Respomuso Hike Out

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6-28-2019
DAY 10



Sleeping in the room in the hut worked out fine. It was a beautiful morning – even though we were surrounded by tall peaks that blocked the horizon line, we were still able to have an amazing sight by watching the sun hit the mountains across the lake. The sun hitting the mountains and the reflection on the lake was striking. 




Breakfast was good and then we hit the trail early because it was supposed to be a scorcher again. My mom and I decided to do an extra loop around the lake while Maya, James, and my dad took the direct route and we planned to meet at the dam before heading down. The way my mom and I went ended up taking about 1 1/2 hours and a number of river crossings, but we both agreed the beauty and serenity we found was well worth the extra miles. We started off on the GR 11 which is a trail that goes from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean along the Pyrenees, then cut off and looped around the lake. Finding the route along the lake was a little tricky, but after a few frigid stream crossings, we found the trail. Plus, we got spooked by a loud marmot and a surprising goat/sheep (Pyrenean Chamois).





Once we connected with my dad, Maya, and James, we cruised down the trail to the parking for La Sarra which is about 7km away from town. The next challenge was to get to our car which was 30 min away by car and in another country. Fortunately, there was a bar at the end of the hike (they love to have bars at the end of hikes about here), so we were able to call a taxi who agreed to drive us all the way to our car. That was lucky! While waiting for our taxi, we enjoyed some ice cream by a nice stream.


As soon as we got in the taxi, Maya and I were sound asleep - and it sounds like it was for the better. I have become known in my family for particularly not enjoying the roads we have gone on, and it sounds like this driver was not all that reserved when it came to speeding around tight blind corners and squeezing through little streets. The taxi took us right to our car and then we continued on to our next place called the La Caverne in a town called Hot Water (Eaux Chauds, France).



A dinner of yummy crepes was eaten al fresco in the neighboring town of Laruns, France. It is a nice village with a vibrant center. The Tour de France went through it in 2018. After our dinner, we headed back to our room and packed for our bigger hike the next day - a 6ish hour hike around Pic du Midi d'Ossau.



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