Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Pyrenees GR11 2003 - Day 21 : August 29th
Friday 29th August
It was cold and cloudy when I woke up at 7.30am. I left an hour later and soon reached
Ibon Cap de Llauset, where a group of 10 German youngsters were packing up their tents.
There were the remains of a light aircraft beside the lake. There followed a bouldery
ascent of the 2525m Collado de Rio Bueno rough descent leading to the pastures around
the Refugio d’Anglos, just a shepherd’s hut, with its large flock of sheep. The weather was
very threatening, but fortunately the worst of the storms stayed elsewhere. The descent
continued, sometimes very steeply, down a small path through the woods of the steep V-
shaped valley of the Rio Bueno.
I picked up supplies I had left near the Refugio de Conangles, below the Tunnel de
Viella. It took me 30 minutes to reach the Hospice de Viella, which was a real mess at the
moment, because it was the construction site for the new road tunnel they were building to
replace the obsolete one. I was soon out of sight and sound of construction, as I climbed up
towards the Port de Rius through beautiful granite scenery. I had walked this section
before as the GR11 followed the same route as the HRP. Fully laden, I made a slow ascent
to the Port de Rius, 2355m, and camped by a small tarn just over the col. By now the
weather had improved and it was a lovely evening. My tent was in a classic frost hollow at
altitude and with the clearing skies, I could expect a cold night.
It was cold and cloudy when I woke up at 7.30am. I left an hour later and soon reached
Ibon Cap de Llauset, where a group of 10 German youngsters were packing up their tents.
There were the remains of a light aircraft beside the lake. There followed a bouldery
ascent of the 2525m Collado de Rio Bueno rough descent leading to the pastures around
the Refugio d’Anglos, just a shepherd’s hut, with its large flock of sheep. The weather was
very threatening, but fortunately the worst of the storms stayed elsewhere. The descent
continued, sometimes very steeply, down a small path through the woods of the steep V-
shaped valley of the Rio Bueno.
I picked up supplies I had left near the Refugio de Conangles, below the Tunnel de
Viella. It took me 30 minutes to reach the Hospice de Viella, which was a real mess at the
moment, because it was the construction site for the new road tunnel they were building to
replace the obsolete one. I was soon out of sight and sound of construction, as I climbed up
towards the Port de Rius through beautiful granite scenery. I had walked this section
before as the GR11 followed the same route as the HRP. Fully laden, I made a slow ascent
to the Port de Rius, 2355m, and camped by a small tarn just over the col. By now the
weather had improved and it was a lovely evening. My tent was in a classic frost hollow at
altitude and with the clearing skies, I could expect a cold night.
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Ibonets de la
Cap d'Anglos
Cap d'Anglos
Collado de Riu
Bueno from Ibonets
de la Cap d'Anglos
Bueno from Ibonets
de la Cap d'Anglos