Upon waking and checking the weather forecast it doesn't look to good ahead. I do only 10km(6.2mi) to the next town of Loudenvielle and stay at the campground there in anticipation of that. The day passes and the sky stays clear blue, with no rain all day...
The storm comes at night. I'm woken up first by flashes of light as silent lightning playfully dances across the sky. Then the rain comes down, hard. My tent holds up but I discover a new problem in the morning. The condensation that eventually builds on the inner fly is constantly being shaken off by the intensity of the rain so I'm getting sprinkled on despite being in my tent. I stay in my tent until the rain stops for a bit.
Hiking out of town I only do 7km(4.3mi) to the next unguarded cabin. The rain comes back along with low rolling clouds through the valley. I settle in and hang all my gear to dry. A couple from Australia doing the GR10 join me in the cabin. The day is rounded out as a trio of Frenchmen come in the evening and we barely all fit in the cabin for the night.
Upon waking and looking at the window all I see is fog so I go back to sleep. I have enough food to wait for good weather and that's exactly what I plan on doing. Around 0800h the fog begins to thin and I see that wind is blowing through the valley so I pack up and head out. By the time I reach the nearby pass the weather has cleared!
Climbing down in the adjacent valley I pass a parking lot and seem to be on a very popular trail as I'm surrounded by day hikers. The trail climbs up to some beautifully lush sub-alpine lakes before I turn off to take the HRP(Pyrenees High Route) alternate. I climber higher until I'm back amongst snow and boulders.
The hiking is super engaging as I navigate my way in the backcountry surrounded by exposed rock, craggy peaks and semi-frozen lakes. The sky is overcast with the sun poking through occasionally as I enter Spain. The decent is caked in snow as I race down the valley glissading. There are sketchy spots near along a river as patches of snow block the way but they are quite hollowed out and crumbling. Eventually I end the day at a cabin.
Extended climb for the morning as I make my way to Tuc de Molières at 3011m(9878ft). The trail is not obvious as there are large patches of snow across the plateau on approach. I just use my own plan and chart a route across following rocky outcrops before the actual ascent. I reach the summit as clouds roll lazily roll over the crest occasionally blinding my view. Between clouds rolling over I take advantage of a clear moment to continue along an exposed rocky ridge then hand-climb down the other side of the ridge wall. The other side of the valley has perfect weather as I descend.
The decent is slow until noon where I reach a mountain pass highway. I look for a bus stop, hoping to get into the town of Vielha. While waiting for the bus which is an hour or more away I decide to try and hitch. Within 5 minutes I'm picked up! I book a hotel for the night.
I ate a nice breakfast spread at the hotel before taking a bus back to the trail. The trail is tough alongside the fact that my pack is overloaded with the full resupply from town. I only manage to do 25km(25.5mi) by 1800h. I try to stop at a serviced refuge but they are full and it is illegal to bivouac in this part of the national park... I summon some inner power and blast 12km(7.4mi) climbing 1200m(3937ft) in the next 3 hours to end the day at a mountain hut. The hut is amazingly well built and remind me of huts in New Zealand. I spend the night alone on a nice cot with a mattress.
A rare perfect weather day for this one. Sun is hot and beating as I make slow progress along the trail with numerous passes and getting lost a few times. On descent I'm surprised by a young French hiker doing the HRP catching me as he runs down. I join him for a bit as we rush down the mountainside. We lunch together before I head on alone.
After all that descending I'm immediately rewarded with a straight 1600m(5248ft) back the other side of the valley. I tackle it stubbornly but get gassed, taking a few breaks as the strength in my legs is sapped. I finally make it and feel overwhelmed with the views. There is a small climb into a rocky valley to the hut for the night. On the way I stop at a waterfall to skinny dip. I end up slipping and bashing my chin but thankfully there is no serious injury. Eventually I arrive and share another cozy mountain hut with a handful of other hikers. Unfortunately I'm a bit shy with the language barrier and everyone keeps to themselves so it's a quite night.
Today is a roller coaster for my calves as I track up and down multiple passes. The sun isn't blazing so I don't get wrung out. I'm in the middle of it and the day passes smoothly as I continue on. The main highlight is the approach to Pic de Montcalm where I lose the track and instead class 5 climb up alongside a waterfall. I camp half way up to the summit near a lake and prepare for a thunderstorm overnight.
As forecasted the storm comes through and one peg of my tent keeps getting knocked out. Thankfully there isn't any severe issue as the rain comes and goes periodically and I stay dry. I wake in thick fog and continue up to the summit at 3077m(10095ft). The view is a wall of grey. The descent is hell: wet, exposed, and barely marked. I take my time and it drags for hours. I'm wet as a dog as I finally lower enough to leave the clouds and then am back on the normal HexaTrek, having completed the HRP alternate.
Back on GR track I am blasting and the weather improves only to encourage me further. I crush a number of passes before arriving at another hut and share the evening with a handful of people again. I strike up a conversation with a Catalans in Spanish before heading off to bed early.
With barely any food left I'm spurred on to get to the next village, L'Hospitalet-l'Andorre. There are a lot of people in mountains that I assume climbed up from town as I finally arrive and check into the gite. Despite the HexaTrek app saying that there is a grocery store in town all I find is a local shop with one shelf of junk food... I am able to buy just enough food to be able to get to the next town 30km(18.6mi).
At the gite I find a kilo(2.2lbs) of left over pasta which I cook up and eat plain. I also pay for dinner at the gite which is extremely tasty: wine, bread, salad, beef skewers, risotto and ice cream. I share a room with a HRP hiker going the opposite way as me, so we exchange info about the upcoming trail with each other.