Friday July 28, 9.7km/6.0mi

Cabane de Lourdes (289.9km/1950m) ( France) to Gavarnie Village (299.6km/1365m) (France)

Everyone in the cabin woke up at 6:30, and started packing up to head our separate ways. It was a beautiful sunny morning and we had just a short 2-hour hike down to the village of Gavarnie.

For the first hour the trail just contoured along the hillside amongst flocks of sheep.

And then we started to descend into the village.

Gavarnie is known for being a very touristy mountain town, and we found lots of people gathered amongst the little shops and cafes. It reminded me of a smaller Lake Placid, but with more cheese and wine shops…much more.

Adam and I first stopped at a bakery to get a baguette and a sandwich, and then we went grocery shopping at the little store. We then walked out of town for 10 minutes to a campground where I had made reservations. We set up our tents on one of the terraces and then got a shower and did some laundry.

I sat at a table outside the campground’s cafe and got on the Wi-Fi to catch up on internet things, and while I was sitting there I met a couple other HRP hikers, George (San Francisco), Fabian (Germany), and Jade (Paris). The afternoon flew by quickly in conversation and the next thing I knew it was 7pm! I jogged back to town to get some food for dinner and the only thing that was still open was a pizza place, which was perfect. I didn’t know I was in the mood for pizza but apparently I was, haha. I brought it back to the campground and rejoined the group, and we shared some beers and snacks. We all dispersed when it got dark around 9:30pm and went to bed.

What a fun relaxing day!