Blog

Gear List - Pyrenean High Route - Section 5 2017Total gear carried excluding consumables was 6.678kg (14.12lbs), with consumables this rose to 13.443kg (29.11lbs). Gear worn about my person was typically as listed below. Suunto watch80gBuff33gFood Bag - Exped33gOMM Long Sleeved Grid Tee202gMasters Trecime Carbon Fixed Length Trekking Poles - 130cm380gMeco 120 Boxer62gScarpa Epic Lite OD Shoe844gR …

CostThe total cost for this trip was around £850, this included everything from transport to food bought on the trail and even a hotel stay. Car parking at airport£65.99Train Toulouse to Andorra (24.6 euro£21.78Flights Newcastle to Toulouse£310.51Next train from Banyuls sur Mer to Paris£135.59Return flight from Paris£153.64Food purchased from Petit Casino in Toulouse£10.64Meal in Toulouse£12.85Om …

Getting BackHappily Banyuls ser Mer has a night train service to Paris, just as L’Hospitalet pres d’Andorre does, so after taking a meal on the sea front I went to the train station and was able to book a ‘bed’ for the trip to Paris the same night.My train departed at 7.30pm and arrived in Paris at 6.45 the following morning, I’d like to say that I went to sleep by the Med and woke up refreshed ei …

Getting ThereL’Hospitalet pres d’Andorre is a small town, just a village really, with a railway station and a night service from Paris, so a lot of people get to Paris in time for the sleeper and arrive early the next morning.One problem with this is fuel for cooking, I was using a gas stove and needed to buy fuel before the walk, this is difficult in Paris en route and I couldn’t take it on the p …

Pyrenean High Route - Section 5The Pyrenean High Route is an 800+ km journey over the high passes of the Pyrenean Mountains from Hendaye on the Atlantic coast to Banyuls sur Mer on the Mediteranean, it criss-crosses the border between France and Spain and takes around 42 days to complete. Ton Joostens guide published by Cicerone is the definitive publication on the route and divides it into five s …

Trip Report, Day 1-5Day 1 - L’Hospitalet pres d’Andorre to Refuge des BesinesTon Joostens guidebook is geared towards trekkers taking advantage of hut accommodation which explains some of the idiosyncrasies around how the route is split into days, these can be avoided if you are backpacking. Having said that there could be a lot more information in the guide about the potential for wild camping al …

Trip Report, Day 6-10Day 6 – Refuge Mariella to Gite d’etape de BatereLeft camp at 7.30 and began the climb up to Canigou, the second key peak on the route. Initially the route is a steady climb but shortly before the summit there’s a steep rocky section which develops into a scramble, Grade 1 in my estimation. It’s straightforward and really enjoyable and culminates in the summit giving some ex …

CostsThe total costs for the trip come out at £854, £257 was spent getting to the start of the walk - some of which could have been avoided, £327 was spent getting home. This leaves £270 spent during the walk, of which £110 was spent on the rest day (2nts hotel plus meals).Costs prior to leavingI decided that rather than tie myself down to dates I would book the outward journey and get myself back …

Gear ListThis is a list of some of the essential items I took on the trip and what each item weighed. If you would like to see the full gear list you can download it by clicking on the 'Full Gear List' button below.Full Gear ListTent Gram-Counter Gear LiteHouse SOLO850gRucksack GoLite 2010 Jam879gCooking System Vargo Hexagon Stove inc Pouch148gVargo Decagon Stove38gFuel Bottles x 258gLight My F …

Gear ReviewsGram-counter Gear LiteHouse SOLOVested interest up front - I designed this tent - that said I hope I can be objective. It did everything I asked of it, I took the optional rear pole and removable side guys.The tent stood up well to stormy conditions and kept me and my gear dry despite heavy rain. By the end of the trip (the last night in fact) I arrived at camp just as it was starting …

Pyrenean High Route - Section 3 & 4During the first three weeks of August I walked sections 3 & 4 of the Pyrenean High Route as defined in the Cicerone Guide by Ton Joosten, Gavarnie to L'Hospitalet Pres L'Andorre.Ton advises that section 4 is the toughest section mainly because it is largely unsupported, there are a number of refuges but they are mostly unmanned, and I found the waymarking much b …

Trip ReportGetting ThereEasyjet from Newcastle to Stansted, 18.05 departure1 night stay at 'Days Inn' on service area with shuttle bus4.30 am shuttle bus to Stansted for 06.20 flight to Pau (Ryanair)Bus to Pau Train StationTrain to Lourdes - arrives 11.30am2hr wait for bus13.55 Bus to Luis St Saveur, arrives 14.5017.15 bus to Gavarnie, arrives 18.00Days 1-4, Gavarnie to Refuge la SoulaStarting fro …