Ascent / descent: 1372m (39338m) / 1349m (38562m).
Altitude (start / end / highest): 1087m / 1110m / 1780m.
Weather: sunny and blue sky, some clouds.
A perfect day for a fine walk, my mood has lifted together with the clouds. I leave the small cluster of houses behind before following the trail a short way up the dank valley, before taking to the woods and mountainside again. The path is nice to walk on, but the view is a little bit obscured by the trees in the beginning. Going further into the mountain the route was to offer a great, but hard day.
View of the valley before descending down to Artiès.
There is quite the difference between the various cabanes you pass on the trail, and a lot of them are very nice. Refuge de Prunadiére (1614m) does not belong to the last category, but it can serve as an emergency shelter. I haven't seen Claire anymore for some days now and I'm wondering if I'll see her again. That makes me think back to the great days I had together with Dominique, Didier, Marie-Agnès and Emilio at the start of my journey, which feels like a distant past now.
Étang d'Izourt.
There isn't so much to see in Arties (985m), which can be the reason that the trail isn't passing through the village anymore. From Arties I go a little back, around and up about in the forest before appear back again by a small bridge over Ruisseau d'Arties at Pradières d'en Bas. Up till now it has been mostly a walk in the woods, but not the worst to say, that should change to the better higher up. But before that I walk for some time on a road up the valley past central eletrique de Pradières (power plant).
Walking high above the valley floor after leaving Étang d'Izourt.
Before they started building more solid cabins in the mountains the shepherds used to make small shelters out of stones, an 'orri' in French. Up towards Étang d'Izourt I pass one of these shelters, l'orri de la Coume. I take a look inside the little stone hut and if someone outside was scared by a Norwegian standing laughing in the Pyrenees then they have to excuse me. Inside the shelter there is a porn magazine with some pages overturned, so now we know what the shepherds really do when they are up in the mountains. I just couldn't help laughing.
There isn't a pass to lose my breath at today, but that isn't needed when the trail is offering Étang d'Izourt (1647m). Surrounded by mountains there is a wonderful lake sparkling in the sunshine. It's apparent that the hydropower plant is running, since the water level isn't at normal height. There are some people around the lake, but a lot less than you should think it would be on a day like this. A small group of walkers are coming down the trail coming from Refuge de Fourcat. The backpack is placed on the ground; I don't need to have that on my back in the closest two hours.
Orri de Souladrou, remains of old shelters of stone.
It goes inexorable on after having relaxed for about two hours at the beautiful lake. I walk back in the valley I came from, but this time higher up with the valley floor deep below. I can see the trail delineate on the ridge far away. I walk on a trail that undulates on the mountainside past several remains of old orri'es and other derelict buildings, with the view expanding with every step. After a while I can look over to where the trail is coming down from Étangs de Bassiès
Almost a walk on cobblestones after Coumasses-Grandes.
The trail is then at some times balancing above some steeper parts, but never without feeling unsafe. At Coumasses-Grandes (1580m) there are several remains of manmade shelters, and a steep short-cut down to the trail that goes in the valley below. It's a great walk, but it's quite long and I feel that my steps are much heavier when I start walking on the last part down towards Goulier. A memorial to Marceau Derrieu, who was the founder of the GR10 through the Ariege, is passed by when the trail is entering into the woods again.
Goulier.
I arrive at Goulier (1110m) where my mind now is mostly occupied with the thought of getting some rest, so I don't spend any time looking at the village. Instead I spend the time at the Gîte-Auberge Le Relais Endron. But even though I'm tired I can't cut down on the routines, before I can rest I need to wash my clothes. The dinner is served together with a group of walkers also staying at the hostel, a lot of good food. And though I eat a lot, more food is sent my way since the other guests are in the opinion that I need a lot of food since I'm on such a long journey (give it to the Norwegian). Some leftovers are even packed together so I can have it for lunch tomorrow. I'm not saying I'm not grateful.
As said, a perfect day for a nice walk, but a hard one. The stay in the Ariege has improved and I'm now excited over what's coming next. My body as well, for it is tired now.
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