1st July - 9.00pm
Today was awesome! By far the most exciting and eventful of the trip so far. The weather was kind, the cloud stayed high and the wind died away. So I resolved to climb to the summit of Pic d'Anie.
The ascent was across an incredible limestone plateau, cloven by huge crevasses and riddled with potholes. Some of them big
enough to swallow a car! It is a harsh landscape - no grass or bushes, but sheltered hollows and cracks in the rocks harboured
a vivid array of alpine flowers that seemed impossibly colourful against such a stark background.
I clambered across this plateau, struggling to follow the line of cairns that marked the route of the 'path', and then slogged up the steep slopes to the summit. En route, I stopped to talk with a Spanish woman who passed me, and then managed to leave my sunglasses behind on a rock, necessitating a 150m backtrack to recover them.
Photo: Pic d'Anie from the limestone plateau above Pierre St Martin
From the summit, the view East over the Cirque de Lescun was breathtaking. Steep hillsides of emerald green, swathed in beech forest and topped with 500m domes of sheer limestone. And not just one or two domes, but ranks of them stretching onwards into the High Pyrenees beyond.
I opted to risk following George Veron's descent route down the unmarked East ridge to the Col de Countende and then down a scree run into the Anaye valley. This proved to be rather steep and I had to scramble back up at one point to find an easier line, but it was manageable and quite exciting. It has also given me some faith in George's recommendations.
On the scree run I saw two Izard run across the slope below me, and then I stopped to take a photo of some Pyrenean Iris's. It was only when I reached the valley bottom that I realised that I had left my sunglasses behind, again! This time I had to climb back up 300m, and I was lucky to find them on the open slopes. In future I will have to keep them tied about my neck!!
After resting from my extra-curricula exhurtions, I walked down a good path through Beech forests, where a Fox suddenly stepped
out of the trees in front of me. There was a magic moment whilst we both stared at each other in suprise and then he was away
into the trees in a flash.
Further down the path zigzagged steeply whilst a stream fell in a series of cascades alongside steep limestone cliffs on the other side of the narrow valley. I passed a woman with two donkeys taking provisions up to the shepherds huts in the alpine meadows above. Then I dropped into the lush farmland of the Sanchese, surrounded by limestone cliffs and spires. The culmination of a truely remarkable day.
Photo: Resting on the descent from Pic d'Anie (the summit is the peak on the left)
Lescun is a sleepy village with bags of character and charm, but not the commercial centre that I need to restock my supplies. The grocers shop has got adequate food though and the campsite is nice. I have even managed to scrounge some petrol for my stove from the campsite owner.
Rubens has appeared and joined me at the campsite, where we have shared a bottle of wine and passed a pleasant evening in idle conversation. He seems to be a free spirit, who works when he needs to, to pay off his debts and fund his next adventure. He said that he finds it hard to resist travelling, though he feels he ought to be facing up to responsibilities at home and making plans for the future.
2nd July - 6.30pmThis morning I left Rubens to enjoy a days rest in Lescun and climbed the valley into the Cirque d'Ansaberre. I arranged to meet up with Rubens again tomorrow evening at Refuge d'Arlet where he would rejoin the HRP.
On the way up the valley I met another English walker on the HRP, Ben Sharp. Due to the constriants of being in employment (most unusual up here!) he is doing the HRP in week-long stages over several years, and is currently on his second leg. He is an ex-army man, now in a management job with BAA, and his background is evident in his kit and organisation - very impressive.
We walked together up to the Cabins d'Ansaberre where we are staying the night. The cabins comprise a shepherds hut and a small bothy which is free for walkers to use as accommodation. Soon after we arrived three French nutters came bumping down the rocky path from Pic d'Ansaberre on trial motorbikes. They stopped for a chat and explained the process of transhuminance, whereby the shepherd brings his sheep up into the high pastures for the summer and lives with them, milking them and making cheese which is kept in a cold store behind the hut. Apparently the Pyrenees is one of the last places in Europe where this is still practiced. Because the shepherd has to be here to look after the sheep, he can also look after the bothy, which is good for us walkers.
The bikers left for the valley, kindly leaving us some Ricard as an apperitif for our meal, and soon after two women arrived. Sylvie and Miriam live in a town South of Col de Somport and are here for a few days walking. Sylvie is French but now living in Spain, and Miriam is a slightly scarey looking Spaniard with vivid blue eyes and a collection of facial piercings. They are friendly, despite appearances, and have lit a very nice bonfire. We have shared the Ricard with them and received wine and some food in return. It has been a very pleasant evening.
The bothy is very small so I have set up my tent, left Ben to his fate with the girls, and retired for a quiet nights sleep.
3rd July - 10.00pm
Ben and I got away from the bothy at about 9.00am. Sylvia and Miriam were not early risers and were still asleep. We picked our way up to the Lac d'Ansaberre and then up into the cloud on the ridge. It was another cool overcast day with cloud licking the summits and the ridges.
Once over the ridge we dropped South into Spain and traversed round to the Col de Pau. Here it was clearer, and dramatic views to the South of the Sierra de Bernera made for a lovely walk. The limestone was interrupted by a huge intrusion of mahogany coloured Puddingstone which reminds me of photographs of Arizona.
Before Col de Pau Chris and Jim caught us up. It was great to see them again and catch up on their news. They bought some new sleeping bags in Cauterets!
Back on the French side of the frontier the cloud drifted back in, just giving occassional views down into the valley
d'Aspe far below. Tired and hungry, the four of us trooped up to the Refuge d'Arlet at about 5.00pm. I opted to join the
others in the hut for the night to be sociable, and was glad 10 minutes later when a thick and cold hill fog came in and
engulfed the view.
The hut is basic but comfortable, comprising a large dining area downstairs and a single large dormitory upstairs. There are a group of French students who cooked for themselves using a small kitchen at the back. This self-catering option seems to be perfectly acceptable in the refuges, and some provisions are usually on sale as well.
Photo: The Refuge d'Arlet
We celebrated our progress with a fine meal prepared by the very pretty French guardian and plenty of red wine. It has been a very enjoyable evening but we will now have to grope my way upstairs as the lights have been turned out in the dorm. It is a pity that Rubens didn't turn up. We will hope that he catches us up later.
4th July - 8.00pm
In the early morning I got up to go to the toilet, groped downstairs in the light of my headtorch, and walked outside into a crystal clear night. The stars were fantastic, the Milky Way being clearly visible and I saw two shooting stars!
After a spartan breakfast (they are never very filling in the refuges) I set off with Chris and Jim on a traverse around the head of the Valley d'Aspe to Col de Somport. Ben had made an early start to make the most of his last day before returning home.
Here the route was littered with large blocks of pudding-stone, a red conglomerate contrasting starkley with the white limestone. At the Cold'Arrouy, where the path crossed a spur of the red rock the view opened up suddenly to the South revealing the cliffs of Pas d'Aspe towering over Somport, and still retaining patches of snow in their gullies and corries. We stopped for a second breakfast and a cup of tea, before Chris and Jim pressed on to Somport for lunch. I continued at a more sedate pace decending through Beech forests to have a very nice lunch break by the river near the Sansanet parking area. I washed my socks in the river and then sat on a rock in the sun for an hour whilst they dried.
Across the other side of the valley the route took a rising traverse back North towards the Refuge de Larry. It was a long
slog, despite some nice patches of Beech and Pine woods and some quite spectacular drops into the valley below. I lost a lot
of height dropping into the Arnouse valley where I plucked up the courage to visit a shepherds hut to buy some cheese. The hut
was tiny, and I was ushered in and sat down before being given a glass of (rather rough) red wine and a grubby looking hunk of
cheese. Despite appearances the cheese was delicious, and I was then taken to see the storehouse where the big round cheeses were
all lined up on shelves maturing in the cool. Then to the room where the cheese was being made in big plastic tubs. It takes them
4 months to set and mature before they are ready to be sold. I bought a large hunk of sheeps-milk cheese with a lovely
mature taste for 7 Euros. Definately worth it for the experience!
Photo: The peaks of the Pas d'Aspe above the Col de Somport
At Refuge de Larry I met up with Ben again who was preparing to head home from Urdos tomorrow. This was more like a traditional bothy with a sleeping loft, a bunk bed and even a small hob with a gas bottle plumbed in. I opted to camp on a nice flat spot close to the hut, but joined Ben for tea in the bothy. After the lovely sunny day the usual bank of evening hill fog rolled in at 7.00pm, closely followed by Mac who had got off the bus in Urdos and decided to slog up to the bothy. He had obviously pushed himself hard as he was sweating, pale and knackered. Definately in need of a weeks healthy living!