Cauterets - Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube
- Distance: 21km
- Duration: (with breaks): 8h 00min
- Elevation gain/loss: 1400m/200m
The first day of my solo trip through the French Pyrenees started early. At 7:30 I was done with grocery shopping for the coming few days and at 9:00 I stepped out of the bus in Cauterets. This is it. Where is the red-white trail marker? 🙂
I was excited, nervous, focused, curious – a hurricane of emotions went through my head as I headed to the beginning of the trail. After years of hiking with Edo, it was kind of weird to be alone. At times I even felt exposed, as if every other hiker group knows that I’m alone while I don’t want them to know I’m alone! I guess that’s something I’ll have to get used to. Or just stop caring.
With these thoughts in my head, I soon left Cauterets village below me and gradually climbed through a forested hill deeper into the valley. This region is full of waterfalls and rivers, so no wonder that already after 45mins of hiking I came across several cascades and streams. It was nice to take a break next to the water while the sun was getting harsher and the mountains – steeper.
I had a feeling that I chose a popular day hike route as I was sharing the trail with a lot of other walkers. My guess was confirmed when I reached Pont d’Espagne, my lunch point for today. Spectacular cascades attracted hordes of people of whom many could just drive up there (there was a huge parking lot nearby). Some of the popular day hikes start here too as I discovered later.
After a lunch break at Pont d’Espagne, I headed back on the trail with more climbing. That’s when I found out where all day hikers are going. There’s a lake (Gaube lake) ~ 1 hour above Pont d’Espagne and it’s very popular. I guess I was part of the “late comers” as many people I met were heading down already. Soooo many…
Once I reached the lake, I was surrounded by even more day hikers, who came here to enjoy the sun and the water. I can’t blame them. The location was just spectacular. Emerald lake tucked between mountains – what else can you ask for??
Even local cows were getting a lot of attention from the tourists trying to take selfies together(#instacow), feed any grass, or simply pet them. After a few minutes of admiring this mayhem, I continued walking down my trail. Am I going to just walk past this lake? Hell no! But I wanted to find a quiet place, where I can take a swim and my trail was following the lakeshore anyway.
It was absolutely awesome to take a quick dip into the cooling lake since the day got really hot. It was still a mountain lake, meaning it was still damn cold, so I just submerged myself into the water but didn’t dare to swim. Too cold 😄
As I sat on the shore drying myself and observing the awesome place I’m in, I could not help but feel grateful for such a great start to this trip. Just two days ago I was so anxious to do it, to hike alone for 9 days, but if it goes like this – bring it on!
After a refreshing break, it was time to head to my destination for today – Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube. A field close to it, to be more precise, as I was going to wild camp there. That field was one of the few places where you can camp for free (bivouac in French) in this national park (Parc National des Pyrenees).
The last stretch of the day through the Gaube valley was much quieter as I left all day hikers behind me at the lake. Close to the refuge, the path turned from a climb to a flat-ish walk and I soon came across an open field, shielded by the magnificent Vignemale mountain. That’s it, we’re done hiking for today!
The day was not over though. I still had to find a place for my tent, which took several “tests” (me lying down on the ground and assessing the flatness). There were plenty of other hikers in the area, so many great places were already taken.
Even once I set my tent almost completely, I decided to change the location because I found a better one (or I thought so). Eventually, the tent location was approved for sure, I informed my mom and Edo that I’m done (via the satellite communicator, no signal here) and settled for dinner.
It was strange to eat dinner alone. I enjoyed hiking on my own, taking my time with things whenever I wanted, but only in the evening did it hit me that I was alone. I kind of missed sharing the experiences of the day with someone. But hey, let’s be open and see how this solo thing goes.
Just before bed, I found out that I forgot to take the right cable to charge my phone with a power bank, which was far from convenient. Luckily, nearby camping hikers had a charger and saved me 🙂 and it means I need to do some urgent shopping in Gavarnie, the closest village on my route, two days from here.
Anyway, enough adventures for today, let’s see how sleeping alone in the tent goes. Good night!
Day 1 tips
- I suggest hiking to Gaube lake later in the afternoon when the sun is less harsh and most of the day hikers are either at the lake or heading down. It’s busy there and once you reach Gaube lake, you’re pretty much exposed to the sun all the time.
- FYI, there’s no phone signal around Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube. I only got a phone signal towards the end of the next day.
- It is possible to eat at the Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube even if you are not staying there overnight. I saw some fellow campers doing that (both dinner and breakfast). You might need to reserve in advance, so double-check that.