Tag: hiking

Be still

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After a very long journey yesterday, I had a late start this morning. I decided to warm up on the way to Morskie Oko. For those unfamiliar with Polish mountains, it is a long walk, but a very easy and accessible. Being accessible means that it’s also very busy. Waiting in a queue for the tickets to the National Park, I wondered whether it was the best choice. I wasn’t going to turn back, so I put some sun cream and sunglasses on and set off.

I was surprised how easily I could block out the chatter around me. The trail wasn’t as busy as it could be, but it wasn’t the solitude of the Pyrenees. As soon as I blocked out the human voices, I realised how still everything was. I’m used to this valley at different times of year when there is so much life and sound in nature. Today everything is SO still. The river and the streams that are a source of sound at any other time are totally frozen. Maybe with an exception of one our most famous waterfalls, but at the moment this usually roaring waterfall turned into a very quiet stream and you can hear it only for a moment. I had my headphones with music and audiobooks, but I decide to put them in my backpack. This stillness is so profound.

After stopping at the mountain hut, I decided to go up the yellow trail for a while. I intended only to go to a good spot to take a few pictures of the frozen lake and the hut itself. I didn’t have any equipment with me apart from the trekking poles. I didn’t need crampons or ice-axe for my original plan. I kept walking up thinking that in the worst-case scenario, I’d go back the same way. The conditions up to the final climb were fantastic and even that last section was doable if one knew how. I met a few people, but those places are away from the madding crowd which makes this stillness even more profound. You could hear a bird every now and then, but apart from that there was only the sound of snow crunching under your feet, your heartbeat, your breathing… None of those could spoil that sense of stillness. It’s funny, I didn’t even sing. Neither out loud or in my head. Apart from maybe two moments when the views were so stunning, that ‘O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder…’ simply sprang to my lips. It made me realise that you can well filter out any external noise if you only want to. I often thought that I needed a quiet place to achieve this. An excuse? Possibly…

Every time I allow it to happen, this sense of stillness makes me go deeper into my heart. When I do it like that, I’m at peace.

Be still…

Hear you heart…

Hear your thoughts…

See what’s there and where it will take you…

The art of subtraction

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‘Subtract all that is distracting and unnecessary until only the essential remains.’

Ali Kazal on Unsplash

If you read my previous posts, you will know that I packed pretty badly for my trip to the Pyrenees. Just before that trip I tried to reflect on things I do and carry in life in general. It wasn’t an easy process and I’m sure that it affected my real packing for the Pyrenees. I had to literally go through the content of my backpack to see what I could and was willing to leave behind then and there to make my backpack lighter. It was interesting to see what was there, what I didn’t need and was ready to leave behind, what I didn’t need, but had too much value to let it go. It was a painful, but priceless lesson.

If you ever hiked, you know that you don’t always need to take the same stuff. Your backpack will be filled with different things depending on various factors: when and where you are going, solo of with other people, how long for etc. You wouldn’t take an ice-axe and crampons in mid-summer (and below the glacier) or short and sandals in winter… Or ropes and harness if you are not going rock climbing… Or ten t-shirts for a weekend… You wouldn’t take to the mountain hut the same gear as you would need while staying in shelters… Or would you… That was my major mistake the last time. I had everything to stay in cabanas – camping stove, cooking pots, super sleeping mat etc. All totally unnecessary in the mountain huts.

There are also things that you always pack – wherever and whenever you go. Things like a light, compass and map. Some food and water, waterproofs and sun cream – just to name a few.

For years my backpacks have been generally getting smaller, but I still haven’t reached the right size. Subtracting is an art. Focusing on the essential is an art.

Working on my metaphorical backpack is more difficult. I know that I need to check its content more often.

What do you carry in yours?

What are your essentials?

What weighs you down?

What can you leave behind? Temporarily or permanently…

What weight can you share with others?

What have you forgotten?

The Pyrenees Day 6: Refuge Wallon – Lourdes

On By Mountains of Life3 Comments

It was another good night and it makes a huge difference. There is a lady at the reception who speaks decent English. She tells me that if I’m going down to the valley, the weather won’t be too bad. Be wise and guess what that means – not too bad. To start with, it’s raining, but very lightly in comparison to last night. It must have been shortly after I arrived yesterday afternoon when the heavens opened. There was a group older French walkers who stayed in Bachimaña the night before, but they came a different way and much later than me. They were absolutely soaked. Well, I definitely count my blessings!

When I was no more than a half-way down to Pont d’Espagne, the sun came out and I took off all my waterproofs. All the way through this valley is wide and gentle. When you walk up, there is nothing to prepare you for Mordor on du Marcadau, but to be fair, it was equally shocking walking from the Spanish side.

When I pass Refuge du Clot, I see the signposts for chair lift to Gaube Lake. Even before I saw it, I was considering changing the plan and walking up Valley de Gaube. When I was in the Pyrenees seven years ago, I was walking down this valley in the rain like yesterday, so I didn’t see much. When I saw that for €13, I could cut the most boring part of the valley, I didn’t think twice. I made peace with taking a taxi, so I can jump on a chair lift, too. That wouldn’t be unthinkable anyway. I looked at the map and was hoping that maybe I could get to the Refuge de Gaube (I had a really good impression of that place) and then walk over to the Valley de Lutour that would take me straight to Cauterets. I felt so good. I was carrying all the gear, but I was running like I used to when I was sixteen. I had to put suncream on, but the temperature was just perfect to warm me up before winter. Spanish and French maps are not timed and the signposts on the French side notoriously underestimate the distances, to the point that people brutally correct those timings. Even running, I didn’t have a chance to make it to Cauterets in time for the last bus. Valley de Gaube lies between two beautiful mountain ridges and takes you along a gorgeous stream and waterfalls, so technically it is a valley, but it’s not flat at all. It climbs constantly and is pretty steep at times. Vignemale in front of me looks very tempting. I could possibly cancel my meeting with Agnes tonight, but it would be madness and I’ve got a feeling that I’m just getting to the end of good weather. That’s fine. I don’t think that it’s my last trip to the Pyrenees.

I remember from my previous visit that it’s an hour walk down from Pont d’Espagne to Cauterets, so I walked up till 3 o’clock leaving myself a couple of hours to get back down to Pont d’Espagne and then an hour to the bus. I bump into Synna and Kristin on the way down and I speed up. On the last section before Pond d’Espagne I have a quick chat with a couple who lets me pass as she seems to be injured. I’m not sure, but I think that they are Irish. They offered me a lift to Argeles which is about 15 km before Lourdes. I thank them and carry on simply thinking that I would still need to get to Lourdes. However, I didn’t think straight… A few minutes later Filip phoned. As we chatted, I asked him what time it was – I was just passing that sign saying that Caurterets -1h. I had exactly an hour to catch the bus. One thing that I didn’t remember from my previous visit was that then I had plenty of time before the bus, so I stopped on the way to take photos and didn’t even look at the time. Did I say that earlier that French signposts underestimate distances? I was literally running almost for an hour, but it was no more than two thirds of the way. I knew I wasn’t going to make it and I was wondering how I would get a lift to Lourdes. Then there was a young couple in front of me. She really struggled with walking and I was going to offer her one of my trekking poles. They didn’t look prepared at all and she was terrified, but there was little encouragement or help that I could offer as they didn’t speak English at all. Through Google translate I managed to ask them where they were going from Caurterets and agreed to take me to Lourdes. After that run, this is a very slow walk, but I’m not in a hurry now. I follow them keeping some distance, so they don’t feel rushed. The half an hour in the car is a bit awkward, but take me directly to the hotel. They refused to take any money from me. God bless them abundantly!

On the mountain the Lord will provide