This post will be short and sweet because we have to get up in 6 hours to cycle up a crazy steep mountain in the rain and I need my beauty sleep. But that's okay, because the last day and a half should be shared more in pictures anyway.
Yesterday, after we watched the Tour leave Luchon, Dave went on an epic ride the long way around Port de Bales. I am so proud of him. It was an amazing climb and the entire ride took about 3-4 hours. He took some great video of his journey that I have been trying to post on this blog, but I'm not having luck. Hopefully I will get that working at some point.
Anyway, while he was pedaling like mad, I went for a 5.5 mile run on the flatest road I could find around here - surrounded by beautiful mountain views.
We reconverged around 5 and decided to milk the fact that it stays light until 10 and pack a picnic dinner and go for a hike. So, on the advice of our innkeeper, we picked up some yummy paninis and fresh fruit from town and drove out to the trail head for Lac Oo. Which is a few km from, you guessed it, the town of Oo. Which is very famous around here.
Poor Dave had some sore legs, and I had really pushed myself on my run - so we were a little tired. But we were determined to take advantage of the beautiful night and see the famous Lake Oo. Well, I was determined - Dave humored me. He was one tired guy.
The view from the parking lot alone was amazing. And we looked up into the canyon and realized that the only way to get to this lake was up and up and up (kind of like everything around here). So we set out around 7:30 and proceeded up into the mountains.
And the trail got steepier and rockier and steeper. And started turning, switch back after switchback. I got a sudden burst of energy (the kind that only my friend Jon White would understand...if he's reading this). Dave said, if we dont reach this lake in 10 mins, we're heading back. So I took off running up the trail. I figured, I'd have a better chance of reaching it in 10 mins if I ran - and plus, I'd be out of earshot of Dave saying let's turn back!
Up and up we continued to go. And a little over an hour into the hike, the trees parted in the canyon and we reached the amazing Lake Oo. It was paradise up there - and according to the tired Dave, really worth the hike up. The place was massive. Deep blue gem-colored water, towering peaks and giant cascades feeding down the mountains into the lake - including a huge waterfall right in the middle of it all. The sun was still shinning into the canyon, and the moon was already out. We sat on a rock overlooking the lake and ate our paninis and took it all in. (on a side note, like everywhere in France, there was a restaurant up there. Apparently, they bring everything up by ATV. It's a tiny tiny place and there were only a couple people up there in the middle of nowhere. But when we sat down at one of the picnic tables, we were instructed very sternly that it was a restaurant and unless we were buying, we had to sit on the rocks. No problem)
After our dinner and some long looks at the lake, we headed back down to the car. We arrived at 9:45...and yes, still light out. Back to town for some ice cream and then bed!
Today was an off day for the tour (and for Dave's legs). We woke up in the middle of the night with some crazy loud thunder and lightening that almost seemed like a dream. And then, unfortunately, at breakfast time - the place was socked in with clouds and rain. Weather reports are calling for it to linger a few days. Nevertheless, we wanted to make the most of our rest day - and scouted out places to explore in the Pyrenees national park.
We drove about an hour away to go visit Lac Cap d'Long - another huge lake in the park. When we got there, there were some patches of sun and we were able to take in some amazing views. The drive up was incredible. We parked, crossed over the dam edge and decided to hike (climb, scramble) up the side of the mountain to get better views of the lake. It was a tough, technical hike - but we made it up a ways and the views were spectacular.
But, we were exhausted and needed to rest badly. So we headed back to the hotel and collapsed and took a nap. And then dragged ourselves out to nice dinner with lots of protein. Now, it's lights out. The alarm will sound at 5:30 a.m. and we're off to conquer Tourmalet. In the cloudy, cold, rain. Game on.
No comments:
Post a Comment