The bordermarkers of the Pyrenees : all my trips
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- wednesday 24 august 2022 -
Redoing bm271-271bis with Carlos & Conchita

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Summary: part of a series of 9 daytrips in august & september 2022 across the Pyrenees. The main goal was to finish my plan to have visited all bordermarkers at least twice. It was also a kind of sentimental farewell journey, visiting old friends and cherished places.
This is daytrip 1.

Today: with Carlos & Conchita Roca to bm271-271bis

Weather: sunny

Basecamp: Camping Asolaze near Isaba


Same trip to be seen at Carlos & Conchita's website.


track-20220824.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 track with elevation added by Gpsvisualizer.com):

Distance: 14,4 km
Max-height: 2355m
Min-height: 1678m
Elevation: +1109m -1110m
Total elevation: 2219m

Start 6:38  Finish 16:20
Total time: 9:42

The previous 2 days I drove from Holland to camping Asolaze near Isaba.

Camping in between in Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine.

Carlos & Conchita have already arrived at camping Asolaze.

My spot on camping Asolaze for these days.
This morning an early start (6:45) from parking de la Contienda.


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We will follow an alternative route to bm271 which I found on the OSM-maps.

See for more information (maps and considerations) on this alternative route this page.

Navigation will be along 8 waypoints. Those waypoints are integrated in this kml-file (gpx-file with this link).

First we follow cross-ski trails


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to arrive at a grassy plain.


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To the SW our route enters the rocky terrain


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which is now forbidden but who cares.


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Looking back to the grassy plains and Pic d'Arlas.


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The first part is rocky


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but then it becomes grassy.

The red-white pole is on the third waypoint (I think).


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And so we continue, progressing from one waypoint to the next.


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There are some cairns but too few to rely on.


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Gradually our destination comes in sight


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and that is bm271.

Seems a simple and not difficult climb to the ridge.


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Zoom-in to the Table and Pic des tois Rois.

The Table des Trois Rois is mentioned in the treaty of 1856 as being the tripoint where France, Aragon and Navarra meet.


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Looking back.


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A flock of sheep in between.


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Further on, we are getting closer


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to the final climb


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but still some denivellation to tackle.


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Looking back, Pic d'Arlas still in sight,


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and looking forward to Pic d'Anie.


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Time for a break, Carlos & Conchita leave their backpacks behind for the remaining climb.


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Now we are on the ridge


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with me leading the pack.


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It's becoming hot


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and it's still climbing.


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But then - after 4:15h - we arrive at bm271.


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Bm271


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Bm271


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Bm271


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Bm271



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I forgot about it but ± 15m E from bm271 there is (or was in 2013) a modern marker at the ridge (a few meters E of a large cairn).

This is a picture of 1 sept 2013.

It's a geodetic marker. D.F.N. is the abbreviation of Diputación Foral de Navarra, let's say the government of Navarra.

So: the D.F.N. considers (I suppose) this spot to be the exact place where the straight borderline coming from bm270 nods off 90 degrees and follows the ridge NNE to (the unfindable and supposedly destroyed) bm271bis.
We are not finished yet, I want to do a last search for bm271bis.

So we continue on the ridge, here I am looking back


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and on this picture Carlos & Conchita are looking forward to me.


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Then we pass - on the Pic de Añelarra, the summit of the ridge - this metal


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plaque in the shape


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of Navarra


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with this inscription:

G.M. Sangüesa
Monte Añelarra
Altitud 2345 m
28-6-1981
                         Pelegrin

On this page, we read more about this plaque.


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But where is/was bm271bis located? On this page (2013) I made an analysis of the probable spot of bm271 (more information on that page). This is one of the maps I made:



The Añelarra-ridge has two summits. Bm271 is at the western summit and nowadays we find a geodesic  marker of Navarra, close to it (with D.F.N. on it = Diputación Foral de Navarra). The second summit is the Pic de Añelarra at ± 240m to the east. Here we find today the iron plaque with the contour of Navarra.

The original treaty says that bm271bis is 360 meters from bm271 on the same ridge ("Autre croix à 360 mètres, comptés sur la crête de Sierralongue"). But we have to remember that the distances between the previous bordermarkers 262-271 – as mentioned in the treaty – are often unreliable if we re-measure them in Google Earth.

The location of bm271bis on the IGN-maps (though "détruite") is however ± 310m from bm271 when following the ridge.
NB: we find 271bis only on older french IGN-maps.

That position makes sense.  The ridge has descended and bends slowly E in the direction of Pic d’Anie.

At the same time a minor ridge branches off to the S, in the direction of Col d'Anaye. And that bifork of ridges is a logical spot for bm271bis.

Why? Because it indicates where the borderline leaves the main Añelarra-ridge.


A view from the south (13 sept. 2020). Note: "bm272bis" must be: "bm271bis".

We see the 2 ridges. If we strictly stick to the 360m, then we have 2 possible spots depending on which ridge we choose. BUT: the current maps indicate the yellow borderline, not the green one.

As said above, the bifork of ridges is a logical spot to indicate where the borderline bends off to the S.

So I will stick to that IGN-
position, assuming that that was the original spot of bm271bis.

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But the above reasoning has been done afterwards.

Today we we will search for bm271bis at two spots -> the IGN-spot and the one 360m from bm271.

This is the first one (red-white pole): bm271bis - approximate spot - according to the IGN-map.



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Bm271bis - approximate spot - according to the IGN-map


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Bm271bis - approximate spot - according to the IGN-map

Looking back, Carlos & Conchita in the background


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Bm271bis - approximate spot - according to the IGN-map

With me


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Bm271bis - approximate spot - according to the IGN-map

With me.

I search around the pole in a circle of about 20m diameter but to no result.


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The second spot to explore is "bm271bis - approximate spot - 360m along the ridge" and an area along the minor ridge going down.

Where Conchita and me are standing is ± 360m from bm271.


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Bm271bis - approximate spot - 360m along the ridge


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Bm271bis - approximate spot - 360m along the ridge

We can see that from here a sort of ridge descends to a rocky outcrop.

In the background a more distinct ridge which also descends.

That is the ridge of the borderline on current maps.


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Bm271bis - approximate spot - 360m along the ridge

Another panorama showing both ridges and the area we searched.


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Bm271bis - approximate spot - 360m along the ridge

This is a zoom-in from previous picture with the green and yellow borderline as shown earlier.




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Looking back to Carlos


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We're done with the searching - nothing found of course - and return along the ridge.


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Looking back at the Pic d'Anie.


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A last visit to bm271.


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Bm271


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Bm271


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Bm271


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We are back at green pastures and take a break.


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And so we return, first


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over easy terrain,


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while sometims looking back


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and finally arriving at the foothills of Pic d'Aras


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where we meet sheep again.

We are tired.


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