Читать книгу The GR10 Trail. Through the French Pyrenees: Le Sentier des Pyrenees онлайн

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The HRP, which passes through France, Spain and Andorra, is not so much a walk as a mountaineering expedition. The route is not waymarked, except where it coincides with other routes, and you must expect to get lost! There is a lot of very rough terrain, including some very steep, possibly dangerous descents. Visits to towns and villages are infrequent so resupply is difficult and you will have to camp much of the time. You will spend a lot of time on high mountain ridges with serious risk of thunderstorms and even fresh snow. The HRP is particularly demanding in bad weather or in early summer when snow could mean serious winter mountaineering skills are required. The HRP is a daunting route for the inexperienced but is a magnificent expedition for those with the right experience.

The GR11 is a well waymarked mountain path, which passes through Spain and Andorra. Like the HRP, it crosses many high mountain passes where there are boulderfields, scree and some easy scrambling at about the maximum difficulty the inexperienced would want when carrying a heavy rucksack. Thunderstorms are less of a problem than on the HRP as you don’t spend long periods on high ridges. Frequent visits to towns and villages mean that resupply isn’t much of a problem. Those who prefer not to camp or bivouac will find that a few of the stages are rather long and that some alternative routes will need to be taken.