Host 3: Hiker Paradise

As many of you know, this past summer I got really into hiking. I didn't have many things I felt I needed to do while in France, (we may not even see Paris!) but one thing I knew I wanted to do was hike. On one side of France are the Alps, which conjure up images of tall snow-capped peaks and winter sports. On the other side of France are the Pyrenees, which is currently where I find myself.

Before coming here, the Pyrenees didn't conjure up anything in my head because I'm not so sure I'd ever heard of it. That has forever changed. Now I'll think of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage - a walk that has been travelled since 812 AD, the Tour de France - the course goes by the house we're staying at, our lovely stay here, and the amazing landscape.

Let's talk more about the landscape shall we? Over the span of 6 days I went on 4 hikes and now I'm pooped, but I have my next hike planned unless snow screws it up. I'll talk you through each hike.

Ahhhghgddfv. I'm having technical difficulties. Pictures are at the bottom. I'll note when to go to them throughout my post. It's terribly out of order, but I don't want to spend all my free time blogging.

#1. 3.7 miles / 1:12 / 1317 feet elevation gain.

There is a trail behind the house I'm staying at, and my host said if you go up the trail you come to a lake. I didn't ask how far, as she made it sound like a quick jaunt. After working I took off and headed for the lake. It was very steep and almost as soon as I started a very thick fog rolled in. Eventually I came to this sign. Image 5.

After that I went about .3 more steep miles and found myself on a plateau over a mini valley. The fog was so thick I couldn't see the other side of the valley, then I heard a hunting rifle go off. I was wearing yellow but the visibility was awful and the gun sounded very nearby. The trail also disappeared a bit and I didn't take any good navigational means. Instead of ending up like this guy, image 6.

I decided I better turn around. I'm glad I did because the fog was so thick that it got dark pretty early. I later found out that I was less than I mile from reaching the lake.

#2. 9.3 miles / 3:36 / 2430 feet elevation gain.

The very next day I took the day off and went for the lake again. Simon suggested I hit the lake then keep going and circle back on the road. Sounded good.

I took off again on the same route as hike 1. I got to my turnaround spot from the last hike and had to use my app and the sun to figure out where to go next because the trail disappeared in nice rolling short grass meadows. Here and there I would catch glimpses of obvious trail - reassuring me I was on the right track. Eventually I got up to a fork in the trail. I had about 5 options and I chose the one I thought was the lake. It wasn't. I had missed the lake again. I discovered my mistake 5 minutes down the wrong trail. Surely I could just turn around. Nope. Not when you're walking towards this. Image 7.

The mountain pulled me. I couldn't turn my back on it. I contemplated hiking it, but knew I didn't leave enough time on my itenerary to do it without worrying Tawnie. But I still had to walk towards it.

Around noon I got to the base of it and ate lunch at a busy restaurant and parking lot for hikers. I ate some walnuts, oranges, and bread. While doing this I studied my app and saw that there was another trail that circled back to the lake! I could also summit the mini peak next to me (not the awesome one across the road). Win-win! I took off and got to the peak in about half an hour. I immediately got swarmed by bees and had to run away after taking a few pictures and a video. Then I made it to the elusive lake that I had only been about 30 seconds away from earlier.

It was more of a pond, but there were many people picnicking around it, plus some wild horses to admire. After a quick picture I headed back home on the same trail for the fourth time.

Unlike last hike, the weather was clear and sunny. The views were incredible and I desperately wanted to get Tawnie up there to experience the beauty together.

#3. 5 miles / 2:15 / 1786 feet elevation gain.

This day I worked in the morning, then took off around 2pm. In a guidebook my hosts gave me I found a trail that leads to the peak that's on the other side of town, that we have a view of from our house. I set out on the road and walked through town with my big hiking backpack like the man on a mission I was. I crossed a cute little bridge then the climb began. Image 3.

It started through the towns arboretum, then crosses a street and the real trail begins. I jumped an electric fence, that I later realized had plastic handles to unhook to get through. Parkour is a french word, and I was in the mood I guess.

Anyways, nothing spectacular happened on this trail - just more amazing views. I got to the first mini lookout, then headed back after taking some pictures. 

There was nobody around on this hike, and occasionally when hiking solo I start to get a little spooked. There was giant poops all over the place from cattle. I have no idea how dangerous it is to spook a bull or something and once I began to think about it, each blind turn got scary. Not my proudest moments, but it is what it is. I also was getting bummed because I wanted  Tawnie to see all this too! Nevertheless, I'm already pining to go back and go for the tallest peak - I'll just need to build up some mental fortitude.

#4. 5.56 miles / 2:26 / 487 feet elevation gain.

Finally a hike with Tawnie! Image 1.

Our hosts drove us to the place that I had lunch at during hike #2. From there all 4 of us and the 2 dogs walked to the lake - image 2. Then Tawnie and I split away from them and hiked up on top of a nice bluff. It was another gorgeous day and it was great to enjoy it together. We took a bunch of pictures of horses in the distance, then made our way back home on the trail I took on hikes 1 and 2. Images 4 and 8.

That's that! My favorite part of hiking here is that you hike up a couple thousand feet, then you can more or less continue hiking at that elevation along the mountain ridge. In the Cascades I have yet to find any hikes where you get up high, have great views, and are able to level out up high with continuous great views. I'll keep exploring.

Oh, also, our house is at about 3200 feet. The highest I got is 5400 on hike 2 atop the little peak. The next hike I want to go on will put me at 7438 feet! I think the snow will stop me before that. Hope not!

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