68.07 Andorra-ble: Estany Sorda, above Vall de Incles (valley), words fail us...inter alia.

We suppose should one need to take a side-seat, this one is as good as any.
On the climb up, we catch a deer in our 'spotlights'.
 Obviously, one tries to avoid being repetitive but this might become difficult to avoid at times. Should a place provide unique attributes, have an atmosphere that strikes a chord deep within, while on each occasion when we hike, we find ourselves tested immensely, we'll take the risk of being boring. 

  We often walk about and wonder whether there is any natural ground that is in fact level. Frankly, it must be a builder's nightmare to undertake construction activities within the principality. Then again, much of Europe, forgive us Holland, is 'hilly'. In our experience, Europeans enjoy living on mountains, edges, cliffs, slopes and anything that is not flat. We can relate to and respect that.

Perhaps one of the changes in our lifestyle in the latter years of Hikeabout has been a desire to find hiking opportunities that are more isolated, less formal and always away from the crowds. As to the latter, we don't often see many people, which we suppose is indicative of the policy. What we have discovered in Andorra is that there are trails all over the mountains. However, many are informal and are probably practical paths dating back years to when people had to walk to wherever they needed to reach...say a few years prior to the discovery of the Tesla. We really enjoy these opportunities. 

  In fact, most of the last 10 hikes have had twists to them, each either new to us or encompassing links elsewhere, thus providing originality. As we have frequently mentioned (boring), it does not take much to transport us into a different zone when in Andorra-ble. We'll let you absorb some sights and color...now. Thanks for your patience. 

Only later in the day did the light improve from this narrow side, enabling us to capture terrific coloring.
A typical scene in the Incles Valley, another remarkable place.
An idea of the path on the way down, close to closing.
'Monkeying' around on edges above the lake edge. How appropriate.
What's not to be content about in this position...especially with the 'pansies'.
Can't keep an active woman at ground level.
From another hike, we are high above the lake...from the Estany Querol and Salamander side. Hand position is to keep hat from going swimming.
We enjoy this type of atmosphere.
Jen climbing the side of a small waterfall just before reaching the lake. 

 Looking down into the valley and across the way to a high ski station (one we reached on our second outing).
Early(ish) morning steep climb enroute to the lake and surround.
As confident as Jen is, she's cautious on these edges.
This is a follow on climb we discovered. The earlier picture of Jen looking down on the lake is a highpoint we reached (from another direction).
Enjoyed the coloring not to mention the vastness and height of the mountains (Jen in the distance).
Cheers, 

Jenni and Jeffrey