GR10 Day34

The earliest we could have breakfast was 7:30 as the owner had to get bread from the shop.  This was a bit of a problem as today was going to be the longest walk of the entire GR10.  We also ordered sandwiches, which came with ham, tomato, cheese, and hummus in French bread.  This was also a potential dinner for us in the evening to avoid having to cook. 

We climbed out of the village, passing through Gesties.  As we left Siguer, I mentioned that it wasn’t too hot, but we were both soaked in sweat by the first village.  The climb kept going up through the trees and we eventually reached moorland.  There was a long stretch before we started descending down through the bracken to the valley floor, where the path took us alongside the steam.  We crossed the valley and started climbing again. This path was quite good, being covered in beech leaves and nuts.  We speculated that the path down the other side would be equally good.  At the top we had another big descent.  Unfortunately our hopes were dashed as the route went down the slope between the trees and boulders.  There were lots of “paths” and we often had to stop and look down at the trees ahead to spot the next GR marker showing the way to go.  We finally reached the bottom and had a brief flat section before starting climb number three.  The path zigzagged up through the trees, finally getting above them onto a rocky ridge.  We stopped to fill up our water bottles at a spring, deliciously cold, and a few minutes later we were on the Plateau de Beille.  Another couple of kilometres on a rolling track for us to the ski centre and the “Village Nordique”, our home for the night.  We left at 8:10, and arrived just after 19:10, so eleven hours including stops.  We had a yurt for the night.  There was also a small shared cabin in which you could buy and cook food.  We finished our sandwiches and crashed out to the sound of an accordion and trumpet playing traditional French music.