After hiking the Basque Pyrenees for 13 days, I reached Arrens Marsous and entered into the High Pyrenees. This section of the GR10 hike goes on until Bagnères de Luchon. The mountains here are much taller than the Basque ones, with many peaks over 3000 meters and lots of snow around.
The spectacular Vignemale glacier, breathtaking Gavarnie and my worst day of this trek were all coming up during this section of the hike.
Let's get right into it!
Day 14: Arrens Marsous - Viellette Inn (Estaing Lake)
Continued from part 1
We had left off the previous post in the Apistomaque Cafe were Roy and I sipped a coffee while Bob Marley was gently playing in the background.
The Viellette Inn was only 8.5km away with barely any elevation. The decision to keep going was easy.
We left the cafe around noon, energized and rested.
A youth road cycling event was taking place in the valley and we saw loads of athletes getting ready for it. The rest of the hike was otherwise uneventful.
My mood was slowly beginning to brighten up, the sun was shining, I was dry and the last few day's fog and dampness felt far away.
The Viellette Inn was cute and well equipped. I was happy to see an extensive library in the common room which also had a foosball table and a fire place. The rooms were cosy with comfortable mattresses and good bathrooms. The owner is outgoing and nice.
Roy and I settled in, dried our tents and relaxed. We were soon joined by two other guys that had also been hiking the GR10. We had crossed paths may times before and we all had dinner together at the Inn, where we had traditional Garbure with veal chops and a delicious beer.
The mood at this gite was light and cheerful, the owner gave us a ride to the restaurant, conversations flowed easily the whole evening and it was a refreshing way to finish a challenging few hiking days.
Day 15: Viellette Inn to Oulette de Gaube
30 km, 9h30
One of the toughest and most enjoyable days of the whole adventure.
The day started with one of the best breakfast I had on the whole GR10. The gite's breakfast buffet was the most complete out of all the places I ate. Good coffee, good bread, many cereals to choose from, chocolate milk, my kind of heaven before a long hiking day.
Roy and I left the inn at 7am. We were first greeted by a beautiful Estaing lake, brimming in the morning sunshine.
An enjoyable ascent towards the Ilheou hut followed. We hiked up a gorgeous meadow, saw lots of cows and sheep and had the sun with us the whole time. This part wasn't too steep.
The hut overlooks a mountain lake and is as beautiful as all of the huts in surreal locations. We had our coffee and snack while starring, dumbfounded, at the scenery.
Roy and I parted was at this stage, he wanted to take a slightly different route than me. I'd seen a way to bypass Cauterets, which would have me hike down a valley and then go up a different valley to reach the Pont d'Espagne.
Loving me a good shortcut, and blissfully unaware of any elevation it might entail, I decided to go over the mountain separating the two valleys via the Hougade pass. I got lost for a little bit but overall it was an enjoyable decision. This trail was completely deserted and I felt like I had the whole mountain to myself.
I slowly wandered down to the Plateau du Clot where I walked beside a river for an hour or so before arriving at the Pont d'Espagne.
Why it's called the Pont d'Espagne is a mystery to me, I didn't think about it too much as I nibbled at my snack while tourist watching. It is a nice area, there's a beautiful waterfall and river there, and you can easily go to the Gaube lake with a chairlift.
The Clot du Lac refuge was right there, but part of me wanted to push on the Houlette de Gaube refuge, 8 km ahead. I'd heard from many sources that the Hourquette d'Ossoue was snowed in and I wanted to do first thing in morning when the snow was still solid.
I eyed the chairlift enviously while I started up the path. It was nice to see all the people on it after spending the last few hours isolated.
There's a very nice bivouac area at the Gaube lake but it doesn't compare with the bivouac at the Houlette de Gaube refuge.
The last hour of couple hours of hiking were tough, visibility was close to zero, I had done over 2000m of elevation for the day and my quads and calfs were getting really tired.
The idea of sipping on a cold beer in the cozy atmosphere of a mountain refuge motivated me and I reached my destination with high spirits. Spirits that immediately fell when I realized a school camp was at the refuge. Imagine 50 children screaming and running around in a small space.
Not the cozy stuff I had in mind but everyone was nice, and the beer just as refreshing.
I pitched my tent outside (fun fact, bivouac here is free), and promptly went to bed. It was cold and I was very thankful for my -10 sleeping bag.
Day 16: Oulette de Gaube to Les Granges de Holle (Gavarnie)
18.7km, 6h10
I woke up to a stunning view of the Vignemale and blue sky. Woohoo, spirits way back up!
Quick breakfast at the refuge and off we go to face the snow. The Hourquette d'Ossoue is the highest point of the GR10 hike at 2734m. Three guys coming from the opposite direction had crampons on and had created a lovely little path I used without crampons.
The sky was still completely blue when I reach that pass and I could see all the surrounding peaks.
The Bayssellance refuge is right after the pass and is the tallest guarded hut in the Pyrenees. I stopped for a quick coffee and journaled a bit.
The descent towards the Granges de Holle is spectacular, the path meanders down the Vignemale and offers views of the Cirque de Gavarnie, one of the most beautiful mountain scenery I've ever seen.
Yesterday's 30km hike was taking it's toll and my feet and legs started hurting pretty quickly. I stopped at the dam for a longer lunch break and rested as much as I could.
I arrived at the Grange around 4:30pm, exhausted. They had pints whereas the last couple places didn't. After setting up the tent and a thirst quenching ale, I went down to Gavarnie village to stock up on bread, cheese and saucisson. It's 1.5km away from the hut on a hiking path and I regretted the decision to wear flip flops.
That evening's dinner was in the hut with the five other people there, a friendly atmosphere where hiking tips and stories were shared.
gr10 hike Day 17: Gavarnie to Luz St Sauveur
27.7km, 7h30
This was the first time I bought Nutella, and even though it added a lot of weight in my hiking backpack (I only found the 1kg in the glass containers), starting the morning with Nutella toast is something that truly sparks joy in me.
My body was feeling battered, I had been hiking non stop for 11 days. Thankfully, the next stop, Luz would be the start of a 5 days break. My girlfriend was coming to visit me and we were going to meet up in Lourdes, just outside of Luz.
The first half of this day was in the top three most beautiful of the whole trip. You get the best views of the Gavarnie Cirque and I paused many times to sear those views in my memory.
The second part of the day was very boring. Some parts of the hike was directly on the road, other parts passed through unkept poison ivy bushes, and the trail goes up and down along the mountain side without offering that great of a view. It was a mental workout to keep going here, my legs hurt but could walk on and I knew that the next five days were going to be chill.
I would honestly recommend hitch hiking that part. After you pass the forest of Bue and end up on the big road for the first time, try to hitch a ride directly to Luz as that will save you time and give your muscles a break. You truly won't be missing much.
Luz Saint Sauveur is an old thermal cure city (many towns in the Pyrenees are) that was developed in the mid 1800s thanks to empress Eugenie. It's a hiker's and any mountain enthusiast's paradise, being surrounded by mountains on all side and is a classic Tour de France stage with the Col du Tourmalet.
I was too exhausted to care about all this when I arrived. I crossed the Napoleon bridge and made my way to my gite. Feeling the accumulated fatigue from the last few days, I wanted to sleep in a real bed and have a good breakfast. The Regain gite offered just that, there were only two other people there and I had a dorm room of ten beds all to myself.
Francois, whom we met in part one texted me while I was on the hike. He was also staying at Luz, was also taking a few days off and offered to go for a beer.
We met up in the evening, went for a beer that turned into three and some wine, solidifying an emerging friendship. Francois would later become an inseparable hiking buddy for the last 18 days of the trek.
I went to bed exhausted and happy.
Day 18-22: Rest in Lourdes with my Fiance
Lourdes has the only airport close to the Pyrenees and these days coincided with her vacation days. We visited the town and I spent as much time as I could sitting or relaxing.
My dad's cousin also lives close to Lourdes so we spent some good family time on one of the days.
Day 23: Luz to Aygue Cluse hut
20km, 5h45
After my cousin dropped me off in Luz, I headed towards Barèges. In the GR10 guidebook this counts as one stage, but it only took me 2h30 to reach. I decided to push on. For the record you could also hitch hike this part, especially if you have a poor visibility day.
The way up from Luz is an enjoyable, gradual ascent. There are even learn-how-to-draw-nature stations posted along the hike, very cool.
From Barèges onward the slow gradual ascent continued, albeit in the fog. UGH. I was about to enter the Néouvielle park tomorrow, known as the most scenic one in the Pyrenees, and the idea of having poor visibility wasn't ideal.
It only took me another 3 hours and 15 minutes to reach the hut. It's a free one 200m away from a refuge which is ideal. I went there to ask for fire kindling, the guy gave me his recycling bin full of used tissues, and with it I light a decent fire in my hut's fireplace.
This was one of my favourite nights, going to bed to the sounds of crackling logs in the fire, after having enjoyed a simple meal of sardines and bread.
I was visited by a mice that night that woke me up a few times, thankfully it didn't nible through any of my food bags.
Hiking tip: there are nails sticking our of the beams of all the huts. This isn't poor craftsmanship but places to hang your bags. I got in the habits of hanging all of my stuff, including shoes, so that mice and rodents couldn't reach them.
At the very least, find a way to hand your food and garbage bags.
Day 24: Hell day, Aygue Cluse to Bourisp
27.5km, 8h30
The worst day of my adventure, by far.
Woke up to heavy fog. Zero visibility. I headed out without having a coffee (that probably has something to do with how the day went), and reluctantly hiked towards the Madamette pass I had to cross. Wet snow started to fall as I neared the top. Fabulous....
The rest of the trek towards Oule lake can only be described as underwhelming at best, and disappointing at worst. Knowing I was walking through some of the most scenic mountains of the Pyrenees, without being able to see more than 20 metres ahead of me was extremely frustrating.
I was able to see a few lakes here and there, and told myself that seeing them with all the fog was also nice to see, but it wasn't enough to rid the bitterness out of me.
Oule lac was nice, I opted for the option of going through the south part, thinking it would bring me quicker to the refuge, I was going to call it an early day and wait out the fog until tomorrow.
The refuge was closed!
Too early in the season. That was a tough pill to swallow. I had no other option but to keep going up the Torpet pass and down into Bourisp.
The climb up to the pass was done up a ski station, and halfway up it started to snow. Early July and I was getting snowed on...
Also being in the fog for that long, you start getting wet. It's not really raining, but you are in 100% humidity and by that time, I was drenched from head to toes.
The only solace I had at the pass was knowing the rest of the hike was all downhill from there.
The trail leading down to the village was very wet and muddy, but at that point my feet were already drenched so who cared.
Bourisp came into view just as the sky was starting to open up. No rain tonight, which was a huge relief. Honestly had it rained I would of found a hotel to stay, but it was nice to camp.
I found the small Mousquerre camping that was right on the GR10 path, cleaned my socks, cleaned my shoes, went to get Goretex patches to attempt restoring some water repelency to them and went grocery shopping.
The camping was quiet, and I was able to get a terrific sleep.
Day 25: Bourisp to Granges d'Atsaut
25km, 8:20
Woke up at 4am and stayed in my sarcophagus tent until 6am. When I open the door my face is directly out of the tent and I slowly saw dawn come in.
Leaving Bourisp, it was an easy hike to Azat, which is a very cute old village nestled in the mountain. The next stop was Loudenvielle, where I had a coffee at the Oustau Cafe. Sun was shining again, yesterday's nightmare was still fresh but the warmth and blue sky helped a lot.
All of these villages on the GR10 have fresh water fountain which helped a lot. Carrying a maximum of 2 litres at a time, I always found easy solution to refill my bottles.
Next on the trail was the village of Germ, another picturesque town, that I will try to come back to in my lifetime. It's higher up than Loudenvielle and has many trail heads leaving directly from it.
I stopped for lunch when I saw the perfect spot with incredible views of the surrounding mountains. I put out my tent and towel to dry and slowly enjoying my classic cheese and saucisson.
The cabane d'Ourtiga is another free hut you can stay at and a common place to stay on the GR. It's located at the foot of a magnificent cirque with the Espingo peak, Hourgade peak and the Nord-Nere peak. There are a couple streams and waterfall coming down the cirque which captivated my attention for a while.
What came next was the steepest section of the GR10 and a terrific leg workout. Whoever made the trail had clearly never heard of what a switchback is. At the top of this aggressive ascent is the Esquierry pass where rewarding views await.
The Granges d'Atsaut are only 4.5 clicks away and it's all downhill from there. There were steep parts but nothing as bad as the way up. The inn came into view through the tress and I started to relax.
Located right beside the river, with two restaurants and a large dormitory, the Granges emanate a serene atmosphere. I put all my stuff to dry in the sun and went to enjoy a pint on the restaurant's patio. The owner was an ex rugby player and we hit up a small chat about the state of the french championship.
Once my shoes were completely dried, I attempted to patch them up with the Goretex patch I'd bought, and as expected, the first job was a miserable failure. I would take me another three times to find a way to slow down the incursion of water, but I had to admit their water repellency was forever wasted.
Day 26: Granges d'Atsaut - Bagnères de Luchon
25km
My goretex patch fell off after 2km of walking. I would have to find another solution.
Thankfully it was a sunny day and the hike up to the first pass of the day was stunning. I passed the Oô lake with it's water fall, went to the Espingo hut with it's jaw dropping views and quietly thanked the presence of all the switchbacks on the mountain.
There were many day hikers on the trail and I enjoyed chatting to those who wanted to chat. Hiking alone proved to be harder than I though for me, I'm fine being alone for a day or two but longer than that is tough. I am a social creature.
Bagnères marks the halfway point between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This though alone gave me energy and lifted my spirits higher than any clear skies could.
From the first pass to Super Bagnères way easy, you go up and down two smaller passes and have expansive views of the valleys around. You are also very close to Spain here and the mountains to the South of the trail are Spanish.
Super Bagnères is a ski station that looks very fun in the winter time. Mental note to go snowboarding there at some point in my life.
The 5km descent towards Bagnères is in the forest, relatively boring and since I was all alone I blasted some Lord Of The Ring soundtrack for motivation.
At last, Bagnères came into view, the halfway point of the GR10!
I treated myself to a night in a lodge, with hot shower, private room and comfortable bed at Le Lutin. It's owned by a friendly Welshman that organizes mountain bike camps.
After washing up and applying a new patchwork on my shoes, I set out for some food, it was time to load up on carbs and calories other than cheese and saucisson. First on the list was a pizza. Then I settled down in a little restaurant and had their lasagnas.
I indulged with an apple crumble and when the waitress brought it over she explained "There were two portions left so I gave you both". Bless her kind soul.
That was the end of part 2 of my multi day hike across the Pyrenees. I went back to the lodge and reflected on the past 12 days.
Reflections after the High Pyrenees:
I was now very confident with my camping skills, setting up and cleaning the tent was now second nature. I knew how to organize my stuff over night, usually with my backpack outside the tent wrapped in the rain cover and shoes underneath it.
I regretted sending away my pot and burner. Without it I was couldn't eat any warm foods like pasta, rice, lentils, or dried meals. I made a mental note to always have it with me on future adventure.
My body and muscles were getting used to the longer hiking days. I had zero knee pain whatsoever, and I felt like 20km a day was now beginning to feel like an easy thing to do.
Weather kept being challenging with lots of fog, dampness and rain. I don't think I went more than three days in a row without getting wet.
My shoes were done for. I didn't want to buy new ones in the middle of a hike so I resigned myself to have soggy feet for another few weeks
In part three we will be crossing the Pyrenees Ariegeoise, where I found the best inn of the hike and met up with Francois for the rest of the trip.
Clem
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