A trot up to le Rocher de Batail

The weather looks like it is changing, with clouds building from the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. Rain is forecast for tonight/tomorrow so we were keen to get out for some exercise while the weather held. So we parked at the Col de Port and instead of heading up the meandering zig zags to the GR de Pays at the top, we decided to head straight up the hillside following the fence which equated to 280m of ascent for a distance of 860m. It was a steep ascent but I could feel that my leg strength and aerobic fitness are improving which was excellent. We then headed along the undulating ridge to beyond the Rocher de Batail where we paused to provide the dog with refreshments before turning round and retracing our steps. It was fantastic running terrain, with generally dry, soft ground. We could see the clouds building ahead of us and felt the first spits of rain as we arrived back at the car. It had been a very pleasant outing, just under 2 hrs for 11.5kms and 683m of ascent.