Refugio de Vega de Ario

I think that it is a HF tradition that the last walk is the grandest of the holiday. On that basis we ascended to the Refugio de Vega de Ario which at an altitude of over 1600m can be considered a 'mountain walk'. As yesterday though the slog was eased by the minibus leaving us at the lakes at an altitude of 1100m. In theory that makes the ascent sound quite easy but I estimate that there were some extra bits!

As we left the lake we were in mist and for a while we wondered if we were going to walk all day whilst enveloped in greyness. We were lucky though and after half an hour we started to break through the layer of cloud.

Rolling clouds are dramatic when you're at their level

I was excited to look around the refuge having never been to one before. It was much like a simple YHA hostel but with better views.

A fantastic day to be in the hills

Due to the limited competition the food prices weren't low but the freshly prepared bean stew was tempting. Unfortunately it was traditional and included pork. We were required to take any wrappings from our purchases back with us. That's not so surprising as there won't be a weekly refuse collection.

That's how supplies are taken to the refuge

For the first half of the descent we retraced our steps but for the second we detoured via a valley populated by alpine cows. We returned very close to our departure point although by late afternoon the cloud had largely lifted revealing how the lakes lay inbetween the mountains.

Not very impressive lake but the general ambience is great

 Today's walk: 19.4km 926m