After three challenging mountain stages, it was wonderful to have a rest day in Formigal yesterday. Though a rest day in a mountain village is only relatively relaxing. To do some shopping and visit the village, we had to descend all the steps we climbed to get to our hotel, and then of course, carry quite a few groceries back up. We certainly got our steps in that day, but we also got some rest, and we enjoyed a delicious meal at the hotel. We also took our time this morning enjoying the breakfast buffet that only opens at 8 am. Normally, we would start our trek by then, but today we took it easy, and it was about quarter past ten by the time we left the hotel and headed towards the stairs. To warm up our legs, we followed a winding road for a while before tackling the steel steps. Once at the bottom, we had our first workout of the day and were fully ready to continue.
The first part of today's journey involved a four-kilometer descent to the town of Sallent de Gállego, situated beside a large reservoir. We descended over paths between meadows that frequently crossed the main road to the village. During the descent, we had a magnificent view of Sallent and the lake, beautifully nestled among the mountains. While Formigal is truly a ski village, Sallent is an authentic town with a school, a church, and shops, hotels, and restaurants that are open year-round. Beautiful old stone houses in narrow streets, often selling wood carvings and cheeses, make up the small center. Here in the village, we need to stop to buy supplies for the coming days, as we won’t encounter any shops, just the occasional refuge or ski village.
In Formigal, almost everything was closed, and we couldn't find any meals for the mountains or a gas canister, but here we're more fortunate. We find a store with a large selection of freeze-dried meals, which we are getting quite accustomed to, and later on, we buy some fresh vegetables and fruit, otherwise the meals would be too meager. Packed up (it's always heavier than you think), we continue on to the real challenge. It's past noon, but it feels like the stage is just starting. The sun is at its hottest, so it's going to be tough, as from here it's a climb for the rest of the day towards a mountain pass at 2,767 meters altitude. The village here is at 1,275 meters, so we have a hefty climb ahead, let's see how far we get. Somewhere towards the higher parts, we'll look for a place to stay overnight, so we don't need to climb all the meters today. But we also don't want to leave too much for tomorrow, then we'll have plenty of elevation to cover again.
The start of the climb is on a broad path that occasionally winds upward but often remains flat. It's a comfortable walk, especially when we hit a road and follow it for a while towards a dam on the Rio Aguas Limpias river, which is used for generating electricity. From there, we leave the road and walk tens of meters above the stunningly blue lake. The water in the mountains seems so much clearer, and the lakes bluer than blue, especially with the fresh green forests around them. Once past the lake, the path becomes steeper and rockier. We walk through forests, but the path is strewn with loose stones. The climb is going well, but the heat and the stones make it somewhat tougher. The higher we go, the more often the forests open up. We get beautiful views of the valley, the mountains, and waterfalls. We cross several small rivers that have tumbled down the rocks a short distance away. We continue to follow the river valley, formed when this region was much colder than now. Glaciers coming down from the mountains met here in one large glacier that carved out this vast valley. In some places, it has carved deep gorges, and higher up, as we'll see later, the glacier left behind small lakes. One of these deep gorges can be seen from here. A large, high dam emerges between two rock walls. The gorge now forms a large reservoir, ‘Embalse de Respomuso’. It already was a lake, but by damming the gorge, a much larger lake has been created. We walk up to the lake, climb a bit, and then approach a beautiful wooden structure: Refuge Respomuso. Spectacularly located, with views over mountains above 3,000 meters with remnants of snow and the lower reservoir, it is certainly no small primitive mountain hut. With 105 beds and bunk beds, a bar and restaurant, running water and showers, heating, phone service, audiovisual room, etc., it's a large enterprise right in the mountains. And it's busy. For most hikers, this is the end of the day's journey, and the beer flows freely. We stick to coffee and a sandwich because we want to go a bit further.
We can nicely fill our bottles with drinking water here and head further into the mountains. The path becomes narrower and harder to find from here. We climb from the refuge through a stunning lake area. One lake after another lies hidden between the hills, and at the end, there's another large reservoir. The sun is already lower, making the light on the water even more beautiful. Gorgeous old pine trees stand along the shore. Due to their age and slow growth at this altitude, they have a unique growth form, almost like giant bonsai trees. More people occasionally approach us, heading to the refuge from the other side. As soon as we see no one else, we look for a good spot for our tent. We haven't seen any cows or sheep in this valley, so no worries there. A bit off the path, behind two hills, with a large mountain behind us and a stunning view over the lakes and the valley below but out of sight of the paths and the refuge, we find a spot that appears to have often hosted a tent. This is it. First, we rest and freshen up. Then we cook our freeze-dried chili and a dessert, and then, as the sun almost sets, we set up the tent. This is a rare ideal spot! While brushing our teeth in the last light of dusk, we see a chamois on the edge of the hill next to us, completing the picture perfectly… What a unique day: starting in a luxury hotel, and ending in our tent among the mountains. As nice as a hotel is, we know what we prefer to do!
