Day 8 - Cabane d'Ardené to Refugio de Belagua

I've got a relatively short day to the Refugio de Belagua today, so I'm not in too much of a hurry to get up. My two young friends are debating how much further than me they are going to hike today - either an extra 4 hrs (in guidebook time) or 7 hrs. I get up as they are leaving and wish them a good day. I have a leisurely breakfast and then comes the moment I've been dreading - putting my wet gear back on.

Walking on a faint path on a compass bearing back to the frontier ridge

 

I start hiking and I'm still in the mist; I follow a very faint path on a compass bearing and pop out of the mist just below the frontier ridge. The hike follows the ridge again, but it detours below the bigger, rockier summits, first on the Spanish side, then on the French side before going back over to the Spanish side. From here there is a long, gradual descent to the hut; there were clouds spilling over a pass (the Port d'Ourdayté) from France, putting me back in the mist for part of the descent.

Horses just before the Port de Belhay

Clouds spilling over the Port d'Ourdayté; the hut is a white dot in the center

The Refugio de Belagua has been closed since 2004 and only re-opened recently. It's only at 1428 m - most huts are higher, typically above 2000 meters. And it's right beside a road and a big car park! There's not many mountain huts where motor bikers stop for lunch, but this is one. That aside, it was very nice and felt very modern; I got installed in a dormitory, had a shower and then had a beer at the bar. 

The evening meal was very good; it had two soups - gazpacho (a cold soup) and then a more traditional lentil soup. By the time I went to bed I discovered the dormitory was full up and there was a snorer. This gave me a chance to use the most valuable bit of hiking equipment measured by either price or weight - earplugs. I slept soundly and I hope the others had packed their earplugs!