There's nothing quite like having the whole mountain to yourself. Today, Mrs Perrin is looking after the children and I have a free day for hiking the high Pyrenees. With a dodgy weather forecast and lots of cloud forecast in the afternoon, my only recourse was to get up and down before the worst of the weather arrived.
0400 Alarm, quick cup of coffee and on the road arriving at Vallter 2000 at 0630. One of the good things about getting up in the hills first is that the Marmots and Deer were pretty non-plussed by my presence and I could get quite close.
Marmots. I just love these things.
Just before you get to the ski station at Vallter, there is a windy road and some make-shift parking areas. Find a place to leave the car and follow the signs to the refuge Ulldeter. Follow the well marked path and in about 30 minutes you'll reach the refuge. It's normally open during the summer months and you can get drinks and something to eat.
The Pyrenean Chamois.
Keep following the trail and after about 5km you'll arrive at the top. Bastiments is a mountain peak at the easternmost side of the Pyrenees mountain range. It is located on the Spanish-French border, within the confluence of the Spanish municipalities of Setcases and Queralbs and the French commune of Fontpédrouse. It has an altitude of 2,881 metres above sea level 9452ft.
It's been a while since I was up here. The extra Covid Kilos hasn't made it any easier....And, I'm not getting any younger. Definitely a little out of breath by the time that I got to the summit.
There are a number of circular routes up here, but with rapidly approaching cloud, I preferred to stick to the well known track and retrace my steps. All-in-all about 10km and 31/2 hours. You can see the route here on Strava.