A Wander Through the High Pyrenees, not the GR11

I’ve just returned from another walking trip to the Pyrenees Mountains, this time making my own route from Luchon in France to Port de Benasque, Refugio de la Renclusa, Forau d’ Aiguallut, Collado de Toro,  Es Bordes (Val d’ Aran), Erill la Val (Val de Boi), Refuge Llong, Portarro d’ Espot, Refuge Ernest Mallafre, Espot, La Guingueta and back to Luchon over the Coll du Portillon. I started on September 10^th at Luchon and finished on September 23^rd returning to Luchon to get the train to Toulouse, flying back to Gatwick and then getting the train home.

The route ahead from the Hospice de France to the Refuge Benasque

The journey out was not so nice with rain and a rail strike in France on the day I was hoping to reach Luchon. However the SNCF staff were very good and produced an alternative route for me as my train had been cancelled, so although it did take longer than originally planned, I did make Luchon in one day. The next day was also wet with mountain mist but I decided to start anyway as the prediction for the rest of the week was good.  In the event I had two weeks of good weather without a further spot of rain, how lucky can you get!

I’ve divided my account of the trip into sections, mainly to do with why I decided to return and do some of the terrain not covered by the GR11 (the long distance footpath I’ve previously walked). The first thing I wanted to do was reach the Port de Benasque, an ancient crossing route over the main frontier ridge, and view the Aneto/Maladeta Massive from the gap in the ridge. I’d seen the Massive from the south side but hadn’t seen the remains of the glaciers on the north side of the mountains. 

Although September can be variable weather, the clear sky's this year gave endless opportunities to explore the high valleys and passes. This photo was taken in the Monestero valley looking to the saddle with the same name and with Los Encantados out of view on the left.

The second thing was to see the Forau d’Aiguallut where the river disappears into the limestone going underground to Uelhs de Joeu where it re-emerges. I wanted to follow the route taken by Norbert Casteret and his mother when they traced the source of the Garonne by passing from the sink hole (Forau d’Aiguallut) over the Collado de Toro to the re-emergence in the Plan dera Artiga. Finally I wanted to tranverse the Aiguestortes Park on the south side from the Boi Valley (the GR11 goes on the north side) over the Portarro d’Espot and rejoin the GR11 to La Guingueta. A bonus also revealed itself when I reached Bossost (Val d’Aran) and I found the mule track mentioned in the older literature and particularly by J.B. Morton (“Miles Walker”) which crosses the relatively low frontier pass between Bossost and Luchon by the Coll du Portillon.

My starting and finishing place near the Thermal Spa in Bagneres de Luchon. Luchon has good links by rail to Toulouse and at least three campsites with many hotels and restaurants in the town.