pyrenean Way - GR10

Reg wrote this report on his 2105 charity walk. Thanks for sharing, Reg.

 

I was 70 when I hiked the GR10. I found it to be varied in what it offered. Lots of mountains to cross, I do not remember many ridges to follow, just mostly up and downs. On some days I had lots of fierce sun, some fog and obviously rain but little or no wind. Except for the Ariège region, where I did not see another human being for three days, I found the towns, villages, hamlets, individual refuges, campsites and so on all well spaced out. Most needed a good walking effort to get from one to the other, unlike the Tour du Mon Blanc where such facilities seemed to be available every few kilometers.

The walk changed a lot after St. Jean Pied du Port, most people seemed to just go off on the Camino. Even in July and August I could climb or descend for most of the day and hardly see another person. I was worried about the sheepdogs but had no bother at all.

 

 

The beer along the way tended to be standard Kronenburg lager, but the wine and food was excellent. The people I met were always very friendly and attentive.

I should have bought the 4 FFRP books on the GR10, I’m sure they are the best, but I didn’t, which I now regret. I had every other bit of information on an old smartphone which I just dedicated to the route. I also downloaded Sity Trails which was an excellent app. It gave me a lot of confidence when I was hiking in thick fog. In reality though, I rarely looked at the route, the red and white flash markers were so easy to follow. I wish we had this system in the UK.

For me the GR10 was truly a test of personal endurance and at the end I felt really proud of myself. I had two ‘scary’ moments: five pigs tried to get in my tent with me one foggy morning; and on another day a cow charged and biffed me in the chest! She knocked me off my feet down a grassy bank but did not follow her charge through, I was very lucky, only my pride was injured. I also got a hernia en route and had to hitch hike from Lescun to Oloron to get a truss! I then just carried on to the end. I would love to hike it again, but this time from the Med to the Atlantic, maybe in 2017? I made up a blog about my hike on the GR10.

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