GR-10 Photo-journey: Pt 1

So, we’ve arrived back in California. I had intended to make a playlist of California and return-relevant songs for our 10 hour drive from Corvallis, OR to Sunnyvale, CA - the last leg of our Odyssey before we have to slay the suitors of our new-but-old lives. Instead, my phone spewed smoke (literally) and I only had John Prine’s Summer’s End and the Fruit Bats’ As I Rise. They are both excellent and, you know what, California’s OK, John Prine is pretty good and I still love that picture of us walking.

Similar to our other long hikes, I’m going to post some photo blasts with a selection of the best pictures. Apologies if I duplicate some of them from Em’s previous posts. I’ve put the bits of story told by each photo in the captions, broken it into galleries by week and will post the hike in four parts so the page load times are reasonable.

But first, I have a map of the route and all the places we stayed to give an idea of where we were. Note that there are only 51 sites because we took some rest days.

Week 1:

Our feet in the Mediterranean on Day 1

The end-of-trail art. Since we hiked opposite the usual direction, there’s a photo-ready spot on the Banyuls sur Mer side but, as we found, not on the Hendaye side.

The first trail marker at just 6m ASL

The first refuge we encountered was less than spacious. Built into the rock crevice with room for 3 in a pinch.

The beech forest on the ascent

Dinner on Day 1 while waiting for the sunset

Very developed infrastructure at the spring below Pic Neulo

The graffiti in Refuge de la Tanyareda included an inventive curse wishing colon cancer on those leaving garbage and the much more chill sticker in the upper right: “The spirit of here”.

Sam rock picking for a view

This looks boring, but is the remnants of a monument to Pompey. Since Joe had just studied the Triumvirate, it was pretty crazy to find this in the mountains of the French/Spanish border.

All along the trail we smelled the stench of death and rot. Initially we were disappointed in the ants for laziness, but then we found the actual source - MUSHROOMS! They emit cadaverine or a similar molecule to attract flies, that then take spores to actual rotting things where the next generation of mushrooms can thrive. This is a red cage stinkhorn.

Another type of stinkhorn. I believe this is called a Devil’s Hand.

More stupendous beech forest

Joe looking for the elusive Roc d’France

Cooling off in the river with vibrant algae

Rando Us-y

The approach to Refuge Batere. This portion of the building was abandoned and left us greatly trepidatious about our first night in a manned refuge. Fortunately, the other side is where the refuge actually is and it was absolutely great.

The view from our dorm room at Refuge Batere

This section of trail had an enormous variety of butterflies

Reading before dinner near Cortalets lake

Good morning!

Camp

Breakfast of peanut butter on dark chocolate

One of many orlis (sp?)

Buttercups along the creek

Week 2:

The descent into Mantet

We hustled down the hill because we were chased by the mountain guard dogs - the infamous patou

Sam gets an archery lesson from John (an avid bowman)

I don’t know what these purple flowers are called, but I’ve named them Devil’s Caterpillar because they sting like hell if you brush up against them.

Another hut for shelter on the trail

Sam waits at the pass for the rest of us

We just barely cleared this pass as a lightning storm passed over. The threat of being struck motivated Em down the hill at a speed I didn’t know she was capable.

Camp. There was a huge thunderstorm that night that lit the sky and dumped an inch of rain but was followed by an airmass so dry that the tents were completely dry when we awoke.

Joe straddles the border

Lunch spot

Approaching the col

The first snow, complete with a dangerous snow bridge (we went around through the creek)

My homage to Henri Cartier-Bresson (ref). I didn’t quite nail it.

Clouds move in for a little shade

Sam contemplates the first snow pass we have to navigate. The trail goes over the low point over his right shoulder.

Early season wildflower bonanza

So many species of flower

Looking back just before the col

Navigating the snow over the col

Walking down to the next valley and the evening’s camp

Down time in camp

A thunderstorm rolled through just down valley but entirely missed us. This system dropped a few inches of snow on the peak just beside us.

Creek-side chit-chat

This still lake in the morning

Sunrise in camp

Small town church

When supplies were hard to come by we ordered packed lunches from the gites. Em and the boys have apparently never seen anything so comical as me eating apple sauce from a squeezy pouch.