Ascent / descent: 273m (52075m) / 923m (50909m).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 2150m / 1500m / 2150m.
Weather: Overcast.
Most people use to go to Arles sur Tech from Cortalets, by climbing up to Canigou I move the walking odometer some kilometers back on the map. So instead I choose to set course for the old and now derelict iron mines of Batère. Perhaps a fitting target for a walk under a gloomy layer of clouds.
Lights in the night seen from Cortalets.
From Cortalets two wanderers disappear into the mist, I walk together with Claire again. We choose the alternative route today, and don't go by Ras del Cortalets as the trail does. In the woods above Cortalets there are remains of a crashed airplane and this route take us into the drifting clouds higher up than the original route and past the wreck. You almost have to walk over parts of the wreck; other parts are lying spread around below. Someone has sprayed a shark figure on the remains.
Remains of an airplane not far from Chalet-Refuge des Cortalets.
The clouds have climbed higher up towards the sky, but have made an abrupt halt and are giving an illusion of outright slicing off the top of the mountains. In the horizon a blue line is visible; it's the sea and the Mediterranean that calls. After 43 days on the way since I left the Atlantic I can now see the sea again. It's a strange feeling; I'm getting closer to the end of my journey.
Above Ras del Prat Cabrera (1739m) we find a rock that can be used as a nice bench, a great place for a lunch with a nice view over the valley below that stretches down towards the lower area and finally the sea. After Ras del Prat Cabrera the trail is going around the Llech valley, above us the cows are eying us suspiciously. The trail is even and good to walk on, but there are a lot of cow shit here.
In the horizon...the sea. View from above Ras del Prat Cabrera. Note the grafitti on the rock.
The open mountain huts has usually been solid huts of stone, but Abri de Pinatell (1650m) is the first hut of this kind that I pass that is made of wood. Inside it is cozy; I wouldn't mind have stayed here for the night. It is a little more boring now; we pass another cabane, Maison Forestiere de l'Estagnole (1479m), before we have to start the climb up to Col de la Cirère (1731m). We can see remains of an old and abandoned mine further down in the valley on the way up to the pass.
Up at the pass the wind is showing some muscles and the clouds are darkening the horizon, glimpses of light in the distance, dark violet hues and the ocean. Gusty and desolate, you wonder how the work in the mines here would have been. Remains of houses and a herd of sheep are passed on the way down; Tour de Batère is in the horizon. Claire seems to be on good foot with the sheep.
The Llech valley. The clouds are situated like a lid above the valley and are almost slicing the mountain in two.
The mining works has long ago stopped and when we arrive at Mines de Batère we also get the feeling of being in an abandoned place. Gîte-Refuge de Batère (1500m) is located in one of the derelict mine buildings and situated with a nice view. The door to the restaurant is closed. We're wondering what kind of place we've come to. On a fence there is a yellow note with the following inscription: 'M. Tarjei. Installez-vouz, dortoir à 20m plus bas'. They got my name right at least. On the door further down there is another note, 'M. Tarjei. Repas prêt à la Cuisine'.
Inside, Claire and I stop dead and are just standing still and looking at each other, not knowing whether we should laugh or cry. It's a peculiar and quite sparse place. On a bench in the kitchen there is a tray with food on, my dinner apparently (I ordered demi-pension). We're not the only one here either, a German pair doing a part of the GR10 and has walked from Banyuls sur Mer is here also.
View from below Col de la Cirère, the Tour de Batère on the ridge in the center of the picture.
I heat up my food, while Claire is making her dinner. Despite its appearance the food was quite good and consisted of a quite good pate, a good gratin with mushrooms, potatoes and some other ingredients, yoghurt and bread. The person that runs the place is arriving while we're eating. I was the only one that had ordered and the season is soon over, so he didn't thought it was necessary to open up the restaurant for only one person. Which is reasonably enough. And anyway, I get to buy myself some good beers of the Pelforth Brune type, so I'm satisfied. But it isn't so cheap to stay here.
The Gîte-Refuge de Batère, the yellow paper blowing in the wind had my name on it.
Later in the evening the wind is increasing and you can hear it howl outside. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly Canigou and by far the highest. The trail from Cortalets was nice in the beginning, but it got somewhat boring towards the end. The Mines de Batère will probably be one of the strangest places I've stayed at on the journey, but it will also be remembered well because of it.
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