Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Pyrenees GR11 - Day 9 : August 17th
Sunday 17th August
It was misty when I left camp at 8.15am, and climbed through the forest to reach the
open rough pasture on the ridge of the Sierra de Arrigorrieta. By now I had climbed out
of the mist, but there was a second thick layer of cloud above the peaks. I was following a
series of horizontal sheep tracks, climbing upwards when crags or gullies got in the way.
As I approached Pena Ezcaurri, I was distracted by a shepherd herding a very large flock
with the aid of 4 dogs. Mixed in with the sheep were a few goats and a donkey, which I
imagine the shepherd had used to reach the herd. I missed the route to Ibon d’Ezcaurri,
which is the most westerly glacial lake in the Pyrenees. I didn’t miss much since, by
August, this lake was rather low on water and contaminated by the sheep and the
surrounding grass was much overgrazed. The GR11 went up a steep gully on the southern
ridge of Pena Ezcaurri. I found myself at the foot of the SW ridge of the mountain and
climbed this instead. In fact, this looked a more natural route up the mountain than the
gully. The cloud had been gradually dropping down and as I started up the ridge, cloud
was covering the summit. I walked and scrambled over the limestone pavement. Visibility
was only a few metres by the time I reached the 2047m summit. Fortunately the descent
route was better waymarked than much of the GR11, and I descended steeply through a
complex of limestone pavements, slabs and crags, until I reached the tree-line and
stopped for lunch. I had been going for 5¼ hours without a stop, since I didn’t dare stop
because of the risk from lightning of being caught on an exposed ridge by thunderstorm.
By now thunder was rumbling around, but the storms stayed elsewhere.
The steep descent continued through the woods to Zuriza, a campsite with full tourist
facilities. I continued up a grassy valley, between towering limestone crags until 4pm
when I camped beside the Barranca de Petraficha, a small mountain stream. By now the
sky was beginning to clear giving good views of the crags.
A thunderstorm hit at 9pm.
It was misty when I left camp at 8.15am, and climbed through the forest to reach the
open rough pasture on the ridge of the Sierra de Arrigorrieta. By now I had climbed out
of the mist, but there was a second thick layer of cloud above the peaks. I was following a
series of horizontal sheep tracks, climbing upwards when crags or gullies got in the way.
As I approached Pena Ezcaurri, I was distracted by a shepherd herding a very large flock
with the aid of 4 dogs. Mixed in with the sheep were a few goats and a donkey, which I
imagine the shepherd had used to reach the herd. I missed the route to Ibon d’Ezcaurri,
which is the most westerly glacial lake in the Pyrenees. I didn’t miss much since, by
August, this lake was rather low on water and contaminated by the sheep and the
surrounding grass was much overgrazed. The GR11 went up a steep gully on the southern
ridge of Pena Ezcaurri. I found myself at the foot of the SW ridge of the mountain and
climbed this instead. In fact, this looked a more natural route up the mountain than the
gully. The cloud had been gradually dropping down and as I started up the ridge, cloud
was covering the summit. I walked and scrambled over the limestone pavement. Visibility
was only a few metres by the time I reached the 2047m summit. Fortunately the descent
route was better waymarked than much of the GR11, and I descended steeply through a
complex of limestone pavements, slabs and crags, until I reached the tree-line and
stopped for lunch. I had been going for 5¼ hours without a stop, since I didn’t dare stop
because of the risk from lightning of being caught on an exposed ridge by thunderstorm.
By now thunder was rumbling around, but the storms stayed elsewhere.
The steep descent continued through the woods to Zuriza, a campsite with full tourist
facilities. I continued up a grassy valley, between towering limestone crags until 4pm
when I camped beside the Barranca de Petraficha, a small mountain stream. By now the
sky was beginning to clear giving good views of the crags.
A thunderstorm hit at 9pm.
Sheep below
Pena Ezcaurri
Pena Ezcaurri
Summit, Pen Ezcaurri
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