy. Still, we eventually made it
up and after a quick stop, noted some grey clouds floating into the valley, so began the rocky descent down again.
Hitting the lakes at the bottom, there was suddenly a lot of people around so we stopped and chatted to a few briefly, on the weird misty clouds now floating in from this valley, whipping up and seemingly disappearing as they did. Another good bothy made for another nice rest stop, and we managed to dry the tent here too, as it was hot between the clouds. The trail then winds up and down along the ridge line of the mountains, giving fabulous views and not too much technicality. Edging slowly up and then down, we rolled over grassy tracks, feeing more like home again with some boggy bits, a couple of ducks in the lake and black&white cows with no bells on! Following the path down to another clearly popular & accessible refugio (filled with cars & people) we had a brief stop before continuing further once more.
