Hit a problem. I felt I’ll in the night as though something I’d neaten or drank. That’s the polite was of saying repeated visits to the toilets. If it doesn’t last long, it’s something eaten. If it persisted, I’ll camp at Col de Verdi. If it clears, them go on another couple of hours to Refuge de Prati.

Col de Verdi is at the end of a forest descent stage. The route passed through forest, then a hotter clearing with an appealing fromage Bergerie and a river bridge over swimmable water. Signs of civilization appeared with day walkers and a car-park (with useful signposts). Soon I was at the refuge only to find the German couple Ellie and David drinking coffee. They were in good spirits and set off before me.

After tanking up at the spring by the road, the forest climb was very steep. Notice a pattern? An hour or two up to a lovely col (Boccu d’Oro) and soon – Prati in cooler air that somehow reminded me of UK hiking. The cloud was building on the west side of the ridge (as it often does). Though dense in parts, it wasn’t in a story mood. Soon, Prati was in easy sight

When I got there, I found Roland, the ESA guy and lots of ruined tents. He had a dorm booked. Some tents were occupied which must have been sheltered by low shrubs. It is quite a scattered refuge with a few toilet blocks way downhill. In the main building, I found a nice friendly Berger who I paid for the camping and bought some food. I elected to have pizza for supper but didn’t need any breakfast.