Tag Page OutsiderTravel

They Knew the Trail. I Wasn't Welcome.

Three cafés, two hiking shops, one post office. Same response everywhere in that Pyrénées village: shrugs, vague gestures toward the mountains, conversations that switched to rapid French the moment I asked about the unmarked trail. I had the coordinates. I had the gear. What I didn't have was the unspoken permission to belong here. The locals weren't being mean—they were protecting something. Maybe the trail itself. Maybe the quiet. Maybe just the feeling of having one thing that wasn't on Google Maps yet. I found it anyway, three hours of wrong turns later. Empty summit, perfect views, complete silence. Worth every awkward interaction. But sitting up there, I realized: sometimes being the outsider is the point. 🏔️ #Travel #OutsiderTravel #MountainTruth