Day One: Mont-Louis to Refuge de Bouillouses (14K)

So after soaking up a few cultural French beers the night before and acclimatizing to the heady 250 metres above sea-level, I walked down to the coach station the next morning adjusting the straps on my rucksack.  I didn't want to suffer the pain in my back caused by not utilizing the waist strap properly.  It was all tight now, but a lot lighter than than the 19 kilo pack I'd carried up the 300k Offa's Dyke path.  Only 14kilos and it felt like a needy child clutching on to me.
With an hour to wait I voted unanimously to tidy up my head with a hair cut and found a unisex hairdressers  that looked like it might cut one man's hair a month....perfect! Full of the perfumes and ambience of feminine care I indulged in a deftly executed hair-wash and cut that sent me out towards the mountain air feeling like a new man.
All bus rides in the Languedoc-Rousillon department are 1Euro. The bus dropped me outside the little fort village of Mont Louis.
Designed by Vauban a long time ago, this citadel provided me with a chance to top up with bread, chocolate biscuits, alcohol for my stove and some chorizo and cheese.
I walked from 10.00am to about 6.00pm, I was falsely led to believe it had turned cold by the evenings katabatic wind coming down over the reservoir, La Bollosa. Tired and at the foot of Mount Carlit I opted to sleep in a cabana and take an evening meal with my room mates the three Frenchmen: Didier, Michel and Patrick. http://www.justgiving.com/gesarmor4peakspyrenees

The ol' Catalan mercenary (Gaudix) turned waiter above ushered us to a large table in a corner and made us feel as if we were receiving exclusive treatment. A large carafe of local red wine and a basket of bread soon  centred the table which then received its (large) plates of starters: a mixed bean salad with tomatoes, this needn't draw further comment.  However the main course soon followed as we raced ravenously through the starter and it too was a hardy mountaineers style bean themed local speciality.  More wine was called for: a deep sleep might muffle the analbatic winds to come.