Day 15: Benasque to Beyond Lac de Rius

Bags packed the night before, I left the hotel at about 6.45am. The streets were quiet and the air was cool. The first 3km was simply retracing the day before yesterday's road back to Puente de San Jaime. From there it was a 12km climb, gaining around 1,600m. It started on a gravel road, surprisingly served by a public bus, before narrowing into rocky mountain trails where progress slowed.

I saw very few people on the climb. At first I assumed everyone was recovering from Spain's World Cup celebrations the night before, but then realised the refuge I was heading for was actually on the far side of the pass. It had taken me about six hours to reach it, so it was never going to be a popular day walk from Benasque.

Once over the pass there were plenty more walkers heading up the valley, though none appeared to be GR11 walkers travelling in my direction. It was a lovely valley with an excellent path underfoot.

After crossing the road I joined a section of the Haute Route that I walked back in 2019. I was surprised how much of the trail I still remembered.

My original plan was to camp at the bottom of the valley, but when I arrived it was only 5pm. Rather than stop early, I carried on, climbing another 800m to make tomorrow's route easier, eventually reaching just beyond Lac de Rius.

At the col the trail split and I headed into new territory. I dropped down to a spring to collect water, then pitched my tent at the first flat spot beyond it. Camp was set up by 7.30pm, dinner was finished by 8.30pm, and I was ready for bed after an 11-hour day on the trail.

This would be my first night of the trip actually camping solo on in the mountains!