George & Mostyn - Walking the GR10

Monday, 23rd June 2008

Mostyn:Started off a little later than hoped after a failed attempt to phone Chris. We bought some bread and pain au chocolat for the day. We set off on the wrong trail and had to re-trace our steps. We eventually found the marker and signpost, which was completely hidden by foliage. The climb was gentle at first, but steepened sharply and at times we were virtually rock-climbing. Once over the Col de Tortes we meandered down to the road. It was very hot and we kept ourselves cool by dipping our heads into little waterfalls and then soaking our hats. This was quite successful.

When we reached the road there was a GR sign that would send us down into the valley, only to climb back up again. We decided to circumnavigate this and take the main road. After about 500 m we came to a road tunnel, which was dark and had water dripping from the roof. We had our torches at the ready, but upon reaching the entrance we realised that it was possible to walk on the outside of the tunnel. It was a narrow path with a sheer drop but it was better than being knocked down in the tunnel.

After a couple of kilometres on the road we took a path to the right, which climbed steeply to the Col de Saucede. As we went down the other side, following the trail, we came to a stream, which the GR10 crossed, but after that it was impossible to determine the route because there were so many cattle tracks. We took an educated guess, which did lead us slightly in the wrong direction. We followed the old adage "when lost, read the book", which showed that we should be on the other side of the river and higher up. So we crossed the river and started to climb diagonally, hoping to cross the GR10, which we did. After a while we were walking along a ridge, at the end of which was a large rock where four griffon vultures were resting. We were able to get within about 30 m of them before they flew off.

During this section of the walk we had both run out of water. This was the first time this had happened and was as a result of the excessive heat during the day. We were passing a house where we saw a man standing outside. I asked him for water, but he apologised and said that everything was locked up because they were going away. Not the sort of reaction we have been accustomed to!

After a long descent down some lanes we arrived at Arrens. Coincidentally, Chris and Julia arrived outside the local bar at exactly the same time as us. They had come to pick us up and offload some of our gear ready for the walk the following day. However, we decided not to walk the following day because we had heard that the route between Arrens-Marsous and Cauterets was dangerous, there had been an avalanche and it wasy very icy. After having our refreshing lemonade, we went by car to Cauterets where ian and I had decided to stay at the Gite d'Etape, Le Beau Soleil. That evening we had a meal with Chris and Julia in Cauterets.