Monday, August 10, 2026
End: Joux Pass
Kilometers: 21.2
Total: 87.2
A new day on the trail. We woke up early, packed up in silence, and got walking. We had a mission: get more food.
My plan was to let everyone else take a break at the spot where a side trail goes down to Ax-les-Thermes. I would go into toen and carry our supplies back up the hill. That point was still a ways off.
We hiked down and down, descending from our spot high up. Not far from Sorgeat, someone had set up a waterwheel in the creek. We stopped so the children could play.
Going down farther, we made it to the spot where I would begin my resupply mission. Alex and the kids stayed at a point where water rushed by in a raging creek. I took an empty backpack, and headed for town.
There aren’t many towns of any real size on this trail, do Ax-les-Thermes was a nice reprieve. I got a but worried as I descended farther and farther, knowing I would have to climb this slope with a heavy pack.
I made it into town and started our laundry. Not a top priority for me, but moreso for my family. Next up, I went to a convenience store. This one had almost everything I needed, which was great. A call to Alex to make sure I understood all our needs, and I finished up there and went to the other store in town. I got one more thing, then back to the first store.
Sadly I had lost our water filter somehow, do I bought plenty of water for us. Perfect for weighing down my backpack. After finishing the laundry, picking up bread and a pizza, I started the long haul uphill.
I like a challenge, so I treated it like a miniature race. I made it with a few seconds to spare back to the family, and the kids were happy to have pizza. We packed up after that and got going. We weren’t making a lot of distance, but we had the food we had anxiously awaited.
If our packs were heavy, atleast they were heavy with food. We went over a tiny hill and down to Orgeix. This spot was a miniature paradise.
A super shallow and wide river, the Oriège, flowed through town. We stopped again so the children could enjoy it. Playing in water is their favorite thing to do on a hike in the mountains.
By the time we were leaving l, a storm was blowing in. Or atleast, we thought it was. Turns out, it was a lot of thunder and three raindrops. The weather in the Pyrenees is very unpredictable.
For the rest of the day, we would be climbing up to Joux Pass. I would go ahead, then wait. There were phases to this climb. First, on a more traveled road with the occasional vehicle, then on a less traveled road just for a shepherd, and finally on the switchbacks that no vehicle apparently travels, all the way to the top.
When we got to the pass, it was time to camp. What a great spot, except for the ubiquitous cow pies. We were not alone, there were two other groups there. One in tents, another at a cabin above the pass.
Everyone was in a much better mood after several highlights during the day. Alex cooked dinner and we fell asleep.
