We woke up first but with the usual Stewart organisational ability were one of the last to leave.
The route goes via Valcarlos before continuing on to Roncesvalles. Having left at 8:10 we arrived at Valcarlos at about 11:30 which was pretty much what we planned.
The country is beautiful, crisp air and cool temperatures. We continued on past Valcarlos looking at the show covered hills ahead of us. Little did we know we would be climbing those hills.
After a while, with me getting progressively more tired we reached the snow line and continued upwards. By this stage I was exhausted and ready to drop! I am so glad Andrew was withe me for moral support.
The approach to Ibañeta was terrible, light was failing, the snow was quite deep and it was snowing again. What's worse was we were on a track, not a road, and I mistakenly thought the last pilgrims on the trek. For extended periods we also had no telephone reception.
By this stage I was reduced to walking in 10-20 metre sections as my legs were too fatigued not to mention shortness of breath! With the light failing and temperatures dropping I was getting quite scared.
Eventually we reached the summit and had a 1 km descent into Roncesvalles before arriving at the Albergue.
Total walked 25.46 km
Duration 8:44:41
Elevation climbed 1762 m
I'm a bit suspicious about the elevation as the guide book suggests 1200m. On the other hand possibly with descents into and out of valleys it may be correct.
Plan for tomorrow a similar distance but as they say — it's all downhill from here!
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