Hiking the GR10 - Pyrenees

Wednesday 5th July:  Weather 18°C to 37°C 

Gedre to Luz st Sauveur:  15k walk: 4hrs 30 mins: 9am to 1.30pm

Altitude Gain and Loss:  Total Ascent 450m: Total Descent 750m

Accommodation: Hotel des Cimes

Highlights - this morning leaving the Hotel le Broche de Roland to see way off in the distance the Breche de Roland, and glimpses back to the Cirque de Gavarnie - the last we’ll see of the icons from Gavarnie this trip. Otherwise a short day with not too many ups and downs through in 37°C heat up the steep side Gorges of the Gave de Gavarnie.

We make our own breakfast in the room - hot cup of tea, banana and yoghurt.  We’ve kept all our food cool by sitting the bag in the rubbish bin half full of cold water.  Even on the hottest of days, the water coming down off the mountains is icy cold. Then a chat to Bonnie and Tom in oz before leaving at 9am with a still magnificent view of the Breche de Roland far in the distance.  It’s a reminder of a fabulous day on Monday climbing to the 2800 metre top with Bill and Joan.  

It’s a hickeldy pickeldy mix of tracks out of Gedre  - first up the the back of Gedre, then down to the Gave de Pau - sometimes called the Gave de Gavarnie because it originates at the Cirque de Gavarnie. Then a busy road before crossing the Pont de Bent to start climbing up on a not so well maintained nor well signed track to reach the GR10 at Trimbareilles - a small hamlet in the forests.  We're at 1000 metres, the same height as Gedre, but we’ve been down 250 metres then up 250 metres.  The GR10 follows a narrow minor road for a few k before joining the main D921 running through the narrow valley alongside the river.  There’s no other track, but it’s not too busy as we stroll down the road looking for a spot for coffee.  

It’s almost 11am when we find grassy spot under a tree for a coffee and slab of bread and jam, with cars whizzing by.  We’re at 800 metres elevation, the road falling sharply. Very pretty but we’ve had better spots for coffee.  The GR10 continues down this main road for a few k, before heading up high into the mountains.  It’s tempting to keep following the main road as it’s only 3k down this road into Luz St Sauveur. But it’s hot, the road is busy, and it’s only 11am and what would we do with the rest of the day if we arrived early??  So it’s up through the forest.

There’s signs to the Croix de Sia. It’s a shaded track, but still hot as we climb 400 metres up the the Cross at 1200 metres - nothing special, just 2 iron fencing posts lashed together, but it was probably a significant spectacle decades ago.  At least it had a great view. Around through the forested track and soon Luz St Sauveur comes into view down in the valley.  It’s a steep 500 metre descent to Luz at 700 metres elevation.  

We pass through the thermal springs of Luzea before walking into the centre of the town, stopping at an ATM for some much needed cash. The only ATM in Gavarnie was broken.  It’s hot when we get to the centre of town.  My thermometer says 37°C, and that’s confirmed by the flashing sign above the Tourist Office.  The Hotel des Cimes is easy to find but it doesn’t open til 3pm.  But just around the corner is a Carrefours Montagne that’s open all day - and they have cold beers.  2 beers later we’re back at the little park we’d walked past near the hotel, and sitting down to an icy cold beer, with baguette, butter, cheese and tomato.  The manager at the hotel Breche de Roland the night before had kindly frozen our small coke bottle filled with water, otherwise our butter and cheese would have melted. 

After lunch, I sit with my feet in the icy water streaming into a little pond while Ian googles on his phone.  At 3pm, we ring the bell at the Hotel des Cimes and we’re shown to our room which is more like a dorm with a few bunks and beds - but it’s all ours and there's an ensuite.  Even better, though the room is not airconditioned, it’s 10°C cooler in the room than outside.  Must be thick walls to the old building.  The room is really perfect, and there’s two little balconies in the sun overhanging the street below.  So the first thing is to shower and wash all our clothes to get them out to dry.  In the 45 minutes it takes to type my blog to this point, all the washing is bone dry, even the thick woollen socks that sometimes aren’t dry by the morning and it’s usual to tie them to the back pack the next day to dry on the way. 

The TV has a weak signal so we only get to hear the end of the Tour de France.  French commentators always sound as though the race is about to finish - even if there’s still 30 minutes to go.  Very exciting but not very informative. Ian trots off to the the Carrefours to buy dinner.  Anything cold will do.  It’s hard to believe that when we arrived in Pau it was a scorching 40°C, then a few days ago in Bayssellance it was a freezing 0°C, and now it’s a scorching 37°C again.  Very fickle this weather in the Pyrenees.

Ian arrives back very happy with his find - the regulatory dried ham, tomatoes, cheese, a bottle of wine and a cold beer - PLUS a bag of ice.  Cheaper than staying in a Hotel room with a fridge.  We sit at the little table and rickety chairs drinking rose with ice in it - so nice.  Smart thinking.  But when I try to move the table, a cup of wine splashes all over Ian’s clean shorts.  No problem, they’re washed and almost dried in the past 30 minutes. 

After dinner we wander around town.  It’s not a typical pretty little French village but a sterile ski resort in winter and a cyclists haven in summer. The road through Luz St Sauveur continues up to the famed Cold du Tourmalet at 2200metres and every restaurant is filled with cyclists who’ve been for their morning ride up a few mountains.  We saw hundreds of them on the road to Gedre today,  and Gavarnie on previous days.  Then they rest in the afternoon.  When we arrived in town Luz was dead as a door nail.  Tonight it’s buzzing.

We find a Market Carrefours, a bit bigger than a Carrefours Montagne, and buy a few things for breakfast lunch and dinner tomorrow.  There’s no shop in Bareges our next stop.  Back to our hotel room.  The sun has gone down now.  We demolish a vanilla slice between us, and have a cup of tea.  A bit more blogging and photo sorting before bed at 9pm.  A not so big day tomorrow, but a really big day the day after to Refuge l’Oule.