Pyrenees Haute Route - Day 3

With a better understanding of the route that lay ahead of us, and some pre-planned escape routes in case things got ugly, we began our day in a better mood.  By morning the clouds had cleared and we had a great view up the valley we had just descended.  We took our time getting ready and I was able to enjoy a few cups of coffee while taking in the vistas.

After packing camp we continued our trek down the valley towards Cabane de Doumblas.    I don't know if it was because yesterday was so hard and our spirits were so much higher today, but we both thought that this valley was the most beautiful that we had seen yet.

After reaching Doumblas, the trail turns and heads up another valley towards Port de la Peyre-Saint-Martin, which is on the French-Spanish border.  The trail up the valley was absolutely gorgeous.  The path was well worn, only gaining elevations slowly, and took us through beautiful high alpine pastures.

At this point neither one of us wanted this day to end.  This hike epitomized what hiking in the Alps should be like.

After reaching the Col we made our first deviation from the route in the book.  From here, the book recommends going up to Col de Cambales and then descending through some rough areas which made today's route a grade of 1.  Sarah and I decided to descend down into Spain and follow a parallel path that heads up to Col de la Fache instead.

The path up to Col de la Fache was much more challenging that the first half of the day.  The route was a bit steeper and involved more scrambling up some loose skree.

A little bit before the Col, we reached a snowfield that needed to be crossed.  If you slipped down, it was about a 15 foot drop down into freezing water filled with ice.  Luckily the path was well worn and we both crossed without incident.

The views from the top were amazing, as expected, with a great view back west towards Pic du Midi near where we started out trek.

From there we had a long descent down to Refuge de Wallon.  On one hand, it's nice when you can finally see your destination for the day.  On the other hand, when it's still 2 hours away, it can make the time DRAG by.

Refuge Wallon is probably the most beautiful place I've every camped.  Below the refuge is a wide open valley with tons of great camping spots.  Every direction has gorgeous views up multiple valleys, with vistas for miles.

I could spend a whole week just sitting on the patio at Wallon and just soaking in that view.  But in the end, we have to keep moving.  After some freezing cold baths in the stream, we head to bed, looking forward to tomorrows adventure.

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Day 1
Day 2
Day 3