GR11 - Day 36 - to Planoles

We were down for breakfast at 6:00 sharp and by 6:30, we were underway. We were off at a good pace and at Age, we did as the book said, bypass it. We followed a sign to Vilallobent. When the town wasn't materializing and we saw red/white marks that didn't make sense, Peter whipped out the GPS to find out that we were yet on another wild goose chase!! We can't even trust the signs any more! We made our way back to Vilallobent, 45 min. later. The idea behind leaving early was to enjoy morning coolness before the sun sets in... Thank goodness the rest of the way to the second pass was clear. We were on nice grassy trails in the pine groves. The wind in the pass was unbelievable. A good thing we descended into the pines again, until we reached the spot in the guidebook that says: "to find easy ways through the trees, always bearing east". That is a fancy way of saying bushwacking, and the trees are pines or prickly bushes. We followed the GPS (also bushwacking) and finally encountered the trail. So many other people got lost here. We were worried that we would suffer the same fate, but we were okay, and in spite of our screw-up in the morning, we arrived at the Can Fosse Camping close to Planoles in 8h. I was really happy. I actually felt strong, so yesterday's rest was not in vain. The campsite actually has a washing machine so I gave all our clothes a really well-deserved good wash. Now here's hoping they will dry.