Ascent / descent: 872m (20342m) / 1242m (19029m).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 1610m / 1240m / 1874m.
Weather: Clouds in the morning, sunny and hot during the day.
I chose to go to Bareges today instead of only going to Luz St Saveur, since the stage between Luz and Bareges wasn't supposed to be very long. This turned out to be a much longer and harder day than expected, where the highlight of the day came early in the walk.
The Saugue plateau, a dramatic landscape in the light.
It's cloudy and some rain in the morning, but when I start to walk the sun is breaking through the layer of clouds and is creating a dramatic landscape. The Saugue plateau is illuminated by a quaint light which it's great to behold. The trail is crossing the Gave d'Aspe before moving up towards Col de Suberpeyre (1725m). Mountains are appearing out of the clouds.
The Saugue plateau with Cirque de Gavarnie in the background.
It's a lovely view back towards Saugue with Cirque de Gavarnie in the background to a blue sky. I walk over Col de Suberpeyre which is covered by violet flowers. Down Gave de Cestréde the mountain farms looks half abandoned. Pragneres (895moh) is at the end of the road of the highlight of today.
Violet flowers at Col de Suberpeyre.
From here the trail is following the road and become a boring walk until Luz St Saveur, only interrupted by a just as boring walk through the woods up towards croix de Sia (1025m). After a while the path is joining the original GR10 route from Cauterets and is following it past Pont Napoleon (755m), which is a bridge that goes over the deep Gavarnie valley, to Luz St Saveur (720m).
Pont Napoleon, which goes high over the Gave de Gavarnie.
After an hour break in Luz St Saveur, where I visited the Templar-church and ate lunch, I start walking towards Bareges. The path is quite steep in the beginning and it's starting to become hot. I'm starting to get a little bit tired; the route to Luz was harder than expected. And it isn't the most exciting walk after Luz St Saveur either; I pass Couret d'Ousset (1322m). First when I go into the Golou valley and Gué de Bolou (1460m) is the trail getting interesting again with some nice scenery around.
The Templar-church in Luz St Saveur.
I arrive at Bareges quite tired where I secure a place at the Gîte d'Etape l'Oasis. The Bareges valley was one of the areas in the Pyrenees that was hardest struck by the flooding, which might explain why there is so quiet in the place on a Saturday evening. An English couple who walked the GR10 earlier experienced getting a message while they were walking that the hotel they were going to stay at here had to be demolished and so they had to find another place to stay, they also ended up at the Oasis. The whole camping site here was taken by the flood.
The Bolou valley.
I share a room with two Germans walking a part of the GR10. It's quiet in the place; I eat a good dinner at the Restaurant l'Isba; cured meat, magret de canard, cheese and ice cream for dessert. After a tiresome and mainly boring day, with the exception of the nice beginning, it feels good to go to bed with the promise of great weather tomorrow.
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