The Klaas and Jonny Show

After a couple of nights partying in Gavarnie, it was back to work today. The gang split up, with The Felice and Ryan Show heading south in search of the Odessa National Park, while the newly formed Anglo-Dutch partnership headed east.

It was quite sad last night saying goodbye to the other guys. From here on we reckon we’re less likely to meet again, though they’re hoping to end around the same time as me, so we may see each other in Banyuls.

After two and half weeks of walking on my own I was a bit wary about having to fit in with someone else’s pace and stop when they wanted to, but Klaas and I seem to walk at a very similar speed, so that was a relief. My strategy for having breaks is pretty random, but probably works out at 10 minutes every hour and a half or so. Klaas tends to walk for longer then have bigger breaks, but that seemed to work ok too.

We made excellent time today, easily beating the guidebook, so carried on 1:15 into tomorrow’s route. Tomorrow was supposed to be a 10-hour 1,500m day, so it’s good to have knocked off 400m climb already.

It’s also nice to have someone else around. At the moment Klaas is planning on heading north to do some of the GR10 on Tuesday, so I’d be solo again for several high, snowy days, with three of the four “extreme” grade days back to back. However, there were early signs today that I might be able to convince him to join me, so we’ll have to see how that pans out! I’d be a lot happier on those snowy sections knowing I had someone looking out for me, and I’m pretty sure Klaas would enjoy it more than the dull old GR10…