GR10 ten-day family hike: Arette Pierre St Martin - Lac de Bious Artigues
In our blog post, “Our holiday gift list for outdoor lovers", we reviewed the hiking equipment we use. Then, in “Food preparations for hiking the GR10 in the Pyrénées”, we went over the food we had during our 10-day hiking trip on the GR10 in the Pyrenees with our French side of the family. This time, we are writing about the route and our experience.
We’ll also include links to maps and the various campsites and inns we visited if you want to experience it yourself. Since we were going as a family, we didn’t hike particularly quickly and made more stops than usual.
From Brittany to the Pyrenees
We drove from Brittany to a campsite in Arette, which was helpfully called Camping Arette. The trip, including breaks, took about nine hours, so we left early and arrived by 6 p.m. The campsite was clean, and there were a few places to eat within walking distance in the village. We stayed there for a night and then headed to the starting point of our hiking trip.
The route
Arette Pierre St Matin
We started from Arette Pierre St Martin, where we parked at the ski resort's parking lot. We then walked along the GR 10 on a nature path with many wild alpine flowers and found some nice spots to pitch our tents. The best place we stayed was along a small river. There, we could wash ourselves with the natural soap we brought and get some water to drink using our UltraPress bottles (see our water section in the hiking food article for more details).
Lescun
On day three, we reached Lescun. We had to climb many steep hills in the heat, so we were all tired and thirsty. There, we stopped at a cafe/small shop for some cold beer and enjoyed the local produce they were selling. So, we indulged in some local crisps, cheese, and ham to make sandwiches. Then, we had a few local(!) ice creams made from cow and sheep milk to compare the taste. We stayed at a campsite near the village for two nights to help the parents recover.
Go over the mountain to reach the next village
After we left Lescun, we headed to the next village, Borce. However, the afternoon weather was stormy, and we had to climb a mountain to reach it. Luckily, we noticed a Campsite on the map, so we stopped and spent the stormy night there.
My parents-in-law gave up on the climb the following day and took a taxi to Borce with some of our camping equipment. Although this was unfortunate, as we wouldn’t do the climb together, it was also very helpful since we didn’t need to carry much stuff to climb the mountain. We walked about 11km in 4 hours and reached Borce towards the end of the afternoon.
Borce
Borce is a small village with few shops and restaurants. We stayed in a dormitory hotel called Auberge de l’Ours, right behind the shop and creperie. The town was pretty, and we could go for a nice relaxing walk. There was a small shop with some handcrafted items from local artists. So it’s the perfect place to buy some souvenirs.
Etsaut
We stayed in this village when we arrived at Borce because no room was available at Auberge de l’Ours. Etsaut is only 1.1km from Borce and has few restaurants and cafes. We stayed at Gite Auberge La Garbure, which serves breakfast and dinner. If you book dinner, they will tell you when dinner starts since they cook for the entire inn, and there’s only one service. They serve some large plates with delicious food, and you share them with the people around you. It is like a big party where you talk with other people sitting at the same table about your hiking trip, which is fun. During dinner, they’ll ask you what time you plan to leave so they can get the coffee and tea ready for you. The breakfast is self-service with bread, cereals, coffee, teas, etc.
Along the path on the cliff without a barrier
We left Borce early in the morning and hiked 12 km along the mountain, climbing slowly and steadily. Some parts were narrow, with no barrier along the cliff, which scared me. (Yes, I’m a scaredy cat.) We could see a family that had hired donkeys to carry their bags.
We did well in the warm weather and found a nice spot to camp along a small river. Although the water was freezing, it was perfect after a long walk in warm weather. We could also see a group of wild horses on the other side of the river.
Col d’Ayous (Alt. 2180m) and the D’Ayous Lakes (Lacs d’Ayous)
On the next day, we did about 4km of continuous climb to Col d’Ayous, enjoyed the view while resting, and then headed to Refuge Ayous to see the lakes (Lac Gentau, Lac du Miey and Lac Roumassot) and to rest a little. We’re doing the GR10, but these lakes are an excellent day-hike option.
After the lakes, we walked down another 2.2km and found a place to pitch our tents. It was a quiet spot just off the path, and then, after we finished putting our tents together, we saw over fifteen cows coming out of the forest. It seems like this exact field was one of their grazing places. We sat there quietly, and then, after they enjoyed their dinner, they headed to their next stop.
The last day of hiking: to Lake Bious Artigues (Lac de Bious Artigues)
The next morning, we walked 2.8km to Lac de Bious Artigue. It was quite relaxing and short, and the path was well-maintained when we got closer to the lake. We called a taxi from there to go back to our starting point. We had to wait for a few hours, but thankfully, a small cafe served crepes (again!) next to the parking, so we enjoyed their galette and crepe with Spanish cidre.
Once in Arette, we drove back to the first campsite since we had a great time there.
The food!
The most important thing about going somewhere different is the local food! Southwest France is famous for wine (near Bordeaux), chorizo (near Spain), and foie gras.
What surprised us the most during this time was how juicy the vegetables were. We bought a few local vegetables from the small shop in Lescun to cook at the Lauzart campsite, and so much juice came out when I sliced a tomato! My portable hiking knife was extremely sharp, but the juice still came out as if I had squeezed it. I cooked the tomato with other vegetables like mushrooms and courgette and didn’t need to add water to it. Regardless, it came out like ratatouille. It was delicious!
Chorizo
On our way back to Estaut, we found a butcher parked with their van in Borce. We couldn’t buy any fresh meat to bring with us, but we bought some saucisson and chorizo. The chorizo was the best we’ve ever had! We should have bought some more to bring back with us.
Fromage de Brebis (Ewe cheese)
We usually go for cheese made from either cow or goat milk, but this is my new favourite now!
We bought a regular one and another with a layer of Piment d’Espelette in the middle, and both were so tasty. Since then, if I see Brebis cheese, I always want to give it a try.
Since the Pyrenees region is famous for Brebis cheese, such as Ossau-Iraty (rated best French cheese at the World Cheese Awards 2024), we often saw Brebis cheese featuring prominently in the shops next to the usual cow’s milk cheese or even the version where the two are mixed to make a milder taste.
Cherry confiture with Piment d’Espelette
This cherry confiture was sold in the cheese shop and was a great companion for the Brebis cheese. It is a cherry confiture with well-balanced sweetness and sourness, plus the slight spiciness from Piment d’Espelette.
Piment d’Espelette
This spice is a classic souvenir from the Pyrenees area. We saw many products containing this chilli, including the cheese and confiture mentioned above.
Saucisson made with pork liver
I had never tried this saucisson made with pork liver, and it’s my new favourite!
Closing words
Overall, the hike was relatively easy since it was a family trip, so we planned for plenty of time to rest. The weather was fantastic, and we could enjoy nature and local produce. If you are a hiker looking for a trail for a summer holiday, GR10 in the Pyrenees is at the top of our list since you can make it as hard or as easy as you want!
We listed our camping equipment in our Christmas gift ideas article, so we hope this will help you prepare for a long hike.
We are currently preparing for a long hike along Nakasendo, a historical trail in Japan. The road is 534 km long between Tokyo (Edo) and Kyoto. We are going to start in Kyoto and pass through seven different prefectures. We are also very excited to see those prefectures and enjoy their local food!
We will post some blog articles about our Nakasendo hiking experience, so keep an eye on our Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook pages. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter as well, where we’ll post about the progress and delicious local delicacies from different areas throughout Nakasendo!