Day 3: Chapelle de l'Aubépine to Bidarray

My very smart smart watch reported a good 8 hours sleep, but I awoke feeling less than healthy due to lack of food and the distance done in heatwave heat with 'Megapack'. To continue slimming down, I availed myself of an inflatable seat matt in the Chapelle bin. I have no earthly idea why I added in that 'just in case' item?! I thought that should save me another WHOLE 100 grams?! I was very eager to get to Ferme Esteben and that so much much needed food. So I broke camp quickly, with no big ablutions due to lack of anything going into my system! From the Col where the Chapelle is, the GR10 cut across and around the slopes of Errebi (583m), climbed over the Col de Trois-Croix (513m), and contoured the slopes of Atxulegi (616m). The paths passed through lots of fern covered ground, with trees dotted about. Very green, and really pleasant. There was another climb to Col Zuharreteaco (566m) where I had to down pack and sit against it for a bit. Early morning temperature was nice, and with this and my impaired mental state, I'd forgotten about a heatwave and had my thoughts centred on how long until Ferme Esteben! I reckoned I was an hour away, an hour from fixing my huge calorie deficit issue and deteriorating health!

The next section of walking traversed the slopes of Mont Bizkayluze (702m) and Gorospil (691m), along narrow paths weaving in and out of gullies. Scenery was really attractive with great views across to Atrzamendi (926m) and Iguzki (843m). These two seemingly imposing hills made a Col between which I would pass later on in the day. After about an hour on this traverse, the buildings of Ferme Esteben came into sight. Upon arrival however, a big gut wrenching however, it was shut as a gite-restaurant!! Oh sh#t! Was it the pandemic that had made it close? I'd heard they were awful hosts so maybe that precipitated it's closure? It mattered not one bit to me as I had a long way to go today, with significant ascent, and then the steepest descent on the GR10! The heatwave heat was burning by now and my calorie deficit had become ridiculous! I didn't, or probably couldn't, stop long to gather my thoughts. I made myself switch my mind to the fact I just had to get what was ahead of me done, and I had to stop thinking about plates of beautiful food!!

The climb to Col de Metaché between Atrzamendi (926m) and Iguzki (843m) was arduous. It was proper step by step stuff. In normal circumstances it probably would have been difficult as my body was acclimatising to trekking mountains everyday, but it was so glaringly apparent that carrying twice the weight you should really be carrying, on no food, in a heatwave causes additional problems! There were several lengthy rests laid against 'Megapack' to maintain an upright position. These stops were not by choice now, it was simply a case of climbing until the body drops, recover, and repeat! With enough repeats the steep narrow path joined a steep mountain road!  This levelled off and I eventually reached the Col de Metaché (716m)! I felt sheer relief, and the views were magnificent! On the way up the road I'd had one 'vomit rejection of water' - literally all the water I put in just came back up without any seeming to go into my system! This was worrying in the relentless heatwave heat.

I decided not to hang around on the Col, not for the lack of views and the desire to rest, but more for the fear of not being able to compete the day if I did stop! There was no shade, and additionally I had no realistic idea of how long it would take me to get to Bidarry and the oasis of a shop! The trail descended very gently from the Col on a grassy wide ridge before arriving at the steep descent mentioned previously. Upon looking over the edge, the description of it being the steepest on the GR10 seemed accurate! There were really breathtaking views down the jagged ravine, and I was so wishing I felt well enough to fully appreciate it, and where I was in general! Without too much pause, I lugged 'Megapack' onto the narrow path and headed down, through jagged rocks smoothed slightly by the passage of many many walking shoes! Even in my ever decreasing state of health I was marvelling at the cliffs looming ever higher with each big step down. I saw more of the birds that I was presuming were Eagles, but as I watched them spiralling on the updraughts, my thoughts turned more to them being Vultures! Surely this was not an omen for me?! By this point the straps on this crap #OLPRO bag were seriously near failure. The stitching on the attachment straps on one side and the actual strap on the other were definitely not going to hold for long. If they'd ripped on that descent I was probably finished! Thankfully they held, and after a couple more vomit water rejections, and a 5 minute break on back staring up at circling Vultures, I made it down the impressive descent to the Bastan River. Two young ladies that I'd met en route a couple of times were going for a dip and suggested I should enjoy one too. Through the developing shakiness and feeling of utter weakness, I gave a fake healthy nod and a smile! However, after waiting for them to climb down to the river, I had a probably by now sunstroke/heat exhaustion/no food/'Megapack' induced vomit before I gingerly climbed down to dip my feet and douse my head with the cold water!

What was hopefully going to be the final section into Bidarray was the small mountain road in the valley of the Torrent le Bastan. The undulations of this quiet road would just have been that under normal circumstances, but by now I was in a very bad way with most probably severe heat exhaustion/stoke, combined with no food, combined with miles and miles of GR10 ascent and descent! In addition the straps of 'Megapack' were both now officially and fully on the way to completely snapping, that conclusion was imminent! This was making it extremely difficult to carry, let alone carry the now much sworn at ridiculously heavy weight. I couldn't manage more than half a km at a time before I had to collapse on 'Megapack' and sometimes have a dry retch session as there was no water going in by now, I literally couldn't stomach it. Normal breathing was absent by now, I seemed to only be able to pant like a hot dog and I felt sort of hot but chilly as well, which in the heatwave seemed ludicrous! [Addendum - With hindsight I am able to appreciate the level of mental and physical effort/ability this took! I'm stupid to not ever ask for help, I know this about myself, but I also know I am resilient to the point of collapse! So I'm sort of proud, but also must learn that it's OK to be vulnerable and ask for help! It astonishes me that with the people I passed in both directions I never once explained my situation and asked if they had just a few calories to spare! Learn Craig!] After what seemed like never ending half km efforts, the road crossed the river and, to my horror, the GR10 took a right up a steep, narrow, wooded climb. That was it, I was done! There was no way I could manage it, my body was giving up on the relatively flat road, so this climb with 'Megapack' was out of the question entirely! As I looked forlornly up the track, considering just laying down in this spot, a man who I'd seen exploring the river basin walked by. Cordial hellos and I just did something I seem absolutely awful at doing ... I asked for help in terms of a lift into Bidarray! Thank my lucky stars this was not a problem, and when he noticed me struggling to even walk the 500m to his car (uphill of course!), he very kindly offered to bring the car to me! We chatted a bit, he does canyoning and was exploring options in the valley. I mentioned I needed the campsite 2kms out of town, and again very kindly he took me there ... a Saint in my eyes! I tried to keep chatting on the way but I was feeling distinctly weird, and I knew I was at the end of whatever strength I had to even concentrate on thinking! The final challenge was to book two nights camping with the lady at the campsite, desperately trying not to pass out whilst I stood talking and paying! My last being was used up on hauling 'Megapack' it's final metres to a nice bit of lawn next to a lovely section of river. That was it, I'd made it! But I wasn't out of the woods yet. When the lady left and was out of sight I collapsed, and the only thing I could do was sleep. It was a weird sleep where dropping off felt worrying so I would start awake, but then all I wanted was to sleep! The grass was so unbelievably comfortable, and the sounds of the river were comforting to me. I just laid still and drifted in and out of consciousness.

I must have dozed for about an hour before I had enough strength to sit up and try to hydrate. I gradually sipped on a litre of water whilst slowly putting up my tent, still trying to look completely normal! The last task for survival was to attempt the 2km walk to the small town of Bidarray, and to the saviour which would be the shop! I had to start getting nutrition into myself. I set off very slowly, the heat was oppressive, and I wasn't more than 200m away from the campsite entrance before I had to double over as my stomach yet again just rejected the hydration I was trying to achieve! I noticed the campsite lady was driving down the lane in her van back to the campsite. I just hoped she wasn't close enough to see my suffering, I convinced myself that maybe she just thought I was looking at something on the ground! Cordial smiles were exchanged and I resumed the slow trudge. Such a simple flat level walk along a road with no pack seemed unbelievably taxing now. Arriving into Bidarray I discovered it is on two levels, the lower village by the railway line and river, and an upper level accessed by a steep hill. I quickly checked my phone in the naive hope the shop would be on the lower level, but of course it wasn't! The hill seemed never ending! I could make it about 20m at a time before sitting in a heap on the low wall to recover and sometimes retch. The last 20m I think were absolutely the last 20m I had left. The village looked lovely as I sought out the shop, I smiled at the two swimming ladies who were checking out Bidarray and finally, oh so finally, I was looking at the inside of a lovely little shop! It was heaven, but I tried to shop sensibly rather than with my delirious mind. After making my purchases with shaky hands, I made it two steps outside, sat on a sort of little wall and slowly drank a beautifully cold bottle of full sugar Coca Cola! I don't really drink the stuff, but this drink had been on my mind for ages! Then followed a little cheese sandwich, an apple, and a litre of ice cold water. I let this settle without moving for about half an hour, and just people watched. It was my first food for a day and a half with all those 'Megapack' heatwave kilometres, and the accompanying ascent and descent! I knew I was suffering heatstroke or exhaustion, I wasn't sure of the difference, but as the calories got into my system I felt enough strength come back to contemplate the return 2kms to the campsite! Before setting off though, I needed something else to get down that hill ... ice cream! It had to be a heavenly Almond Magnum, mmmmm mmmm!

So, a touch more alive, I ambled back to the campsite, far from well but on the right track. On that amble I kept thinking and laughing at the way that I'd got through the last two days in true Craig style - don't ask for help, and certainly don't give the appearance to anyone you are struggling, even when you are literally crawling up a hill on your last legs and arms whilst vomiting, to try get to a shop! However, accepting the gift of that lift had saved me, so I felt gratitude that had happened.