Puig Carlit 2921m

Puig Carlit is one of the 37 most prominent peaks of France, it has a prominence of 1001m.
I'd finally got used to these unclear French paths and was not getting lost as often. Didn't matter anyway because id got a new GPS app which shows the paths. It even has a feature where it beeps if you go the wrong way. But i turn that off because it will be beeping every time i go to climb a cool rock.

The weather was supposed to be clear today but it was pretty cloudy. Really windy as well.

Nearly got blown off a ledge taking this photo.

I don't know if its always windy down here but in the Alps there was almost no wind at all.
There wasn't much snow in the car park so i thought id be able to get far up. Walking up the mountain, there was gradually more and more snow. I still thought id be able to get to the top.

I walked through sparsely dotted conifers and several large ponds which were partially frozen. Then there was this really steep snow covered slope, didn't even think for a second that would be the way up. But it was. By the amount of foot prints and ski marks, Looked like plenty of people had gone up there aswell. I was a few hundred metres from.the top. It was still very early in the day and the snow was still frozen solid so there was no chance of me climbing up.

The way up is that strip of snow in the middle.

There was a couple behind me so i stopped for something to eat, to let them over take me and see what they did. They had the same idea :/ They were waving their ice axes at me. Not sure if they were mocking my inadequate gear or warning me. People always appear really shocked when they see some guy wandering through a glacier in falling apart trainers and £1 Chinese sunglasses. When they are kitted to the teeth with all special gear and donkeys and that.
You don't need expensive equipment to do this. An ice axe would have helped a lot but i probably could have whittled something up if id had the time.

If you sit down for too long, you get a dead leg.

So i wandered off to see if i could find another way up. I started crawling up a rocky scree slope. It was pretty difficult cos every step up, i just slid down and i thought the effort wasn't worth no chance of getting to the top.
Wasn't that bothered because im used to being stopped by snow now. I'm jus gonna have to come back in July next year.
On the way back some woman asked if id seen her dog. I knew what she said and how to reply but i still asked if she knew English. She knew a bit but didn't know the word for brown. It had ran past me not long ago, was stoppin for no one.

Route á Puig Carlit

I was gonna stop at a hyper Carrefour on the way, which is like a big Asda. I took me to this small old town which was weird cos they are usually on the edge of big towns.
I couldn't park anywhere near it because this town was really old and it had really narrow alleyways which i didn't want to drive down. This town was so old, some of the houses were made from stones.

A lot of houses were for sale because i think no one wants to live there. I couldn't believe places like this still existed. I was expecting to see horses and carts goin down the road.
There was no Carrefour here either. Another one of those weird google maps errors.
I went to Netto instead. It was a lot cheaper than the big chains, don't know why i never went here before. They sell fuel sometimes aswell. Also beef and baked beans in a tin! How did Netto fail in the UK playing cards like this?! Probably because it tasted like crap. I had cleaned my pan yesterday aswell so the taste can't be blamed on week old Bourginion.

Id only jus got used to the warm nights now its back into the mountains. My old friend the steep and winding road. Probably the only thing i hate about driving in France. You are in 2nd or 3rd, constantly turning. Its barely straight for a few seconds and this could last for a hour. There are hardly any barriers at the side of the road and its only down hill from there. The road its always really smooth though. There is nothing comparable to this in the UK.
I turned off the main road and took the road up to the first car park. One of the differences between UK mountains is, the road to the mountain car park, only goes to the mountain car park and it could take an hour to get there. When you leave, you have to go all the way back down the same road before you can go anywhere else.
When i got to the first car park, the barrier was open! This usually indicates there is less snow. It also means i can drive to the second car park, taking two hours off my walking time! The road up was perfectly smooth as well unlike the usual jagged stream bed.
I hardly saw any snow on the way but but a bit at the top car park.

There was a resivoir at the car park.

Went for a wander round. I saw this pool in a creek. It looked like there was a dead frog at the bottom but then i realised it was just a pile of sticks. Then i realised it was actually a knot of toads. I fished it out. There were three males latched onto a female. Who was well dead. Felt like she'd been dead a while. 

That one guy at the end holding onto her leg is hilarious.

Lac Du Salagou

I went to a lake called Lac du Salagou for a couple days just to have a break on what is already a holiday. Also to wash my self and clothes because sometimes even i think i stink.

Continuing my streak of luck, the weather said it was gonna be raining for two days. Which i didn't. I got everything done anyway. The lake was pretty mingin actually. There was a lot of fuel floating in it from the motorboats of people going fishing. Seen some cacti here as well. When you start seeing wild cacti, you know you're far south. The only place i've ever seen wild cacti before is Australia and there was a cow eating it. They say goats eat anything but id like to see a goat eat a cactus. I'm going to the Pyrénées now so the next wash will be a chilly one. Also seen a really cool sunrise over the lake.

Saint Guilheim Le Désert

Today i thought i was going to a medieval village with 300m of underground tunnels. Charged my head torch ready. When i got to the car park it said you had to pay. This is the first paying car park i've seen in France. They seem to be as rare as a free British car park. I didn't have any coins for a ticket, so just put a biscuit wrapper on the dashboard and hoped the ticket guy would think it's a ticket.
The map was very unclear of where to go. It was only a short walk. Whoever made the map could have zoomed in and drew the route clearly, but instead they'd just left the map the same size and drawn a tiny squiggle. I set off the way i thought it was, my old friend, the steep and rocky path up the side of a mountain.
After about an hour of walking i was seeing no sign of medieval village so i read the directions. Turns out the village was in the town at the bottom of the hill and there were no underground tunnels. The village was also still in use with shops n that. Should probably start reading these directions more often.
I climbed on the rocks for a bit then went back down to my car. The ticket guy wasn't as easily fooled as i had hoped and id got a fine. Fortunately I'm not going to pay it.
Then i went to a toilet to fill up my water bottle with what looked like a water fountain or weird sink. Then i realised it was a urinal, with for some reason, a tap on it. Can't have good days every day. 

Grotte De Valaurie

I remember one day i seen a sign that said cave so i followed it and it lead to a place that sells wine.
I have since discovered that 'grotte' actually means cave.
Here is a grotte i went to.

The photos are pretty bad because my head torch affected the flash and i didn't realise till id left.
There were some pretty cool formations. It was actually really, really hot in here. Like a sauna.
In one part there was a shrine of little clay sculptures.

This is a bat. Or rhinolophe if you wanna be French.

Bois de Paiolive

For the second walk i'd parked in a Church car park which was on a slope so i can't sleep here. Honestly try and sleep on a slope. It's not comfortable.
The first part of the walk was through another small old village. There was this sign above a door saying something about ancient communal pain.

 It was actually an old bread oven but i liked the idea of the whole village getting together and beating each other with sticks.

I left the village and walked up a rocky path up the side of the valley. Actually got lost here but this was the only time.
There were even more limestone cliffs and geological escarpments. Seen my first person.
There was this cool, seemingly abandoned building. it had a locked gate and walls round it. I was thinking about going in but i could hear voices.

I continued the path and i met a group of people whose language i didn't recognise. They didn't speak English or much French. We struggled to communicate in French for a bit before giving up. They just wanted to know the way. I'm sorry buddy, can't help ya. Might get a multilingual t-shirt with that on.
I explored the cliffs a bit more but kept bumping into people. Usually families with kids. I think it must be Spring holidays or something.
I accidentally ran out some bushes and scared an Asian kid and their parents. Then the path went down a really narrow, rocky ravine and they were moving really slowly in front of me. I thanked them for letting me past. Then i saw these cool rocks to climb but thought, if i climb them, i'm gonna have to squeeze past them nervous Asians again. So i had to leave it.
Then i saw this cool cave. Oh come oonn?! It looked difficult to get down. By the time i would be out, they would have over taken me again. I thought i'd come back later with a rope and head torch.

I carried on the path which was getting narrower and more rocky. The forest was dense. There were large rocky outcrops all over the place, some so tall, they were breaking through the canopy. Some of  which i couldn't resist climbing. Actually quite a lot. This walk was supposed to be 3 hours but took more like 5.

Eventually the path lead to a cliff, overlooking a huge canyon with a river going down it. The path lead down along the edge of this cliff. This part was really busy as well. There were large groups of people sitting around, blocking the path. I was jus jumping over them like some kind of obstacle course. What are you doing?! This is a walk, not a sit!

The path lead back into the dense forest with all the limestone structures. Sometimes leading to large limestone pavements. I've never been to somewhere as interesting at this before. Did a lot more climbing. There were also more caves here and there. None of them lead to anywhere. Sometimes they had a nappy at the end.

There was a nappy at the bottom of this one.

View from inside a grike.
I didn't fall in. It was a careful and controlled descent.

I kept passing groups of people that i'd seen earlier in the day. I couldn't understand how. I was going round in a large loop but there were multiple ways to go.
On the way back to me van, i'd left the forest and was walking down a road. This old man came up to me and started talking. I said i was English. He didn't care. I think he was telling me about a drinking fountain. I hope he was cos i hadn't brought my bag cos it was only supposed to be a 3 hour walk. Turns out there was a fountain but i was only 20 mins from my van anyway.

I got back to me van and drove to the next walk! Think it was about 16:30 now and i'd been walking since 08:30.
I drove literally just down the road 5 mins. I don't know why the Visorando map didn't say park here instead.
But now i had to walk back to that cave which was at least an hour from here. I went a different way which i was hoping would be quicker.

Saw a toad.

When i got to the cave, my rope wasn't long enough. Fine waste of time and energy that was.
So i went back to me van.
The next walk was right by where i'd parked, a small loop through the limestone forest. Kinda rushed it cause i was tired and it was getting dark. There were even more cool limestone structures and more densely concentrated.

This bit reminds me of the Aztec level on Time Splitters

There were many limestone pavements like this. You can see them from Google satellite view.

Big grike on that one.  

Near the end was a big cave. There was a sign saying don't go in. But there wasn't anything in there. Not even a nappy.

Cascade de Baumicou

I went on three walks today because one was only down the road and two were right next to each other.
The first one was Cascade de Baumicou. It was in a small old village in a hilly or small mountainous area. Actually saw a snail for the first time. I've spent 3 months here over the last year and never saw a snail. Wonder why.

I came to this bit that was like a large limestone pavement. Some parts looked almost like concrete. There were no grikes like you'd usually find but there were these weird lumps.

It eventually lead to the edge of a cliff.  Might not even be me of course, because i'm not sticking my arms out. That's the only way to be sure.

There's me standing on the edge contemplating the futility of my existence.

The path lead down a valley to Cascade de Baumicou. It rained pretty heavily last night and i was expecting it to be a bit more Baumin than that but oh well.

You can't see my face but this ones clearly me.