The bordermarkers of the Pyrenees : all my trips
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- friday 30 august 2019 -
Redoing bm536-542 with Carlos & Conchita

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Summary: part of a series of 11 trips in august-september 2019 in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Andorra and the Hautes-Pyrénées. This is trip 6.

Today: guiding Carlos and Conchita to bm536-542 south of Coustouges. Their own account of this trip can be seen on their own website. My blog-post on this trip is on this page.

My basecamp is the camping in St-Laurent-de-Cerdans.

Weather: sunny & hot, threatening thunder in the afternoon.

track-20190830.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: 10,1 km
Max-height: 760m
Min-height: 420m
Elevation: +675m -628m
Total elevation: 1303m

Start 8:30  Finish 16:46
Total time: 8:16
Early start at the hamlet of Can D'Amunt and on our way to bm540.

Carlos and Conchita are devoted bordermarker-searchers in the Pyrénées-Orientales (bm427 to 602). They have almost completed their quest but for some 'difficult' bordermarkers they asked me to guide them. Today, we will do together bm536 to 542.

I was here a few days before to do a reconnaissance of the route from bm540 to 537.

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Carlos and Conchita, still bright and shiny.


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A view to


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(zoom-in) the origin of the border-river La Muga: the brown mountain pass in the far distance.


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Zoom in to a hamlet, I wonder which one that is.

After studying the maps, I think it is "Les Costes" near the village of Vilaroja. How peaceful it must be and how wonderful the panorama from there.


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Having arrived at bm540 after ± 1 hour.


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Bm540


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Bm540


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Along the cliff going W, we arrive easily at bm539.


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Bm539


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We continue on the cliff, with some airy parts


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and a bit of rock scrambling.


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Having arrived at bm538


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Bm538


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Bm538

From here, things get more difficult. The trail descends into Spain but becomes vague. There are blue waymarks on the trees but sparse. Nevertheless we arrive soon at hunter's post 'Poste 538'. From there we navigate to a waypoint which I made 3 days ago from where a more distinct trail appears. It leads to a dry streambed which descends to bm536.


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But first we climb 25m along the streambed to bm537


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Bm537


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Bm537


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Back down to where the trail meets the streambed.

There I spot now this marker pointing down the streambed.


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And there we go,


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down the streambed


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which requires some rock scrambling.


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And then we arrive at the bottom and at bm536, which we have to clean a bit to reveal cross and number.


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Bm536


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Bm536


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Bm536

It lies at the bank of the Muga-river and gets flooded sometimes.


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This is the streambed of La Muga, which - to my surprise - is completely dry. There must be running water upstream and downstream but where does it end before and where does it restart after this dry part?

And this is where apparently, the blue trail ends.

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But when studying OpenStreetMaps afterwards, I discover something remarkable.

We see all the trails I know in this borderregion including the trail from bm540 along the clif to bm536.
BUT: from bm536 there's an extension to the dirtroad uphill! Something to survey in the future.
Because that could involve a direct route - when coming from Hostal de la Muga - from the dirtroad to bm536 and uphill to b540. But that is intended for a variant covering bm536-539. The main GRPdesBF-route will continue on the dirtroad ("cami") and climb to bm540.

And let's show that connection between dirtroad and bm536 on Google Earth.
Bm536 again and then


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we climb back


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along the streambed, spotting some blue waymarks.


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My 'clients' keep going strong.


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Back at hunter's post "Poste 538" with a sign pointing the route to bm540


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and back at bm538.


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We return to bm540.

Going back and forth from bm540 to 536 took us ± 2:30h.

Then we continue to bm541 via the hunter's post P7.


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Bm541


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Then (back) to P7.

That's where we will enter the forest NE to the beginning of a dry streambed.

I first do a short reconnaissance while C &C take a rest and then we descend together to the beginning of a dry streambed


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which we follow downhill.


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Descending in general on the right side of the streambed or in the streambed itself,


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sometimes guided by a cairn.


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We descend until we spot in the deep the stream Riu Major.

The previous time I was here (on 14-04-2014), I descended further along the streambed to the stream.

For some reason - probably because the last part of the descent along the streambed seemed quite steep - we make a bend to the left towards a rockwall. And from there we manage to descend to the stream.


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Arriving at the stream (Riu Major).


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Carlos and Conchita emerge from the forest.


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And that results in a more practical arrival at the stream.

In this way we avoid the pool to the left on this picture.


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Let's show that better on a map:

This is that pool which we avoid now, looking south.


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And this is the pool ahead towards bm542 with my acces in 2014.

It felt then too unsafe to return the same way.


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But Carlos and Conchita are experienced 'mountain goats' and immediately start to try to climb the boulder in between.


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And that's easier than I thought as a lowland dweller. There are natural 'footsteps' in the rock.


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Now it's the turn of Conchita.


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She needs some help to take the first step


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and succeeds also. I - as the guide - just watch and follow....


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Then it's an easy 10m to bm542.

Carlos cleans it with water.


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Bm542


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Bm542, note the second cross and number of which the reason and history are unknown.


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Bm542, looking downstream.


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Portrait of us as the three musqueteers of the border.


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Bm542


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Bm542


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Then it's time for a well-deserved lunch break while refreshing our feet.


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We return by the same route. Looking back to the rock to tackle.


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We enter the forest where we left it.

This is the rockwall in the last part of the descent, mentioned above.


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The climb back is tough and it takes more time to find our way than in our descent.


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A cairn in between but in general you have to find your own way up and down, most of it on the S-side of the streambed or in the streambed itself. We hear thunder in the distance but it will remain dry.

Back at the trail at P7, we try the direct trail towards Can D'Amunt but it has become too vague in the last years.

So we first return to bm540 and then back to Can d'Amunt. Tired but satisfied.


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