September 25, 2019 – Departed 8:35 – Arrived 16:35
For this next part of my journey I have decided to switch to the GR78, rather than go back on the GR10. The GR78 is one of the Camino trails, this one is known as the Pyrenean Piémont (or foot of the hills) route and it goes through Lourdes. There are several reasons why I decided to switch. The main ones are that the GR10 is difficult, with very long to and tiring climbs to high points between villages, whereas the GR78 stays at lower elevations; that it is the end of the season and many refuges are already closing; and that we are now in the fall and, should there be bad weather, sections of the trail above 2,000 may start experiencing snow. I am also a bit curious about the Camino and would like to experience part of it – although I will be doing it in reverse compared to the normal way.
I slept poorly the last two nights – I don’t know if it was the regret of leaving the Cité or my body telling me that it did not want to hike again, but the net result was that I did not have much energy today. On top of that I got lost or had to backtrack too many times to count, and this ends up being a day with many hours of walking but half the number of kilometers I intended to do.
The GR78 is okay but blazes are sometimes far apart and in places the path just vanishes – under ferns, or because of erosion. I have to get used to it and adjust my terrain reading accordingly. Otherwise it’s fine. It tends to go from village to village, but even if the next village is in one valley over, the climb and descent are much more bearable than on the GR10. Also nice is the amount of fruits I was able to gather – two peaches, three figs, and two apples, all fallen on the road!
Today’s hike started with a partial hike of the Pic de Jer that overlooks Lourdes from the South (although there are no good views of the city from the path) and then continued through several small and pretty villages – lots of stone and slate, and some had a pretty stream running through them.
The last village before my current location is called Cotdoussan and has a small church named Saint Jacques which is a heritage site because of its importance relative to the French Camino. A contractor was doing work outside but had open the church to get power for his tools, so I got to see the rococo retable or altarpiece that depicts the last moments of St James and that the church is famous for. It has been restored recently and is quite nice.
A short while later as I was nearing the end of my 8th hour of walking I felt like I should stop soon. I was debating whether to pitch the tent in the wild but on a hunch I called l’Escale du Cardouets near the village of Germs-sur-l’Oussouet that I was traversing at the time, and they had space, so that’s where I am for the night. For 17 euros they put me up in a funky roulotte (trailer) that has a couple of beds, a table and a countertop stove. Quite pretty actually, I hope I will sleep well and be able to recharge my energy for tomorrow!
GR10/GR101/GR78 August/September/October 2019 