Day 32: Resting in Bagnères-de-Luchon

 

Shoe shopping for new boots, pizza eating, and an afternoon in the local thermal baths/underground hammam caves getting pampered until I felt as relaxed as the marmot in the advert! A tough day ;)

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Bagnères-de-Luchon was an important moment in our hike, for it was in this town that I discovered the joy of visiting thermals spas - and there are plenty of them to be found along the GR10.! I hadn't ventured into the one on Cauterets, but from this moment on, I made sure that I saught them out wherever and whenever possible. The spa in Luchon was pretty special - it's a natural hammam cave that has been dug out in the rock underground - you wander along sweaty tunnels that are heated bn natural heat sources in the rock, alternating this with dips in the jacuzzi baths where you can get pounded by all manner of water jets and bubbles. It's amazing how relaxing it is, and how much it helped my tired hiking muscles.

Day 31: Lac de Saussat to Bagnères-de-Luchon

 

Waking up super cosy in our tent, marmots yipping outside, Gavin opening the door to reveal perfect mirrored reflections of the lake and the first frost (we were camping above 2000m), coffee then 2nd coffees at the refuge, back to the Gr10, views of the Lac d'Oô from above before the cloud swirled in, climbing up and over a horquette then down again and up again over a col, the temperature rising and falling repeatedly requiring many costume changes, finally some glimpses of nature after days of rain, flurries of black butterflies, flocks of choughs screeching overhead, a solitary raven, vultures and dung beetles galore, crumbly cheese sarnies with views of Spanish mountains, another depressing ski station (Super Bagnères), a weirdo man trying to stroke a cow and the cow not being at all impressed, descending gently through a beautiful forest, a shy deer bounding off, the rooftops of Luchon coming into view, and a peaceful campsite with a field almost entirely of our own to rest in tomorrow and a late night visit from a hedgehog who snuffled around outside our tent.

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In Bagnères-de-Luchon we stayed in a lovely little campsite that is about ten minutes walk from the centre of town and very conveniently located if you intend to visit the Thermal spa (and you should!): Camping des Thermes They have a special separate field for tents that is set back from the rest of the campsite where the camping cars are parked. It’s peaceful and secluded and a great place to stay for a rest day. The sanitaires were tip-top and the woman who ran the campsite was very helpful when it came to using the laundry facilities.



The vital statistics: 
Time 7h51 
Peak: 2279m 
Total ascent: 679m  
Total descent: 1955m

Day 29: Loudenvielle to Granges d'Astau

Waking up cosy and dry (this did not last long!), discovering exciting new jam flavours at breakfast (chestnut jam is my new favourite thing), local retirees expressing incredulous surprise that we were off hiking given the forecast, steep hills to a village called Germ where all the lampposts were bright blue and a refuge served us coffee and takeaway wine for later, finding my 3rd five-leaved clover, cows emerging from the mist one at a time until we were suddenly surrounded, the mist turning to rain which got steadily heavier until recently dryish boots were freshly saturated, heading to an unmanned refuge for shelter which took so long to find that we gave up all hope (especially when the hail started), a roof suddenly appearing in the mist, discovering a sweet young French couple inside who had just started a fire and sharing our wine with them as we warmed up, peering out the doorway to see glimpses of epic waterfalls through the cloud, adding the PHS to the table graffiti, heading back out into the rain and wading through at least 4 rivers cursing and swearing at the path, unfathomably steep, horrendous uphill paths that went on far too long up to a col, soggy marmots yipping on either side and braving the rain, patches of purple flowers, zigzags down through the wettest forest ever encountered (surprisingly pleasant given the conditions), arriving at an Auberge and contemplating camping, realising that was mad, getting a room and unpacking our bags to realise everything was drenched and going for a boozy dinner. Our wettest day of hiking yet but somehow also strangely enjoyable! We will perservere!!

The Vital statistics: 
Total hiking time: 7h45  
Peak: 2161m 
Total ascent: 1282m
Total descent: 1109m

Day 27: Lac d'Orédon to Vielle-Aure (near Saint-Lary-Soulan)

Fending off an attack from two marauding grey ponies before we had even made coffee, admiring the Goldeneye dam and mirrored mountains on the lake, climbing up through an enchanted forest past a fluttery coal tit, toadstools and purple pompom flowers and emerging to amazing views of cloud filled valleys below, descending through golden plains and raspberry woods to the lac d'Oule where even tinier frogs than yesterday hopped underfoot kamikaze-style, a 3 course lunch at the fanciest refuge yet, detouring off the GR10 to climb steep ski slopes where fat marmots sunbathed and lazed, the sounds of a rumpus rave turning out to be a huge herd of cows getting directed our way, veering off the path and getting followed by one lonely/angry cow to the mud bath of a rival herd the cloud closing in and offering only the briefest teasing glimpses of epic neighbouring mountains either side, a red kite swooping overhead, finding a tiny black and white magpie feather, descending hundreds of metres through a kneecap-eroding forest, wild thyme growing by the path, long tailed tits whizzing over very tired hikers, getting driven to the nearest pizzeria by an excellent taxi man and now the goodnight hoots of a tawny owl. Twoo-oooh-oooh!

That cloud river

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Teeny tiny frog!

Despite the gardien’s initial horror at learning that two of us were vegetarian (he actually reacted with “Oooh la la la la !”) the Refuge de l’Oule served us an excellent meal of grilled vegetables , freshly cooked on the plancha.

The campsite we stayed in Vielle-Aure wins the award for least friendly welcome of the entire hike (so I won’t link to it)

We had an excellent feeding in Saint-Lary-Soulan at the Pizzeria La Main à la Pâte

The vital statistics:
Total hiking time: 10h22m
Peak: 2284m
Total ascent: 677m
Total descent: 813m

Day 25: Luz-St-Saveur to Pountou

Setting back out on our rambles after an excellent wedding weekend diversion, feeling the weight of restocking our bags and complaining about it a LOT(!), visiting a 12th century castle, noticing the leaves have started to turn yellow, steep paths, pretty villages, a blue butterfly trying to hitch a ride, the tiniest chapel I've ever seen perched atop a hill, following an art trail with panels of info teaching you how to sketch trees and mountains and flowers, meeting up with Nick and Katie in Barèges (the Pyrénées Hiking Society will be hiking with the full contingent for the next week!), setting off towards the Col du Tourmalet, turning up a valley along a river where a marmot welcomed us back to the mountains and setting up camp just in time for a huge thunderstorm to roll in, cooking fajitas in the most ridiculous conditions ever achieved – in the porch of our tent as the storm thundered and battered the tent! 

 
The vital statistics:
Total hiking time: 6h38
Peak: 1728m
Total ascent: 1398m
Total descent: 401m

Day 24: Gavarnie to Luz-Saint-Saveur.

 

Feasting for breakfast, wandering through Gavarnie, urban marmots on the outskirts to show us back into the hills, a red squirrel, a swallowtail butterfly, a cooling breeze making the golden grass dance and keeping us cool as we climbed up the side of a mushroom covered mountain, the Cirque de Gavarnie ever-present and ever-epic behind us, good coffees at a gîte, lunch in the shade before the path suddenly became a scratchy gauntlet with different thorns on either side and scarlet red grasshoppers leaping about, descending into a glorious forest with sunbeams dancing through the leaves then descending again into lightless, viewless, soulless, stony, awful goblin tunnels down to a D road that was as hot as it was long, terrifying scarecrows and posters advertising local cake (I've never been more terrified at the prospect of cake), songs to spur us on blasted out of my phone before finally arriving at a campsite where we are camped by a 12th century castle and have eaten like kings. A very long day!

 ***

We stayed in this campsite, the Camping Toy - very central with views of the castle across the river

This pizzeria, Che Coulet, in Luz-Saint-Saveur was so good we ate here twice.

The vital statistics:
Total hiking time: 9h30
Peak: 1825m
Total ascent: 866m
Total descent: 1475m

Day 23: Marmot hill to Gavarnie

 
Waking up to the unmistakeable squeak and yip! yap! of marmots and realising our tent was surrounded by marmot mounds (we had suspected as much!), watching them sunbathe and play and eat their breakfast and wrestle as we sipped coffee, setting off in the sunshine, admiring all the views that were obscured by yesterday's cloud including the huge glaciers on the back of Vignemale, kestrels hovering and choughs squawking above, more mountain mice scurrying about, even more marmots, vultures devouring a cow and squabbling with each other (very vicious), diverting off the GR10 to Gavarnie to check out the famous cirque which is seriously awesome, pizzas for lunch, and a lazy afternoon pitching our tent by a field of horses with an amazing view of the cirque...

One of the many marmots looking rathe regal by the thistles

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 We pitched our tent at La Bergerie, an ‘aire naturelle’ in Gavarnie which was cheap, had an excellent breakfast, clean sanitaires and absolutely amazing views of the Cirque de Gavarnie....

The cirque rocks glowed pinky orange as the sun set and the moon emerged from behind the rocks.

Vital statistics: 
Total hiking time: 5h30 
Peak: 1898m 
Total ascent: 113m 
Total descent: 652m

Day 22: Lac de Gaube to La Cabane de Lourdes

Waking up to blue skies and epic views of Vignemale, climbing up the valley past two majestic isards - one chewing the leaves off a tree, the other bounding over rocks -, arriving at the Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube just in time to admire the north face of Vignemale and its glaciers before it was shrouded in the cloud that had followed us up the valley, chocolate brownies and coffee, marmots appearing everywhere all day long as if to show us the path - their little faces peeking out over rocks, their fluffy tails bounding behind them as they leapt about, their calls yip yip yipping out over the valley -, climbing rocky paths up into the cloud to the highest (and so far the coldest) part of the GR10, the Hourquette d'Ossoue (2734m) where we met anotheR British couple who took our photo and had pick axes and crampons for climbing up Vignemale tomorrow, scoffing cheese sarnies in the highest refuge in the Pyrenees and descending down steep, rocky paths, past a colony of mountain mice weaving in and out of their burrows, into a long gloomy valley which had a thick ceiling of cloud and many more marmots, over a dam and up again to a cloudy cold mountain side where we're huddling in our tent by a river hoping for sunshine...

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The vital statistics:
Total hiking time: 9h05
Peak: 2736m
Total ascent: 1171m
Total descent: 1012m

Day 19: Estaing to Cauterets

Devouring local honey and homemade jam at breakfast, second coffees at a geranium/begonia filled restaurant terrace, climbing through dark quiet pine forests and into the hot sun, up, up, up surrounded by epic views and purple flowers, powered by mars bars, past waterfalls and more marmots (hooray!) to the col d'Ilhéou (2242m) where rows of ragged peaks appeared on the horizon, continuing down to the blue blue lac d'Ilhéou where the refuge people cooked us some damn tasty omelettes and proved once again that it is possible to procure wine in very remote places, finding baby lizards, descending more stony paths in the hot sun past wild raspberry bushes, ugly ski lifts and crazy big waterfalls into Cauterets, finding a pretty campsite to rest in, devouring pizza and marvelling at the madness of ultra runners who are halfway thru a 160km route...

The vital statistics:
Totak time hiking: 9h21
Peak: 2243m
Total ascent: 1245m
Total descent: 1368m

Day 17: Soussouéou to Gourette

Lingering in our beautiful valley in the morning sun, a kingfisher whizzing past whilst we sipped our coffee, a giant hawk moth drinking crocus nectar, flurries of blue butterflies, a mean looking snake skulking into the bushes, loud red crickets clattering around, hot sunshine and blue skies, lots of climbing, refreshing waterfalls, a patch of snow/glacier, the Pic du Midi d'Ossau peeking out behind us, pink granite mountains ahead, more marmots right before the last climb up the rocky path to the Hourquette d'Arre, our highest col so far (2465m), so many flowers growing in the rocks, thick cloud on the way down past the turquoise Lac d'Anglas on painfully rocky paths with hungry tummies, arriving in another ugly ski station but finding refuge in a yummy crêperie and a hotel. Time to get properly clean again...

 

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I have never seen so many butterflies dancing together in the sunshine as I saw that morning as we climbed up and out the valley of Soussouéou. .

magic fluttery swarms of delicate blue butterfflies

Heading down from remote places like this into another bleak ski station makes for a weird stilting clash of nature and civilization. No question which one we prefer....
 
That being said, the hotel we stayed at in Gourette, Le Glacier was super friendly, very cosy and did an outstanding breakfast.

The vital statistics:
Total time hiking: 6h05
Peak: 2444m
Total ascent: 1060m
Total descent: 1126m

Day 15: Borce (vallée d'aspe) to Lac Roumassot

Restocking our supplies at the gîte shop, climbing up along the dramatic Chemin de la Mâture, steep forest paths and waterfalls, a cloudy valley, brebis sarnies, marmots leaping about everywhere, a stoat bounding over the rocks, wheatears fluttering around, birds of prey appearing elusively in the mist, sunshine breaking thru the cloud to light up the valley below, a close encounter with an over-friendly pony that tried to eat my pants at the Col d'Ayous, the Pic de Midi d'Ossau looking unreal as it floated in the clouds above us as we descended to the lac d'ayous, a grazed knee, restorative wine at the refuge then wild camping in the clouds by the lac Roumassot with a jolly good fire to keep us warm...

Oh tell me why, do we build castles in the sky...

The Vital Statistics:

Total hiking time: 8h55

Peak: 2164m

Total ascent: 1675m

Total descent: 504m

Day 13: Saint Engrâce to a valley after the Pas d'Azuns.

Gaining 1km of altitude before lunch through steep green forests and bleak farm trails, flocks of friendly wheatears and black redstarts fluttering about, 2 pigs atop the mountain, the grey grey stones of La Pierre Saint Martin in the clouds, tasty omelettes and wine at the refuge Jeandel, remembering there's nowhere bleaker than ski resorts in summer, climbing up into the wilderness where the marmots roam and spying them aplenty (I've been grinning from ear to ear ever since!), blue thistles and yellow and purple flowers sprouting in all the rock cracks, reaching a high of 1922m and scrambling over the pas de l'Osque (scariest bit so far), spying a majestic isard who rewarded us for our bravery, coming down over the pas d'Azuns and setting up camp in the glorious valley below right before the rain came in.

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I had only ever seen one marmot before this, scampering along a mountain path in a valley near the Lac bleu. It was a pretty special moment, as we had seen so many of them on postcards and tacky souvenirs and were starting to wonder if they were avoiding us! After that, I became a teeny tiny bit obsessed with these intriguing creatures and was very much hoping to see them again as we hiked our way across the Pyrénées. I needn’t have worried – we saw hundreds and hundreds of them by the time we were finished (and heard plenty more yipping their alarm signals around deserted valleys).

The Vital Statistics:
Time hiking: 10h
Peak: 1909m
Total ascent: 1730m
Total descent: 810m