UKC

Afternoon,

Heading out to Pyrenees in a couple of weeks to do seven days of the HRP east from Salardu to Andorra.

Been doing the research for this + the trail looks pretty sketchy ie often there's no marked trail etc

Given this is a GPS a good idea or is the navigation actually not that bad?

ta.

In reply to simon manc:

It's not clear where a map and compass fit into your plans. If you have decent local maps, that'll be fine. But if your question is whether you can go without any navigation stuff, hoping to rely on following signposts and trail markings - very bad idea! It is complex country and many paths crisscross it. The HRP has various branches and the frequency and condition of the trail markings vary wildly. Even if you take a GPS, you'll want one with a topo map and the local paths marked on it. I wouldn't walk that without a paper map to give the big picture and I live there.

In reply to simon manc:

I did the HRP last year. I did take and use a basic GPS to give me coordinates to supplement the map. I found it very useful, particularly in bad weather, of which we had more than our fair share. We kind of made up our own version of the HRP and so didn't religiously follow a guide or the paths and so good nav. was important at times. It's a beautiful section into Andorra, enjoy.

In reply to simon manc:

I've done all but the far eastern few days of the hRP and, whilst marking varies (from some very minimalist cairns - think a single rock in an out of place orientation - to huge paint globs), it's never abysmal.

The french maps are very good; the spanish ones less so.

It's a wonderful walk - enjoy.

In reply to simon manc:

First day from Salardu to Alos de Isil is one of the longest on the HRP and difficult . Hard to find the Tuc de Marimanya in the mist from Estany Baciver the path is very sketchy.I ascended the ridge to the right (via some small cairns) and attempted an ascent along this ridge which became a knife edge of loose blocks the size of fridges, I backed off as my pack was too large for that sort of thing. Went down the other side of the ridge and spent 4 hours boulder hopping in the rain (made wasdale screes seem easy) to the Coll d'Airotto. Long descent to Alos(no bar) but wild campsites by the river. There is an unmanned refuge on the other side of the Estany d'Airotto which could be useful to break this day up.
The next few days are brilliant with a few interesting ridges to cross. Bit of a shock when you reach Andorra to see all the ski development.

In reply to indigo:

how was getting food like? i remember some long days descending valleys to stock up..

In reply to simon manc:

I did the HRP in 2012. Took a GPS but never used it, map and compass was good enough. The maps get a bad rep but they're totally adequate. Obviously they're no OS/Harveys, but if you're careful it's hard to go wrong.

Salardu-Andorra is a good section, seemed like the remotest, most mountainous bit. Enjoy!

In reply to simon manc:

The only places to stock up supplies I used on this part of the route were in Salardu and 20km(hitchike) down the valley from campsite at Graus. Meals provided at Certascan and in Andorra at the Sorteny and Juclat -both of which are now very swish manned refuges and cheaper than the French or Spanish ones. You will find left behind food at the Pujol and Cinquantenari, ok if you still like chicken soup,tuna and pasta by this time.
I used maps all the time although I had to improvise to Alos de Isil as my route went off the bottom of the map.Never had to use my compass or even bothered with GPS.
I think that most people have done their own version of the HRP to allow for conditions mine includes bits of the GR10 and 11 and a few other variations. Enjoyable and quite 'out there' at times. Take crocs for stream wading.

In reply to malk:

We did ok with a bit of planning. We dropped off to Tavascan due to bad weather which helped after Salardu. You can buy from the refuges of course, which we did, its just expensive. We travelled ultra light so carried the absolute minimum of food. I think travelling light made a huge difference. We met people with like 10kg of pasta and oats in their 80 L sacs - madness. We were 11kg all in thro. the high Pyrenees, then 8kg for the rest (we sent crampons, etc home at Salardu). We kept our ice axes right 'till the end tho - to deal with the farm dogs - the only unpleasant experience of the whole trip really. Mike

In reply to indigo:
i dread to think what weight we were carrying back in the '80s. 2+ weeks with axes and crampons + tent each.
only used the axe for a few hours on Aneto (just because we had them). no probs with dogs tho..

In reply to malk:

Needed crampons last year in July the Maladeta was plastered in snow luckily the last thing I bought before I went to the Pyrenees were some Katoolas which were fine on some dodgy snow slopes, easy to put on and less bulky than full sized crampons but not particularly light. No axe, just sticks so dont fall. Travel as light as possible - I used a gossamer gear 60litre sac,terra nova tent, and the lightest thermarest, pocket rocket stove (obtaining canisters with screw fittings in france and spain is awkward, I got mine from Decathlon in Toulouse) and cheap Gelert cooking pots. Used a two season bag but it was cold camping at 2500m might get myself one of those fancy blankets from backpackinglight - only about 300gms for this years trip.

In reply to malk:

I know, I learnt my lesson backpacking in Scotland carrying the kitchen sink in an 80 litre sac 'just in case'. All my gear was 'ultra heavy' too but not anymore thankfully. M

In reply to indigo:

http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2015/01/pacific-crest-trail-gear-in-19...