Chemin de la Liberté 2024 Day 3

Sunrise and a rising cloud cover created a beautiful painting with long moving silhouettes almost without sounds. Two sheepdogs provided a playful spectacle and challenged random sleepwalkers to throw a stick.

A long line set course for higher ground and as we ascended the clouds retreated in proportion. A steep climb rewarded a beautiful view of the cloud-covered lowland.

A sheepdog accompanied our caravan as if we had become part of his flock. Friendships are created with a pat and a friendly gesture. After a short break we arrived at the spot where an RAF plane had crashed and a short ceremony was held. Then it was on towards the top and the path became technical but my low shoes did their job. When we arrived at the top, the view was spectacular, now we had a view of the Biros valley, which for me was a characteristic sight. Last year I completed the Passaran here.

As a lunch spot, everyone looked for a place around a refuge and rested a bit from their efforts, and the water bottles were also replenished. Mont Valier determined the horizon and ultimate goal of this day. The landscape was rugged and full of chalk and chalk stripes. After passing a few lakes it went up very steeply and the walking turned into climbing and scrambling. I found it strenuous, partly because of my heavier backpack because I had decided to take all camping gear with me to Spain. My knees started to give some painful signals when climbing. But fortunately this was not a serious limitation.

The landscape became increasingly rugged and no place for horses as we had seen in the morning. Large pieces of rock and stone determined the path that had to be chosen and slowly the ridge came into view. Once we arrived at the ridge, the road went steeply downwards and we carefully looked for our path, the refuge sometimes showed itself briefly and then quickly disappeared from view. Suddenly we stood in front of the Refuge Estangnous and I took a cold shower, which I thought was very nice and brave. I decided not to pitch a tent and preferred a relatively comfortable bunk bed.