I leave the gite in the morning and begin immediately climbing out of the valley into the next one. In the adjoining valley I walk through a large grazing herd of sheep. I am loudly escorted by 4 large Patou until I cross through and their are sure I'm not there to mess with their friends.
I blast to the last alternate of the stage, Pic Carlit. The climb get progressively steeper as just at the pass I need to lean forward on my tippy-toes for every step, panting. The peak is covered with day hikers who've climbed up from the other side where there is a nearby trailhead. I don't stay long as the din of conversation bothers me so I begin a steep descent against the flow of traffic.
Soon enough I'm at the trail head where there are restaurants and refuges serviced by a shuttle bus. I have a little problem as I need to resupply but today is Bastille Day, a public holiday as well as being Sunday. That means even if I reach town then the grocery store will most certainly be closed. In light of that I decide to spend the afternoon relaxing and sit down on a terrace for food and drinks.
Eventually I make my way to Bolquère hoping that the HexaTrek is not lying about there being a shelter in the middle of town that I could stay in for free. The shelter ends up being a hollowed out concrete structure covered in graffiti and with fresh human excrement on the floor... I look at my phone and see that there may be a gite in town so I walk over but when I get there no one is around. Eventually I decide to back track a few blocks back where I saw some wooded area that I think I could stealth camp in. I setup in an area that seems like an old RV camping spot(there are concrete pads with electric box outputs and lines of old street lamps following a faded path) for the night.
My tent is covered in condensation when I wake up and make my way to the grocery store in town. While waiting for it to open I buy and eat an entire apple pie from the adjacent boulangerie. By 0900h I'm hiking again, the weather is perfect and I blast along the smooth trail.
At this point I'm quite near the end of the GR10, being less than 100km(62.1mi) as the crow flies from the Mediterranean Sea! The trail is wide, obvious and well graded so I surf along. I chat with a Canadian HexaTrek hiker going southbound who was curious about the snow conditions in the Pyrenees.
I push hard to make it to a hut for the evening and am surprised to find the hiker from the other day here as well. He is excited as his HRP adventure is nearly done and is impressed by the distance I have yet to go on mine. I've been low on water all day as the trail has been unusually consistently at elevation along ridges. Thankfully the HexaTrek app accurately records a water source a short walk away from the hut that saves me.
I wake early and blast. The last obstacle of the Pyrenees is Canigou. I don't summit but at the pass I look out towards the Mediterranean which is less than 50km(31mi) away but all I see is are the tops of low lying clouds. The whole region is overcast and I spend the next hours descending into the cloud cover.
As the day progress and the down climb is ceaseless, the environment around also begins a slow shift. It becomes drier, browner and eventually I'm in a high-desert clime. Eventually it seems like the mountains are a distant dream as I have an extended road walk into the town of Vinça. The temperature is blistering as I take a break with my French lunch after resupplying. The desert environ solidifies as I leave town and climb up onto a plateau following dusty gravel roads.
My throat feels parched and I have to be very conservative with water in the evening. Luckily the sky becomes overcast but it is still very hot until the sun fully sets. I end up camping at a recommend spot by the HexaTrek app. It is described as a beautiful spot but turns out to be barely a patch of green directly along the road at turn... Surprisingly I managed 56km(34.8km) today!
Condensation greets me again and I get moving early to maximize time before the sun is blazing. Water is sparse as most sources listed on the app are misreported or just dry. I enter a series of huge gorges with limestone cliffs. By this time the sun is in full force and I'm directed onto a climb that is insanely steep. I literally pull myself up by the trees on the inclined slope. At the top the views are nice and confirm that I'm not in the Pyrenees anymore as the horizon stretches unbroken into the distance.
I desperately manage my water intake as there are no natural sources to be found all afternoon. Once again relying on the app I arrive at a small village hoping there is a fountain but it is dry. I decide to wait for the local épicerie(grocer) and basically beg them to give me water. Thankfully they are nice to let me refill. I also take a snack break, buying 1.25L of cold cola and a bag of chips. I blast out in the evening, continuing on dusty gravel roads until wild camping along the them.
The heat is waiting for me in the morning. Again my thoughts are dominated by water. There are no sources until noon and I feel desperate as the temperature soar to 38C(102F). Upon walking through a small village I remember a tip another hiker gave me: water can usually be found in cemeteries in France. I try my luck here and this tiny cemetery has a running tap! I take a break sitting amongst tombstones, shaded by a tree, to chug down water.
With the heat and dust my toes begin to chafe and sting. Arriving at the town of Lagrasse I take an early afternoon break to let my feet rest. I wait for the épicerie to open at 1600h to snack on some chips and Beaufort cheese. Taking off my socks to assess the damage it seems dire. Instead of hiking for the rest of the afternoon I check-in at the local campground. I'm able to shower, hand-wash my clothes and air out my feet. I set the goal of reaching Carcassonne tomorrow so I book a hotel room in advance.
I made the right decision yesterday as my feet have mostly recovered by morning time. All there is to do today is blast. After a short climb in the morning the rest of the day is dominated by road/pedestrian path walking as I renter civilization. 44km(27.3mi) under a melting sun of 39C(102F) I make it to Carcassonne by 1400h. The city is beautiful with the main attraction being it's massive fortified castle complex. I resupply then spend the evening relaxing in my hotel room. I go out a second time to buy another French lunch and revel in having completed another stage!
