We heard footsteps beside the tent a few times last night. We have no idea what made them. We haven’t seen any deer at all in the Pyrenees. It wasn’t a cow or horse because they would have left some footprints (and other calling cards). It was too big to have been a marmot or other small animal. We’re leaning towards a bear or a stalker.
I’ve given up on early starts. Pam says she wants to get up early and get going and that she always wakes up before 7. She just doesn’t take any initiative to wake me up or get up on her own. It only seems to be when I start getting the coffee ready that she starts stirring. Today, I woke up at 8:07, coffee by 8:15, trail by…10.
The goal for today was the restaurant at the yurt and teepee complex on Plateau de Beille which is supposed to be a popular tourist spot. As usual, this would involve over 4000′ of climbing and 4000′ of descending. In other words, an average day on the GR10.
We’ve reached the part of the Ariege where switchbacks have not yet made an appearance. The trails are steep up and down, but not unbearably so. As we were packing up to leave, the French family that stayed in Cabane Balledreyt last night passed us. We asked them if they had the same problem finding the trail leaving the cabin. They did, so it’s just not us. Peter and Alaina have a gps maps app that they use if they ever have any doubt as to the trail–they never get lost. Our guidebook is actually more of a hinderance than if we were traveling without any maps. Other than the elevation profiles, I’d throw it away.
All in all, we were just a little slow and late this morning, but made ok progress. When we got to the first pass we crossed today, we met a young man from Belgium. He had stayed in Cabane de Courtal Marti which we passed up. We talked a bit and found out we were all headed to the same location for the night.
The trail down from the pass was through a great river valley with lots of waterfalls and flat spots for camping. It would have been great to make it this far last night to nab one of these spots, but the rain was working against us.
We had a 2400′ climb once we got to the bottom. I’ve developed a new low gear where I can just climb at a slow steady speed without stopping. Every 20 minutes or so, I take a 5 minute break for Pam to catch up. Her hips have been hurting more since she’s lost her daily ibuprofen fixes. While we were near the 3/4 mark of our climb, the unthinkable happened–thunder.
Pam’s worst nightmare is to be caught out in a storm on a mountain top. She has a vivid imagination and can stretch anywhere we are into an exposed mountain top. Most of the day she had been a good 5+ minutes behind me. The second thunder rumble, she was poking my feet with her walking sticks. I told her to back off a bit and she said she couldn’t. We needed to get moving, but where? Up or down?
I knew (as she did, if only she would let rational Pam have control of the brain) that we were almost to the cabin and we could stop there until the storm passed. There was rain behind us on the other side of the valley but we were still in sunshine with a light drizzle. Pam passed me at nearly a full run and headed to the cabin.
When I finally caught up to her, she was sitting inside and, Casper, our Belgium friend from the morning was there as well. Since a stranger was there, Pam had to act brave and coherent. It was still before 6, so we were hoping the storm would pass and we could make the restaurant. We got to know more about Casper in the mean time.
Casper is a 19 year old university student studying psychology. He’s spending a few weeks hiking on the GR10 by himself. He speaks French, Dutch, and English. Last year, he visited the USA (Chicago) but spent 3 months in Canada on work exchanges where you work on small farms or B&Bs in exchange for room and board. He seems like a very level headed guy and it was fun talking with him.
After a couple of hours, the rain and storm hadn’t let up, so it was apparent we were staying here for the night. Casper is Sam’s age (Pam’s son), so it’s hard not to make comparisons. I can’t imagine Sam staying in a cabin alone, or for that matter, with anyone. These are primitive structures with just a sleeping platform and protection from the elements. Most of the cabins have mice and insects. Given a choice, I’d take a tent, but not if I have to set it up in the rain.
Casper did set his tent up in what one can assume to be the kitchen side of the cabin and we are staying in the sleeping side. We’ve hung everything from the ceiling in anticipation of mice activity in the night. We’ve seen plenty of evidence that they are here and, no doubt, watching our movements. Pam promises to scream if a mouse runs across her in the night. I’ve already flicked a few spiders off of me and am thinking of switching sides with her since spider induced screams weren’t promised.