Refuge de Carozzu to Ascu Stagnu

It rained overnight. The first rain drops signaled a mad scramble of the people sleeping in tents: their backpacks and laundry were outside of their shelters. So were mine, and I debated leaving them out there, but in the end I decided to bring them in with me. It wasn't the largest of tents, but I made it work. I wasn't able to sleep in due to a lot of early risers today, but I was on the trail by 7am after packing up and eating "breakfast" (each refuge's idea of breakfast is getting progressively worse).

Just like yesterday, and the day before, it was straight up with most of the trail requiring bouldering. I wasn't struggling by any definition, but I was still getting passed by. The younger crowd, sure they're young and have tons of life left in their knees. But the crowd that is older than me? There's one lady, part of a group of four, who has to be twice my age and smokes at every rest stop on the trail. She and her group always start after me, and yet they always catch up to me! I don't understand how. It's demoralizing being passed by, especially by those who are older than me.

Did a better job today of regular water breaks (every 20 minutes), and actually ate most of the packed lunch. The main entree was cous cous, mixed with other things. It was a bit too dry (needed a sauce), so I could only swallow so much. No water sources on todays route, even though there were several waterfalls in the far distance, so I had to ration my water as well.

Once at the top it would be time to do some sketchy butt scooting again down steep drops over rough rock. From way up here we can still see the Mediterranean coast. We ate lunch on an exposed rocky platform where we could see the place we were staying at tonight. I do like that you can see where you'll ned up from far away, even if it is a tiny dot on the horizon.

The journey down from the top took about one and a half hours, but it was a lot more pleasant today than it was yesterday; it was mostly through forests but the trees were large, very large, and spaced out so that a nice breeze could make its way to us. After several switchbacks and multiple choose-your-own- adventure trail sections we made it to the bottom. Some of our group had booked rooms in the hotel, and the rest of us were camping. I found a good flat tent spot with shade from the get-go which means I can lay down and relax.

The line for the showers was too long so I got water and went to eat at the restaurant. I'm a vegetarian, mostly, but when someone told me they had fries and a burger, I gave in and bought it. We'll see how my stomach feels later. It was so damn good though. The unexpected event of the day though was my lack of judgement while trying to open a packet of ketchup. I couldn't get it open with my bare hands so I resorted to using the butter knife to spear it. It worked! But it also speared my finger in the process. A glancing blow, but enough to draw a lot of blood. Luckily the establishment was able to help and provide all that I needed to patch myself up. And I walked away without paying, or nearly did.

At long last the line for the showers was gone. All clean, and with fresh chapstick on my lips I went back to my tent in the shade and took an afternoon nap. I wasn't planning on it but wow it was nice. I hope I can sleep tonight still.

Hung out with the crew before dinner. We convinced Denis to get a knee brace and a trekking pole due to his knees hurting from carrying a 36 pound backpack. I'm amazed he's made it this far without major issues.

On the advice of Charles and Sophie I ordered a fancy buffet breakfast at the hotel next to the camping area because the breakfasts at the refuges aren't that fulfilling. It's supposed to be a long day tomorrow, so I'm going to try and wake up early, around 5:00 am.