HRP Day 24 Parzan - Refugio Viados

Friday 31 July 2015

I was woken up early by the sound of rolling thunder and heavy rain. Today looked as if it was going to be wet, wet, wet.
Breakfast was supposed to be at 7am but this is Spain so. . nobody even turned up until 7.20 and it was 8.30 before I finally set off. It was raining hard and continued to do so for pretty much the whole day.
I was determined to get to Refugio Viados, and so I have, but this was not a journey to recount or dwell on. There was much rain, and also hail, much thunder and lightning, and by the time I got here, "drowned rat" would be a fair description. No views, hence not much in the way of photos, though I did manage to snatch a couple.

The difference between French and Spanish refuges, on my experiences to date, remains stark. If you walk into the common room of a French one, everyone says hello. In a Spanish one everyone just stares at you, then carries on talking amongst themselves. None of the staff are friendly or helpful, and I don't feel welcome. Partly this is my fault for being unable to speak Spanish, I think, but it is too late to do anything about that now. If I could think of a practical way to do it I would alter my route to stay in France, but I am too dependent on Ton Joostens' hrp guide to dare to ignore it completely. Still, I will see what options I may have. This might be one reason why the French GR10 route is so much more popular than the Spanish GR11, by a factor of ten in fact. In mitigation, the evening meal was not bad, and I was put on a table with three Frenchmen, so was able to have a conversation at least.
Viados is short on facilities. It has no drying room for example, and since everything I wore today is wringing wet, it will be a challenge sorting out clothing for tomorrow.
The function of bad weather is to make one properly appreciate good weather, and it has certainly done that for me in spades. It can stop now. ..
One more thing I should mention is that at one point I passed a small cabane, and who should be inside it but my friend Mark from Ealing, who I last saw in lescun. He is also walking the hrp, and I expect I will bump into him again. He walks faster than me but says he is in no hurry, he seems to like a rest day now and then.

Refugio Viados

this is a view from the refuge of the north face of Posets, the second highest peak in the pyrenees. There is cloud but it is the clearest it got while I was there

Looking back down at the valley with Parzan and Bielsa in it

HRP Day 23 Valle Barroso - Parzan

Thursday 30 July 2015

So, it's 9.30am and I am still sitting in my tent. I'm in full wet weather gear and outside the rain is absolutely hammering down, and there is thunder and lightning, a proper pyrenean storm. The tent is dry inside and quite snug, except I am all packed up and ready to knock down the tent and set off. Not going anywhere in this, though. .. sitting on the bare tent floor is not very comfy but the Neoair air mattress is deep inside my rucksack. This is the Zpacks tent's first serious rain test and so far it is doing very well. It has a clever design whereby the outer skin overlaps the sewn-in groundsheet all round, so rain runs down straight to the ground. It also means the doors can be left open without the inside getting wet, unless there's a lot of wind.
My plans for today are already looking iffy because it is doubtful if I can reach Refugio Viados before dark. I decide to go down to Parzan, and if necessary Bielsa 3km beyond, and see if I can find a shop and a hot meal. Then I can perhaps walk on towards Viados and camp. .
The good news is that so far I haven't got wet, despite all the rain. The bad news is, I reckon I'm going to, soon enough . .

It was after 11 am when the rain finally eased off enough for me to wipe down and pack away the tent. I was astonished to see that the river, which was just dry stones yesterday, was a raging torrent. Not a dry valley now! I had walked across it last night, but crossing it now would be out of the question.  I set off, but the rain soon restarted in full force, such that the path itself was flooded. I was still more than an hour from the road to Parzan, and I had to cross three streams before I finally got there. Fortunately I managed to do so without getting my feet too wet.
When I finally reached the main road - it is the one that links France & Spain via the Bielsa tunnel - I was not sure what to do. Walking 5km down it to Parzan looked quite hazardous in the pouring rain, with no verge or pavement and mainly Spanish drivers. Hopefully, I stuck out a thumb for a couple of cars to ignore, but then a car parked behind me in the lay-by opened its window: where was I trying to get to? And a very nice Belgian couple gave me a lift to Parzan, bless them. Technically this is not allowed I suppose, but I really don't see the A138 as part of the hrp. Anyway, I shall have to walk 2km back up it, tomorrow. 

This is probably the last wifi until salardu in five days time, so updates may be delayed. 

Oh, and I'm now just about half way. ..

Dry stones yesterday, a torrent today..amazing what a bit of rain can do

lunch at Parzan. €9,90 Inc. beer

the nose has progressed over the past week from dressing to large plaster to small plaster, which fell off in the rain. I think it's back now to its usual elegant self.

Does my nose look big in this? There is still a dent where the rock hit, but it is healing nicely. 

HRP Day 22 Heas - wild camp near Parzan

Wednesday 29 July 2015

Today I was intending to walk as far as the refuge de Barroude, nestling next to the scenic lakes and underneath the vast Barroude Wall. However I had some shocking news at dinner last night. The refuge has burnt to the ground! My informant, a pleasant 70 year old french walker called Jean-Yves said there was a water supply still but nothing else. I decided not to alter my plans, since I would have slept in my tent anyway. I would have to cook, that's all, I have some food.
So I set off about 8.15am for the first big climb, 1,150m up from Heas to the hourquette de Heas at 2608m, the longest single climb so far and quite tricky near the top on both sides of the col. It wouldn't be right to say I flew up it, but I got there. I found the descent the far side most difficult, hard to keep a secure footing on what amounted to loose, sloping gravel. The new poles helped, but I was glad when it leveled out a bit lower down.
Then a contouring walk around the side of several mountains, to reach the Barroude. As I went along the clouds rose until visibility disappeared completely. When I  reached the sad and unexpectedly, rather moving remains of the refuge, nothing could be seen of the lake or the Wall; nor was the good water source available that I'd been promised. . It did not feel like a suitable place to spend the night, so I kept walking.
On my previous, three - week trip in 2011, this is as far as I'd got before I had to go home. So now I was walking into completely unknown territory, further along the hrp than ever before. With zero visibility and an abandoned, wrecked hut it was not how I'd imagined it would be!
After Barroude there is a climb to the Port de Barroude, a desolate stony plateau. Following the path was hard in the cloud and might have been dangerous without the blessed phone gps, that shows you exactly where you are, and where the path is. This path wound down in endless zigzags to the Valle de Barrosa. I had thought I might camp here, since it is a long road walk to Parzan and I wasn't keen to arrive in a village with no accommodation in late evening - it was almost 8pm already. Gradually it dawned on me that this was a completely dry valley. .. High up on the mountainside streams were visible, but none made it into the valley and the Rio Barrosa was as dry as a bone. Odd. You do need water for a proper camp so I kept walking along the valley. All of a sudden, the river appeared! From out of the ground! Ice cold, and as clear as a bell, an authentic spring. I took this as a sign, and put the tent up straight away. Perhaps the rest of the hrp wouldn't be too bad after all.

Looking back on the Heas valley. Auberge bottom left. 

And again from higher up. The mountain in the distance with snow on is Vignemale 

Ruins of the Barroude hut

the port de Barroude. No more photos because no more visibility! 

HRP Day 21 Gavarnie - Heas

Tuesday 28 July 2015

A lovely day today, very enjoyable, which is especially nice to write, considering that it starts off with a1000m climb!
I left Gavarnie (1390m) about 8 am in swirling mist and cloud, and climbed steadily to the refuge d'Espuguettes (2030m) where I sat for a few minutes and ate some yoghurt and fruit bought in Gavarnie. While I did so the cloud obligingly shifted, so that above me was clear blue sky and sun.  Then another steady climb up to the col, the Hourquette d'Alan. Then a long descent to the lac Gloriettes, partly along the pleasant bubbling stream that feeds it, the Gave d'Estaube. The descent gave me a chance to properly try out my new walking poles, and they are certainly an improvement.  After that it is a bit of a slog along the road to Heas, but now I am here at the Auberge de la Munea. The auberge sadly is full, but I am booked in for a meal this evening and my tent is up in the field next door.
Tomorrow another big climb to the lacs de Barroude, another of the iconic spots of the Pyrenees.

just climbed up through that! 

Friendly donkeys at the refuge d'Espuguettes. This one happily ate my banana skin, then tried to root around in my rucksack looking for more. 

Looking back down at the refuge d'Espuguettes. The well-known Breche de Roland is visible above it

here it is, a bit closer, the refuge de Sarradets faintly visible just in front and below it

Gave d'Estaube 

lac des Gloriettes 

relaxing outside the basic but pleasant auberge de la Munea 

HRP Day 20 - Rest day in Gavarnie

Monday 27 July 2015

A restful, if rather expensive, day in Gavarnie today. I bought some food, a nice pair of Leki walking poles and a pair of trousers too. I have had trouser issues, having badly ripped one pair on some barbed wire, and there are two small holes in the other pair caused during the Nose incident. Later I will try to repair the small holes, but the other pair, as they are zip-offs I will bin the bottom parts and keep them, at least for the time being, as shorts.
Other jobs include clothes washing, and equipment review (done), food shopping (done), bringing the blog up to date (done) and sorting out the route for the next section, from Gavarnie to Salardu - next. The first two sections (of five) are now completed, so I am roughly 40% of the way there. Tomorrow, on to Heas! 

It is fashionable to sneer at Gavarnie, and it can get crowded with tourists, especially at weekends. But it is a cheerful, friendly place, with a full range of facilities, and a fantastic location. The Cirque de Gavarnie that looms over the village is truly stunning, I am very fond of the place.

Gavarnie high street, with cirque (slightly cloudy) behind. 

The comfortable hotel Le Marbore, where I'm staying

HRP Day 19

Sunday 26 July 2015

Refuge Oulettes - Gavarnie

This morning I said farewell to my Dutch friends Joost, Kaatje & Irena who are walking down to Cauterets & then home. It has been nice talking to and walking with them.
I set off after breakfast to climb to the Hourquette d'Ossoue, 2734m, the highest col so far. A 600m climb, and I was pleased to complete it in 1hr 50m, quicker than the guide's expected 2 hrs. On the way there are fine views of Vignemale, which you walk right next to.
From the col it is a short walk to Refuge Bayssellance, at 2563m the highest manned refuge in the pyrenees. Then, a long and difficult descent that continues all the way to Gavarnie. Descending is a slow business for me at present, because of my ailing knees and because the poles I acquired in lescun are too short. I must buy some new ones in Gavarnie, and then try to speed up a little if I can.
The tedious descent was enlivened by two things. First, it passes the Grottes Bellevue, three caves hollowed out of the mountain in the 1880s at the behest of the rich and deeply eccentric Lord Henry Russell. One for him, one for his guests, and one for meals - and we are talking Persian carpets, waiters, candelabra and full evening dress here. Wikipedia has more about this remarkable man, in whose honour Pic Russell is named.
The other excitement was a close encounter of the marmot kind. Marmots are one of my favourite animals - furry, cuddly, and totally harmless. Think oversized guinea pig, though technically they are a type of squirrel. They have a loud warning whistle that you hear a lot, but they are harder to see and seldom come as close as this one did. They were hunted to extinction in the pyrenees, but after the second world war some alpine marmots were reintroduced and they are now widespread. They are herbivore and hence not a pest or a threat to anything else much, bless 'em.
Eventually I reached Gavarnie and my first proper bed and shower since lescun.

Joost, Irena, Kaatje. I am hoping Joost's no shaving look is just while he's walking. I'm not certain the Lee Marvin look quite suits him. 

Looking back at the refuge Oulettes, visible in the centre of picture. 

Vignemale, close to

Looking down from the Hourquette d'Ossoue towards Bayssellance 

the Ossoue glacier, which must be climbed en route to the summit of Vignemale. I counted 20 people on it 

Entrance to one of the Grottes Bellevue

inside. No Persian carpets now. .

spot the marmot! 

He came very close

quite a lot of snowfields to cross on the way down, like this one. 

HRP Day 18

Saturday 25 July  Refuge Wallon - Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube

A good day, today. Started around 8am after usual refuge breakfast (cereal & coffee with milk made up from milk powder, choice of stale bread or thin toastie things, with jam & butter.  Sometimes a small bun or cake) on the long climb to the Col d'Arratilie (2528m). Then an interesting though occasionally delicate walk along the mountainside, to the next col, the Col des Mulets (2591m).
Then a 600m descent, steep at first and with patches of snow (best bypassed, unless they are flattish) to the refuge des Oulettes de Gaube. The special feature of this refuge is its magnificent situation, overlooking the north face of Vignemale and its attendant glacier. Unfortunately it has been cloudy for most of the day. The two cols were above the cloud, so I had good views then, and just as I arrived here the cloud lifted for a few minutes so giving us a nice view of the glacier before it disappeared again. Sadly I forgot to take a photo! But fortunately there was plenty of opportunity later.
I am now camped on the plain in front of the refuge, and booked in for dinner. Tomorrow is a long day but will end at Gavarnie, and civilization after a long chain of showerless refuges and no mobile signal!

Kaatje and Irena walking up towards the col des Mulets. 

me at the col des Mulets

my tent beside the Oulettes refuge

the view from the refuge, one of the special sights of the pyrenees. Much closer than it seems in the photo, it looms over you. Vignemale is the highest point, the North Face glacier is visible in front of it. Much shrunken in recent years. Taken near dusk, note the moon is visible too 

this one taken the following morning, sun just appearing over the mountaintops 

sorry this is out of sequence. Coming up to the col des Mulets. If you look carefully, or can expand the photo, there are six Izard walking along the skyline, my first of this trip. They are heavily protected so their numbers are increasing but they are very shy. Izard are a kind of goat - antelope, Wikipedia will tell you more

HRP Day 17

Friday 24 July Refugio Respomuso - Refuge  Wallon 

I left Respomuso early, just after 7am. I did not like the refuge very much. Too bossy, too many rules, chippy and not very friendly. Perhaps if you are Spanish (as most there were) you might fare better.
The first mile or two are straightforward, along the GR11 and then across a reservoir-to-be-one-day, the Campo Planopiano. Then start on the long climb up to the col de la Fache, 2668m, highest col so far. Near the top it got quite steep, with a lot of bare rock and some snow to cross. I was quite pleased to negotiate it all in reasonably good order and reached the col soon after 10am. There were some other people there, presumably they had come up the other way, from Wallon.
I was a bit relieved that the path down the other side of the col, into the valley of Marcadou, was easier to walk on than the route up. It did seem to go on for a long time though. I eventually got to Wallon about 2pm. In the interests of economy I am sleeping in my tent tonight, but I booked in for dinner and breakfast.
I have caught up again with my Dutch friends, who had a long day yesterday so are having a rest today before going on to Oulettes de Gaube tomorrow, as will I. And who should I see at dinner but my six Belgian ladies! It was lovely to see them again, but this is their last night. They are off home after breakfast tomorrow. Shame.
Thanks to the nose incident, I have lost another day. However it did make the journey to Wallon much easier, it is a long day otherwise.

Refugio Respomuso 

Respomuso reservoir. It is a scenic area. 

donkeys and mules are rather a feature of the pyrenees. Many refuges use them for transporting supplies. They are very placid and even - tempered. 

Looking back from near the top of the col de la Fache. Respomuso reservoir in the distance. The snow is supposed to be a lake! 

The view forwards from the col, into the valley of Marcadou 

more snow to cross, not difficult when it is flat like this though you must be careful near the edges, which melt from underneath. .

my tent at Wallon. The refuge is vaguely visible at the left

Update - Days 14 -16

As you might have gathered, I have been out of mobile range for some time. I should not complain about this, in a way it is what the pyrenees are all about! What I am complaining about however, is that I have been dutifully writing a blog each day and storing it as a draft, but now Blogger will not upload them even though I do finally have wifi, and I fear that they are lost forever. Boo!

So, to summarise:
- I am now (Sunday 26 July)  in Gavarnie, about 40%of the way, and still in moderately good working order.
The missing episodes are:
day 14 - Candanchu - Refuge Pombie
Day 15 - Refuge Pombie - Refuge Arremoulits
Day 16 - Refuge Arremoulits - Refuge Respomuso

For the days following, from Respomuso to Gavarnie where I am now, I will put up posts tomorrow. For the three missing days I will try to tell it all in photos, below. .. There are some quite exciting bits!

Me with my six beautiful Belgian friends. They went off to Ayous, but I did see them again at Oulettes

view looking East. In the centre is the pic du Midi d'Ossau 

getting closer to it. .

a viper, about 1m long. Poisonous, I'm told, but also very shy. I've seen two more since

Refuge d'Arremoulits, old and primitive, but cheerful and welcoming. All refuges were like this once

Arremoulits sole sanitary arrangement, a squatty loo and a hose for flushing. .

I fell over and broke my nose! It was quite spectacular at the time, but is healing nicely now. 

the scene of the crime, scrambling over those rocks. . I was extremely grateful to Mick and Gayle who patched me up afterwards  (there is more about this on their blog: http://gayleybird.blogspot.fr/2015/07/day-12-refuge-darremoulit-to-refuge.html?m=0) and to Joost, Kaatje and Irena who messed up their own day by waiting with me and then walking on to Respomuso with me