Transhumance and Pic du Midi

6-29-2019
DAY 11

This time of year, the region where we were staying in France has an event called Transhumance. This is an age-old tradition of moving cattle, sheep and horses by road and trek up to the high altitude pastures for the summer. The event began for my mom and me at 12:30am. At first there was a distant clanging of bells and flashing of lights and then it got louder and louder. We both got out of bed and looked out the window of our room and right next to us there was a “river” of sheep moving along the main road with people, dogs, and cars herding them. Between the noises of the sheep, the bells, the dogs, and the people, it was crazy loud. We could not believe that Maya, James, and my dad slept through it.

In the morning, we got up early and were on the road by 6:20 so that we could hit the trail before it got too hot (as the heat wave is still continuing). We were so proud of how well we did getting out early. Then, only a few minutes into the drive, we bumped into another herd of sheep being moved to the high mountain pastures along the road. 

It is quite amazing to see happen as the herd takes up the entire road while the people herding them try to get all of the rogue sheep back with the herd. While it was entertaining to watch, we could not believe how long we were stuck behind this road block. They were going to the same place we were – the mountains around Pic du Midi d’Ossau – so we followed them almost all the way to the parking lot.

Our plan was to do one of the great classics in the Pyrenees. It is in the heart of the National Park and goes around this ancient volcano that is the Pic du Midi d'Ossau. The entire loop is approximately 11 1/2 miles total, and goes through fields sprinkled with beautiful wildflowers up into breathtaking views of the surrounding peaks. 

On the hike up, parts of the trail split into four or five skinny paths. At first, we were trying to figure out what caused this - but then, we heard the now-familiar tinkling of farm animal bells coming from a herd of sheep farther up. We suspected the animals created that path when they were walking up to their open pasture.

Near 1/3 of the way through our hike, we reached a mountain hut with hopes of getting a little bit to eat and going to the bathroom. Unfortunately, we discovered that it was closed when we showed up around 10:30 in the morning. At least we were still able to fill up our water bottles from a delicious mountain spring. This cold water helped to power us up to the next col which was hot and tiring.

Near the end of our hike, we were greeted by a herd of cute sheep grazing in a high mountain meadow. The sound of the bells ringing whenever they moved was so amazing! We decided that the people who make ringtones and nature soundtracks must just come here - the gentle trickling streams, the melody of chirping birds, and the tinkling of bells. 

After we finished hiking, we drove to a supermarket in Laruns, France to stalk up on some chocolate mousse and rice pudding to nibble on during our four-hour drive. As we walked out of the air-conditioned supermarket, it was like walking into a wall of heat. On our drive later, we checked the temperature monitor on the car and it was reading over 105℉!

 As we traveled across France, many parts of the drive were surrounded by fields of grapevines on either side. As we neared Carcassonne, we had our first views of the castle, standing tall by the town. When we arrived at our hotel, the three of us kids were pretty hot and tired, with no interest of going back outside - even for dinner. In our apartment, we had a stove with cooking pots and pans, so it was decided that my parents would go out to eat while we made pasta with sauce back at the room.

As we ate our pasta, my parents took advantage of a kid-free night and found another Michelin restaurant. Looking at the pictures later, we were a little bit jealous!