HIGH PYRENEES OF FRANCE AND SPAIN
August 3 - 14, 2008
$720.00
Roman Laba, Trip Leader
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***
TRIP FULL - CONTACT LEADER FOR WAITING LIST ***
Our group of nine
will meet in the French Mountain village of Cauterets and hike for
eight days through the central Pyrenees at altitudes between 5,000 and 10,000
feet. We will use light tents but decrease our pack loads by having
evening meals in mountain refuges most nights. We will do two circuits,
one of two days and another of six days through one of the most
spectacular parts of the Pyrenees. Most days will be easy to moderate
for a fit mountain hiker, but will be planned to allow side trips and
ascents of non-technical peaks for the more ambitious and energetic.
Our pack weights should not exceed twenty five pounds.
In
Cauterets, we will stay at the GR-10 campground with hot showers and
laundry facilities. We will have a rest day after the first two day
circuit which will be a chance to do some French cultural tourism. We
will go to a cheese making demonstration and degustation of Pyrenean
delicacies including wine. That evening, we will have dinner in a local
restaurant specialized in the regional dishes such as garbure and
cassoulet and the wines of the Pyrenees, Jurancon and Madiran.
Our
six day circuit will take us to alpine summits, high cols and passes
and cirques with many lakes. After one more night in the Camping GR 10,
we will go sixty miles by taxi to the tiny village of St. Bertrand de
Comminges, in Roman times a city of 50,000. We will stay at the Es
Pibous campground and tour the Roman city, the medieval cathedral and
the 28,000 year old Paleolithic cave paintings of the Gargas cave. Our
trip will end with a farewell lunch in St. Bertrand.
Equipment: A light tent such as
Sierra Designs Lightning tent (under three pounds) is important to
enjoy the trip. The trip is scheduled for August so that we can most
likely avoid having to carry crampons and ice axes. Trekking poles are
recommended. You should plan on carrying a pack under twenty five
pounds in weight.
Hiking Note: The days are planned
for fit hikers just arrived from sea level. We do a moderate or easy
hike most days but have opportunities for participants to add more to
the day if they wish. There will also be many chances for side trips
such as the climb to the summit of the Grande Fache.
Why are we are not staying in the refuges? The weather is
mild. The campsites are spectacular. The crowded refuges can not match
this mountain experience. If we should encounter a spell of bad
weather, we may very well spend a night in a refuge.
Food Note: I recommend bringing at
least some of your breakfast and lunch food from the US if you are
coming direct by air. You will not find many items to which American
hikers are accustomed such as power bars or trail mix and you will pay
twice as much for the substitutes.
We
can leave personal items such as extra clothes at the campground while
we are away on our hikes. In some of the refuges, it will be possible to
obtain a hot shower.
Daily Itinerary
What is included in the cost of the trip:
Five
dinners in refuges, two dinners in restaurants
- Daily campground
fees, stoves and fuel
- Shuttles in
Cauterets, two to trailheads and a third to a restaurant
- Taxi from Cauterets
to St. Bertrand, taxi to Gargas cave and return from St. Bertrand
- Admission and tour of
Gargas cave, admission to Saint Just basilica and to cathedral tour
- Wine and cheese
gathering at start of trip
- Farewell lunch in St.
Bertrand.
What is not included:
- No breakfasts,
beverages or lunches except for the farewell lunch at the end of the
trip.
- Evening meals for
three free days.
For information
contact Roman Laba, 22 Front St., Schenectady NY 12305,
Telephone 518-374-2586, RomanLaba@aol.com
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Please
note: Prices and trip arrangements are subject to change due to
circumstances beyond ADK's control. All registration fees are
non-refundable. Details including cancellation policy will
be supplied to
all those requesting trip information.
MEMBERSHIP
IN THE ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN CLUB IS REQUIRED FOR
PARTICIPATION
MEMBERSHIP
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