Days 13 & 14. They marched them up to the top of the hil...and, guess what!

Phone news from exasperated campers today....

Saturday 28th May
After a nice slow ease into the day, they finally set off for a long walk and a LOT OF up around 10am. We're talking a 2450 metre ascent here. They got up to the saddle of the hill around 3pm-ish, and decided to make camp early and make the assault over the top early the next morning rather than on tired legs.

Cue helpful mountain runner here, who appeared as if from no-where, had a quick chat, then proceeded to the top - only to come back down again an hour later, to report the summit totally unpassable due to heavy snow.

Bother. (In it's defence the GR10 walk book did say theis hill was sometimes inaccessible until early June after a hard winter - but our walkers are optomists, and had their fingers crossed when approaching this point)

so...

Sunday 29th June
Sadly, all the huge hill so manfully ascended yesterday had to be backtracked. They retraced their steps back to the little spa village of Eaux-Bonne, where they consoled themselves with a delicious late lunch.

(for the gourmands amongst us, for 11euros they had a starter of mixed charcuterie; followed by steak/frites; with ice cream and or tarte a la maison plus coffee. Not all bad then!)

They then set off on a 7 k road walk to skirt the hill which had proved impassable today - and hope to spend the night camping in Gourettes.

Which is bang on schedule - but just a little gruelling as they have lost their 1 1/2 days ahead of schedule safetly time they had fought to gain over the last 2 weeks.

Ah well....they like a challenge!

Day 12. Oh dear! Doesn't sound like a good one!

News received last night by text indicates Friday might not have been their best day so far.

Friday 27th May

Walking started early: left the gite and on the way before 7.30am for a 1500 metre climb....ouch! Having got that done by 3pm, they descended through mist, wondering whether to camp or push on to Gabas.

Sadly Gabas turned out to be "the armpit of France" where they were also attacked by dogs and found both the gite and refuge closed! Hmm. It did offer one tiny "hotel" in an uninviting state of renovation and overseen by a one-eyed matron .

Enough of Gabas for the Elliotts! Despite already being on the go for 11 hours, they decided to "get the hell out of there" - walked on for another hour and pitched camp in a pine forest, fed, waterered and fell into bed exhausted.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Pyrenees pictures week two

Going walkabouts

You know, I think the Aborigines are on to something. Walking from dawn until dusk, day after day, does something weird and wonderful to your brain. And no, there's been no ocre body paint or didgeridoos so far, but we have been experiencing something like, erm... dreamtime?

Leaving behind the week-one sting of sore feet and the niggles of bearing our bags, our bodies are starting to toughen-up: we've got the right balance of biscuits-input with gradient-output and a certain rhythm  is emerging to our days (more on that later). Miraculously, rather than having to spend 95% of the time willing our body to keep going, amongst the chatter of route-finding (and, more importantly, bar-finding), we are now able to gently ponder all those things that you never really get chance to think about. I'm talking about totally mindless meditation. Just letting you noodle unravel and re-organise all that interconnected nonsense that usually fills your days...

And, we discovered, this doesn't stop when you stop walking. No! Get your head on the pillow at night and that hyperactive little machine creates all sorts of crazy stuff. Dad spent last night battling a planet of 'Matrix'-style rats, while I was busy fistfighting with some nocturnal creatures with hands made of jelly. You'll note from Mum's earlier blog entry that Dad has also made recent cameo performances as a forgetful one-legged corpse. It's safe to say that neither of us have ever dreamed so much in our lives...

In fact, if your mind needs a spring clean or you want to discover the frontiers of your own imagination, maybe you should go 'walkabouts'. Despite the physical effort, it's actually incredibly good for the soul :) You can check our 'route' page (above) for details of our whereabouts this June - we are currently one day ahead of schedule, so bear that in mind if you fancy joining us for a few days on the trail! Click here to access the page: http://doinganelliott.blogspot.com/p/our-gr10-route.html

And, just so you know what you're getting yourself in to, here's a typical day:

6am - Alarm sounds. Listen for rain outside tent.
6.05am - Discuss dreams from last night. Attempt to analyse dreams as a method of delaying inevitable getting up process.
6.15am - Rock, scissors, paper to decide who gets up first and makes coffee.
6.30am - Open tent flaps to discover blue skies and jaw-droppingly good views. Feel smug and congratulate each other on fabulous adventure
OR
6.30am - Open tent flaps to discover ferocious drizzle and a collection of black slugs climbing over your boots.
7am - Break camp and stow kit in rucksacks. Breakfast on porridge doused in jam and lots of sugary coffee. Plan route, including frequent sucking in of breath as you discuss the day's climbs.
7.30am - Foot clinic - examine blisters and patch up the damage. Bravely put boots on again without wincing, remembering that they'll be numb in about half-an-hour anyway. Final checks: barometer, altimeter and stopwatch (we are serious hikers you know!). Put on packs. Remember that you left your suncream in the bottom of your pack, take off pack, locate suncream, apply liberally. Put pack back on.
7.45am - Begin walking!
8.30am - Snack stop: load up on biscuits.
10am - Second breakfast: bread, jam, cheese, chocolate.
11am - Muttering and cursing as sun gets hotter and sweating begins in earnest.
12.30pm - Hopefully reach the day's summit by now, anything from a modest 500m up to a lofty 2,500m monster complete with snow and ski-lifts. Lunch here: more bread, spicy french sausages, lots of biscuits.
(2pm slot reserved for possible second lunch if required later in the trip)
3pm - More biscuits. Conclude that its still jolly hot and wonder how far until the next refuge/gite/bar/stream.
4.30pm - Spot the tiny village on the horizon as you descend from the ridge... cheer, whoop, etc.
5pm/6pm/7pm - Arrive at the cafe/bar/restaurant/gite/campsite and shrug off the rucksack heroically...
There then follows the glorious process of the first icy-cold beer, then perhaps a shamelessly large mess tin of macaroni cheese with chorizo (camping option) or perhaps some hearty French country fare (rabbit stew, chunky pate, creamy local cheeses and thick slabs of 'Gateau Basque' - rather like a Bakewell tart, with layers of cakey, almondy goodness sandwiched between crumbly pastry and sticky jam). And an occassional bottle of red wine, of course :)

If you are tempted to try trail life then get in touch, either with Sue at mission control Harrogate (you can reach her via this blog - for the latest on our whereabouts), or with Rick and Sarah on our french mobile: +33 6 64 99 60 26. Alternatively, keep on following the blog and we'll bring our tall tales to you in the comfort of your office/home/iPhone.

Until the next internet cafe,
Bisous!
Sarah and Rick

Days 9 & 10. Lots of up; lunar cloudscapes and electrocution!!

Spoke to the troops on the phone tonight; they have more tales to tell, and are sounding remarkable cheery.

Tuesday 24th May
Tuesday's 20k walk  included LOTS of "up", but was blessed for most of the day with thick mist, so the temperature was much more comfortable. Right at the top of the walk, they emerged from the cloud near the peak to a magical view; looking down on the clouds below; only interrupted by other peaks peeking out all around through clouds in the distance. Sounds quite eerie.
Tuesday night was spent camping in the middle of nowhere, and Rick is continuing to entertain Sarah - not with imaginative snoring this time, but with tales of strange dreams. (he puts it down to the altitude!) Apparently he was in a Medeival play, but not too taxing a role, as he had the part of a corpse (with a wooden leg). One would think he could just relax at this stage, but he had 4 lines to say at the end of the play, and couldn't remember them. So spent the whole production trying to work out how he could get hold of a script. From his coffin. Perculiar thing, altitude!

Wednesday 25th may
Wednesday was sunny and HOT again, and another 20k acheived. Only half of yesterdays amount of "up" but felt just as strenuous because of the temperature. The scenery has been getting increasingly stunning, and it sounds as if they are finding the walking more comfortable as fitness levels improve and consolidate.
French farmers take little notice of footpath rules or walkers rights of way apparently, as our intrepid walkers discovered when both received shocks from a live electric fence erected accross the route. Happily I can report that both are unscathed, (which is more than I can say for the electric fence which met with a little accident I understand).
Tonight they reached a small hamlet, checked into a hostel and found a delicious Table d'hote supper with a group of other walkers. Very satisfactory end to the day, swapping tales of derring do over good local food & wine with like-minded nutcases!

Tomorrow they set off on a remote leg of the route; and are not expecting to reach habitation for the next three days. There are electric thunderstorms forecast tomorrow (makes a change from fences!), so am not expecting to have any further contact until Saturday evening. Goodness knows what Rick will come up with next to keep Sarah entertained. Watch this space.

Days 6, 7 & 8. News of gradients, sunshine, mist & rain!

Latest news by text

Saturday 21st May
Sounds like a huge walking effort today - involving 1300m of "up" in 7 1/2 hours in hot sunshine. Both reported being exceedingly tired by the end of the day, but also extremely happy, as they found a mountain-top refuge with hot food and cold beers. Bliss

Sunday 22nd May
Long walk of 20k today, but happily in cooler temperatures only 17 today.In fact, for most of the day thick mist enveloped them! By the time they found a suitable place to "wildcamp" the mist had turned to rain, and they spent the evening cooking up (and I quote) McCheese mountains! Still, they were next to a river and in the middle of alpine forest, so doesn't sound all bad.
Rick kept Sarah amused my snoring in different animal noises throughout the night apparently! How talented!

Monday 23rd May
Received messages from two very happy walkers today - amazing how they can be out in the middle of no-where, yet still have a phone signal!
They're 1 1/2 days ahead of schedule, the rain has turned to sunshine and all is going well.
Apparently, they've also discovered the secret of keeping going without running out of energy - frequent biscuit stops! Sounds good to me!
Have sent them a forecast for Cauterets for tomorrow, so assume that's the next stop.

Life on Skye

So - what can I tell you about my (Sue's) week. It's been cold, and wet, and fairly blowy up here in skye! But still spectacular, as the scenery here is amazing, even in horizontal sleet!

Am feeling quite proud of myself for being brave enough to get all the way up here on my own - but as you probably are aware by now, can be a pretty determined lady when motivated!

Must confess, in Harrogate, until relatively recently, I didnt even like to go into a cafe on my own for a morning coffee; but in the last week, have driven half the length of the UK; stayed in 5 different hotels, been on three solo walks in the hills, and  made contact with several old friends on Skye. This really is a beautiful place - I can SO see why Matt loved it - I bought a book of walks today, and will be back here next May to try some of them out.

Hopefully some  family and friends might like to join me too.

Keep watching Sarah & Rick's exploits in the Pyrennees with me

Love
Sue x

Week one photos

Days 1, 2, 3 & 4. First post from France

Bonjour tout le monde! After four days of walking we have located an internet cafe - few and far between in these mountainous climes. So, without further a-do, I'll give you a run down on the route so far...

Arrived in Biarritz, southern France, on Sunday afternoon on the 15th May, fresh from an amazing day at the rugby. An hour bus ride later, we were sipping ice-cold lager in Hendaye, the sandy start of the GR10. Our first night under canvas passed without event, and without payment - the campsite didn't officially open until July! But we snuck in and pitched up close to the ocean, with the sound of the waves in our ears as we polished off a decent bottle of Bordeaux and a plate of pasta. So far, so good...

Monday 16th: day one. A morning of last-minute admin and shopping and we set off into the midday sun. Quite frankly, it was horrid. Our packs weighed 20kg each, the dusty track seemed to go on forever, teetering up into the foothills of that foreboding mountain chain. Things started to rub, feet throbbed, heads dizzy with the heat. Up and up. There was no down - not one little bit. By three o'clock we stopped talking, both silently questioning why on earth we had come on this silly walk. By five we had already resorted to the emergency energy gels to get us to the end of our 25km day. The silver lining came eventually in the form of a cottagy gite (basic self-catering lodge) where some kind soul had left behind a meal of chilli and pasta for hungry walkers. We ate and collapsed into beds. Only 47 more days to go.

Day two was similarly arduous. I wish I could say we rose to the challenge but actually we just put our heads down and walked. It was another hot, tough day - 25°C, 22km and those ridiculous 20kg packs. One of our petrol canisters exploded which was quite exciting. Apart from, that it was just blooming hot.

On day three we finally found our feet. Donning packs at 7am, they didn't feel quite so cumbersome. As we walked down through the pretty French village of Ainhoa in the early morning sunshine, we started to look up from the pavement and notice things: wildflowers growing in the hedgerow, a cemetary set on the hillside with brilliant white headstones, scruffy mountain ponies with tiny foals, golden eagles circling overhead and the coppery tinkle of cowbells.

Our day three route left behind the bussle of coastal villages and took us 21km up and along a beautiful ridge. We stopped halfway at a tiny farm selling homemade cheese and pate, cold beer and strong coffee. And after lunch, we hid those heavy packs in a bush and scaled one of the peaks to check out the panorama. From the top of Iguzki on the 18th May, two years after Matt died, we scattered some of his ashes into the wind to mark the beginning of our journey.

Today, day four, set a much brighter tone despite the fat droplets of rain that greeted us at dawn. We swiftly revised the route to avoid two high and cloud-engulfed summits, plumping instead for a lengthy routemarch through a string of pretty villages along a valley floor. We are now a full day ahead of the planned itinerary, having arrived in St Jean Pied de Port in time for copious amounts of ice cream and general re-provisioning. Here, the GR10 intersects with the famous Santiago de Compostella pilgrim trail, so the place is well geared up for trekkers. If my randonnee ramblings leave you chomping at the bit, there's a brand new film called The Way - it's all about a father undertaking a memorial walk through the Pyrenees. Funnily enough, it starts right here in St Jean Pied de Pont. Check it out here: http://www.theway-themovie.com/ - it might just give you a flavour of trail life on Matt's March.

Meanwhile, I'm going to try and upload a few photos for you all. And Mum might even tell you a bit about her own solo mission to Skye this week, to mark the second anniversary of Matt's death.

Until the next time mes amies...

Sarah and Rick

Rugby triumph - well done Hackney RFC

Wow what a brilliant day we had!

The 2nd Matt Elliott Memorial Cup was very well attended and everyone threw themselves into the matches - starting out with the newly formes Gladies - ladies teams not to be argued with. Look out boys!

Despite the rock hard pitch, delivering many scrapes, scratches cuts and bruises, the play was entertaining and riveting to watch.

Well done all the lads and lasses who played, and also to the gangs of supporters cheering from the sidelines. Lovely to see all the new little people too - quite a creche we've got there. ?Maybe soon enough for a toddlers team at this rate!

It was lovely to move on to the Marina bar later, and HUGE thanks to Roy and his team for putting on such a lovely supper - perfect.

Thank you Hackney for a memorable day

Will let you know what funds were raised once I hear from the club ...... meanwhile, the travellers are on their way (having JUST caught their flight by the skin of their teeth!) and have settled into their first campsite - Walking starts tomorrow, so will wait for news and keep you posted.

x Sue