but the locals mainly use the ‘original’ or ‘easy-clic’ cylinders and these still have greater availability. Liquid fuels are widely available but make sure you know what you are buying!
Water
‘La Cascade’, Gorges de Kakouéta (Stage 9)
Water can be a problem if it is hot. When walking in temperatures of 25–30°C, you will need at least half a litre (one pint) of water for each hour of walking plus about two litres for a ‘dry’ camp. This is a guideline and will vary considerably from person to person and will depend on the temperature.
Most towns, villages and hamlets in the Pyrenees have fountains with untreated spring water. The locals and most walkers will drink the water without further treatment. You will often find fountains or ‘piped’ water as you walk along the trail. It should be obvious whether this water comes from a spring or a surface stream. Spring water is usually of a high quality and can be drunk with confidence. You should be more cautious about surface streams, especially woodland streams or streams in areas which are well stocked with sheep or cattle.
Unless it states otherwise, the streams, springs and waterpoints mentioned in the text were running in 2014 and 2015 on through-hikes starting from Hendaye in late June. The waterpoints are only shown on the map if they are considered safe to drink without further treatment, however, some hikers will prefer to treat all water, using chemical treatment or filtration. Boiling your water to make it safe to drink only makes sense if you take most of your drinks in the form of tea, coffee or soup.
Eau non potable is widely put on fountains in villages. This generally means that the water has not been treated and probably has not been tested by the authorities. The main reason for the sign is probably the avoidance of any claim for compensation, rather than saying anything about the quality of the water.
Swimming
Hot springs above Mérens-les-Vals (Stage 44)
Swimming is often mentioned in this guide. Pyrenean lakes and streams tend to be distinctly chilly until after snowmelt is complete. They never get really warm but in the good weather lakes can reach 20°C, which is comfortable. Conditions vary greatly from year to year: a lake on the GR11 which provided comfortable swimming in mid July 2012 still had ice on it in late July 2013! There has always been a tradition of skinny-dipping in the mountain lakes and streams, and reliable information suggests that a recent British prime minister has skinny-dipped at over 2000m in the French Pyrenees. A swimming costume is not de rigueur for the ‘lightweight’ backpacker and skinny-dipping seems to be accepted by other users of the mountains.
Using this guide
Waymarking on the GR10
The stages have been organised with the walker who wants to use accommodation in mind. Those who are camping are advised to completely ignore the stages so as to camp well away from towns and villages. There are some stages where those requiring accommodation will have to follow the alternative route rather than the ‘main’ route.
For a fit walker, it would be possible to complete the trek somewhere in the vicinity of 45 days by combining stages. This would require some planning ahead to ensure daily distances are realistic and accommodation options fit the intended schedule.
The GR10 is the best-waymarked trail that the author has walked, and in good visibility, when the ground is free of snow, you should have no difficulty following the trail. In the few places where the waymarking is inadequate, or a waymark goes missing, the route description should be used to aid route-finding. The 1:100,000 maps in this guidebook are mainly to give you a feel for the terrain and to help with the planning but they are not detailed enough for fine navigation. Cicerone always recommends that you carry 1:50,000 maps in the mountains because you will need them if you get lost or you want to deviate from the GR10. Detailed maps are essential if you intend following the route in early season, when there could be extensive snowfields. See Appendix C for further information and company websites from where you can purchase these maps.
Most navigational mistakes occur because the walker does not look at the map or guidebook until they are lost! It is much easier to follow the waymarks carefully than to work out what to do if you lose them. The route descriptions and maps in the guide are designed to prevent you getting lost and they will be of little use when you are lost! Keep the guidebook handy, not buried in your rucksack.
The base maps for this guide have been derived from open source and database information, and as such have not been subject to the detailed checks that would be applied to a map made by a national mapping agency, but have been reviewed by the author.
The terms left and right in the text always refer to left and right of the direction of travel, not the direction of flow of rivers! Places, buildings and other features on the maps that are significant for route navigation are shown in bold in the route descriptions. Throughout the route an indication is given of facilities available (accommodation, bothies, campsites, campgrounds, waterpoints, foodshops, picnic sites, tourist offices), and at the end of the stage facilities are listed with their contact details. A facilities summary table can be found in Appendix B.
Maps
The cheapest way to get a complete detailed map of the GR10 is to buy the FFRandonnée TopoGuides which come in four volumes, complete with map pages at 1:50,000, www.ffrandonnee.fr
The Pyrenees is covered by the IGN Carte de Randonnée series maps at 1:50,000 (Rando edition). Numbers 1–8, 10 and 11 are required. IGN maps at 1:25,000 are available, but they are not needed.
Maps are available to buy at www.mapsworldwide.com, www.stanfords.co.uk, www.themapshop.co.uk and www.themapcentre.com. Complete IGN 1:25,000 and 1:100,000 coverage of France is available for GPS from Memory-map: www.memory-map.co.uk. Viewranger have the 1:100,000 and 1:25,000 IGN maps. Additionally French Apps have complete IGN mapping available.
Timings
The timings given in the guide are the actual walking times recorded by the author. These do not include any time for breaks or breathers, and actual walking time will depend on other factors such as group size, navigational ability, fitness, load and conditions. As a guideline, expect to take a total time about 50% longer than the time given, which means allowing nine hours for a six-hour walking day. This will obviously depend on your walking patterns and how you plan your day. Times to climb peaks assume you are fit and walking without a pack.
Distances, climb and height profiles
Distances don’t mean very much on the GR10 where the steepness and roughness of the terrain is far more important than the distance. Distances and climb have been estimated from the maps. The height profiles are intended to show the general trend of the day’s walk and won’t show all ups and downs.
GPS
A GPS device is not needed to follow the GR10. At the time of writing the ‘free’ maps of the GR10 that you can download from the internet
