Today was a day with an unknown destination, because I wasn’t sure how far I could go. I did know that I wanted to make it to Spain in order to resupply on food, and possibly make it back into France later on.As I descended from Arlet, high mountain ridges turned into shaded forest paths. At a river crossing I chose one of two available routes which took me up to a lake where families were having lunch.I ate my sandwich here and joined up with the GR 11, a long distance path through the Spanish side of the Pyrenees.The GR 11 felt different from the GR 10. The trail was rougher and less traveled.When I made it to Candanchu, a Spanish ski town, it was 3pm. I had a drink with a German hiker while waiting for the food shop to reopen after their siesta. The town was pretty empty but at least there was lots of jamón in the grocery store!After resupplying, I realized I was not going to make it back into France today. The final part of the day involved some road walking and then a big climb to a lake.

Since I was low on cash, I tried to find an ATM in Astún. In my broken Spanish I asked some locals for help but they were only able to direct me to a wall where there used to be an ATM. Mission failed.

The final climb was windy, and when I arrived at the lake the wind picked up speed. I knew it was a bad idea to pitch my tent here, but I didn’t want to keep hiking. I cooked my dinner and hoped the wind would die down so I could get some sleep.

Refuge d'Arlet to Ibon de Escalar - 27.34km and 1381m gained.