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

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Brian Johnson

INTRODUCTION

Mont Valier from ponds below the Bouche d’Aula (Stage 34)

The north face of Vignemale from Oulètes de Gaube (Stages 18 and 19)

The Pyrenees, the mountain chain which forms the border between France and Spain, stretches over 400km from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. The GR10 is the easiest, oldest and most popular of the three long-distance routes that traverse the mountain range.

It is an extremely well-waymarked route following good mountain paths, with only a few tough stages with boulderfields to cross and occasional scrambling. Towns and villages are frequent so finding accommodation and supplies is rarely a problem.

Initially the GR10 follows ridges over the steep rolling hills of the Basque Country before reaching the impressive limestone peaks at the western end of the High Pyrenees. The fantastic Alpine scenery of the High Pyrenees includes a number of tourist hotspots, including the Pic du Midi d’Ossau, Vignemale and Gavarnie. After Bagnères-de-Luchon the GR10 passes into the less-frequented Ariège where the route crosses a succession of deep valleys with occasional returns to spectacular Alpine terrain. As the Mediterranean is approached the Canigou massif dominates the scene and the terrain remains mountainous with the final 1000m peak being only a few miles from the route’s end at Banyuls-sur-Mer.