Hikingdan Successfully Crosses the Pyrenees!

The Pyrenees Mountains are Sunning!

2 Days of Crossing Over the Pyrenees is Done:

Day 1:

Thank you very much to all for your well wishes on my journey over the mountains to start my hike of El Camino de Santiago. I am pleased to say that at the end of a couple of days, we successfully made it over the Pyrenees mountains and into the town of Roncesvalles!

Easy would not be a word I would use to describe this crossing. I would choose to use words more like spectacular, challenging, rewarding, and inspirational.

My back has been great! I will keep my fingers crossed that it remains that way! I have shipped my larger backpack ahead each day to where I stay that night. I have gone with carrying my daypack filled with “just the basics” for the hike over the top of the mountain.

Let me explain what “just the basics” means.

This is a 40 day trip. I only brought 3 shirts, 2 pairs of shorts (they can zip into long pants), and 3 pairs of underwear for all 40 days! The basics required lots of hand-washing as for the 2 day climb, I carried very little in my day pack LOL! There is nothing glamorous about this trip!

As I said earlier, I traded 1600 thread count Egyptian Cotton Sheets for a simple silk sleeping bag liner and sheets (if provided) made of “some sort of material” with a minimal thread count! Lol!
Oh If my friends could see me now!

Please Note:
ALL PHOTOS OF ME ARE WITHOUT ANY HAIR PRODUCT – too much weight to carry on a hiking trip!

It was amazing to re- unite with my Australian friends before leaving Saint Jean Pied de Port! The other Aussie friends met us at the hotel 1/3 way up the mountain where we stayed overnight! I love these folks! We laughed non stop and encouraged each other to keep going!

It was a muddy, wet, damp, and very foggy climb! It’s the weather I absolutely HATE hiking in! The vistas were still beautiful!

I will be honest and admit that when I did this climb two years ago, it was sunny and clear and the vistas and the views were spectacular. I thought I’ve never see anything so beautiful again in my life.
I was NOT happy this morning when we heard it was going to be thunderstorms, rain, and fog. I hate getting wet when I’m hiking and I hate not being able to take photographs. I chose to do this crossing because I wanted to see stunning scenery.

You have no idea of the extreme beauty that can still be found with clouds and mist and foggy days while hiking. The Pyrenees Mountains looked completely different than they did two years ago. I have to honestly admit that they were as equally as beautiful as before. I feel very fortunate that I got to experience the Pyrenees mountains in two different very sets of weather conditions

Pics From Day 1 of the Climb

Day 2:

I was quite concerned when we approached our hostel partway up the mountain at the end of day 1, to spend the night that we were going to have endure the same conditions for the 2nd day.

I HATE hiking in rain and wet conditions, but I was happy to wake up to sunny skies! Today’s 18Km Crossing was going to great with great views!

It room 4.5 hours, but we did it. We only had hill climbs and high winds to deal with!

Hikingdan is back on the grid and happy to have completed this leg of the journey!

It’s tough, but the scenery is just too spectacular not to hike this part of the Camino!

My back is sore, but it’s manageable and I consider the crossing a success! I will take care of my back and be ready to go for tomorrow?

Enjoy the photos from Day 2: