Читать книгу The GR11 Trail. The Traverse of the Spanish Pyrenees - La Senda Pirenaica онлайн

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It is now possible to walk the GR11 without camping or using bothies and this new guide is organised into 47 stages for the benefit of those who are using accommodation along the route. Walkers who, like the author, prefer wild camping in the mountains will find much greater flexibility in their planning.

Brian Johnson

Lac Redon and Lac Long (Stage 25)

INTRODUCTION

Punta Chistau (Stage 20)

The Pyrenees is the mountain chain which forms the border between France and Spain, stretching over 400km from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. The GR11, which stays on the Spanish side of the border, provides a very varied scenic route through magnificent, often remote, high or deserted mountains.

As the GR11 leaves the border town of Irún on the Atlantic Coast, it follows ridges on the gentle grassy and wooded hills of the Basque Country and Navarre. There is then a rapid transition into steep limestone mountains, passing through the world-renowned Ordesa Canyon before the fantastic granite peaks of the High Pyrenees are reached. The High Pyrenees rise to over 3000m, with snowfields surviving well into the summer and the remnants of the glaciers which carved out the deep valleys. The GR11 generally heads up these alpine valleys before crossing a high pass and descending into the next valley. These rough, tough mountains continue into Andorra. The mountains become gentler once Andorra is passed but, surprisingly, the highest point on the GR11 is reached after the High Pyrenees are left behind. As the Mediterranean is approached, the GR11 follows a line of steep, rugged, wooded hills to reach the sea at the spectacular peninsula of Cap de Creus.