Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Pyrenees GR11 2003 - Day 15: August 23rd
Saturday 23rd August
There was rain overnight and there was cloud around the peaks in the morning. I got
away at 7.30am, which wasn’t bad considering it was still dark at 6.30am. I walked steeply
down the Rio Ara and then down a U-shaped grassy valley, below towering cliffs. Lower
down the valley became V-shaped, where, at the end of the ice-ages, meltwater from the
retreating glacier had cut a deep gorge. As usual, there were too many cows and at one
point I was on a narrow path, traversing a steep slope, driving 2 cows and their calves
along ahead of me when I met 2 men driving 4 cows in the opposite direction. Impasse! I
managed to climb off the path and “my” cows eventually managed to turn around and the
other 2 walkers drove the string of cows up the path.
I reached Bujaruelo Meadows and the newly restored medieval bridge, Puente de
Bujaruelo. At this bridge there was a campsite and refuge with road access up a pista
from the Ordesa National Park. There was now a fantastic gorge, initially on a small path
and then on the busy pista descending from the Puento de Bujaruelo. I picked up a supply
bag that I had left in the gorge and continued down to Puente deros Nabarrosat at 1000m.
This was the access point to the Ordesa Canyon. This is one of the most spectacular areas
in Europe and has been a National Park since 1918. Camping is not permitted in the
National Park, except above 2100m when you can camp for one night, from sunset until
sunrise. The pista up the canyon is now closed to cars, but there is a regular coach service
into the canyon from the parking area at Torla 2km further down the valley. There was
also a well maintained footpath into the gorge and there were even a group of trail
workers working on it. I stopped for lunch then headed up the canyon. The canyon is
rather like a miniature Grand Canyon, except there are tree growing on the steep slopes.
I stopped at a memorial to Lucien Briet who first visited Ordesa in 1891 and was largely
responsible for the establishment of the National Park.
I met John and Anne Taylor, from Derby, descending the Canyon. John agreed to
take 4 supply bags and films from me and send them to me when he got back to England.
This enabled me to reduce the weight I was carrying. The trail continued steeply through
the woods with occasional glimpses of the crags above and waterfalls and cascades below,
before arriving at a fantastic corrie. This was flat-bottomed with a grassy floor and
surrounded by vertical crags. The park officials were building a stone path up into the
corrie to try and reduce the pressure on the grass. At the head of the valley there is the
spectacular Cascada de Cola de Caballo (Horse Tail Waterfall). From here I followed a
small path that found its way through the crags and I eventually camped at 2115m on a
grassy ledge below the manned Refugio de Goriz. It was a spectacular site on a carpet of
short grass, surrounded by limestone crags.
At just over 10 hours, it had been my longest day of walking since I’ve been able to
return to walking. I would have preferred to stop earlier, but the ban on camping
prevented this. Unfortunately the hazy and then cloudy weather wasn’t very good for
photography.
There was rain overnight and there was cloud around the peaks in the morning. I got
away at 7.30am, which wasn’t bad considering it was still dark at 6.30am. I walked steeply
down the Rio Ara and then down a U-shaped grassy valley, below towering cliffs. Lower
down the valley became V-shaped, where, at the end of the ice-ages, meltwater from the
retreating glacier had cut a deep gorge. As usual, there were too many cows and at one
point I was on a narrow path, traversing a steep slope, driving 2 cows and their calves
along ahead of me when I met 2 men driving 4 cows in the opposite direction. Impasse! I
managed to climb off the path and “my” cows eventually managed to turn around and the
other 2 walkers drove the string of cows up the path.
I reached Bujaruelo Meadows and the newly restored medieval bridge, Puente de
Bujaruelo. At this bridge there was a campsite and refuge with road access up a pista
from the Ordesa National Park. There was now a fantastic gorge, initially on a small path
and then on the busy pista descending from the Puento de Bujaruelo. I picked up a supply
bag that I had left in the gorge and continued down to Puente deros Nabarrosat at 1000m.
This was the access point to the Ordesa Canyon. This is one of the most spectacular areas
in Europe and has been a National Park since 1918. Camping is not permitted in the
National Park, except above 2100m when you can camp for one night, from sunset until
sunrise. The pista up the canyon is now closed to cars, but there is a regular coach service
into the canyon from the parking area at Torla 2km further down the valley. There was
also a well maintained footpath into the gorge and there were even a group of trail
workers working on it. I stopped for lunch then headed up the canyon. The canyon is
rather like a miniature Grand Canyon, except there are tree growing on the steep slopes.
I stopped at a memorial to Lucien Briet who first visited Ordesa in 1891 and was largely
responsible for the establishment of the National Park.
I met John and Anne Taylor, from Derby, descending the Canyon. John agreed to
take 4 supply bags and films from me and send them to me when he got back to England.
This enabled me to reduce the weight I was carrying. The trail continued steeply through
the woods with occasional glimpses of the crags above and waterfalls and cascades below,
before arriving at a fantastic corrie. This was flat-bottomed with a grassy floor and
surrounded by vertical crags. The park officials were building a stone path up into the
corrie to try and reduce the pressure on the grass. At the head of the valley there is the
spectacular Cascada de Cola de Caballo (Horse Tail Waterfall). From here I followed a
small path that found its way through the crags and I eventually camped at 2115m on a
grassy ledge below the manned Refugio de Goriz. It was a spectacular site on a carpet of
short grass, surrounded by limestone crags.
At just over 10 hours, it had been my longest day of walking since I’ve been able to
return to walking. I would have preferred to stop earlier, but the ban on camping
prevented this. Unfortunately the hazy and then cloudy weather wasn’t very good for
photography.
Puente de Bujaruelo
Ordesa National Park
Ordesa National Park
Ordesa Canyon
Cascada de Cola Caballo
Ordesa Canyon
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