Day 2: Refuge de l’Orgere to Refuge de Plan Sec
Monday 10 August 2026, 13km, 870m up, 490m down

Food at the Refuge de l’Orgere was plentiful and good. The dinner included bread and cheese, soup, pork and vegetable stew, and then apple cake drizzled with caramel. In addition, while we waited the interminable hours until 7pm dinnertime, we were entertained by a folk group who have apparently been coming to this refuge every year for the last 10 years!

We slept well in our bunks, woken by the alarm at 6.15 and hurriedly dressed to be at the breakfast table by 6.30. We helped ourselves to muesli, cereal and fresh bread with jam/nutella, fruit juice, tea and coffee. Another table was spread with lunch makings – each person had one baguette to fill with hommous, cheese and ham; one apple, one muesli bar, one wrapped Madeline cake, and one bag of crisps.

Today’s hike commenced with a walk down to the valley that we had viewed from the refuge window where we circled some cute stone chalets with slate roofs. The first we passed had its own outdoor sauna and a stone wood fired oven.

After the valley, we entered a lovely pine forest and commenced our ascent of the Col de Barbier. The climb was less steep than yesterday’s and broken with flatter interludes. In addition, being at altitude meant the air was much cooler and, even after leaving the forest, the sun’s heat was softened by high cloud. The track wound around the mountainside giving beautiful views down to villages below and across to tall mountain peaks.

Having made a start before 7.30, we only passed a few hikers who were all going in the opposite direction. I had fun trying out my French which remains very limited. An American couple told us where to look out for a vulture further along the trail. We hurried along hoping it would still be there and were rewarded with sighting both a parent and its young both feeding on an animal carcass. Above them circled a magnificent eagle. 

Apart from this, we didn’t see any wildlife today. We did hear and then see a flock of sheep, but were able to keep a safe distance as we know the attendant dogs, called patous, will be aggressive if they think the sheep are in danger. We also frequently heard the shrill calls of marmots but didn’t manage to see any today. Over the next few days we hope to see ibex and chamois that are quite common in this area.

On down from the Col, we circled a large reservoir before winding around hillsides to find our stop for the night at the Refuge de Plan-Sec. Again we arrived at lunch time with many hours to wait until dinner at 7pm. We were warned that the accommodation will be full tonight so took early showers and washed our hiking clothes which quickly dried in the sun and wind.