The hike up to the refuge next to this beautiful mountain lake was a total rainout combined with snow and sleet. Visibility was minimal and it was a stark welcome to the Pyrenees. Nevertheless we arrived, totally clad and cold in our rain gear, to a warm hut. I quickly stripped off my wet clothes pulling dry replacements from my backpack, oblivious to the people around me. Pierre-Jean checked us in and soon, hot chocolate and vin chaud (warm sweet red wine) were on their way. The hut filled up with mainly French hikers all trying to dry their gear and wet boots in the foyer. The weather was quickly forgotten. We met two nice women, Katherine and Dominique from Bordeaux, one of whom was hiking the entire route from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean to celebrate her 50th b-day. We'd spend the next two nights with a few of the people we met here, quickly forming a community of hikers on the haute route east.
