UKC

Hi guys, so me and a friend are undertaking a ‘braided traverse’ of the Pyrenees this summer, fastpacking sections of the GR10,11 and HRP as we meet up and go apart again. I was wondering if there is anything like the os printable maps for the region, as I would like to have some high quality paper maps for the unwaymarked and higher sections, but am happy to rely on gps device and waymarking where is exists. 

We are both only carrying 30L packs, which will hold cooking, camping , and food stuffs so space is limited and weight needs to be minimal. So ideally I would like to print and annotate only those sections I need and not carry 4-5 bulky maps of different regions (or pay over a hundred pounds for maps to chop only a small section of them out). Any suggestions and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I did the GR11 in the summer of 2018. It was an incredible experience.
I didn't have a smart phone with me during the whole hike. I relied on the maps I carried and the waymarking. I carried the following:

A set of 21 maps of 50:000 with the different sections
https://www.editorialalpina.com/es/mapa-alpina/senda-pirenaica-gr11-2/

A general map of the whole Pyrenees 1:350000 (you won't be able to navigate with this, but it gives a good overview of the different trails, roads, and town. I can send you a picture if you want)
https://www.editorialalpina.com/en/alpina-map/pyrenees-1400-000/

I had the previous version of this guide as well. Yes there have been some minor changes on the GR11route
https://www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-the-gr11-trail-seventh

All this was over a 1kg of maps + guide.

GR11 is fairly well waymarked but you would need a map despite of the marking. I had some days of crazy fog.
I think HRP is much less marked and more adventurous in every single sense.
I assume GR10 is similar to the GR11 but in the French side but haven't read much about it.

 

I've walked some long sections of all 3 in the past & agree with your comments on the HRP & the GR11, I wouldn't want to walk the HRP without good maps (either digital or paper). But the French GR10 is, at least for the sections I've walked, pretty well waymarked, much more so than the GR1.

To the OP, in the past I've sometimes risked buying maps en route & sending maps I've finished with home by post. Once I was lucky enough to meet someone coming the other way to me on the HRP & we swapped maps. But difficult to organise that  

https://maps.walkingclub.org.uk/topographic/ign-france.shtml and https://maps.walkingclub.org.uk/topographic/spain.shtml look like they should do what you want - there is a printing option. 

That website is totally useless for printing, though – the actual function is broken and only prints at display scale, not even in high resolution, and even cuts off parts of the map.

Both French and Spanish national maps are available for download, freely, from their respective state departments, down to 1:25,000. IGN.fr & IGN.es. Government data, therefore free (something Ordnance Survey could learn from, as their only freely downloadable map is the 1:250,000, IIRC).

The only problem is, you would need to be pretty well‑versed in GIS software terms and usage, as it's not some simple jpegs – it's all in very GIS‑specific file formats.

If just looking for the Spanish side, you can freely download custom maps here in PDF, ready for printing (or order them printed on waterproof paper):

https://mapaalacarta.cnig.es

And the whole catalogue, although those are the GIS files for professionals:

http://centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/buscadorCatalogo.do

https://geoservices.ign.fr/telechargement-api

SwissTopo is the same, you can freely download any of their maps, down to the most detailed 1:10,000:

https://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/en/national-map-swiss-map-raster-10

And many other countries as well.

Have you checked out https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/carte ?

It's hugely configurable with overlays, etc. if you want, and I've printed plenty of scale maps off in the past and they can be very useful.

That looks like a better option for the French side: to get the detailed topographic mapping, click on the Cartes menu (top left), then "Voir tous les fonds de cartes" then "Carte topographique IGN". 

The Spanish equivalent is here: https://www.ign.es/iberpix/visor/ and also has a print function. The GR11 is marked, albeit not very clearly. 

Have a chat with Mike @ aqua3 - he might have some thoughts on whether there is a custom waterproof soft laminated (or waterproof paper) map (or maps) he could print for you.

https://www.aqua3.com/index.asp

Excellent, this is exactly what I was hoping for, thank you

This is also great, thank you very much. Shame it's harder to control the scale than the French version, will be some funky maths on a 1:34,123 map!

Hi John, did you find the print quality to be good? In my trials on a printer that handles os maps perfectly well even at 1:20000 the contours are all but indecipherable unfortunately. Maybe I'm missing some settings? 

It was a while ago now so may have changed, but printouts were fine. I printed and laminated a file full of A4 map sections covering our part of Ariège, for guests to reference and borrow.

I’m walking the HRP this summer. Slightly expensive but I bought the paper maps that cover the route and have been photocopying the sections I need. Just doing this at the moment and seems to be working really well. Been able to photocopy at a 1:1 scale in colour on a3 paper and the quality is great. So perhaps an option if the direct printing doesn’t work out.