Coronallacs trail, Andorra. #4
Day 2. Stage 4. Refugi borda de Sorteny to Refugi del Comapedrosa.
I opened my eyes. 3 am. Shall I go? get a head start? No, that might get complicated. Alarms set for 4 am. Try and sleep, sleep will help. My body was ready for the toilet. Try and sleep.
3:30 am. Fuck it. Just get up and get ready. I climbed off the top bunk, collected my bag and slid out the room to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
Despite going to bed at 8:18 pm I felt like I had been trying to get to sleep until around midnight, my legs ached and my brain was busy and highly tuned in to any noise within the room.
While laying in purgatory my phone buzzed. I had had a text from our friend Paul that made me feel a bit more positive:
“Good job pal” - “grind that fukker out - you guys are doing well! hope your having fun 💯”
(my mind was probably improving from dinner and I was better placed to recieve some encouragement than when Matt and Tom tried earlier).
I replied. It was 10 pm, he probably wondered why the fuck I was awake. So did I.
“Get some rest and get the head down. You are well capable and just a case of breaking the day down into sections. On climbing, it’s a privilege and we are lucky to be able to do it… we have won the lottery that our legs and bodies allow us to feel that pain cave and see these incredible places. Muscles recover. You will be fine 🤟 get it done 💯”
I wonderd if Matt had told him I was struggling. (He hadn’t).
I sorted my pack and my clothes. I ate a bar or two. I text to tell Matt and Tom where I was and after 4 am walked back to the room - wondering if I’d set my alarm wrong. I might have made a mistake getting up this early if their alarms were set later.
No, Matt was up. I whispered/hand signaled - “I’m over here”. Tom didn’t see and we met him upstairs a few minutes later.
We’d made a pact to treat ourselves better today. At least I think we did because we didn’t exactly discuss it. I think we’d just all come to a mutual conclusion that we hadn’t looked after ourselves well enough.
We were drinking water, aquarius and Matt even filled a soft flask of orange juice from the breakfast counter.
Tom and Matt finished getting ready in the dining area and we headed out by head torch.
It was nice and cool. We moved along a gravel road and into some woodland, crossing streams - out of the woodland crossing roads, buildings, civilisation, back to some woodland, aside a river, crossing more roads and back to nature again. It was a slight decline or flat, we were moving well, chatting. It was great. We were all really enjoying it. Enjoying the atmosphere, the dark, the cool temperature, the varied and runnable terrain and each others company.
We had briefly assessed the day at last night's dinner. According to the hiking blog we’d been using for reference this was the hardest stage, two big climbs and the most elevation of a stage. 12.93 miles, 5,795ft ascent, 4,839ft descent. The final stage for the second half of the day was easiest though.
We started the first big climb which would take us from 4,722ft to 8,503ft over around 3 miles. Tom marched on strong ahead, Matt and I kept it intentionally slower behind. It was a nice woodland, rocky trail aside a river again, like in stage 1. I was happy.
As we continued to climb it opened up and we started to see light and shadows across the mountains. We stopped to adjust layers and eat, looking after ourselves.
We reached the top of the first climb around 8 am and WE WERE ALL HAPPY! We’d checked the biggest climb off. It was about 8am it look 3.5 hours to get here I don’t know what this meant regarding good or bad progress but we got here, optimistic and feeling strong.
Mountain peaks surrounded us in every direction. It was glorious. Along a ridge and finding our way to the descent. The descent was steep, harsh on legs and technical in places, steep and gravel the path always off camber too. Needing poles stabbed into the ground so not to slip.
The descent became more gradual, traversing some lumpy grass hillside, then some nice single track and finally into the valley along gravel tracks. It should have been easier to move but I was really struggling again.
Matt and Tom were ahead of me for most of this section, waiting, continuing together, waiting, and repeating. I think I was just finding the section boring. It was pretty, beautiful of course but being tired I was struggling to make my brain and body engage. I just wanted the next climb to start.
I was much happier when we reached the final climb. 3,000ft ish in total but the next Refugi was 2,000ft into it and we’d stop for lunch.
Midway up the climb I stopped to text Olive good luck for her performance of Matilda which I was missing - the date was set after we booked the trip else I wouldn't have missed it. This should have been my reason yesterday not to stop. If you’re going to take time out from family, carve time for yourself to do these things come home having completed it.
We carried on to the Refgui del Comapedrosa, slowly with the heat of the day now beating upon us but without too much trouble.
It was a little before midday, we got our final stamps for the ‘passport books’ and ordered lunch - wohoo! I was very tired. Hopefully the bacon sandwich would fix me.
