Spending the night at a mountain lake is without comparison. Here we are at the Estany dels Monges at 2422m altitude, which was very cold, but we needed it. Walking around the lake in the evening and morning
The next two days brough disappointment: The area around Salardú had been heavily developed, to the extent that the GRP follows asphalted roads. Thankfully, heavy fog started to cover up all the ugliness.
Assuming that touristic development implies well marked paths was not a good idea. The plan was to reach the Col de Curios by day 7, which managed a day late, after losing the trail a couple of times and scrambling off trail whenever we felt like it.
A valley further we reached the Estany de Colberante at 2490m, which the HRP guide book praised as an ideal camping spot.
Unfortunately, the weather has deteriorated, and we were desperately looking for shelter, to no avail. So we pitched the tent and spent the night pretty much without sleep through two heavy thunderstorms with rain and hail.
I still do not know what the best survival strategy is in a thunderstorm at high altitude without any protection nearby. My guess is that the narrow valley was our savior, because the lightning strikes would rarely find their way all the way down to the valley floor. It was scary enough, though.
(to be concluded)
The Inner Frame 