ESFR-TRIP 5 april 2009

The bordermarkers of the Pyrenees : all my trips

- 5 april 2009 -
Unexpected submarkers

esfr-trip-track-20090405.kml
(click to open in Google Earth or copy link to Google Maps;
click right on this link to download gpx-version)

Trip 1:
Solo-trip along the borderline from bm036 until bm040 and back along a yellow waymarked path to the tents where Jan-Willem waited.
Trip 2:
Together to Col de Lizarrieta and covering bm041 to 050. Stumbled upon submarkers bm044a to 044l.

Weather: foggy morning, later on nice sunny spell's, in the afternoon more cloudy, more wind, colder.
All day: wide and nice views, the trails and beech forests beautiful. We could still see La Rhûne, way back behind us.

For explanation of the gps-coordinates and other cartographic backgrounds:
see my cartography page

According to my watch:

	Trip 1	Trip 2	Total
time	8.15 - 10.45	12 - 17
duration	2.32	5.05	7.37
up	560	782	1342
down	555	456	1011
elevation	1115	1238	2353

According to visugpx
- distance : 16.36 km
- cum. elevation gain : 1075 m
- cum. elevation loss : 777 m
- total elevation: 1852

- altitude maxi : 638 m
- altitude mini : 159 m
- altitude average : 372 m

Jan-Willem still sleeps, I return to bm036. There's a trail starting there, bending to the right higher on and a short while later passing a fence. Beyond the fence, there's

Bm037

I keep following the path uphill along the hill-ridge.
Looking back on this picture, La Rhûne visible.

t Pad volgend naar boven over de heuvelrug. Er komt li. 'n pad/landweg bij

At a certain point, from the left, a path/country road trail is joining my trail uphill.

A little bit further, there's

Bm038

Bm038, looking back

The trail (lying on the borderline itself) now becomes quite steep in a sort of wide and straight corridor in the forest.

On top, after the forest, there's a sort of pass with:

Bm039

Note the groove carved in the top-side indicating the course of borderline with the 90 degrees angle

Bm039, the borderline makes a rectangular angle at this point to the rocky hill in the background.

Bm039, once again, now showing the number.

It's a bit of climbing to

Bm040

Bm040, looking back at the pass with bm039.

This marker also has a rectangular groove on top, showing the next angle in the borderline at this spot.

There's no direct path to the following bordermarkers but by using your compass, it should be easy to find them.

The Col de Lizarrieta (with bm044) is well visible in the distance. There's a country road leading from bm039 to that Col.

I return to our camping-spot.

Together we take an other yellow waymarked path that - east and underneath the Ibanteli-hilltop - leads us to Col de Lizarrieta.

Jan-Willem takes a break in the bar and I climb once again towards bm040 but now from the opposite direction.

First localizing the markers 43-42-41 and making pictures of them while descending back.

Bm041

Note the Col de Lizarrieta in the distance. As said before: there's no direct path between the markers 40-43. However, there's a country road leading from bm039 to the Col.

Bm042

Bm042, looking back. You can see the rocky summit with bm040.

Bm043

Stands along a country road from bm039 to Col de Lizarrieta. That could be a nice part of my GRPdesBF.

Bm044, close to the venta/bar where Jan-Willem is enjoying a chorizo-sandwhich.

Bm044, looking back

Unreadable on this picture but this is an explanation to a trail of 5 km along the border-ridge with the places where still pigeons are caught with a net as they did in the middle ages.

Together we continue in the direction of bm045. Then suddenly Jan-Willem discovers the first of a range of submarkers of bm044.

In 2010 I found a reference to this bordermarkers. They are placed here in 1988. See the
Literature-section

This is bm044A