Arinsal - Andorra

Just a quick post before the shops close for Siesta!

I have passed into Andorra, and like when I crossed into France the trail greetings change almost immediately from one language to another!

For those who are reading this that may do the trek the Refuge at Easton is open, although small it is modern, friendly and good value. The longest day of the walk can now be made more manageable.

There are two french guys I should mention that appear from time to time. They are doing this on the cheap, and wild-camp each night living on biscuits and tea. The first time I met them they told me they share a tent but ´we are not homosexual´ and I keep reminding them if this is still the case. They sold there tent peg hammer for 2 beers, and walked for miles looking for somewhere to deposit the empties. I saw them trying to dump them behind a refuge high in the hills when the owner came out and berated them in French. Then humbly picked up the bottles and walked off. The next morning opened the door to the refuge and found the two bottles neatly left on the doorstep.

I met a bright young french girl called Cami walking the other way, who bounced into the campsite having just done about 20k and climbed 1200m. She told me they where still out there but looking very thin.

Last night I kipped in a mountain hut called Refugio de Baiau which is 2600m up and basically a metal box held to the side of a mountain by 10 heavy steel cables pinned into the rock. It has 9 bunks and a little cooking area. Two lakes 70m below provide water and is ringed by several 3000m+ mountains. I shared it with 5 French people and impressed them with my English cuisine. Fresh garlic, tomatoes, onion and pepper lightly fried in olive oil, with pasta and chorizo sausage, followed by bread and cheese. It was good.

My flip flops are the only other casualty since my last post, but duck tape is holding them together. Climbing a large hill I suffered a minor disaster when I realised I had eaten my last werthers original. These splendid little treats from home where a daily pick me up whenever I feel homesick. It was too late to turn back, the nearest town being days away, so I somehow made it to the next town.

Regards to all at home, Barrie.

Update from la Guinguetta d´Aneu

This camp-site has a PC in reception with Internet!

Since my last post I have had 2 rather difficult days suffering from, in polite terms a tummy upset. So far I have sterilised any water not from a tap, or formal Fuente (fountain) but foolishly took a change with one which at the time I did not feel was right. The bug really sapped my strength and I found some climbs dizzy with exhaustion. Having to make emergency stops on the path was awkward too...

Anyway what does not kill us makes us stronger and I kept to schedule, so when I felt better I decided to do 2 shortish days in one to generate a rest day in Espot. This I did when the weather was wet through the national park Aigustotes Estany de San Maurici, which is a lovely park with hundreds of little lakes like Japanese water gardens, snowy peaks (the name translates to the Enchanted Mountains), high waterfalls and pine forests and in some ways similar to the Lakes District in UK. But when I got to the Refuge Colomers it was full of with a happy group of people who looked as though they had parked in the valley below and climbed up for the night. The Guardian looked at me, and despite my pleading pitiful face said curtly ´Completo´, so I pitched my tent nearby next to a young English couple who had had the same experience. That night, being in a valley 2,200m up it froze to -1 inside the tent which was a bit chilly. I even boiled up a cup of tea inside the tent porch at 4:30 am to warm up. The next day was beautifully clear though with a deep frost, which made the area more pretty. If you get a chance to visit this national park do so; the rural houses are good value, with well friendly hosts and well equiped kitchens. The local restaraunts do especially good food with wine inclusive (OK you have to take the smooth with the rough).

After departing I soon met a US chap from New York called Stephen who questioned me on my gear, then promptly told me I had all the wrong equipment, and his was much better. He then asked about my route, and then told me that the GR11 was in fact a poor route and he had designed his own much better one having been all over the world. I got away as quickly as I could. He had a point though as my solar charger for then gave up working and is now in a bin.

I´ve had a nice rest day now in Espot and stayed in Casa Colom with a newly married couple from Utah and a friendly Dutch couple who gave me food. However I also met a group of Germans earlier in the week at a Refuge where the pushed in front of me at check in. They all looked like Henchmen for some Bond Villain. Just as I was checking in one returned to me to apologise telling me that of the 3 double beds available they have saved me a space in between the 2 biggest of them. When I got to the dorm there where dozens of single beds available and they turned to me an laughed saying ´See, we Germans do have a sense of humour, ho ho ho´.

A cautionary tale: I was having lunch at the foot of the Ordesa valley and spread out my wet tent to dry. The tourists just walked past me surrounded as I was by steaming nylon. 2 hours and 700m further up, I set up my tent, but could find no tent pegs. Imagining some elderly French tourist had picked them up from the valley and was using my UL Titanium pegs as darning needles, I legged it back down into the valley but they where not at the spot where I had lunch. I returned to the tent dejected and put up my tents with rocks 3 hours later. Inside my wobbly tent I unpacked my clothing back and found the tent pegs...

In summary I am still on Schedule, and 2 days past half way. Tomorrow has the hardest day of the trek with 1500m of ascent and I still have Andorra and the largest peak of the climb still to come around day 37. Thanks for the comments; I like to think that somebody at least is reading this!

Days 12-20 (writing from Benasque)

Writing from a dodgy Internet booth down a side street where all the locals seem to come and watch bootleg dvds...My tent is set up 3k up the road at a formal campsite with showers and everything though!

Since I last wrote my gear has not performed to well. The handles fell off my walking poles, and then the titanium tips fell off making them just sticks so when I realised I had left them in a cafe 5 minutes before I felt no desire to return and get them. My Miendl boots fell apart after the monster climb up Ezcaurri which tore the stitching out. The gaps got alarming bigger each day until I reached Ordesa national park when I used up my spare day to go shopping. New boots are a risk but 4 days later and no complaints from my super orange Tecnica boots. The rest of the kit still weighs a ton though.

I´ve done two rather scary climbs: Cuello Tebarray at 2782m was a slog up a valley with the final 200m at about 45degrees, and needed a rather dangerous traverse, followed by contour round a half frozen glacial lake and a descent down 300m of snow. At this time I had no pole and was using a novelty walking stick which was funny. Two french guys following took a photo from lower in the valley, and promise to email it me. The other one was the escape from the Ordesa valley (an incredibly beautiful area). It required a long climb over several large rivers from melt water, to the valley edge with a 1000m fall to the right. The final ascent was up a steep gully below a melting ice block above and vertical rock strata for extra slippyness. Someone has fitted a rusty chain to help surmount the final boulder which was not easy to use with a heavy pack. there then followed a descent of 1460m down a 45degree slope with chains and waterfalls for company. The good news was that I found a brand new thermarest sleep mat during the walk :-)

Regarding wildlife, there are marmots everywhere and they shriek like exited school girls when you surprise them. Bearded Eagles are supposed to be rare but ´Tommy the Swede´pointed a few out to me. Little dear called Chamois are fun to watch as they can jump and run incredibly fast and far. Several people have told me that the changing seasons have made the area much more green, and there are wild flowers and herbs everywhere, and rich dark forests which I was not really expecting.

I did try to update this blog from a Petrol station on the border with France. It sold wine for about 1.5l for €1.5 (good stuff) from barrels, and you just filled up your own container however the PC was in the ´free sample´ room. It took me about 1.5hours to figure out that the ancient PC would not do Google :-)

Got loads of photo´s which I guess will have to be added retrospectively I´m afraid. I´ve made a few more friends along the way, and our paths keep crossing, but so far I am the only west to east thru trekker I´ve met.

Days 5 - 11 (Sender Descatalogado)

The above text is printed all over the GR11 notice boards in the Navarra region. It means that the route is discontinued. For a few years now all markings have been left to decay, and most refuges not maintained. This explains a few things, like markings being very random, which is not helped by maps which are an approximation at best.

Anyway I am actually 1 day ahead of schedule despite this in a lovely village at around 1300m called Sallent De Gallego in the school library. Sorry for lack of posts but internet is difficult to get round here.

I´ve passed through the Camino route and saw loads of sad looking pilgrims going to Santiago, and now on the pure GR11 which is much better marked in Navarra region. Only seen a dozen or so other people doing the route though.

The wildlife is interesting. Vampire Slugs try to get me each night in my tent and each morning the tent is cris-crossed by slug trails. A wild boar came into my campsite in the forest but ran away when I shone my torch at him. Snakes, lizards, weird yellow spiders, loads of horse fowling, bats etc give me some company. However made a friend for 2 days; Brent from California, who has now gone over to France, but before he went gave me half his travel book which is much better than mine. Very kind of him really, but I suspect it was guilt from breaking my water bottle :-) We climbed a monster mountain called Zurizza or something, a big slab of limestone that looks spectactular. Photos to be added when I get a more modern PC with USB...

Anyway I cant beleive so few people do this trek. The food is splendid, towns lovely, scenery incredible, wine cheap (or so people tell me). The other night I slept in an abandoned campsite complete with changing rooms, bar restaurant, wash blocks etc just decaying. Very sad, as the area is incredible.

Anyway tomorrow I have 1 verticle kilometer to climb which will take about 6 hours or so and then into the really big hills. Seen a lot of snow already but much more up there.

At least my pack is a lot lighter as I´ve finally eaten all the english food items, and playing an interesting game of ´whats in this packet?´now.

Regards to all

The Rain in Spain fell mainly on my Brain

Days 1 -4 30, 30, 20, and 19 kilometres

Arrived at midnight in Irun, all planes, taxis and busses went to plan, filled up the fuel for stove at the gassolinera, got a very yellow room for €15 and a butty so felt ready for the trek. Loads of turbulance on the plane though. Taxi arrived promtly and dropped me off at the lighthouse at the start, I got my rucsack and paid the driver who then drove off with my maps, compass and case.

Forward 3 hours I tracked down the driver from the hostal and I´m off again, albeit a bit late and its raining heavily. Navigation tricky since Spanish Maps are only an approximation of what is on the ground. A black line is a forest path, a wide track or a mettalled road. Many roads do not appear on the maps, and the route markings (red and white dashes) are rare indeed and very old and faded. Some are on trees that have been cut down!

My gear weighs a ton so I dump the 550g water filter as there are loads of fresh water points. Got a room at a hostal and met a guy called George from Spain just finishing from the other way. He warned me that the markings only get worse and he got lost having done the walk before. So day 2 took 12 hours not 8, and I walked into the town stinking and dripping. I got a room, and the next morning posted my heavy warm top home.

Day three and navigation a nightmare again and it got really hot. I met some French on the HRP section who where romoving ticks they had picked up, so I changed into tight fitting undies ASAP. The area must have been active during the civil war as there are bunkers everywhere. I pitched the tent on top of one in the woods, having explored inside first. Mist came down quickly, fealt a bit homesick then remembered I had a Soreen Lincolnshire (Soft and Moist) plum pudding in the bag. This was splendid indeed and cheered me up no end.

Day four and I am covered in soot from the remnants of bush fires which sweapt the region last year, again a real lack of markers and poor maps seems to be adding to the time. But the camp site has a laundry area and showers so I do not smell so much any more. Regards to all and thanks to everyone for sponsorship, I am on schedule, so everyone who waited to sponsor me to see if I really am daft enough to do this cough up!

Adios, Barrie

Training – May

My training suffered a bit of a blow after my last post as I had a bout of the Shingles. The spotty blighters are not really a problem, but they leave a legacy of pain known as ‘post herpetic neuralgia’ which is a damaged nerve on one side of the body. Anyway, after some rest and gentle build up I am back on track, and this weekend completed a 2 day trek from the Conway Valley to Llanberris via Moel Siabod and an overnight camp under Snowdon. With a sort of zigzag around the Snowdon Massif it was about 20k each day, with full kit, and 1800m of ascent in bad conditions and over rough terrain. I felt really good the day after, and look forward to the physical effects that 7 weeks continual walking will bring. My two best favourite items on this trip are the Terra Nova tent and the Snugpac sleeping bag.

If you’re in the area I can recommend beans on toast from the Tŷ Mawr tea shop in Rhyd Ddu. It is run by a young couple who serve good homely food, generous servings, reasonable prices and a friendly welcome. Whilst I was there, a group of soaking Para’s arrived with full kit. John the owner sat them in front of the coal stove, and stored their kit in the kitchen, Claire delivered hot food and drinks from the kitchen. An elderly local couple sat bemused in the corner whilst tucking into full cooked dinner.

Please visit them: http://www.snowdon-accommodation.co.uk/ they also do B&B.

Talking of food, my Frankenstein camp stove works well and cooking up sausage and onions in the tent porch as it was raining and blowing a gale outside was a good feeling. My 22 year old Gore-Tex jacket has seen better days though. It acts like an absorbent kitchen towel despite having grangers and nikwax thrown at it. I shall have to ditch any attachment to it, and spend out on some fancy new one.

I have one more weekend of training left, when I shall nip up to the lakes for 2 solid days. The final weekend before I leave will involve Tracey and I taking a trip to Windsor races for a company bash, where any benefits from training will be washed away.

Above is a picture from the area; not from this walk as it was too wet to get the camera out. It is from Tryffan, and is a montage of the view looking into the Ogwen Valley.

Next post from Spain!

Preparation April 2007

My training continues with a good Easter Camping in the Langdale valley with the family. My goodness though it was busy; the path up to Pavey Arc was a conveyer belt, but things were quieter up on Bow Fell and Crinkle Crags. Each day was the equivalent height and distance of a GR11 day but without full weight and still hard going. Grim realisation has set in of the task ahead.

Flights are booked: £38 quid outgoing to Bilboa and £44 for the return from Barcelona on Easyjet to Liverpool so result there. I’ve picked up Macpac rucksack for a good price from a local outdoors shop. It feels sturdy, not like some of the others I’ve tried which seem a bit flimsy. Another overnight test this weekend has reminded me that ear plugs will be useful, as the tents next door had 10 teenaged girls (my daughter’s sleepover party). However, I don’t think any mountain hut full of snoring Spaniards will ever compete with that din!

A couple of people have asked about the mental preparation, and aftermath of a total lifestyle change for seven weeks. The concern is that I will go slightly mad during this time, and lots of people say “What, on your own?” when I tell them about this. But I will have an mp3 phone/radio with music and several audio books if I get too lonely. I don’t mind my own company, but will welcome anyone who wants to pop over to Spain to meet up for a few days on the trail. How will I cope upon my return? Well Tracey tells me there will be seven weeks of DIY jobs to catch up on so at least I’ll be busy.

Thanks to those who have sponsored me so far. The London Marathon is over now, so I will give people a few weeks to recover from charity fatigue before I start actively chasing sponsorship.