Once I'd completed the John o'Groats to Land's End walk, the HRP was always
going to be the next 'big one'. The fact that it took me five years to get
around to it was, in part, due to family circumstances, but also because of my
decision to explore North America first.
I purchase the Cicerone Guide 'Pyrenean Haute Route' by Ton Joosten several
years ago. However, lots of web searching still had to be done to familiarise
myself with what walking the HRP would really entail. Accounts written by
previous walkers were invaluable. It was important to know about the difficulty
of the terrain, the hazards, equipment required, sources of food and water and where
I might get help if needed, etc.
This certainly wasn't a walk to tackle without maps, and in a place where
power might be scarce I prefer paper to electronic ones. Indeed, spending
around £100 this January on ten 1:50,000 Rando Editions maps to cover the route
meant that I was now psychologically committed.
My researches led me to expect the walk to take about six weeks. I had
initially planned to start from Hendaye around the beginning of July, which is
usually considered late enough for the snow to have substantially cleared from the
higher parts of the route. However, the decision of my son and his girlfriend
to get married in mid-August meant that this was going to be a little late. Thus, I now
start walking on the 17th of June in hopeful anticipation that the snow will have largely cleared from the more elevated sections by the time I reach them. If this is not the case
then I may have to find some lower level paths. We will see!
The earlier start does at least mean that I am less likely to be hit by thunderstorms
at the Mediterranean end of the Pyrenees.
Anyway, loads of planning to do, kit to select and transport to book, so I had
better get on….
