Monday 1 September 2014

Backpacking in and out of the Aiguestortes


Wasn't keen on getting up as there was a frost on the tents but glad I did as I caught the sunrise shining on the Pic de la Mainera 2906m.


It looked like it was going to be a cloudy day so we took the opportunity to get packed up whilst the sun shone.


We then climbed to a small peak at  2722m to look down into the Estanys dels Vidals d' Amunt.
It was an easy descent from there to the Pas del'Os and the GR11 to the Refugi Colomina.





Despite our rucksacks bulging with dehydrated food we went in for tortilla and jamon.



We then headed back into the hills up the Estany Tort to camp below the Collada dels Gavatxos.
The last time I was here the place was crawling with cows and it was difficult to find a campsite that was flat, rock free and wasn't covered in cow muck.




We finally got camped up between the Estany Eixerola and the Estany de Castiesco.
The cows had not wandered this far yet but their bells could be heard jangling in the distance.


I'm airing the Z Packs double quilt in the photo.  This has damp proof down and weighs less than 900g.  This is approximately the weight of one sleeping bag.  The tent on the left is my old Solar 2.2, which as you can imagine weigh 2.2Kg.  The tent Dawne and I used was the Tarptent single skin Stratospire which has acres of room and only weighs around 1200g.  Ok a bit obsessive over weight, but it is my hobby and I'm not keen of lugging huge weights up hills any more.  I aimed for a base weight of 6 Kg and probably came out at about 6.5Kg.





Dawne modelling the quilt and the  superb ultra light Berghaus Vapourlight jacket.


8 comments:

hendry670 said...

Some fabulous photos there Greg - looks a fantastic area for backpacking.

AlanR said...

Another terrific day. Always great to walk in that scenery.
Your Stratospire has the same floor as my Scarp 2 so it will feel that there is too much room. We had 4 in the Scarp 2 last year.
I’ve asked Henry if he could do a Scarp 1.5 but i have now seen he’s done a 2 man Moment which i may purchase when the price is released.

Greg said...

Thanks Hendry. It can be hard to find a flat place amongst all the rocks and there are a lot of cows that graze in the high corries.

Greg said...

Alan , I wouldn't dare suggest we get another tent as we have 10 already! Have you looked at the Zpacks range they are very light. I know they are used on the long trails in the USA and a couple used one successfully on the TGO challenge.

AlanR said...

I saw one blown down on the challenge. Why i don’t know but it put me off.
Colin Ibbertsons own tent looked good. I do like Henry’s tents all the same.

Greg said...

Yes I am pleased with mine. it is huge and weighs about the same as my Power Lizard.

Martin Rye said...

Looks a stunning destination. Big mountains and high level backpacking. Envies. Thanks for sharing.

Greg said...

Thanks Martin, I've given you a mention in the next post.