Adventurers in western France and northern Spain naturally look to the Pyrenees for a multitude of summer and winter explorations. Given that I would be in north-eastern Spain in mid-March, and hankering after a bit of sun, I decided to venture south to the lesser known Parc Natural dels Ports. A former hunting reserve, the region became a protected national park in 2001, marking this dramatically mountainous coastal region of Southern Catalonia on my adventure map. Ten years later, Parc Natural dels Ports remains little known outside Spain, offering me a visitor-free three days to kick-start my summer hiking season.