In this post I'm going to show you a few of the unguarded refuges that we passed during our hike on day two in the Pyrenees mountains, and also the guarded refuge that we stayed in that evening. Lets get to it.
Cabana dels Meners
Cabana dels Meners was the first that we passed by for the day. As its name suggests, it was very close to the Meners River.
This one was the most basic that we came across during our hike. It really was nothing more than a simple shelter meant to help a person get out of the elements.
The bed was just wooden slats to get you off the ground and the door was a slab of stone that didn't even cover the entire entrance. If you want to straight up camp outside but don't have a tent, then this would be a pretty decent option.
Refugi de la Vall del Rui
The next one was also unguarded but was a little larger and a little less rugged than the last.
For starters it actually had doors...
It also had two separate rooms and a small heat source. Inside were metal bunk beds and bedding in plastic bags if you are brave enough to use it.
Refugi de Cabana Sorda
This next one was located by lake Querol in a picturesque location with mountains in three sides.
It was unguarded as well, but quite sophisticated compared to the other two. It had wifi and solar power generators.
Probably the most important amenity though was its outdoor toilet.
We weren't really able to go inside because this one was fully accommodated by a large group of teenagers. We didn't feel comfortable going in and snooping around with all of their backpacks laying about while they swam in the lake.
We toured the outside briefly and then went on our way.
Refugi de Juclà
The Juclà refuge is where we spent the night on day two of our hike.
It was located in a very isolated spot way up high up in the mountains at an elevation of 2300 meters.
I believe that all of the food and supplies used there are actually helicoptered in each week.
As you can see there are no roads leading up to the place.
Its located about 100 meters from a fairly large glacial lake and the surrounding landscape is very picturesque, as one would imagine from a mountain hut.
This one wasn't quite as nice as the one that we stayed in on day one, Refugi Borda de Sorteny, but it was still quite nice all things considered.
It also cost a little less per night - €50 including dinner with wine and breakfast in the morning.
Dinner was three courses just like the previous one and started with a big bowl of pasta. That was followed by sausages, beans with bacon and bread, and then a slice of cake to finish off the meal. The meal was hearty and quite good, in a home cooking sort of way. It was very much like comfort food really.
Breakfast was pretty basic but fine. They provided bread with cheese and meat, biscuits, orange juice and coffee. It wasn't fancy but it felt like enough food to start the day.
There was no hot water for the showers there, which was a con, and it only had one flush toilet inside along with three very clean outdoor ones.
There was a wide variety of different teas you could buy to warm yourself up though after a freezing cold shower.
This refuge had 6 beds per room but they were stacked three high. We got our own room this time, which was nice, especially considering that there was another group of three guys and the staff could have easily crammed us all into one room if they wanted to.
Overall the refuge wasn't anything fancy, more akin to camping than to staying in a hotel, but it was clean and comfortable and very reasonably priced. It was also in a great location for our hike and within walking distance to the train station that would take us back home. But that's a story for another day...