Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Pyrenees GR11 2003 - Day 26: September 3rd
Wednesday 3rd September
I awoke to clear sky, but there were banks of cloud rolling around the ridges and
extensive cloud to the south over the Spanish lowlands. I had to fight my way through
brush up a small overgrown path to the Coll de Tudela, 2243m. The col was broad and
grassy and would have made a good campsite in better weather. The descent was down
what used to be a good path, but fallen trees and lack of maintenance had made it into
a bit of an obstacle course. Below the old farm buildings of Bordas de Costuix, the path
became a nice, little used, pista and lead easily down to the village of Areu. I dropped
into the campsite, now almost empty at the end of the season, and picked up the supply
bag that I had left there. I had a cheese sandwich (The cheese had seen better days!)
and a beer at the bar. Before I left Gareth and Sarah, from Galway in Ireland, arrived.
They had started the GR11 from the Mediterranean and were heading to the Atlantic.
They looked very heavily laden on what was their first long hike. They had not really
worked out a satisfactory way to organise food for the hike and this meant even
heavier packs. They came into the campsite carrying a good load of potatoes!
There was now a long, gentle climb up pista and old trail, through the woods, up the
Vall Ferrara. Eventually I reached the open pastures of the Pla de Boet and then on to
the lovely semi-wooded pastures of the Pla d’Arcalis at 1980m, where I camped by the
confluence of 2 small streams. Camped nearby where a London couple who had
backpacked over from Andorra. It had been a dry day, with sunny periods and cloud
around the mountaintops.
I awoke to clear sky, but there were banks of cloud rolling around the ridges and
extensive cloud to the south over the Spanish lowlands. I had to fight my way through
brush up a small overgrown path to the Coll de Tudela, 2243m. The col was broad and
grassy and would have made a good campsite in better weather. The descent was down
what used to be a good path, but fallen trees and lack of maintenance had made it into
a bit of an obstacle course. Below the old farm buildings of Bordas de Costuix, the path
became a nice, little used, pista and lead easily down to the village of Areu. I dropped
into the campsite, now almost empty at the end of the season, and picked up the supply
bag that I had left there. I had a cheese sandwich (The cheese had seen better days!)
and a beer at the bar. Before I left Gareth and Sarah, from Galway in Ireland, arrived.
They had started the GR11 from the Mediterranean and were heading to the Atlantic.
They looked very heavily laden on what was their first long hike. They had not really
worked out a satisfactory way to organise food for the hike and this meant even
heavier packs. They came into the campsite carrying a good load of potatoes!
There was now a long, gentle climb up pista and old trail, through the woods, up the
Vall Ferrara. Eventually I reached the open pastures of the Pla de Boet and then on to
the lovely semi-wooded pastures of the Pla d’Arcalis at 1980m, where I camped by the
confluence of 2 small streams. Camped nearby where a London couple who had
backpacked over from Andorra. It had been a dry day, with sunny periods and cloud
around the mountaintops.
Gareth and Sarah
Vall Ferrara
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