Steve Cracknell's Blog, page 2

Are Catalans better than French in dealing with bears?

On the Catalonia-France frontier above Núria on the HRP/GR11

According to the authorities, the measures taken to protect livestock, principally sheep, from wild animals can be seen to work in Catalonia. The government gives compensation to farmers when their herds are attacked by protected animals (bears, wolves, etc). In 2009 it paid out 97,000€ but by 2015, the last year for which statistics are available, this figure had been reduced to 2,700€! If there is nothing hidden benind these figur...

Catalans better than French in dealing with rewilding?

On the Catalonia-France frontier above Núria on the HRP/GR11

The measures taken to protect livestock, principally sheep, from wild animals seem to be working in Catalonia. The government gives compensation to farmers when their herds are attacked by protected animals (bears, wolves, etc). In 2009 it paid out 97,000€ but by 2015, the last year for which statistics are available, this figure had been reduced to 2,700€! This is a remarkable achievement.

So why are Catalans more successful than t...

Food for thought on the Way to Santiago de Compostela

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France, where the Camino de Santiago meets the Pyrenean Way GR10 just before crossing the Pyrenees

My first is in walking, but under the sea.
My second is saintly, but not on the Way.
My third is edible, much prized and much prised open.
My whole is a riddle, the search for meaning.

How did scallops become associated with the Way of St James pilgrimage, to the extent of becoming a ubiquitous way mark?

Way mark in Arizkun and walkers in Roncevaux/Orreaga/Roncesvalle...

Spanish restaurants serve osso bucco to birds

Quebrantaheusos (Spanish), bearded vulture, Lammergeyer vulture (English), Gypaète barbu (French)

Photo: Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak

The French and English names (gypaète barbu and bearded vulture) refer to its distinctive red “beard” but the Spanish name for the Gypaetus barbatus, Quebrantahuesos tells you more about it: the name means “bone breaker”.

And that’s what the bird does. If its beak isn’t strong enough it will carry the bone (and occasional tortoise) into the air and dro...

Strange bedfellows counting sheep… then dreaming of hunting them

New Mexico Bighorn Sheep. Photo by Jwanamaker https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

The debate on the reintroduction of carnivores (think wolves) and omnivores (bears) usually focusses on the polarised views of livestock breeders on the one hand and conservationists on the other. But what about hunters? I’ve just been reading an article in the New York Times about hunting sheep which adds a whole new dimension to the discussion. In the US, receipts from sheep hunting permit...

Mulhacén – the highest point in mainland Spain

Google Earth flyover of route

Aneto, at 3404m may well be the highest point in the Pyrenees but it is not the highest point on the Spanish peninsula. That honour goes to Mulhacén, 3479m, in the Sierra Nevada, within sight of Granada. It is said to be the last resting place of the penultimate Moorish king of Spain, Mulay Hasan. Unlike its Pyrenean rival however, Mulhacén is not a great challenge to climb in summer. From the Alpujarras, to the south it looks like a big potato: locally it is kn...

Pyrenean Haute Route 2016. Days 50-57 Pla Guilhem to Banyuls

France Day 50. Pla Guilhem hut at sunrise.

Normally, climbing Canigou (2784m) is an essential part of the HRP but I have climbed it many times from all sides and know the Mariailles and Cortalets hostels well. But I hadn’t stayed in the new Saint Guilhem hostel, nor at Batère with its hot tub!

Day 51. The Batère hostel used to provide accommodation for miners.

Amélie-les-Bains is the only significant town on the HRP.

Day 52. Amélie-les-Bains, a spa town.

Hot day, no rush, cool swim.

Day 53. A...

Pyrenean Haute Route 2016. Days 45-49 L’Hospitalet to Pla Guilhem

France

The earliest train back arrived at 13:20 so, although the Bésines hostel was only three hours away, it was later in the day than I would have liked. Inevitably this was one of only two days on the Haute Route that I got caught in a thunderstorm.

Day 45. Before the storm in the Guerboulouse forest.

The Lac des Bouillouses is another reservoir, in this case supplying electricity for the Petit Train Jaune. This rack railway serves many possible trailheads for the GR10 and HRP.

Day 46. La...

Pyrenean Haute Route 2016. Days 41-44 Fourcat hostel to L’Hospitalet près l’Andorre

Day 41. Pyrenean iris. France

I had originally planned to walk along the frontier, just in France, heading for the Rulhe hostel but the more I investigated, the more difficult it seemed. So I crossed into Andorra to El Serrat, a village almost entirely made up of hotels and holiday apartments.

Andorra

The Andorran meteorologists forecast thunderstorms every afternoon so I re-planned for shorter days. After El Serrat (Hotel Bringué), staying at the new Sorteny hostel, the Cabaña Sorda hut, and...

Pyrenean Haute Route 2016. Days 35–40 Alós d’Isil to Fourcat hostel

Spain Day 35. Rock formation near the Estany Major de la Gallina.

The Mont Roig hut can accommodate 9 but there were only three other people staying overnight, a Catalan couple and one French man.

Day 36. Mont Roig hut.

It is a short hike to the Bordes de Graus hostel, which is also on the Mountains of Freedom trek.

Day 37. Certascan lake.

Also on the Mountains of Freedom circuit.

Day 37. Certascan hostel.

The series of lakes between Certascan and the border is, to my mind, the most beautifu...