The bordermarkers of the Pyrenees : all my trips
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- 8 may 2010 -
Painting helps

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 esfr-trip-track-20100508.kml
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Round-trip with Jan-Willem from the Gîte d Etappe in St-Étienne-de-Baïgorry to 3 bordermarker-locations in the vicinity. We leave at 9.15am and are back at approximately 17pm. Cloudy in the morning, some rain, at the end blue sky and sunny.
esfr-trip-track-20100508-trip1.kml
(click to open in Google Earth or copy link to Google Maps;
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Trip 1: bm091-098

Easy drive to Col d Ispeguy
For explanation of the gps-coordinates and other cartographic backgrounds:
see my cartography page



According to visugpx
- distance : 4.53 km
- cum. elevation gain : 297 m
- cum. elevation loss : 302 m
- total elevation:  599

- altitude maxi : 908 m
- altitude mini : 672 m
- altitude average : 797 m
Bm091 at Col d Ispeguy
Bm091
Then climbing into the forest in the approximate line of direction of the border which is in line with the fence behind the restaurant besides bm091.

By the way:  if you would follow the green-white trail (which joins the border between bm94 and 95), you need to turn right around this corner of the fence. But we climb right through the forest which is no big deal.
Don’t follow the forest road you come across just as you have entered the forest. It leads to the left along the hillside while you need to climb in the direction of the hill-summit.
Soon you will get on a track and just outside the forest you'll see at your right hand bm092 lying flat in the grass.
A little bit closer is a flat rock with bordercross 092.
It’s besides a hole in the ground which might be the original place of the borderstone. Last year I saw that hole but didn’t notice the cross& number.
I thought that there was no visible engraved number on the stone but there is one and now it is painted.
Climbing further and reaching that sort of saddle between two rocks. There is the -broken in half - bm093 still in reconstructed position.
Climbing further to the highest point of the hill with bordercross bm094.
Bm094 looking backwards.
Bm094 looking forward
Following the borderridge - the green-white waymarked trail joins in from the right- and right after entering the forest there is bm095 approximately 20 meters to the left at the end of a rocky ridge.
Bm095
The green-white trail leads to the end of the forest on a sort of ridge where you look down at valley below with a square stone enclosure.
But first along the rocky ridge to the right to bordercross 096 (which is halfway to bm097)
Bm096 (bm097 is at the hilltop in the background)
Bm097.
Bm097
Descending to bm098 which is in fact non-existing: there are only pieces left and we can’t find a piece with a number.
There’s only a part left with an engraved groove in it, that could have been a groove on top indicating the borderline.
We search around the enclosure but find nothing relevant.

Back again uphill. At the edge of the forest we look down at the valley with bm098
Move the mouse over the picture to see where bm098 is located.
Back to the Col d Ispeguy, taking between 095 and 094 the green-white trail which leads us on the west hill-side to the back of that restaurant along the fence to the large parking.
Could become part of the grpdesbf-route.
We pass underneath bm093.

Move the mouse over the picture to see where bm093 is.

At the col we drink a coffee in a venta and drive further.
esfr-trip-track-20100508-trip2.kml
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Trip 2: bm123-124

Beyond Aldudes we take a narrow road leading to close to Col de Belaun. The last part we have to walk.
For explanation of the gps-coordinates and other cartographic backgrounds:
see my cartography page
According to visugpx
- distance : 3.13 km
- cum. elevation gain : 226 m
- cum. elevation loss : 223 m
- total elevation:  449

- altitude maxi : 864 m
- altitude mini : 635 m
- altitude average : 740 m
There's more to enjoy then bordermarkers only. For example these vultures resting on a rock.

Our goal is clear: bordercross 123 on top of the next hill after the col. I couldn’t find that one last year although I explored that hilltop thoroughly. Robert shows a picture of it on his site which make localisation easy.

Bm123

Also this engraved number & cross are painted now and that makes life easy.

Bm123

Bm1123, looking down at Col de Belaun with that typical concrete cattle enclosure.

And a nice view of the Col de Belaun.

Photo by Jan-Willem

We walk further on the hillridge to see if that mysterious piece of stone with the engraved and/or painted 123 is still in place on that rock like last year. But it isn’t and on the pieces lying besides it there’s no engraving or painting.

Following the hillridge uphill (which is further on approximately the edge of a forest) we reach bm124 for some new pictures.

Bm124

Bm124
Bm124

Back to our car, it has started to rain.
esfr-trip-track-20100508-trip3.kml
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Trip 3: bm137

Driving further on the D58 to the venta Baztan at the border.
From the parking a great view of the Ichterbegui, the hill with bm141 on top.
Easy localisation of bm137 just underneath the venta, thanks to pictures of Robert and others.


Bm137, backside
Coffee and bocadillo's in the venta.

I spot again (like last year) a stone marker in the meadow. I suppose it's a kind of bordermarker but it has no sign or number on it.
I suppose it's a kind of bordermarker but I didn't discover any sign of number on it last year.
Move the mouse over the picture to see the bordermarkers.
Back to the Gîte d'Etappe in St-Étienne-de-Baïgorry,
an early finish in comparison with the previous days.
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