Pyrenees HRP - 2004 - Day 37

 

Sue and Martin's Big Adventure

 

Day 37 - Tuesday 31 August 2004 - Stage 30

Postcard Summary (on yesterday's card)

Silent froggy camp to lakelet at 2070 metres, 4 hours before Rif Pujol

Tough day with huge boulders, steep grass, no paths, very hot – 9.0 hours, 13 km, 1000m ascent

Another tough day – a steep descent then large boulders (not good for knees) for over an hour to reach another col.  The ‘path’ into Alos was steep and hot.  Restaurant only open in evening, so usual bread and pâté lunch on bench in shade.  A really hot afternoon for another 800m ascent – but nice silver birch woodland and plenty of raspberries to eat!  Autumn colours start to show – red and yellow shades.

 

Diary Entry (by Martin)

Woke at 7 am after 10 hours' sleep in this silent spot. Light fog outside. 12°C. Lots of condensation. We are sitting at the top edge of a cloud inversion. The only sound is that of sweetly singing birds.

 

After ablutions we get away at 8.20, the original intention being to contour at 2400 metres, the height of our camp, a la Véron. But cairns led us down the route suggested by Ton Joosten. I do not have happy recollections of the Véron route over loose boulders and scree, so I'm happy to opt for the alternative. Fine at first, but then we entered a field of huge boulders. (See top picture.) Slow going. Very hard on Sue's knees, which are suffering today along with her neck and her feet.

 

Eventually we join a cairned route (hard to describe anything this morning as a 'path') for the last 100 metres up to a col at 2430 metres. It has taken nearly two hours. Véron estimates 50 minutes from Col d'Airoto. [Use his route next time!]

 

There's a lot of cloud around again today, but it doesn't look threatening. After the horrible traverse we descend slightly more easily through fields of grasshoppers and lady's bedstraw and mountain houseleek, not forgetting the egg shells, banana skins and orange peel left by the invisible (today) Spanish contingent.

 

 Stocking up with spring water

We reach a track and some friendly horses and 11.30 to 12.00 sees us enjoying a most welcome brew stop and relishing handfuls of the excellent mountain mix derived from yesterday's purchases.

 

 The view towards Alos d'Isil

 Friendly horses

The descent to Alos d'Isil was unpleasant except for some nice smells, including mint. We short cut the dirt road (very long loops) and headed down a 'trace' of a path. Steep grass, very rough, all the way into Alos (1.20).

 

 

We attempted to find the restaurant, were told it was shut for lunchtimes anyway, and finished up having pâté baguettes on a bench by a car park.

 

 

The bench was nice. The view would have been if not dominated by a huge green crane that completely dominates Alos - obviously being developed. The dirt road through the village even has a new by-pass! The 'fountain' outside the church had two glasses placed in readiness for anybody wanting a drink, and there were some nice old houses in the village, as well as new ones with cladding over the bricks to make them look old.

 

Sue found a rubbish bin - very useful, and a pretty packhorse bridge - very ancient, like the old disused paths we had descended on. There were very few people around. On leaving Alos at 2.15 up a dirt road to the north, we were passed by a lone mountain biker, the only person we saw exercising all day. Nobody was out walking - not really a surprise given the paucity of paths.

 

Whilst after lunch we had some paths (the initial dirt track was absolutely full of butterflies) on our ascent from 1280 metres to 2070 metres - to a small tarn above a waterfall where Dave and I camped on 20 August 1994 (our last two days have been the same as on that trip). It was a humid 28°C, my back felt very heavy (it was) and the path was steep, so very hard work indeed. But it was through lovely birch woods, with autumnal colours and red bilberry bushes. Also lots of raspberries. Contrast with the bouldery scenery of the morning.

 

Sue wasn't enjoying it (knees, neck, feet, etc) - especially the big boulders of the morning. We passed an 8-inch lizard - black with small green spots. There were lots of ants on the path, which is the first three and a half hours of Ton Joosten's stage 26. We had a short break with 300 metres to go (up) and then inadvertently walked past the target lakelet! 5.15 - we'd done it in three hours - quicker even than Véron's 3 hours 15 minute estimate.

 

 

Another quiet campsite. (Note tent in above picture.) Spring water above. Quite a few flies, but luckily none of the ants encountered on the way up. Lots of grasshoppers. Sue had a full wash in the lake whilst I got water and we soon embarked on a good meal - mushroom soup / spaghetti carbonara and tuna / mint tea and chocolate. Sue collected bilberries to supplement tomorrow's muesli. It began to darken soon after 8.30 - time to finish this.

 

 

Stats and route (Viewranger):

13 km, 1000 metres ascent, 9 hours

 

 

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