August 2006 - Posts
There are 7 of us walking now: we've met up with some hardy Brits who are camping at nights by the refuges: David, Sharon and nephew Christian -- good companions on the mountains with lots of experience and some amazing tales of places David and Sharon have been, around the globe. Long descent to Arles-sur-Tech this morning. We had a close shave not long after setting off when Patrick, my stalwart walking companion for so many days over the last 6 weeks, stumbled forward and, propelled by the impetus of his backpack, fell headfirst over a steep drop, several feet onto boulders. By great fortune he was only grazed and bruised: nothing broken except his watch strap.It could have been a very nasty accident indeed. Typical Patrick: no fuss; some homeopathic aid from David and Sharon, who know about these things and had Arnica tablets and plasters to hand. Once dusted down he strode off with the group despite an obviously painful leg. This update takes me to lunchtime in Arles-sur-Tech where we're enjoying a decent French lunch before an afternoon climb up to a gite near the Spanish border. I can't believe this is day 47 of my 50 day odyssey: 833kms walked and a total climb of 150,000feet! Not long now.
Our room in the chalet de Cortalets faced east, and we could see the Med far below in the distance, so we'd decided the night before to rise before dawn and watch the sunrise over the sea. Well worth the discipline as the orange/red orb broke above the distant cloud spot on time to gasps of appreciation from all who'd risen for the spectacle. Mike and Sally had arranged to walk the day with us, while their friends and family took the vehicles the long way round to the end point of the day at the old Mines de Batere. Our path took us past the remnants of an air crash dating back several decades. Mount Canigou used to be feared by pilots for its capacity to interfere with navigational instruments (the mountain contains large reserves of iron ore). Our Auberge at the end of the day used to be the hostel where the iron miners lived, until the mines ceased to be worked in the 1960s I'm told. The auberge now offers wonderful views, the best hot showers of my whole trip and a magnificent supper to boot. And for those not up to walking the mountains, you can reach it by a metalled road.We said goodbye to Mike and Sally, but we'll be meeting them again in a few days.
Walked around western traverse of Pic du Canigou with Patrick, Angus and brother Tony (he's my brother, not a monk!), and found one of the best picnic spots in the pyrenees with a view to die for. After a day of perfect weather and arguably the best panoramic vistas of the whole trip we arrived at the chalet de Cortalets to find a surprise party who'd secretly arranged to come and meet up and stay the night: great friends Mike and Sally Shrimpton and family. They live only a few miles away as the crow flies but a 4-hour journey by car, due to the topography around here! A wonderful supper and camaraderie enjoyed by all. What a wonderful surprise. Thanks for that, all concerned.
Son-in-law Jon's last day. A big climb to a refuge in the shadow of the mystical Catalan mountain, Pic du Canigou. Hot sunshine made the walk a little harder. Stopped in the little hamlet of Py for a coffee but it was lukewarm. The village shop had fewer than 20 items for sale. Angus rejoins us tonight, along with my brother, Tony. Tomorrow we must decide whether to walk around Canigou on the GR10 or to attempt the difficult variant over the summit. We'll decide over a beer or two. So far I've walked 780kms and climbed 150,000 feet - only six days to go!
An easier day but, with a 2,000 feet descent, Jon began to suffer badly from blisters so, to cheer him up, we had lunch at an Auberge when we arrived in Mantet after five hours of walking. Our gîte at Mantet was luxurious compared with last night's and we enjoyed piping-hot showers and uncrowded sleeping accommodation. It rained all afternoon and, by the time the other three English walkers arrived at 5pm, our gîte was full so they had to walk on.
Patrick has rejoined me for the final nine days - he'll have walked 19 days with me by the time we reach Banyuls, some 340kms. What a star! Jon, too, has bravely donned his walking boots for the next three days. The morning climb to the Coll Mitja - a total of 3,850 feet - was tough for Jon, particularly as the air is thin at nearly 8,000 feet, but he coped really well. We arrived at our refuge in fog so thick we almost bumped into it before we saw it. The Refuge du Ras de la Caranca is easily the most basic so far - no water, no electricity and 25 people sleeping next to one another in a small dormitory. Still, the meal by candlelight was good.
A long, easy walk through forest trails, over ski pistes and around pretty lakes. Mainly downhill but, nevertheless, tiring doing 18kms in 29C of blazing sun. Saw the famous 'little yellow train' on the way to the gîte at Planes. Steve and Nicola have brought Patrick and Jon who will be joining me tonight, so today has been my last day of walking alone.
Quite an easy day compared to some. A long walk through a dramatic ocean of boulders, then climbs overlooking bright-blue lakes. Saw a marmotte at very close quarters - they're like giant guinea pigs. Arrived at Lac Bouillouses in good time so celebrated with a cool beer. Today was the 40th day of consecutive walks and the tally so far is 720kms and 140,000ft (Yes, really!) - and there are still ten days of walking before I can wade into the Mediterranean at Banyuls-sur-Mer on September 1st.
Joined again by Martin and Anne from Norfolk. We climbed 4.500 feet and were surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Saw two lammergeyers at a distance and heard marmottes whistling their warnings. The best weather for about three weeks - not a cloud in the sky. Arrived at the Refuge at Bésines tucked below the conical peak of Pedrous. Had a beer with Martin before he and Anne headed off for another 2hrs30 walk to meet up with their son. Over dinner I met two walkers from Israel, two from Switzerland, one from Andorra and two police officers from the UK with their adult nephew. Between us we put the world to rights.
I was looking forward to an easy day as the guide book said it was a five-hour walk. It took me eight hours! Still, the gîte in Mérens looks great and Martin and Anne and son Fraser have joined me and we're walking together again tomorrow. It was great to see Ruth, Julia, Jon and Lola again. It would be impossible without such a great back-up team.
A long, long walk today, made better by finding a mountain restaurant open. Blueberry tart has never tasted better. A long and scary traverse took me to the Refuge de Rulhe. Slept in a dormitory with eight others, one Dutchman had 'wind' all night - the original 'Dutch oven'!. A German Frau on the next mattress pulled my blanket off me in the middle of the night. I suspect it was to stop me snoring.
Today was lovely - clear blue skies and I could see for miles - mountains all around me and, from the Pla de Montcamp (1900m) I saw, wheeling below me, a lammergeyer, a massive, rare bird of prey with a wingspan of nearly three metres.It was a long walk to the Cabane de Clarans where I camped. I was warned by fellow walkers not to pitch my tent too close to the stream. I was grateful for their advice - it was full of leaches.
The gîte at Goulier was superb, quite luxurious, and I met up with Martin and Anne with their son, Fraser - they joined me for the walk to Siguer. We did it in time for a lunch at a restaurant! After lunch I climbed 4,000 ft to the Col de la Lène where I camped. Had a thunderstorm that night - lying there under the metal ridgepoles made me think of lightening conductors!
The storm had caused havoc to the footpaths and it took hours to climb down the mountain to Auzat then up again to Goulier. But it was great to see the friendly faces of Steve and Nicola who had driven from the Gers to bring me my vital back-up supplies of provisions, clean clothes and camping gear. Thanks guys! This was day 34 and a bit of a milestone. Not only more than two-thirds of the journey, but my guide book tells me I have now climbed over 120,000 feet! The pain in my knee confirms it, as does the weight loss - I've run out of holes in my belt. I must be down to the waist size that I said goodbye to in my thirties!
The storm had caused havoc to the footpaths and it took hours to climb down the mountain to Auzat, then up again.
A Bank Holiday in France. I set of before anyone else and climbed for two hours without pause to the Port de Saleix. Just before I got to the Col I saw the three French lads going like a train about 100m below me. I took the steep path to the Pic de Bassiès, and so did they - catching up steadily. We arrived at the Etang d'Alate at the same time, just as it started to rain. They stopped but, when I heard thunder, I hurried on. By the time I reached the top of the pass it was raining hard and there were thunder claps echoing all around me. I could see the Refuge de Bassiès about a mile below and hurried as fast as steep, slippery rock slopes will allow. I was sodden by the time I reached the Refuge - the cloud closed in like thick fog - I decided I had to stay here the night. A storm raged outside while I dried my clothes by the stove and read some Balzac short stories. The Refuge was full of people caught out by the weather, but we had a great convivial evening where English and French were the two languages for five nationalities.
As I was miles north of the GR10 I took a local variant called the GR Pays du Tour de Val de Garbet which rejoined the GR10 at Aulus les Bains. Aulus is a funny little town, a bit down at heel. I watched a Concours de Pétanque with about 60 competitors - such a display of beards and bellies you've never seen. Being a thermal spa I decided to take the waters - so had everyone else who wasn't playing pétanque. The steam room was like a sardine tin. I've never been so close to so many sweaty bodies. The gîte was an old presbytery and, despite all the rooms, I was put in an eight-bed dormitory with five others. Over dinner I met a couple of Americans who live in Paris. They were walking the GR Pays du Tour de Val de Garbet. Three of the French lads who'd been put in the same dormitory as me were going from Fos to Mérens -le-Val.
Last night's gîte was excellent - home-made bread, confit de poulet, their own goats' cheese; and, for breakfast, a large orange and a squeezer. I climbed to the top of the Col de la Serre du Cot and played air guitar while the Fugees blasted out their version of 'Killing Me Softly'. Suddenly a man with two dogs walked by with a big grin on his face. I reached St. Lizier d'Ustou where I was booked into a hotel - only there wasn't one. It was 5 kms away in another village called Le Trein. When I found it it turned out to be the Ariège version of Fawlty Towers - you'll need to read the book to find out why!
A local hero joined me today. Scott Goodall, who has lived in the Ariège for 25 years and who helps to organise the annual 'Chemin de la Liberté' walk, joined me for dinner at François and Claudine's Gîte d'étape last night. Today we walked together up the Estous Valley. It brought back memories of my 4-day walk with Scott over the Pyrenées in 2004. Coming over the Col de Pause I met an English couple with three kids and two donkeys. We were heading for the same place - the goat farm at Rouze which had a Gîte d'étape attached.
Day 29 of continuous walking. I crossed the Chemin de la Liberté at the Col de la Core and dropped down towards Aunac. I followed the track along the brook which was like something out of the New Zealand rain forest - just like the film set for 'The Piano'. The gîte at Aunac has been the most welcoming so far. The owners have 38 donkeys and organise walking trips around the area. When I asked if I could buy some food they immediately invited me to lunch - a feast of salads, home-grown broad beans, souris d'agneau, local brebis cheese and a welcome glass or two of red wine. François and Ginetta, who run the place, have an idyllic spot and made me feel part of the family - we were on 'tu' terms right from the start.
Up at 07h30 but the Puy-en-Velay three who had arrived after me and camped 100 yards away had already left. Somehow, today I seemed to have no energy at all and it took ages to reach the Cap des Lauses, but it was a climb of more than 3,000 feet. When I dropped down to the Lac d'Ayes it was in cloud so I went on another couple of hours, past the Etang de Bethmale (too many mosquitoes and a 'no camping' sign) to a lovely stretch of forest. As the light was fading I, at last, found a place to pitch the tent. What an interesting night, distant cow bells, owls shrieking, some strange animals making a loud coughing sound and others snuffling right outside the tent. Despite all of that I managed an exhausted eight hours of sleep.
The couple who run the refuge at Eylie d'en Haut are charming - not from the Ariège, but have made their life here for the past ten years. He is a talented artist and his work is on display in the communal dining room. One wall of the dining room is all windows and looks out onto the other side of the valley - quite lovely, except you can see the steep path that needs to be climbed tomorrow.
Six people from near Foix arrived and spent an hour pouring over maps, deciding on the route for their four-day mountain walk.
The three people from Nantes were there, too, and they were also planning their next day's walk. I read the Sunday Times, a treat brought by Ruth. Dinner that night was both delicious and interesting. We were joined by an American professor from 'Waaashington' who was on his 11th trip to the Ariège. Conversation around the table, in French of course, ranged from the rise and decline of the mining industry in the Ariège to the number of local caves with prehistoric wall paintings. All that was last night but, this morning, the Foix six left before first light. I was half an hour behind them at 06h00 and climbed to the top of the Col de l'Arech. Another three from the Puy-en-Velay area that I had met en route a couple of days earlier had stayed in a Cabane at the top of the Col d'Arech and had watched me climb. It seemed a long way down through the beech woods, but I eventually reached the little bridge over the stream and stopped for lunch. A man and two horses appeared from nowhere and disappeared almost as quickly. Then a bunch of children arrived with two 20-something carers and took their lunch on the bridge. I felt so full of energy I decided to climb the next ridge, passing the scheduled camping spot at Cabane de Besset and going down the other side to the Pla de la Lau. I chose a place to pitch my tent among the cowpats on the side of the river, but sat in a wet patch - cow pee I presume, whilst putting up the tent. This was the first time I had camped for quite a while and the first time with this tent. It wasn't made any easier by being surrounded by small boys firing questions at me. I'm sure any one of them could have put the tent up faster than me. I dined on a boil-in-the-bag Chilli con Carne. Thank you, Sue and Karl. It's amazing how delicious food seems when you're camping!
Today started with a climb to the Serre d'Araing then down to some old lead and zinc mines. But not before I'd stood on the top of a mountain with nobody around and, with Queen's Greatest Hits playing on the iPod, I couldn't resist a bit of mountain-top air guitar. On the way down I met up with Andrew and Bernadette Erskine - pals from the UK. We walked down to the refuge together and had a lovely lunch, joined by Ruth and local friends, Neil and Ro. It's a great boost to see familiar faces.
Fos was a sad little village cut in half by the main road to Spain. The Gîte d'étape had nobody there and, after a phone call, discovered I couldn't have the meal I had booked. It was the village fête - as was proved by a firework display at nearly midnight. Revellers passed the gîte all night until 06h00 - the time I got up! Apparently there is an action group to try to get a by-pass but, unless it happens soon, I suspect the village will die. Today I climbed to the pretty village of Melles then on up the valley to Labach and eventually arrived at the refuge d'Etaing d'Araing. We were a happy group at dinner, all walkers, one other guy was also at the halfway stage - he'd started at Banyuls and was halfway to Hendaye. The older couple from the gîte at Fos turned up, but they chose to camp outside. The temperature must have dropped to about zero.
Patrick went home today, so I was walking alone for the first time in 24 days and it just happened to be the toughest day of the whole trip. Set off at 06h00 when Luchon was still shuttered up. A few dogs yapped as I passed and climbed up steep wooded paths from the valley floor to Sode, then through denser woodland to Artigue.
By the time I reached the Spanish border I'd been walking for six hours. Then the clouds envelopped me and I missed the path. A bit of logical map reading led me back on track and, at last, the long descent to Fos began. Saw a black woodpecker - the first ever for me.
I was met at Fos after an 11-hour hike by Ruth, daughter Julia, son-in-law Jon and the lovely Lola, my grand-daughter.
I'll sleep well tonight. It was tougher today without Patrick to lead the way.
Patrick's last day was from Lac d'Oo to Bagnères-de-Luchon, a great climb through rugged peaks - lots more deer. A the top a 60 something woman was picnicking, we'd seen her the previous day. Luchon is a busy holiday town and we checked into the Thermal Spa - unlike St-Lary's fake cave system - this had a real one. Called the Vaporium it was like a giant steam room in a mine. Most relaxing.
Germ is a cluster of houses high in the mountains - the gîte d'étape is large and impressive. It even has a swimming pool. We were in a 4-berth dormitory with a Dutch couple. She had started at Hendaye and he had joined her today. Sadly, she had had had her money-belt stolen. It had contained credit cards, passport, identity card and two sentimental pieces of jewellery.
The next morning they had left at 07h00 and Patrick and I followed half an hour later. Patrick left his towel behind, then one of his walking batons broke. Finally, the third disaster - all the stitches in his shorts disintegrated and he walked the rest of the day well ventilated.
Just before the Cabane d'Ourtiga we saw 11 enormous deer walking across our path - their antlers were truly impressive. The Cabane had clearly been a welcome shelter to many walkers over the years judging by the messages scrawled all over the place. From the Cabane we could see the Dutch couple about 15 minutes ahead. The climb to the Pas de Couret d'Esquierry was severe, closer to rock-climbing than walking. A quick rest at the top (2131m) and picnicked on pâté sandwiches. Zigzagging down through the woods was easy, but there was a sting in the tail, an hour's steep climb to the refuge at Lac d'Oo. What a picture postcard spot. An enormous clear water lake with a huge waterfall at the far end - it's been well-known since Victorian times.
The Dutch couple arrived and pitched their tent near the refuge - I suspect it was because Patrick and I are serial snorers! We missed Angus today - his telephoto lens would have been busy with the deer and a couple of marmottes that posed for us on our descent.
We have also said "goodby" to Kingsley, who has chosen to move on at a faster pace, so we wish him a safe journey and a successful arrival at Banyuls.
Heavy Rain! With wet weather gear we struggled up to the Col d'Azet only to realise we were wetter on the inside. When the rain stopped off came the weatherproofs and we looked like a lame escuse for a wet T-shirt competition. No photographs were taken. Angus is leaving today - it's been great to have him along. His knowledge of birdlife and local fauna has been enlightening.
So far I have covered almost 400kms and climbed nearly 70,000 feet and still no blisters! Tonight we are at a refuge in a tiny place called Germ.
Brian Blessed advised us to walk along the lakeside then follow the GR up to the Col de Portet. We saw marmottes realy close up. The landscape changed the other side of the Col and suddenly I recognised the St-Lary ski slopes. The views above the clouds were superb, and we picnicked overlooking St-Lary and watched the colourful parascenders from the ski station.
We enjoyed St-Lary, the Thermal Centre, a great bar with live music and a traditional Algerian couscous meal.
Took the waters at Barèges. Had a communal meal and were in bed in our dormitory at l'Hospitalet by 21h30. Up at 05h30 and on the road by 06h00 for the big climb to the Col de Madamète - the highest point on the GR10 at 8240ft (2509m).We opened a bottle of Bordeaux to celebrate and admired stunning views down to the Lakes - d'Aubert, d'Aumar, de Cap de Long and l'Orédon. The descent to the reguge at lac de l'Oule was fierce, but a glass of cold beer made up for it. In the woodland, during the steep drop to lac de l'Oule, Angus yelled in delight when he saw an Apllo butterfly - his first. The Apollo generously posed for a photograph. (It will appear in the book.)
The refuge was superb, the man running it was like a young Brian Blessed. Angus, a pal from my part of the Gers, had joined us and both he and I said the mushroom soup at dinner was the best we'd ever tasted. Dinner conversation was all in French as we were a total of 11 - 8 French plus Angus, Patrick and I. An elderley man opposite had walked from Seville to St-Jacques-de-Compostela twice - a 45 day trip. They were amazed that I was walking the entire GR10 non-stop and that all the overnight stops had been booked in advance.
We were seven in a dormitory that night.