The GR10 Trail. Brian Johnson

were built as summer homes for the bergers (shepherds and herdsmen) who look after the sheep, cows and goats. The majority are still used for this purpose, especially during July and August. However, they may be available for use as a bothy when the shepherd is not in residence, or they may be locked. Some have a small side room available for the use of walkers.

      A few of these cabanes have been adapted as permanent bothies, especially in the Ariège and Catalonia. Note that the sleeping platform is often in the roof space.

Camping

      In this guide the American term ‘campground’ has been used for commercial or organised campsites, to distinguish them for wilderness campsites.

      In the Parc National des Pyrénées ‘camping’ is not allowed but you can ‘bivouac’ with or without a small tent between the hours of 7.00pm and 9.00am, provided you are at least one hour’s walk from the access road. There are also aire de bivouac, which you may use, usually close to road access or to refuges. These are official wilderness campsites, occasionally with toilets and water. In practice similar rules apply to other mountain areas.

      There is rarely any problem camping high in the mountains but discretion should be used when camping at lower levels. You should ask permission if you want to camp near villages, in farmer’s fields or close to a refuge. The daily stages given in this guide are intended for those using overnight accommodation. Those who are wild camping should ignore these stages and camp well away from the towns, villages and refuges.

      If you are accustomed to always camping beside water you will sometimes have difficulty in finding suitable campsites, especially in the Basque Country and eastern Catalonia. If you are prepared to camp away from water, you have much more flexibility and you can often find campsites with spectacular views.

      Suggestions have been made in this guide as to the best campsites. These will normally be places where camping is legal, where there is good drainage and good grass which will take a tent peg. The best campsites are often on passes, but these will be very exposed in windy weather. The experienced backpacker will find plenty of other places to camp.

      It is often preferable to camp high in the mountains as it’s legal and there is less chance of being disturbed, there will be fewer cows, better grass, fewer mosquitos and other biting insects, magnificent scenery and you can camp above the cloud which tends to persist in the north-facing valleys.

Fuel

      The three types of camping gas most commonly available are:

       The ones you pierce that have been called the ‘original’ cylinders

       The ‘easy-clic’ resealable cylinders, which is the main resealable system used in Southern Europe

       Screw-on resealable cylinders, such as those manufactured by Coleman and Primus, are the most widely used in Britain, northern Europe and USA and have been called ‘Coleman-style’ gas cylinders

      Where they are mentioned in the text, they were in stock when hiking the route in 2014–2015, but it cannot be guaranteed that they will be in stock when you pass through. ‘Coleman-style’ cylinders are becoming more readily available, but the locals mainly use the ‘original’ or ‘easy-clic’ cylinders and these still have greater availability. Liquid fuels are widely available but make sure you know what you are buying!

Water

      ‘La Cascade’, Gorges de Kakouéta (Stage 9)

      Water can be a problem if it is hot. When walking in temperatures of 25–30°C, you will need at least half a litre (one pint) of water for each hour of walking plus about two litres for a ‘dry’ camp. This is a guideline and will vary considerably from person to person and will depend on the temperature.

      Most towns, villages and hamlets in the Pyrenees have fountains with untreated spring water. The locals and most walkers will drink the water without further treatment. You will often find fountains or ‘piped’ water as you walk along the trail. It should be obvious whether this water comes from a spring or a surface stream. Spring water is usually of a high quality and can be drunk with confidence. You should be more cautious about surface streams, especially woodland streams or streams in areas which are well stocked with sheep or cattle.

      Unless it states otherwise, the streams, springs and waterpoints mentioned in the text were running in 2014 and 2015 on through-hikes starting from Hendaye in late June. The waterpoints are only shown on the map if they are considered safe to drink without further treatment, however, some hikers will prefer to treat all water, using chemical treatment or filtration. Boiling your water to make it safe to drink only makes sense if you take most of your drinks in the form of tea, coffee or soup.

      Eau non potable is widely put on fountains in villages. This generally means that the water has not been treated and probably has not been tested by the authorities. The main reason for the sign is probably the avoidance of any claim for compensation, rather than saying anything about the quality of the water.

Swimming

      Hot springs above Mérens-les-Vals (Stage 44)

      Swimming is often mentioned in this guide. Pyrenean lakes and streams tend to be distinctly chilly until after snowmelt is complete. They never get really warm but in the good weather lakes can reach 20°C, which is comfortable. Conditions vary greatly from year to year: a lake on the GR11 which provided comfortable swimming in mid July 2012 still had ice on it in late July 2013! There has always been a tradition of skinny-dipping in the mountain lakes and streams, and reliable information suggests that a recent British prime minister has skinny-dipped at over 2000m in the French Pyrenees. A swimming costume is not de rigueur for the ‘lightweight’ backpacker and skinny-dipping seems to be accepted by other users of the mountains.

Using this guide

      Waymarking on the GR10

      The stages have been organised with the walker who wants to use accommodation in mind. Those who are camping are advised to completely ignore the stages so as to camp well away from towns and villages. There are some stages where those requiring accommodation will have to follow the alternative route rather than the ‘main’ route.

      For a fit walker, it would be possible to complete the trek somewhere in the vicinity of 45 days by combining stages. This would require some planning ahead to ensure daily distances are realistic and accommodation options fit the intended schedule.

      The GR10 is the best-waymarked trail that the author has walked, and in good visibility, when the ground is free of snow, you should have no difficulty following the trail. In the few places where the waymarking is inadequate, or a waymark goes missing, the route description should be used to aid route-finding. The 1:100,000 maps in this guidebook are mainly to give you a feel for the terrain and to help with the planning but they are not detailed enough for fine navigation. Cicerone always recommends that you carry 1:50,000 maps in the mountains because you will need them if you get lost or you want to deviate from the GR10. Detailed maps are essential if you intend following the route in early season, when there could be extensive snowfields. See Appendix C for further information and company websites from where you can purchase these maps.

      Most navigational mistakes occur because the walker does not look at the map or guidebook until they are lost! It is much easier to follow the waymarks carefully than to work out what to do if you lose them. The route descriptions and maps in the guide are designed to prevent you getting lost and they will be of little use when you are lost! Keep the guidebook handy, not buried in your rucksack.

      The base maps for this guide have been derived from open source and database information, and as such have not been subject to the detailed checks that would