September 13, 2019 – Departed 8:25 – Arrived 17:30
I had a terrible night, I am not even sure I slept at all. I can’t figure out why. With all the physical exercise I have been doing in the past two weeks I should be tired and sleep like a baby. Not the case.
On the program today was the tour of the Pic d’Ossau. I don’t know why, maybe because of my bad night, but it never really clicked. The landscapes are beautiful for sure, but the path has again a 600+ m climb and at times goes though screes and is quite unpleasant. I was also hoping to see some wildlife that I have not seen so far, particularly wild mountain goats, but either I didn’t look in the right places or needed binoculars but I didn’t see anything. A bit disappointing.
My original intent was to camp at the Lac de Bious-Artigues at the end of the Tour. I was a bit concerned because I didn’t have enough food for breakfast tomorrow which is a very long climb to Gourette – food is super important, it is what fuels the effort. I also did not like the bivouac area at Bious. I then decided to push on to Gabas. There I found an épicerie éphémère which was still open – but barely, they are closing this weekend and the shelves were almost empty. I scraped enough for a good breakfast. While talking to the attendant he informed me that he had rooms for rent, it sounded more appealing than pitching the tent and that’s where I am now. I even had a bath, a luxury I have not had since the start of this adventure.
The fun fact of the day (beside finding a good blueberry patch near Lac de Pombie) was witnessing sheep leaving their summer home or estive. As I was halfway through my hike around the Pic I saw the shepherds and dogs guiding the flock down the slopes. Later this afternoon I saw the sheep corralled near Bious. Finally around 7 pm as I was settling in my room I heard this incredible ruckus coming from the street, I went to the window: it was the sheep, taking the entire width of the road, making their way to the next village, one shepherd in front, half a dozen at the back – and all the bells ringing.
GR10/GR101/GR78 August/September/October 2019 