Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Pyrenees GR11 2003- Day 24: September 1st
Monday 1st September
It rained much of the night, but was gradually clearing in the morning. I picked up a
supply bag I had left at a hotel in the holiday village of La Guingueta d’Aneu. I discovered
the reason for 2 lots of breakfasts in an earlier supply bag: There weren’t any in this bag!
At least my pack would be lighter.
I now followed what I believe was a new pista being bulldozed up to the isolated
mountain hamlet of Dorve. Unfortunately this pista wasn’t finished and I had to backtrack
to find the footpath up to Dorve. The waymarks where the path left the pista had been
destroyed when the pista was bulldozed and I had missed the path. Until this pista was
completed the path was still the only access to Dorve. I was greeted in Dorve by sheep and
goats. Surprisingly one of the houses was still inhabited. Most of the buildings were rather
dilapidated, but the church still looked in good condition. The slopes below Dorve were
rough with poor slatey soil offering very little grass for the sheep and goats. However
Dorve was surrounded by terraced fields with good grazing and possibilities of growing
crops. Just as I was leaving 2 Belgians turned up. They had started walking the GR11 from
Parzan.
Above Dorve the path was through steep brush and was badly waymarked so I am not
even sure now if I followed the official path. I stopped for lunch at the wooded Collado de la
Serra at 1740m. The climb continued another 500m up pleasant grassy woodland to the Coll
de Calvo. I was met at the top by the first thunderstorm of the day. The steep descent was
not very pleasant in the conditions. I was now out of the National Park so I was back in cow
country with its inevitable pollution. I stopped for an afternoon break on about the only
grassy spot I could find uncontaminated by the cows. Another shower was threatening as I
left and there was a terrific thunderstorm as I arrived at Estaon. This was another
mountain village, which had recently been renovated and now provided up-market houses.
I decided to go up to Bordes de Nibros to camp, since the guidebook mentioned possible
sites. Initially the route followed a good pista, but then followed the old path. Bordes de
Nibros was falling apart, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a pista was driven up to it and it
would be revitalised for holiday homes in the future. Unfortunately there were cows in
abundance and I couldn’t find anywhere uncontaminated to camp. I continued up the hill
towards the Coll de Lleret in the gathering gloom and yet another thunderstorm. I
managed to find a spot on the path to camp just above the ruins of the Borda de Vidal. It
was 8pm by now and I put up the tent in the rain and settled down for the night.
It rained much of the night, but was gradually clearing in the morning. I picked up a
supply bag I had left at a hotel in the holiday village of La Guingueta d’Aneu. I discovered
the reason for 2 lots of breakfasts in an earlier supply bag: There weren’t any in this bag!
At least my pack would be lighter.
I now followed what I believe was a new pista being bulldozed up to the isolated
mountain hamlet of Dorve. Unfortunately this pista wasn’t finished and I had to backtrack
to find the footpath up to Dorve. The waymarks where the path left the pista had been
destroyed when the pista was bulldozed and I had missed the path. Until this pista was
completed the path was still the only access to Dorve. I was greeted in Dorve by sheep and
goats. Surprisingly one of the houses was still inhabited. Most of the buildings were rather
dilapidated, but the church still looked in good condition. The slopes below Dorve were
rough with poor slatey soil offering very little grass for the sheep and goats. However
Dorve was surrounded by terraced fields with good grazing and possibilities of growing
crops. Just as I was leaving 2 Belgians turned up. They had started walking the GR11 from
Parzan.
Above Dorve the path was through steep brush and was badly waymarked so I am not
even sure now if I followed the official path. I stopped for lunch at the wooded Collado de la
Serra at 1740m. The climb continued another 500m up pleasant grassy woodland to the Coll
de Calvo. I was met at the top by the first thunderstorm of the day. The steep descent was
not very pleasant in the conditions. I was now out of the National Park so I was back in cow
country with its inevitable pollution. I stopped for an afternoon break on about the only
grassy spot I could find uncontaminated by the cows. Another shower was threatening as I
left and there was a terrific thunderstorm as I arrived at Estaon. This was another
mountain village, which had recently been renovated and now provided up-market houses.
I decided to go up to Bordes de Nibros to camp, since the guidebook mentioned possible
sites. Initially the route followed a good pista, but then followed the old path. Bordes de
Nibros was falling apart, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a pista was driven up to it and it
would be revitalised for holiday homes in the future. Unfortunately there were cows in
abundance and I couldn’t find anywhere uncontaminated to camp. I continued up the hill
towards the Coll de Lleret in the gathering gloom and yet another thunderstorm. I
managed to find a spot on the path to camp just above the ruins of the Borda de Vidal. It
was 8pm by now and I put up the tent in the rain and settled down for the night.
Dorve
Bordes de Nibros
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