Lac Saussat (1921 m) – Hourquette des Hounts-Secs (2267 m) – Col de la Coume de Bourg (2272 m) – Luchon (620 m)

Granges d’Astau (1120 m) – Lac d’Oô (1504 m) – Col d’Espingo (1967 m) – Lac Saussat (1921 m)

Germ (1339 m) – Couret d’Esquierry (2131m) – Granges d’Astau (1120 m)

Saint-Lary Soulan (860 m) – Couret de Latuhe (1586 m) – Germ (1339 m)

Refuge des Cortalets (2150 m) – Amélie-les-Bains (216 m)

The final day of my hike… as I set off, the sun is rising over the Mediterranean. It is warming up quickly, it promises to be a beautiful day. The GR10 offers two options on this segment: a winter route, which follows the dirt road to Batère, and a summer route, which is a narrow trail following the hill in the woods. Needless to say, I take the more difficult trail, despite having been warned that some trees fell across it and it is sometimes a bit difficult to advance.

Sunrise over the Mediterranean

The map shows something along the trail that I am more used to seeing on sea sailing maps than mountain hiking maps: “wreck”. I’m quite curious to see what I’ll find. As it turns out, here is a wreck you really cannot miss: a plane carcass lies right on the trail, and you literally have to go around it. Apparently, most of the plane is still there, in a pile of twisted metal. I’m not sure what or when the story is, but it certainly was a nasty crash.

Plane wreck on the north side of the Canigou

Soon afterward, I find the two or three uprooted trees that allegedly blck the trail. Is this what the big deal was about? They hardly block anything at all: ducking past them is quickly and easily done, and I’m on my way, wondering why that other hiker was freaking out about those trees, which pose no difficulty at all.

As it turns out, the hiker was right: for several kilometers, dozens trees block the trail, and require crawling under them, climbing over them, or going around them. They do make progress difficult and tiring. There must have been a big storm there a few years before. I finally make it out of this section of forest and onto an open area with a beautiful view of the mountain on one side and the sea on the other.

Looking out toward the Mediterranean

Having come down a little bit, I continue following the trail, which has become a lot wider and easier. I go past a hut, “Cabane du Pinatell”, which looks fairly new and peek inside – wow! it has a wood stove, a nice sitting area, and spotlessly clean bunk beds for 6 to 8 people. I regret not having spent the night there!

The GR10 continues to Batère, but I’m not quite ready for my hike to end yet, so I decide to go a longer way: the map shows an ancient iron mine nearby, and taking that trail would take me up to the top of a hill, which looks a lot more exciting than continuing in the forest. So I get off the main trail and make my way toward this mysterious mine. As I get nearer, ruins of equipment can be seen: rusty water towers, some rusty piece of machinery with big gears sticking out of the ground, an old bus carcass in the middle of the woods, not even anywhere close to anything that resembles a road… Finally I reach the mine, an impressive complex of ruined buildings in the middle of nowhere. Exploring the old storage building, and especially the barracks, is quite eerie.

The barracks of the old Pinosa iron mine

The trail then continues to Puig de l’Estelle, which is not very high (1778 m) but has a beautiful view around. From there, the trail follows the crest down to the Batère tower, an old watch tower that still stands after hundreds of years.

The refuge de Batère is nearby, and I had planned on spending my last night there, but it is only lunchtime so I figure that after snacking I can continue and arrive in Amélie-les-Bains a day early (the GR10 goes to Arles-sur-Tech, but the HRP book recommends Amélie, so I chose to go there instead). Past the tower, the conditions change immediately: the altitude is a lot lower (the tower is at 1439 m), the trail wider (clearly, some 4x4s have been up here), the heat stronger and there is hardly any shade. It doesn’t feel like being in the mountains anymore. One last look behind me… and I leave the mountains behind.

The Batère Tower and Puig de l'Estelle

I thought it was going to be a quick way down to Amélie, but it turns out I still have almost 10 miles to go. The heat increases as I go down, and there are no streams like there were higher up… my water is quickly running low. I try to ration myself, but it is so hot that I soon drink my last drop. For almost an hour, I continue without any water – at this point I am really not enjoying myself. The scenery is not what you could expect in the mountains – I’m now in the foothills, and I’m sure it would be pleasant under different circumstances but this is not what I wanted this week! And the occasional car storming past me on the wide trail makes a cloud of dust that makes it even worse. The air is dry, and I’m starting to panic a little about my water situation.

Finally I come across a few houses, one of which has a team of gardeners working around it. I ask if I can use the tap, and fill my bottle and my camelback… What a relief! But I still have about two hours to go. It is so hot that by the time I finally reach Amélie, I have long drank those four liters and am completely parched.

The last few miles are very hard, because of the heat, the disappointing scenery, and knowing that this is the end of my weeklong hike. When I finally arrive in Amélie, and go straight to the tourism office to ask where I can spend the night, the clerks raise an eyebrow: I’m covered in sweat and dust, and certainly don’t look very civilized! They hook me up with a cheap hotel nearby, where I can take a nice long shower before going down to the nearest café and ordering a well-deserved pint of beer. Being back in the middle of all those people is very unsettling. I already miss the solitude and the scenery of higher altitudes.

I already cannot wait for next year.