Ascent / descent: 1150m (11688m) / 1400m (11055m).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 900m / 650m / 1913m.
Weather: Sunny.
A day that turned out to be completely different than what I'd expected. In my mind I'd thought that the walk over to Etsaut would be a nice walk, but without the great highlights. My expectations had also become somewhat lesser due to the previous days with bad weather. How mistaken you can be. I make breakfast myself in the kitchen at the gîte in the morning.
Lhers, a hanging valley between Lescun and Borce.
It's a pleasant walk out of Lescun and up to the hanging valley of Lhers, where the morning clouds are receding before the blue sky and sun. I pass Camping de Lauzart, but there is no sign of Dominique who is now probably ahead of me on the route. Afterwards there is a nice walk in the woods where you can discern Lescun between the trees in the valley below, from the trail you also see that the mountainsides are going steep down from the village. The trail goes in a loop around the nice Lhers valley on a good track to walk on.
View from Col de Barrancq, Pic du Midi d'Ossau in the background.
A great day is on the rise. I walk down to the tiny village of Lhers, if you can even call it a village, where I take a look at the small chapel from the eighteenth century. Up to Col de Barrancq (1601m) the trail is undulating steeply up through the forest, offering some good views in the beginning where I can see all the way back to Lescun and the valley we came down from yesterday. The pass itself is hidden inside the woods, but there is supposed to be a fine view by following a path going south. I got more than I asked for.
An amazing landscape is revealed when I walk out of the forest and into a glade. There is a wonderful view of the Aspe valley below with mountains rising up and in the horizon the distinct shape of Pic du Midi d'Ossau. I have to sit down and enjoy the scenery. There are almost no clouds in the sky, a sharp contrast to the previous four days on the walk.
Cow de la Nabe (a cow on the Col de la Nabe).
The weather is so nice that I can't resist the temptation of climbing up to the Col de la Nabe (1913m). At the summit cows are looking at me like they're really wondering what I'm doing there. The answer is obvious, the view is magnificent. Peaks hidden by the previous day's mist now rises unobstructed to the clear blue sky. Looking to the west I see Pic d'Anie, looking to the east I see Pic du Midi d'Ossau. I walk further and climb up to Pene d'Udapet (1849m), a thin ridge from where I can look down at Borce and Etsaut.
View towards Lescun and Pic d'Anie from Col de la Nabe.
Back on the GR10 I follow the trail down with Col de la Nabe above me. I pass Cabane d'Udapet-de-Bas, which now look occupied by some other trekkers, before the trail goes quite steep down to Borce. Yves and Jean-Paul were of the opinion that Borce was a nicer place than Etsaut, and on the way up to Col de la Nabe I walked together with a German who said the same thing. So when I arrive at Borce I've decided to find myself a place there for the night.
Pene d'Udapet.
In the garden of the municipal gîte I can see Dominique's tent, so I pitch my tent next to his. Since my tent pole broke I've been somewhat reluctant to use my tent, due to the fact that I need it later on in the trip and doesn't want to stress it too much, but in the nice weather I've the opportunity to get it dry again. It costs nothing to stay at the gîte, but you have to pay for the use of the showers and kitchen.
Borce.
Borce is really a nice and small village. I meet Dominique later on in the evening, since he had to walk and hitchhike down to a larger place to get some more cash. Yves, Jean-Paul and the two Swiss women Ruth and Therese are staying here as well. I eat dinner at the local bar in the village (I get garbure soup here as well). In the evening I walk down to Etsaut, which is only ten minutes of walking away, I can only agree upon that Borce is nicer. A great day with some amazing views, but where you're dependent on leaving the trail to be able to enjoy it.
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