The GR11 Trail. Brian Johnson

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      THE GR11 – LA SENDA PIRENAICA

      THE TRAVERSE OF THE SPANISH PYRENEES

      by Brian Johnson

      JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS,

      OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL

      www.cicerone.co.uk

      About the Author

      Since taking early retirement from his career as a physics and sports teacher, Brian Johnson has found time for three through-hikes of the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2700-mile round-Britain walk, eight hikes across the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, a hike along the Via de la Plata from Seville to Santiago and a single summer compleation of the Munros (Scotland’s 3000ft mountains) as well as climbing all the Scottish 2000ft-plus mountains. He has also completed a 2200-mile cycle tour of Spain and France and done multi-week canoe tours in Sweden, France, Spain and Portugal.

      In his younger days, Brian’s main sport was orienteering. He competed at a high level and coached both Bishop Wordsworth’s School and South-West Junior Orienteering Squads and has now been able to return to orienteering after recovering from injury, and won the British Middle Distance Championships for his age-group in 2017. He has walked and climbed extensively in summer and winter conditions in Britain, the Alps, the Pyrenees and California, often leading school groups.

      As a fanatical sportsman and games player, Brian competed to a high level in cricket, hockey, bridge and chess. His major achievement was winning the 1995/96 World Amateur Chess Championships.

      Other Cicerone guides by the author

      The Pacific Crest Trail

      Walking the Corbetts Volume 1: South of the Great Glen

      Walking the Corbetts Volume 2: North of the Great Glen

      GR10 Trail: Through the French Pyrenees

      © Brian Johnson 2018

      Sixth edition 2018

      ISBN: 978 1 85284 921 4

      Fifth edition 2014

      Fourth edition 2008

      Third edition 2004

      Second edition 2000

      First edition 1996

      Printed in China on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      All photographs are by the author.

       Route mapping by Lovell Johns www.lovelljohns.com Contains OpenStreetMap.org data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA. NASA relief data courtesy of ESRI

      Updates to the Guide

      While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/921/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time.

      The route maps in this guide are derived from publicly available data, databases and crowd-sourced data. As such they have not been through the detailed checking procedures that would generally be applied to a published map from an official mapping agency, although naturally we have reviewed them closely in the light of local knowledge as part of the preparation of this guide.

      We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL United Kingdom.

      Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk.

      Front cover: Lac de Mar (recommended variation, Stage 23)

      CONTENTS

       Map key

       Overview map

       Publisher’s dedication

       Author’s preface

       INTRODUCTION

       National and natural parks

       From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean

       THE GR11

       Weather and when to go

       Wildlife

       Getting to the start

       Getting home

       Equipment

       Culture and language

       Accommodation

       Camping

       Water

       Using this guide

       The GR11

       Getting to Cabo de Higuer from Irún

       Stage 1 Cabo de Higuer to Bera (Vera de Bidosoa)

       Stage 2 Bera to Elizondo

       Stage 3 Elizondo to Puerto de Urkiago

       Stage 4 Puerto de Urkiago to Burguete (Auritz)

       Stage 5 Burguete to Hiriberri (Villanueva de Aezkoa)