Hope you didn't have too many beers yesterday, because it's a long (but beautiful) day ahead!

Statistics

4 - 5

hrs

1,549

m

1,340

m

22

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

For background info on the route, refer to the guidebook description at: https://fatmap.com/guidebooks/102935/carros-de-foc-the-best-hike-in-the-spanish-pyrenees DAY 2: Start the day big, with the first ascent towards the Col de Contraix that will take you to the highest elevation of the whole route at 2749m a.s.l..

The path starts elegantly along the river, only to start trending SE at a certain point when the valley splits in two.

As you start heading SE, the route will gradually become steeper and more convoluted.

In the end, the path ends and you need to start climbing through never ending boulder fields which take you over 700m+ to the previously mentioned (and famous) Contraix pass.

The last part of the ascent is a loose scree which can pose a danger of rockfall when many parties ascend in the morning or descend going the other way - so care needs to be taken when tackling the last 100 vertical meters.

I'd suggest keeping close to the rotten rock ribs and scrambling them, rather than following the scree path which is very loose at places. After the photo op at the highest elevation you reach during the tour, start the descent towards the next valley - initially over a pretty steep path, which then - again - converges into a boulder field, luckily of smaller size than the one you faced on the other side.

Now you commence a long and scenic descent along the river which will take you all the way to the valley floor and the crowds visiting the Estany Llong lake.

When running from the crowds don't forget to stop in the hut for the stamp and to replenish your water supply, as what follows is the longest hut-to-hut stage on the whole route which will take you over 11.5km and 900m+ to your final destination today. Luckily the terrain is really favourable and there are no more boulder fields to navigate.

The path is well maintained and the gradient is pleasant and allows for a quick ascent to the pass of Dellui.

Once there, start our the descent to the next valley and on the way you'll see some spectacular lakes which form the hydro-electric system that was constructed over 100 years ago.

Once you reach the narrow-gauge track remains, you're only 20 mins out from the hut. In the place where the path veers off the railway you have a rare spot with good GSM coverage, in case you need to make some calls.

Some networks have coverage in the hut entrance too, but in general you can get the WiFi at the hut.

Once past the last 50-100m ascent, you reach the Colomina hut where you will fill up with beers again and rest before the last day of the route.