Saturday May 14th Refuge de Mariailles to Ballestavy

So today was a walk with everything. Great scenery, wildlife, scary challenging walking, hideous weather and then a great meal at the end of it.

After the terrible afternoon weather of the last two days I decided to head of early (not a lot to make you hang about in a Refuge) and try and get over Canigou before it started to rain. The Refuge was 1700 metres so we had about 1,000 metres to climb, some maps days Canigou is 2,700, some say it's 2,600.

Refuge de Marialles

The walk up the valley is an easy one although we did have to cross a very full river and I get my first dose of wet feet. As we climb the valley I get to see my first ever Flaming Salamander (I my second one later) and then lots of Isards running across the side of the valley. Slightly later Peter thinks we see a wild cat, I think it's a marmot.

Flaming Salamander

Crossing snow fields on the way up to Canigou

The weather is starting to look less settled and although we can now clearly see the top of Canigou there is still a lot of climbing. On the high side of the valley there is still a lot of snow some of which looks a bit too unstable to cross forcing us to make some time consuming detours. Eventually we are ready to make the final climb to the top and it really is a climb. For at least 300 feet your climbing your way up through a chimney, real climbing, and I'm having second and third thoughts about the whole thing. Exhausting, a big scary but actually really exhilarating we eventually make it to the top.

The ridge to the south of Canigou

Climbing the chimney up to Canigou

The clouds prevent us seeing the Mediterranean and the other views for which Canigou is famous for but it's dramatic despite that. It's starting to get cold however so after about 10 minutes we head down the easier path on the other side. The clouds suddenly drop, there is a crack of thunder and the rain and hail is pouring down. We walk through this for another 45 minutes until we get to the Refuge at Catalots, which is fortunately open and we go inside for some shelter. A couple of German women have the same idea and we crowd around the fire, drink hot chocolate and share some fruit cake.

On top of Canigou

Posing Pete

Half a hour later we were on our way again, still cloudy but not raining and only 8 kilometres to our destination at Ballestavy. After a couple of kilometres the GR 36 leaves the GR 10 and heads north effectively leaving the Pyrenees. The rain starts again and we drop into a forest which goes on uninterrupted the next 6 kilometres dropping about 1500 metres on the way. It's a great walk, even in the rain, a narrow ghost train like path through the trees, soft underfoot encouraging you to move really quickly down the hill side.

At about 6.30 we arrive at Ballestavy a really pretty village on the hill side in the middle of the forest. Cold and wet we find the Gite D'Etape near the church and it looks miserable. Peter goes of to get the key and I guard the bags. 10 minutes later he's back and has found accommodation above the restaurant and there is a woman with a car to ferry us there. The day is finished of with a absolutely brilliant Table D'hote sploit only slightly by the damp dog smell of my shoes.

Ballestavy

Friday May 13th Mantet to Refuge de Mariailles

Guest blog by Peter
This is the second day of my walk with John through some country I know - or thought I did till yesterday! Picking up with John's fiendish high level of fitness was hard so was pleased that both legs were functioning this morning.

Gite d'Etape in Mantet

We left Mantet after a good breakfast (turned out building his wonderful little gite had cost our belgian host two wives, though current post holder very nice and a great cook).
John bought some locally produced and high priced sheep's cheese and we walked 300 metres up to the Col de Mantet, really good views back the way we had come yesterday.

Up from Mantet

and then down to Py at 700 metres.

The Golden Nugget of Py had a sign saying "ouvert" but we were unconvinced. Pressed on and climbed gently up to Col de Jou through beech woods.

Through the Beech trees

Weather closing in but some good glimpses if the west face of Canigou which is the last big mountain in the range before the Mediterranean. At 2780 metres it is the sacred mountain of the Catalans visible from Narbonne to Girona. Tomorrow we'll go over early before the clouds and storms build up.

Today they certainly built up. We were just feet away from a lightning bolt and the rain poured down steadily (stair rods says John) but our day today was pretty short and half an hour later we checked into the Refuge. John overjoyed to try out again his dormitory anti-snoring technique.

The Refuge de Marialles

Grim Weather

Thursday May 12th Planes to Mantet

First full day in France, really tough day's walking but satisfying made all the more so by some wonderful accommodation in Mantet.

Left Planes at nine and walking with Peter Williams. Weather was excellent, sunny and fresh but the forecast for the rest of the day was poor. First little freshener was a gentle 400 metre climb up through the trees and then down into the valley on the other side of a ridge. The river in the valley was in full flow and we had to walk a long up the valley before we could cross it and then come back down again on the other side.

You then start climbing up to the biggest pass of the day, the Col Mitja, and at 2367 metres the highest point I've got to on the E4 so far. Took nearly two hours to climb to the top and just as we going over the top it started to rain, not heavily but enough to make you wet. There is a refuge at the bottom of the valley on the other side which, in a couple of weeks time is open, and would have been a good place to stop but not yet an option.

Serrat de la Xemeneis

Instead we have to climb another pass and make for Mantet. The signs at the refuge at 3. 30 tell us we still have 4 hours walking to go and it's still raining on and off and snowing at the top. Climbing up we saw a couple of isards a sort of wild mountain goat, running up the wide of the mountain. At about 5.30 we make it to Col de Pal at 2294 metres and the cloud is now so dense that finding the trail is a real problem. Walking across open ground, across snow and then through trees we suddenly find ourselves in a full blown storm, thunder and lightening with snow mixed in with the driving rain. We lose the trail and just for a few minutes it's really unpleasant. Both of us have waterproofs on but not a lot in terms of insulation and we were quickly starting to get cold. We manage the figure out where the trail should be from the GPS, not where we thought it was and head in that direction. After about 10 minutes see the white and red waymarks and almost at the same time the storm dies down and we can see Mantet.

Col du Pal

A long way down

Takes 90 minutes to work our way down the valley and by the time we arrived the Gite d'Etape we had walked 28 kilometres and climbed over 1800 metres. Big day, particularly a big first day for Peter.

Belgian couple running the Gite, great food and great accommodation. Just what was needed after such a walk.

Wednesday May 11th Alp to Planes

In France!!!

For the last couple of weeks or so it felt like I was never going to get here but here I am. Crossed the border at Puigcerda at 11 which is about 7 kilometres from Alp and then walked onto Planes. I'm now following the GR 36 which, for the next three days, follows the route of the GR 10, the trans Pyrenean walk, a really famous route.

Slight embarrassment with the bottom half of my trousers before leaving Alp. Had left them in the sun on the window sill to dry while I had a kip and of course they blew away. One leg was easy to retrieve but the other had gone down into basement in a space which was enclosed. Had to persuade a reluctant landlady to let me climb out of the restaurant window. It was easy getting out but getting back was a problem. Still don't suppose I will be coming back to Alp in the near future.

Very easy walk to Puigcerda, held off from crossing the border and walked up into town and bought some new walking poles. Bit heavy compared to others but will do the job. Also bought a look alike Swiss army knife which is also a lot heavier than the real thing but I'm now fully equipped again.

Then across the border although to be honest you would be hard pushed to notice. Some redundant buildings all that remains, good riddance to borders I say. Stopped in Bourg Madame, the first town immediately on the French side, and ordered a cafe au lait. My French is already as good as my Spanish.

Remnants of the Spanish/French border crossing

Then I started my walk across France. Markings were great but in any event I'm very confident about my GPS trail. Unlike in Spain however I don't have maps on my GPS (got PDFs of the maps on my IPad) so I can tell from the trail if I going the right way but don't know if I arrived - sounds almost philosophical.

Anyway the walk was excellent. An off-road trail along the south side of a very broad valley gradually climbing all the way. Good views although it became quite stormy as the afternoon wore on. Walked through some lovely little villages, Err, Lo and Eyne and some not so nice ski resorts. Very sad photo memorial on the side of a building to two children who had been taken to Auschwitz in 1942.

Err

Village memorial to the Holocaust

Christine and I have walked around here before although it must be more than 10 years ago. We started at the Llavia, the Spanish enclave in France, did a big loop north before coming back to Mont Louis the huge French fort on the north side of the valley I was walking along today. I remember we had a big argument at the Eyne 2600 ski resort, which in the summer is a very ugly place and must set of lots of rows.

Got to Planes at about 6 after a walkof 30 kilometres and 1300 metres of climb. I'm staying in a Gite d'Etape and I'm not really sure what the designation stands for although it is definitely doesn't mean five star hotel. Had dinner at 7 o'clock which is a bit early for us Spanish types but I guess I'll get used to these north European ways in a while.

Peter Williams, a friend from London who also lives out here, is joining me in the morning and having some walking company will be a nice change. Stop me going mad. Hope the weather holds up because the next few days hold out the prospect of some wonderful walking.

Monday May 9th La Pobla de Lillet to Alp

Was a bit apprehensive about today's walk. It involved the biggest climb I've done so far and, given my recent track record, I was nervous about getting lost. So I left early and was out of the the "habitacion" in La Pobla de Lillet (behind the Cerdanya restaurant, cheap and miserable) by 7, and, after coffee and cake, was walking by 7.30.

I did start badly and was on the wrong side of the valley heading out of town and well below the road I should have been walking on. There was a way of avoiding going all the way back and that was to follow the line of the narrow gauge yellow train which goes up to the cement museum. Lots of warning signs telling you not to do it but having checked the timetable decided to be a devil. Was tempted to wait for the cement museum to open but managed to resist it.

No Yellow Train just the tracks

The walk takes you into the Parc Natural del Cadi Moixero. The weather was perfect and as usual I had it all to myself. At one point I disturbed a deer which leap away ahead of me making a strange sort of barking noise and was then treated to a brilliant arial display by up to 10 eagles (or something like eagles). I also saw my first marmot.

Part of the walk was on a narrow path underneath a huge limestone ridge. In the middle distance looking west you also got a great view of a mountain which I think was Cornabona (2530).

Up the valley towards the Col de Pal

Cornabona

Had actually been going up hill ever since leaving La Pobla de Lillet and although it did get steeper as you got to the top of Col de Pay it was a fairly easy way of climbing 1100 metres. Once you got the top you were in ski resort country with runs heading down to the valley below. I love skiing but resorts can make a mess of the mountains. Alp was just around the corner to the west. Across the valley the mountains were in France.

Down a ski run

Across the valley to France

Lost the GR4 amongst the ski runs but was able to follow a well marked local walk down to Alp. Arrived at about 3.30 having walked 26 kilometres with a total of 1600 metres of ascent. Alp is about 8 kilometres from Puigcerda and the French border. Not doing anything tomorrow other than resting my feet. Staying in a very nice hotel which is also off season cheap. My room is full of drying clothes.

Sunday May 8th Borreda to La Pobla de Lillet

After yesterday I wasn't really expecting much from today but it has been a good one.

Borreda looks a really nice mountain town although I was slightly ripped of in the place I stayed at. It's perhaps just a bit in-between in terms of seasons and a lot of places haven't opened up yet and even those that have are not really geared up. The place I was hoping to stay tonight wasn't open but some brilliant work by the back-office team in the UK found me somewhere else, booked it, and it has all worked out fine.

Anyway got away nice and early after a good breakfast. It was drizzling and everything was very wet after yesterday's rain and my feet were soon soaking. Was able to follow the GR signs for about 20 minutes before I lost them and made my own way. Then they turned up again and were actually good for the rest of the day.

It was just an excellent walk. Not sure when I move from the foothills of the Pyrenees to the actual Pyrenees but today I climbed up to nearly 1700 metres. Some great views south and I sure I was looking at the Montserrat range but a few clouds obscured the serrated profile. It was the same rock, with the large pebbles in it, as I saw at Monserrat.

Looking south from Les Pilones

Sant Romà de la Clusa

It is just the best time be walking through trees. Today there was a real mix of deciduous and coniferous trees presenting a whole range of different shades of green. A one point I was walking through a hill side of solid beech trees whose leaves could only have been out for days, absolutely wonderful.

Spring Growth

Through the Forest

So one more solid day of walking in Spain and then a day's rest before crossing the border. Tomorrow's walk is a really tough one. I'm at about 900 metres at the moment. From here it's a non-stop climb up to the Coll de Pall which is 2100 metres, then down to 1900 metres then up again to the Coll de la Mola which is 2300 metres. Going for an early start in the morning.

Saturday 7th Santa Maria de Merles to Borreda

Today was supposed to be an easy day, a chance to recover from yesterday's big one. Instead it turned into a navigation disaster and I didn't get to Borreda, which is only about 20 kilometres from Santa Maria de Merles until about 7. I blame the Catalans and their signs.

I did have a leisurely start. Had a lovely breakfast with the Casanovas in their amazing house, the Masia Escrigas, discussed the walk with them and how tough the trip up to Alp might be. They even gave me a walking stick. I didn't start walking until well after 10.

Everything went fine for the first 90 minutes, got to Segas which has an 11th century church, and had already done a third of the trip. It started to rain but not really heavily and I had to do a bit of road walking but not a disaster.

Segas

The signs had started to change a bit. Really expensive looking signs at the major junctions but the white and red waymarks in between were becoming rare. This was slowing things down a bit but I was still making progress. Had some lunch (discovered I had lost my Swiss Army knife) and pressed on.

At about 2.45 I came to a sign which said Borreda 5.8 kilometres which was good news although the sign did seem to be sending me in the wrong direction. Followed the road down hill to La Portella and by the time I got to the bottom, in the absence of any GR signs, or another sign to Borreda decided to go back up the hill. Got to the top, went 200 yards in the opposite direction to the way the sign told me to go and found another sign to Borreda.

Good sign, wrong direction

Right direction

It was now just after 4 and lots of signs to Borreda, should get there for 5.30 easily. Followed the GR signs down the hill, lovely walk was even starting to forget the 7 kilometre detour. So cheerful, and the way was so clearly marked, that it wasn't until nearly 5 that I started to wander where Borreda might be and decided to check my map. The GR signs had taken on a route well to the east of where I needed to be.

Lost in the trees

Decided to navigate my way across country using forest trails and the maps on my GPS. Had lost a lot of height and it wasn't until 6.45, and a few dead ends amongst the trees, that I was in sight of Borreda. Just as I was coming into town the GR signs reappeared like street lights being turned back on. When I got into town there was a really helpful map which showed that there were two GRs heading into Borreda, and that I had followed the other one, the GR 242, heading east. It's just a shame that the junction between the two wasn't prominently signed.

Two more days walking in Catalonia and to be honest I can't wait to be in Alp, my last stop before crossing the border. Tomorrow's walk is 25 kilometres and the map in town has shown me where the first bear trap is, the point at which the two GRs split, so hopefully I will head of in the right direction.