The bordermarkers of the Pyrenees : all my trips
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- wednesday 24 july 2019 -
Redoing bm232,234 and 234a with Corinne & Arthur and visiting the false bm171

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Summary: day 4 of a 5 days-trip to the Basque country, revisiting bordermarkers and checking my GRPdesBF-trail.

Today: redoing bm232, 234 and 234a, together with Corinne Gourgeonnet and her son Arthur.
Our basecamp is camping Xokoan in Dantxarinea.

Weather: very hot

track-20190724.kml
(click to open this trip in Google Earth or copy link to Google Maps; click right on this link to download gpx-version). The gps-track has not been manually  corrected which explains the inaccuracy and misalignment at some points. For cartographic backgrounds: see the cartography-page

Gps-waypoints of all bordermarkers (most recent version):
kml:  esfr-bordermarkers-all-waypoints.kml
gpx:  esfr-bordermarkers-all-waypoints.gpx
According to Garmin Basecamp (uncorrected track):

Distance: 7,1 km
Max-height: 1260m
Min-height: 1002m
Elevation: +619m -619m
Total elevation: 1238m

Start 10:39  Finish 13:57
Total time: 3:18

Finally we will meet Corinne Gourgeonnet and her son Arthur. Corinne is a passionate bordermarker-searcher and Arthur is already famous for his swim to bm602. See this page with links to blogposts about them.

It's a long drive from Xokoan to our meeting point near bm233. The car navigation let us make a detour on narrow mountain roads.


The target for today is - besides meeting each other - bm232, 234 and 234bis, all three not easy to find and I am supposed to guide them.

Along the dirtroad we go W and descend to the border stream. Arthur has taken over the gps and leads us to bm232.


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In the riverbed, a last check of the gps and


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there he is.


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The three musqueteers posing at bm232


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We climb back to the dirtroad and return to our cars.


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Corinne shows me her note about the third and missing border plate at Col de Lizarrieta between bm044 and 044a.

Probably it has been covered by tarmac but with the provided distances and appropiate tools it is worthwhile to dig for it in the future.


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We continue on the other side towards bm234. Down a forest road, then a mountainbike trail, then descending along this ridge.

Arthur takes the lead again.


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Bm234 is atypical in its shape and Arthur needs a last direction to find it.


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Mother and son at bm234. In the deep the stream.


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Then descending to the stream along this stairway-like dry waterfall


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and going through the streambed for 125m


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to bm334bis, also atypical.


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Putting a rock upon it as a sort of cairn, Arthur is learning the tricks.

Then a steep climb back to the trail uphill and back to our cars where we enjoy our well-deserved lunch.

It was a great pleasure to meet them and an honour to guide them.


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Then we part. Along the forest road we drive W and then head for

the hamlet of Ascarat near Saint-Jean-de-Pied-Port where
a very peculiar bordermarker was discovered by Corinne Gourgeonnet in the garden of a B&B.

See this blog-post for more information and better pictures.


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It carries the number 171


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but there is already a 'new' bm171 on the borderridge.


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Bm171-false with the B&B in the background.


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Then we drive back to the camping. It's again a very hot day, about 35 degrees.

In Holland, in my hometown Eindhoven the temperature reaches a record 40 degrees! Somehow I regret not te be able to experience this historical record.
Anyway, we seek shade and refreshment at the stream near bm074 where


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we spent a pleasant and peaceful time


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Jan-Willem is not finished yet and undertakes a journey of  40m to make this picture of bm074.


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