The bordermarkers of the Pyrenees : all my trips
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- wednesday 16 june 2021 -
Redoing bm296-305bis and visiting south-side railway-tunnel

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Summary: part of a series of 8 daytrips in june 2021 near Bagnères-de-Luchon and Col de Somport. This is day 6.

Today: two trips:
- redoing bm296 to 305bis
- in Canfranc a visit to the south entrance of the derelict railway-tunnel.

Weather: half-cloudy, nice.

Basecamp: Camping Le Gave d'Aspe in Urdos

track-20210616.kml
(click to open this trip in Google Earth or copy link to Google Maps; click right on this link to download gpx-version). The gps-track has not been manually  corrected which explains the inaccuracy and misalignment at some points. For cartographic backgrounds: see the cartography-page

Gps-waypoints of all bordermarkers (most recent version):
kml:  esfr-bordermarkers-all-waypoints.kml
gpx:  esfr-bordermarkers-all-waypoints.gpx (with elevation added by gpsvisualizer.com)
According to Garmin Basecamp (uncorrected original track):

Distance: 16,6 km
Max-height: 1812m
Min-height: 1528m
Elevation: +947m -949m
Total elevation: 1897m

Start 9:03  Finish 16:24
Total time: 7:21
Parking my car at a giant parking in Candanchu and on my way to bm296.


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In the distance the remarkable rockwall


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where once bm297 was engraved.


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This is the approximate position of the lost bm297,


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I follow dirtroads and then trails towards the upper valley and source of le Gave d'Aspe.

That is the stream which gives the name to the Vallée d'Aspe.


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I spot a helicopter and suspect an emergency operation.


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Getting closer to the Pas d'Aspe.

Good view of the rockslides which make access to bm296 above the stream difficult.

Yesterday, I tried to reach bm296 climbing along the stream but got blocked.


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Emergency workers downhill


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But it is a training, someone tells me.


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Meanwhile I am looking uphill how to traverse above the rockslides to bm296.

First I climb uphill towards the trees/bushes.


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Then over the grassy part


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until I cannot avoid crossing a rockslide.


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But luckily, there is a trail passing it.


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At the other side of the rockslide, it's not difficult to descend towards the stream


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and get to bm296.


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Bm296


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Bm296


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Bm296


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Bm296


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Bm296


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Bm296


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From bm296 looking downstream.

At this moment, the stream is too strong to cross.



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Later in the summer, that might be better to do.

At the other side of the stream, I see cairns and in general that side looks more easy to climb uphill along the stream.

But in the end you have to cross the stream anyway.

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Impression of how the hillside is eroding into the stream.


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I go back, crossing the rockslide again


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and descending back to the trail, the way I came.


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But before I descend, I see that there is also a path crossing the the next rockslide, arriving at the main trail further on.

But that is not useful for our goal: reaching bm296.


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Now descending back to the trail.


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Once at the trail, I look back uphill with the route I took in red.

Note the small signpost which indicates a diversion of the trail to the stream. From that signpost, you should climb and traverse like I did to bm296.


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Let's summarize the information on a screenprint of Google Earth.
I return along the main trail, curving through the forest around the rockwall.


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Having arrived at the vast plateau where I will do bm297 to 305bis.

The route towards bm297 indicated.


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But first I refill my waterbottles at the stream nearby.


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Easy progress in the beginning


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with a blossoming vegetation.


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Then the rocky climbing starts to


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a kind of Col where we can already see the giant rockface with (the lost) bm297.

Altogether, this connection to bm297 is tougher than you might expect: hardly any trail and rocky.

In my case: I had a energy dip, possibly a bit dehydrated.


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Approaching the spot of the original location of bm297


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At that is on this rockface. But where exactly was bm297 engraved?

I made my own geodetic estimation - using my walking stick as an geodetic tool - on 27-8-2012


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Picture from 2012,

You see my walking stick lying on the replacement of bm297 which was placed ± 175m N of the rockwall.
Same picture but now annotated.

I pointed my walking stick in the direction of the next marker, bm297-sub1.

And because the borderline from the original bm297 up to bm298 (via two submarkers) is a straight line, I could establish the beginning of that straight line. Thus where bm297 geodetically measured should have been engraved.

But Robert Darrieumerlou  did his own research along the rockwall and points at his website at a possible original location of bm297 on this page.

With help of his pictures, I'm going to see for myself.


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Zooming in to that original location according to Robert Darrieumerlou


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A further zoom-in to that spot


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And this what might possibly be the original original location of bm297, according to Robert Darrieumerlou

We see indeed a rectangular 'bas-relief' but in my opinion too irregular and incomplete to be handmade.


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From the spot of the lost bm297 a view to the replacement of bm297, ± 175m N.


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Bm297 - replacement


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Bm297 - replacement


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Bm297 - replacement


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Bm297 - replacement, looking back at the rockwall


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Bm297 - replacement


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The borderline ahead, a straight line via bm298 to bm299.

Between bm297-replacement and bm298, there are two unnumbered submarkers.


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Bm297 - submarker 1 in the distance


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Bm297 - submarker 1


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Bm297 - submarker 1


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Bm297 - submarker 1


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The Pic du Midi d'Ossau in the far distance.


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Bm297 - submarker 1


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Bm297 - submarker 1, looking back to the rockwall of the original bm297


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Bm297 - submarker 1


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Bm297 - submarker 2 in the far distance


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Bm297 - submarker 2, getting closer.


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Bm297 - submarker 2


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Bm297 - submarker 2


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Bm297 - submarker 2


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Bm297 - submarker 2, looking back to the rockwall of the original bm297


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Further on, on this bed of rocks,  I will find


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bm298.


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Bm298


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Bm298, looking back to the rockwall of the original bm297


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Bm298


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Bm298


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Bm298, zoom-in


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Between bm298 and 299,  there is also an unnumbered submarker.


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Bm298 - submarker


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Bm298 - submarker


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Bm298 - submarker, in the far distance the rockwall of the original bm297


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Bm298 - submarker


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Climbing up the hillridge to bm299


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Bm299


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Bm299


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Bm299, in the far distance the rockwall of the original bm297


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Bm299


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Bm299


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Then following the hillridge to the E


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Bm300 is on a sort of pass on that hillridge.


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Bm300


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Bm300


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Bm300


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Bm300


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Bm300. looking back to the hillridge where I came from


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Bm300, in the far distance the rockwall of the original bm297


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Bm301 is almost covered under the green


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Bm301


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Bm301


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Bm301


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Bm301


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Bm301


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The spot of bm301 indicated with my walking stick. View from the trail.

You can't see bm301 from the trail.


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Bm302 needs a little detour to the right from the trail and well at this point


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Bm302


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Bm302


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Bm302


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Bm302


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The hillridge flattens


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and I arrive easily at bm303.


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Bm303


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Bm303


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Continuing to bm304


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Bm304


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Bm304


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Bm304


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Bm304


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Bm304


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From bm304 this view towards Col de Somport with an indication of the two possible routes to bm308.

I followed the red one yesterday and the blue one on
7-9-2009 and on
27-8-2012 (descending by the red route)


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Zoom-in

Which one is the best? In terms of distance combined with effort, there is not much difference.

But the blue one is easier in terms of wayfinding.


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Descending to Col du Somport


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with this little chapel.


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Arriving at Col du Somport with the old customs building.


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Bm305bis in the middle of the road.


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Bm305


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Bm305


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Bm305


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Bm305


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Bm305


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Bm305bis, not mentioned in the Treaty.


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Bm305bis


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Bm305bis


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Bm305bis, elevation indicated


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The plaque on bm305bis


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where we can read that it was erected to commemorate the building of the "route impériale 134".

But there is no date engraved at the 'Achevée'-line.

On this webpage we read "Passage du Col du Somport : construit de 1863 côté français (totalement modernisé en 1885), il ouvre en 1877 côté espagnol".

So I suppose that it was erected in 1863 with the little '305bis' plaque attached in later years.


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Bm305bis and 305


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On the other side of the Col a little stroll to have a better look on the two access-routes to bm308.


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Zoom-in to the blue route, I think the better one (more obvious in its wayfinding).


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Back to the Col with the closed customs building.


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I walk back to the parking at Candanchu


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and spot this Dutch sticker of a bycicle route to Santiago de Compostella.


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Back at the parking.


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I drive to Canfranc-Estación to buy cigars and pastis and make some pictures of the southern entrance of the derelict railway tunnel underneath Col du Somport.


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They liked those monumental plaques in the old days.


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The entrance from above.


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The railway-tracks have disappeared.


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The railway-connection stopped in 1970 after a derailment on the French side.


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Some

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more pictures



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and this plaque expressing the intention to reopen the railway connection.


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A look inside the tunnel


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with a fenced gate, blocking further access.


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Then - to my surprise - a few cars arrive from within the tunnel.

But understandable because this old tunnel serves as a service-tunnel for the new motorway-tunnel.

Enough for today. I return to the camping.


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