27.21 Port de l'Arbella, a challenging climb below Pic Tristaina: A trail of sorts to Franca.
At the outset , we thought we were climbing toward Pic Tristaina, our goal, but followed a path that headed a little right. When we reached the pass, after a tricky and steep climb on scree, we looked up with envy at the magnificent sight of Tristaina, towering above us, some 800 feet. There was no sane path from the position we reached to attempt a climb to the peak so we were a little dejected. Nevertheless, the hike was fabulous as well as being in a delightful locale. The following Monday, we found the correct path and arrived at the summit to witness some of the finest sights we've seen. (See earlier blog, 27.17 Pic Tristaina.) At the pass, we were once again back in France, something we had done at least on five occasions. We were nearly concerned that the non-existent border guards might think we were 'illegals', a term much more familiar to Americans. A little more to go to reach the pass after a treacherous number of hundreds of feet climb over scree. A...