Ratty Saturday

Not much of a day until evening, when we went over to some friends place for an evening of finding out about their big hike over the summer and early fall, two and a half months crossing the top of Spain, along the Pyranees. They had a slide show on a continuous loop, and a nice big map on the wall, as well as the tapas and pintxos and wines typical of the region they traveled. Quite an adventure, with salient details such as the necessity of wearing gaiters, due to the huge amounts of herd animal dung on the trails, and the occasional lack of trail, with rock cairns as guides onward. Beautiful and largely uncrowded landscapes, often reminescent of areas here, such as the Enchantments in our Cascade Mountains, or a place that resembled a smaller scale Yosemite. They carried pretty good-sized backpacks, had a tent and stove, and took more time than most of the other hikers, who just carried clothes and a sheet for the refuge bunks. It was a wonderful show.