Monday 10th September Zuriza to Guarrinza

For me today was the hardest day so far. Most days we walk about 20 kms and they involve walking from one valley over a high pass and down into another valley. We are now camping at abont 1200 to 1500 metres above sea level and walking over passes at about 1800 to 2100 mtrs though these heights will increase as each day goes by and we get closer to the bigger mountains of the central Pyrenees. Altitude makes itself felt in many ways. The sun burns very hot and the wind blows harder. The air, especially after the sun goes down, gets really cold and when you are climbing mountains your lungs can't find as much oxygen as at sea level. So for me at least, being in the worst physical shape of the 3, this walk is really proving to be a challenge. Monday wasn't any more difficult than most days but I felt like the gas tank was empty and I didn't have lots of energy. Probably the climb over Ezcaurri had taken its toll. The climb up through today's main pass seemed to be interminable. when you are in the Pyrenees, it is always difficult to see exactly where you are supposed to be going, mainly because there are very few clear cut tracks. Most of the time you are just travelling across unmarked country. Just when you think you can figure out where the route is going to take you, you see a GR11 painted mark on a random rock which points you off in a completely different direction, heading you towards an even steeper climb than the one you thought you were going to have to do. Today we got a little lost as usual and ended up climbing around in steep country looking for GR11 marks. Its tiring enough just following the route without having to do extra distance in very steep terrain. We came to our end point for the day, a crossroads called La Mina and found no safe drinking water; there were a lot of big, mountain cattle in the valley with access to the river which made the water unreliable. To top it off our water purifier went on strike. The guide (Chris Bennett) recommended moving on and we really had no choice, we needed good water. Eventually further up the valley, we found safe water, a spring which came up through a handmade rock structure built for cattle to drink out of. The water was freezing cold and delicious. The next challenge was to find some flat land to erect the tents. This proved to be a bit of a problem and the day was drawing to a close. In the end we camped down near the river. Putting up the tents proved hilarious as they were an irresistable attraction for the local cows, who at first tried to eat the tents until we chased them away. As the sun set we had the most beautiful view up towards the tops of the mountains around us but the cold really bit in and I was glad I had warm clothes and a good sleeping bag. We had now been 2 days without seeing anyone and no cellphone coverage.

Refugio libre

 

This is a typical free hut. In fact this one is better than most. For those of us who are New Zealanders and are used to a network of well maintained huts, to find trashed and vandalised, leaking and filthy huts where bunks dont exist could be a bit of a surprise. However when the weather closes in here, you feel grateful to have anything blocking the wind and weather.

The going gets harder every day...

 

Guarrinza

The first cold night

 

Autumn was coming in fast and now we were beginning to climb in altitude, as evening came you really began to feel the cold and we were pulling out the thermal gear and being thankful for the down sleeping bags.