GR10: Our story

Part 4: Vicdessos - Banyuls-sur-Mer

From July 18th until August 3rd 2006 we did the fourth and last part of the GR10: from Vicdessos to Banyuls-sur-Mer.
August 6th, we leave Doetinchem heading to Banyuls at 16:00 h, where we arrive around 10:30 h next morning. We park the car at the railway station and take the train to Toulouse where we change trains to Tarascon-sur-Ariège. From the railway station we walk to the beginning of the road to Auzat. Here we got a ride to the campsite of Vicdessos. When we pitch the tent it is raining.
In the Netherlands it's over 30 °C, while in the Pyrenees the weather is more suitable for walking. From the campsite we walk back to the bridge, where we take the road to Goulier. Just after the first curve we see a sign with the name Goulier and a yellow dot. We decide to follow the footpath up to Goulier. The path climbs good, but after some time the path crosses the road near Sem a small village more to the east than Goulier. We decide to continue following the yellow dots, until the route joins the GR10. From here we continue on the GR10 to Lercoul. During the decent to Lercoul we are plagued by horse flies. When I free Edwin from one on his shoulder I notice that the shoulder trap is getting loose. In Siguer we have to repair the backpack, because when Edwin put it of the shoulder strap gets loose completely. It takes a little while before we found someone with suitable sewing thread, because most villagers are tourists. Anyhow, we succeeded and stiched the shoulder strap to the backpack again. We pursue our way and climb to Gesties, where we have our lunch break in the shadow of the church. After lunch we continue climbing to the col of Gamel. Here we want to spend the night, but the ground is very bumpy. So before pitching the tent we level out the largest bumps. There after we rest till after 7 pm in the shadow of a tree.
After a good night sleep the climb to the rigde of la Bède goes well. First I walk on the ridge, since the GR-signs are painted a little lower I left the rigde and ended up in a stone field before I reached the Pla de Montcamp. So be warned do NOT leave the rigde to follow the GR-signs because then you have to cross a stone field on your way to the "top". The descent is very relaxing till just past the cabin of Courtal Marti. Just after col du Sasc there is a very small source near the path with very good tasting water. After the cabin the descent is more steep. After crossing the Sirbal stream, the GR steeply climbs through the woods. We are glad that we have to climb this path and not descend, while then our "breaks" would get overheated. The first part of the descent after the col de Sirmont is again relaxing, so we can get our breath again. But finally the route steeply descends to Courdenes. From here it is only a little further to the refuge of Clarans. Near the refuge - actually more like a cabin situated in a open field in the woods - we pitch our tent. Near the cabin is a little stream from where we tapped water. Because we did not trust the water quality, we added a small chlorine pill into it for desinfectioning.
Next morning starts with a steep climb of two hours. But then we are on the Plateau de Beille. On the plateau the GR-signs deviates from the route drawn on the map in our booklet and follows the ridge. From the place where we have our lunch we have a splended view on the path that we have followed this morning. After lunch the weather changes from sunny to foggy. By the time we reach the ridge the clouds have closed in on us. So we cannot enjoy the view from the ridge. In our opinion the path along the ridge is more suitable for chamois then for hikers with a heavy backpack. We spend the night just past col de Beil. When the clouds break for a little while I can see how beautiful the surroundings are.
Next morning, Sunday July 23, the sun is shining. The walk to the refuge is easy going, as is the path to the col. Here after the character of the path changes, nice to look at, but less nice to walk in. It is a good thing that the GR10 is marked very well else we would have lost track between the huge boulders. After the boulders, which took us 2 hours to pass, the GR10 climbs to ridge of La Lhasse. Here we have a short break to enjoy the view. The descent after the ridge is not too steep and of a kind we prefer, only my knee starts to hurt a little. Halfway the descent we have another break, this time for lunch. During that break several little blue butterflies keep us company. After lunch we continue the descent to Mérens-les-Vals. In the village we buy some food for next days in a little shop that is open on Sunday. Before we pitch the tent in a meadow out of sight of other hikers, we leave Mérens-les-Vals and climb to Mérens-d'en-Haute.
After breakfast we climb in the shade and make good progress. On our way we smell something what we do not recognise at first, but when we see two sources/baths and take a good look at the map we know that it is sulphur what we smelled. When we leave the shade and enter the sun the climbing becomes harder; at about 12 o'clock we reach the col Porteille des Bésines. After the col we descend to a small brook where we enjoy our lunch in the shade of a tree and at the refuge, which is very crowded, we have another break waiting for the heat to temper a bit. In the meanwhile a thunderstorm passes by. After this break we walk for another hour till it starts to rain again. Since we are at a suitable place to pitch the tent we do this rapidly. When we are in the tent we hear the shouting of a marmot; the little fellow warned his friends and us for the cows that were coming closer. To keep the cows at a distance we build a simple fence of the branches.
After a night with less sleep because of the rain and cows, we start with a climb to col of Coma d'Anyell. Here we have a short break before we descend to a small lake where we have a longer break. After the break we started following the signs of the GR7, luckely we noticed our mistake soon and returned to the GR10. So we can start the climb to Portella de la Grava, which we found hard because of the extra climb we had to do after the point where we thought the coll should be. After the coll the path descends to a rather flat field, finally some relaxed walking. Just before lunch the GR10 disappears between some trees with a less relaxed path as result. After lunch Edwin's knee started to hurt. By the time we reach lake of Bouillousses, it starts to drip. We cross the barrage and have a break with hot chocolat at the inn. With new energy we walk along the D60 to Mont Louis - a nice place that deserves to be part of the GR10. Only disadvantage is that the campsite near the D118 is gone. Therefore we continued and pitched our tent halfway La Cabannase and Planes.
From our campsite to Planes is a nice start of the day. The climb after Planes is pretty steep. During the climb we see several firemen extinguish a small fire in the woods. After Pla de Cedelles the route climbs and descends a little and the path is rocky. It took us more time than expected to get to refuge of Orry. After the refuge the path is of a better quality and we make good progress,so good that we walk by the point that the route leaves the path and starts climbing over a steep slope to col Mitja. In the meanwhile it is getting real warm and there is little wind on the slope. We have a lunch break in the shade of some trees before we continue with the last part of the climb to the col. Here the GR10 takes the shortest way to the col, while there is a nice curved path. We decide to follow the curved path because it is less steep and more shaded. From the col down to refuge of Ras de la Caranca the GR10 again takes the shortest way down, while there is a nice curved path. We partially follow the route and partially take the curved path to save our knees on the elsewise long steep descent. At the refuge we had a break with some non-alcoholic drinks. In the meanwhile we chatted with Sanne and Thijs from Nijmegen (the Netherlands) who we had seen 3 times earlier this day. They stay at the refuge, while we continue to pitch our tent on the plain of Bassibes an hour later.
After a good night of sleep, we continue with the climb to col of Pal. The sun is shining and the climb is not too hard. The decent to the small village Mantet took us longer then mentioned in the booklet. Especially the first part of the decent is steep and time consuming. Again it is getting warm. We wanted to fill our water bottles again in Mantet, but there is no public source in the village, so we continue with the little water that is left in our bottles. After Mantet the GR10 climbs to col de Mantet. During the climb there is some cooling wind. Here we have our lunch break. After lunch we descend to Py. During the steep descent the temperature is rising and also the wind is getting warm. In Py we finally filled our water bottles. After Py we leave the GR10 to walk to Vernet-les-Baines where we would like to take a day of rest. Because the road is boaring and really hot, after half an hour of walking we hitch-hiked the remaining part of the track.
Friday July 28, we have a day of rest to do some washing and shopping. During the day we had some small rain showers and in the evening the rain is getting much more intens.
Next morning we start with a climb. First back to the centre of Vernet-les-Baines where we payed a small visit to the castle. Here after the real climb towards the GR10 starts. The path is nice and we make good progress. We join the GR10 near refuge of Bonne-Aigue. We continue climbing along a small forest track on the foot of Pic of Carnigou. The closer we get to the main way to the top of the pic the more crowded it becomes. When we join the path from the top we see Sanne and Thijs walking in front of us; they did not stay on the GR10 but have crossed the top of the pic. They stay at the chalet of Cortalets while we continue for a couple of hours, after having some nice tea at the chalet with the four of us. The descent to Ras del Prat Cabrere was a relaxed walk. During the descent we had some nice views towards the Mediterranean. From Ras del Prat Cabrere the GR10 descends slightly and follows the curve around the valley. The path, which is good, is almost completely covered with cow shit. We follow the path till the abri of Pinatell where we decide to spend the night. During the night we discovered that cows do not sleep, and if they do sleep they continue ruminating.
Next morning, the sun is shining. After the abri the route remains on level, in the shade of trees, for a while and descends to forest house of l'Estagnole and then gradually climbs to the col of la Cirère. The descent from the col also is gradually with some little rises. During the descent the temperature continues rising to great heights. We left the abri with only 1.5 litre water and with these temperatures it is actually too little for the traject to Arles-sur-Tech. During lunch break in little shade of a tree, the warm wind did not bring anything but cooling. After lunch we continue the descent to Arles. Here we stay at the campsite. At the end of the afternoon, some small showers fall but they do not bring any cooling. The showers do.
Next morning it is already warm. Since we have to do some shopping and the GR10 starts with a long climb from Arles-sur-Tech to col of Paracolls we do not want to wait till the shop is open. So we decide to leave the GR10 for a day and walk along the road to Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, Cèret, where we do some shopping, and finally to a campsite with a swimming pool halfway Céret and Maureillas-las-Illas. We arrive at the campsite early in the afternoon. Later in the afternoon we spend some time in the swimming pool, where swallows drink out while flying over.
Next day, we are lucky, the temperature has dropped a little. First we walk by the road to le Perthus, first by the main road (N9), later by a smaller, less bussy road (D71b). From that road we have a great view on the highway and later on the N9, where a small trafic jam of cars who want to pay a visit to le Perthus is. Just before le Perthus we rejoin the GR10. From le Perthus the route gently climbs along the D71 to Saint-Martin-de-l'Albère. From the hameau the GR10 goes to the col of Ollat with chalet de l'Albère. From the col the GR10 climbs steeply along the ridge to the rock of the Trois Termes and continues more gently to the pic Néoulous. Here we have a break to enjoy the view. After the break we descend to a water source where we have a longer break to prepare our dinner. After dinner we continue descending along the road to col of l'Estaque, where we pitch our tent on the Spanish side of the border fence. On the col the wind is blowing hard, what makes it hard to pitch the tent and even harder to get a good night of sleep.
Next morning it is still windy. The final traject is an easy one, only the wind is making it a bit harder. From the col of Estaque the GR10 goes a little up and enters a small forest. Here we enjoy the absence of the wind. After the forest, the route climbs to pic of Quatre Termes and then descends a little to continue on the grassy ridge where the wind has full play. With less wind this part would even better. After the ridge the route follows a ridge for 2 km. From col of Baillaury we take the variant to the col of Gascons. After the col we pass an orientation table and continue descending gently this time through vineyards. Eventhough the descent is far from steep, my knee is hurting like hell by the time we reach Banyuls. During the last part of the descent I walk like an old lady, step by step. In Banyuls we leave the GR10 and walk or better strumble to our car. Here we have lunch. After lunch we walk without backpack to the beach, where we dip our shoes in the sea and where I go for a swim. Finally we go in search of the finish of the GR10, which we find on the wall of the town hall.
After the visit to Banyuls, we begin with the return journey. During the evening it starts raining. Because we do not like our dry tent to get wet, we decide to spend the night in the car. After Clermont-Ferrand we park our car at the side of the road to get a few hours of sleep.
August 3rd early in the morning we continue our way home. Later that day we arrive in Doetinchem. Our vacation and our GR10 adventure have finished.

The end