Friday 10 July - Le Betit & Lac d'Isade

Last time here in early June, we had set out to walk Le Betit trail but the weather intervened and we had to abandon our attempt. This time the weather was favourable so we unhooked the van and drove the 5 miles up the valley before starting what we knew would be a strenuous climb of approaching 4,000 ft. The trail was unremittingly upwards, initially on a pretty good track then on steep, broken ground through beech and pine woods where the effort required tested us both. Steady progress was made until we came out into more open mountainside, hellishly steep with scree on one side and rocks, scrub, dwarf azaleas and mountain ash elsewhere. Looking up, it wasn't possible to see the route but we had a large scale map which gave us a clear idea of what to look for. Also, there were reasonably well placed small cairns of rocks to assure us that we were on track. The going got even tougher with M1 needing more and more frequent pauses for breath while pretending to admire the view. M2 was a strong climber and tolerated the slower progress of his (older!) partner. The GPS set told us our height as we climbed so we always knew what we still had to do but in the end the mountain was kind to us on the final stretch which was a relatively flat section to the lakeside and there we were! 1952m at Lac d'Isade, the most beautiful, copybook tarn (corrie, cwm or cirque from school days). Geographically and visually the lake was stunning and worth every bit of the effort to reach it in just under 3 hours of steady climbing. Marvellous!

We lunched next to the perfect blue water, marvelling that there were fish rising, before setting down which was hard on toes and knees but easier than perhaps we thought. We had, though, a better view of the surrounding scenery than on the way up. Reuniting ourselves with the van two hours later, a cold beer was the first priority and much enjoyed too. We had little energy to devote to cooking an evening meal so we went again into Laruns. No animal progression this time but the ladies version of 'Transhumusicales' Basque songs. Overall, we were so pleased that chance had brought us back to witness this moving community event and cap it with such a satisfying and rewarding climb. We are very lucky.