I hopped, skipped and jumped my way down through the bouldery landscape to the charmingly situated Refuge d'Arrmoulit. The refuge looks out over the largest of the Lacs d'Arrmoulit to the amphitheatre-like northern flank of the Pic d'Arriel. It's a wonderful spot to rest and contemplate the uncomplicated beauty of the Pyrenees, but the day's tranquillity was rather excitingly interrupted by the buffeting squall and sonorous throbbing of rotor-blades as the refuge supply helicopter thud-thudded to-and-fro with its charged cargo net dangling like prey from a raptor's talons. Each time the net was landed and unhooked, a militia composed of refuge staff and communally spirited randonneurs swarmed over the pile of crates and swiftly dispatched them to the refuge's interior. Meanwhile, I basked lizard-like in the sun on a broad, smooth rock near the lake's edge purposefully working my way through a lunch of bread, cheese, chorizo and chocolate, pausing only to lie flat and hang on to my hat each time the helicopter swept up behind the refuge. Supply helicopter at the Refuge d'Arremoulit After collecting water, I set off in the immoderate early-afternoon heat. For the next section, I had decided to take a variant from the main HRP route, which climbs to the Col du Palas, traverses to the Porte du Lavadan then descends nearly 600 metres to the Refuge de Larribet. I'd taken this route with Paul the previous summer and although it's a truly spectacular section of the walk, the long, rocky descent to the