Day 2, Saturday, August 24th, 2019: Refuge Orisson to Espinal
We thought Day 1 was hard. We had no idea Day 2 would be so much harder! We slept well and had a quick breakfast of baguettes and coffee, collected our lunch sandwich of jamon and fromage (or prosciutto and cammenbert…much better than an American ham and cheese!), and headed up the hill….and up the hill….and up more hills! Another 2,700 feet of elevation change! Another 8.2 miles, pretty much all up.
About 3 miles from the top we encountered an enterprising sheep farmer selling sheep cheese, fruit, water, and such. That banana was the perfect potassium pick-me-up!
We also discovered that sheep, goat, and horses pretty much roam and graze freely in the Pyrenees! And there are a lot of them!
Once we reached the top at Col de Lepoeder, the real fun began as we descended, very steeply, to the village of Roncesvalles. That was 2.6 miles from 1450 meters of elevation down to 950 meters! We were very glad to have trained with trekking poles as they truly did save our knees and kept us from injury on the steep, and often rocky, downhill.
We stopped in Roncesvalles for a beer and some water and a bite to eat, and then hiked the final 4.1 miles to Espinal. We stayed at the Hostel Haizea and got to see the town celebrating the feast day of Espinal’s patron saint, St. Bartholomew….a celebration that started with a parade and music and then carried on with street fare…all night long! After a 16.5 mile hiking day, sleep came regardless!
Sunrise at Orisson
Ready to tackle the mountain and day 2
Up, up, up…and up some more!
She was a hell of a hiker today!
Made it to the top!
Then it was down, down, and down some more!
The celebration in Espinal!
