Day 25: Wild Camp in valley below Cabane d'Aygues Cluses to Northwest Shore of Lac de l'Oule

It really was truly magical to wake up where I woke up this morning! It had been a cold night and awaiting the sunshine took a while, but this was such a tiny price to pay for the beautiful setting I had been so lucky to spend the night in.

Once the sun did arrive it was lovely and warm, and dried the tent in no time. Packing away was easy and it wasn't too long before I was thanking and saying goodbye to my wild camping spot - I have some weird tendencies I know!

The first part of today's walking was to continue the climb up the valley to get to the area where the Cabane d'Aygues Cluses (2150m) was.

The path took me up gently through fairly sparse pine forest, following the stream all the way. It was a very pleasant start to the day and I could gradually start to see mountain peaks appearing ahead.

I think the peaks that were revealing themselves were Pic d'Aygues Cluses (2620m) and Pic de Gourget (2619m) as the path was climbing towards them and hadn't turned towards Col de Madamète yet.

Once up in the relatively flat area where the Cabane d'Aygues Cluses is located there was a magnificent 360 degree vista of mountains and the valley I'd just climbed (and stayed in for a night!). Fantastic!

I took a walk over to the Cabane d'Aygues Cluses (2150m) which is a popular stop for wild camping as well as staying in the bothy. When you look at the panorama around it I could understand why, but I was still very happy I'd stopped where I did last night!

The GR10 now headed over pastoral ground towards the rocky climb up to the Col de Madamète (2509m).

After the first section of the climb the path crossed by the Lacs de Madamète, two small and very attractive lakes reflecting the mountain scenery above them on their surfaces.

After the lakes there was one more push up the climb to get to the Col. The weather was lovely and the scenery great, so the climb wasn't too bad at all! I briefly considered the short climb of Pic de Madamète (2657m) but my excuse was that the view couldn't be bettered so I'd pause and enjoy it! On the opposing side of the Col was Pic d'Estibère (2663m).

The descent from the Col de Madamète soon arrived at a stunning lake - Gourg de Rabas. 

The water was so clear, and it was perfectly enclosed by rocky terrain.

The GR10 involved clambering over huge boulders to my left of the lake which was fun.

The overwhelming beauty of the lake (in my humble opinion) was created by it's mirror like surface perfectly refecting the surrounding scenery.

Gourg de Rabas was just as beautiful from slightly above as the path crossed the boulders.

As you can see I couldn't stop taking photos as I slowly progressed past the lake!

The reflections kept changing as the angle of looking at the lake surface changed. A stunning place - I was so glad to have had the weather I did to enjoy it like that. I can imagine in bad weather it's totally different!

Around the next 'corner' the amazing views kept on coming! A panorama of 3000m peaks dominated the horizon with Pic de Néouvielle (3091m) looking down on it's slightly junior granite partners!

In the shadows of the giant mass of granite were the final two lakes before my final lake destination! Today proved to be a very lake dominated day,  providing beautiful views from all angles and elevations. The GR10 passed along the shores of the higher of the two lakes - Lac d'Aumar (2190m), which made for a nice and sunny rest on it's shore.

On the way across from Lac d'Aumar to the traverse to Col d'Estoudou, I managed to surprise a marmot who had no idea I was walking by! I quietly photographed the normally very alert animal secure in the knowledge it wasn't my stealthy approach that got me close, it was a daydreamer of a marmot who I was lucky to pass by! However when he/she noticed me, there was a shocked reaction as the daydreaming ended abruptly - sorry marmot, but I'm grateful for the photo!

The lower of the previous lakes Lac d'Orèdon (1856m) gave stunning views from the traverse to Col d'Estoudou as it occasionally appeared between gaps in the pine forest. The path on this traverse had been brilliantly remade in an 'erosion avoiding manner' using what I think were already naturally fallen trees. Really sustainable and great to help with what I can imagine was a precarious and badly eroded path on a very steep mountainside before the repairs.

The engineering isn't featured in this photo, but I love going round path corners that appear to go to nowhere!

The views from Col d'Estoudou (2260m) were immense! The steep sided valley and more distant mountains were so impressive from the viewpoint.

The switchback road on the lower section of Pic de Bugatet (2877m) was fascinating in how it shows just how massive and steep the mountains are - and I thought it looks pretty cool! Pic Méchant (2944m) was overlooking things from behind.

The descent down from Col d'Estoudou to Lac de l'Oule was initially through some pasture before a steep and winding path dropped through thick pine forest.

On seeing a glimpse of the lake I knew I was close to home for the night. Wild camping excitement was growing!

Arriving down at Lac de l'Oule (1821m) I set about searching for an amazing wild camp! I saw a lovely looking spot not long after the descent but thought I could do better so ploughed on a bit further. I found a well established camp that even had a log bench, but something was niggling me about the first spot I saw! So I left the pack and stumbled along the rough lakeside to have another look at it and once there the decision was made to transfer back to the first spot!

I was very happy indeed once I'd pitched the tent. I knew I'd made the right decision, despite the slight incline! It was a beautiful spot to camp, and just room for one tent! I find the wild camping such a great part of my day's experience, and my desire to find 'the' spot might seem overdone! I just love being in the best spot I can find, and I rarely recognise good qualities in myself but i do have an eye for a cracking wild camp! Anyway, I set up quickly and had an ice cold lake wash during which I did let out a few minor screams! I was alone, so it was OK - dignity remained intact!

It's always fascinating just how much and how quickly the sky changes in the Pyrenees mountains, and tonight was definitely a demonstration of that. The cloud at the dam end of the lake was a flux of varying degrees of cloud concentration and provided a good tent view!