The bordermarkers of the Pyrenees : all my trips
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- friday 8 april 2022 -
Three inspections with Michel Molia

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Summary: part of a series of 10 daytrips in april 2022 in the Basque country, mainly redoing bm085 to 197. This is day 1.

Today: with Michel Molia a trip in the Basque country, driving to several spots to do some inspections.

Weather: a bit cloudy, a bit sunny.


track-20220408.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 (with elevation added by gpsvisualizer.com)

In the 2 days before, I drove from Holland to Bayonne.

Overnight camping in cold and rainy weather at camping municipal du Parc Robert in Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine.

In Bayonne, I will enjoy the hospitality of Michel Molia and his wife for 2 nights.

Trip 1


Close to Benta Berrouet (bm061) we make a short trip to see if the shortcut to bm062 still exists.

I discovered that shortcut on 21-7-2017.




The side-road to enter which



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is in fact a dirtroad leading up


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to the backside of Benta Urtxola.


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At this point we go to the right where


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a well trodden path enters the forest


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and climpbs uphill,




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then turns left.

The trail is now much more distinct than 5 years ago.


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The trail curves into this dirtroad.


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Sheep have right of way of course.


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Arriving at bm062


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Bm062


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Bm062


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At our way back, we try an alternative trail to descend but it is no longer in use and we have to work our way back along the stream.


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Trip 2


The second trip is from Col de Lizarrieta.

I just want to check if bm044L is still in place. I relocated this submarker on 23-6-2020 to its original spot.

Also a check if the third unnumbered plate is still visible I discovered it under a layer of gras on the same day.


Having arrived at the Col de Lizarrieta.


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Michel has easily uncovered


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the third metal plate on the broad horizontal Col (between bm044 and 044A).


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The third metal plate with bm044a in the background.

While Michel uncovers and cleans the metal plate, I


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climb uphill towards bm045L along the 044-submarkers.

This is bm044c (doing 044a and 044b on my way back).


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Bm044d


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Bm044e


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Bm044e zoom-in


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Cow at peace, not interested in bordermarkers.


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Bm044f


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Bm044g


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Bm044g


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Bm044h


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Bm044h


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Bm044i


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Bm044i


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Bm044j


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Bm044j with Col de Lizarrieta in the background


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Bm044k


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Bm044k


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Bm044l, this is the one that I relocated to its original spot on 23-6-2020. It's still 'in situ'.


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Bm044l


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In between a plateau


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with information on the shooting of migration birds, an old tradition on these hills.


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Bm045


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Bm045


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While going back, doing bm044b which I missed earlier.


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Bm044a


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And back at the third unnumbered plate which Michel has unearthed and cleaned.


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Third unnumbered plate


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Third unnumbered plate


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And why not do the rest of the markers?

This is the second unnumbered plate.


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Second unnumbered plate


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Second unnumbered plate, looking towards the third plate.


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The first unnumbered plate


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First unnumbered plate


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First unnumbered plate, looking towards the second plate (where Michel stands).


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Finally bm045.


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Bm045


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Trip 3

Then via Dantxarria (lunch) and on a long bumpy dirtroad to the foothills of the Gorospil-summit.

Bm076 has recently disappeared as reported by Michel on 9 july 2021.

That is not the first time that bm076 went missing. Same story for bm075.

Some older versions can be found downhill in the so-called 'Gorospil-cemetery'. Read the details on this page.
But first a look at the spot of the disappeared bm076.


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The hole in the ground is the spot.


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Original spot of bm076.


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We descend to bm075 which still stands proudly.


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Bm075


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Then descending in a curve to the Gorospil-cemetery.


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This is where a trail crosses a stream (now dry).

Uphill and downhill we will find in the streambed several old markers, apparently tossed down the hill-ridge.


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Looking uphill, the left streambed is where you can find 3 old markers with one with no. 76.


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But first I descend downhill


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and soon spot the 2 locations of old markers.


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Two markers visible.


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A bit lower one marker, that's my first target.


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It's quite steep to descend to the streambed.


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At the top of the tree you can
spot the other markers.


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It's an old bm075


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Old bm075


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Then climbing to the other 2 markers.


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One of them is an even older bm075. The other one has no number.


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Back to the crossing of the stream


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and climbing uphill in the left streambed.

Also here 2 locations with old markers.


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These are the lower 2 ones


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and this is the upper one.


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A bit difficult to see but this is an old no. 76.


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The adjacent marker is vertically split in half and has no engravings.


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The upper marker is also


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without engravings


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Both locations, now seen from above.

Conclusion: these markers were already in their positions on 23-7-2017. But no trace of the recently disappeared bm076.


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This is the end of our trip. We drive home, to Bayonne.

At night a delicious dinner with Michel and his wife and a couple who has accompanied Michel on many bordermarker-trips.
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