During the The Great Reconnaissance Mission of 2010 we
spun down the mountains from Andorra and discovered Ax-les-Thermes peacefully
nestled along a river and boasting a number of hotels that fit our budget (for
that trip under €100/night)--not to mention a number of patisseries. Being so close to the plentitude of dog-friendly
hiking in the area it immediately made our list as a Must Return with Salt. (Note that dogs are not allowed in the French National Pyrenees Park further west.)
So we did our due diligence and visited a number of local
caravan parks, discovering one just west along N20, Le Malazeou, with a lovely,
one-mile pedestrian path along the river linking it back to Ax. (I am hoping a two-mile walk to my daily pain
au raisin may just keep me from gaining too much weight.)
This is where we find ourselves today; pitch 612 (not
that there are 600 pitches), with the river along the front door and just steps
from the satellite shower block which, it turns out, plays an important role in
our stay.
First, the practicalities: We have discovered only one campground with
full hook-ups in the area, a municipal camp, 1 kilometer or so from the town of
Merens-les-Vals, on the N20. As you
know by now, we would have chosen a full hook-up pitch over everything had we
known it existed (we didn’t find it on our prior Recon Mission), except that
you cannot walk into Ax. You can walk
into Merens, but it is decidedly not a cute town.
We have electric at our pitch and they
offer a motor vehicle waste disposal area (no hoses which we find quite odd)
the use of which would require us to hitch up Salt, drive to the top of the campground,
dump then try to turn around and bring her back down. Not an impossible chore but not an enjoyable
day out either. Luckily, just a few
kilometers up the N20 is a Carrefour with an Aires de Service area, including hoses (usually €6 per use.) So when the time does come we will pull Salt
up there and clean her out—at least turning around will be easy.
However, to minimize our trips to the dump area, we
decided to try utilizing the shower block for more than just showers. It turns out I quite enjoy doing the dishes
over there (for vegetable prep I still prefer Salt—it’s just faster.) But the dish washing area is quite the social
spot. I often learn a new French word or
two but more often get to hear the praises of Salt. She is quite a hit here, appearing, I am
sure, in many people’s pictures of their family vacation in Ax. The [very helpful and bi-lingual] office
staff mentioned that “everyone” wants to talk about Salt when they visit the
office. I think this has helped us
secure our pitch for almost a month, even when it is approaching the "Must Have
a Reservation" time in France.
But back to the fun!
We have had two incredible hikes, the scenery is even better than we imagined
it would be, although the weather (and then often the scenery) changes on a
dime. During our first hike toward Etang de Compte we had
glimpses of wildflower filled meadows leading up to icy peaks before
being rushed out of the valley by the rain.
On our second hike, our breath was taken away twice: Once when hiking above 2001 meters near the
Col de Pailheres (must get in better shape!) then again when struck by the view down to the Etang de Noir,
just moments before the clouds rolled in.
Both areas are on the list for upcoming backpacking trips. (That’s “wild camping” to my European
readers.) I recorded a short video of the overlook with the clouds rolling in but will need to locate a stronger internet connection before I can upload it.
Speaking of backpacking, we decided we had better set up
our tent as we purchased it just prior to leaving Laguna (September 2011) and
haven’t used it once. So back at camp,
we managed to get it up in record time even while constantly pushing Rosco back—he
loves a good tent nap after a long hike.
Our North Face Minibus 2 is just as cute as ever, so cute that I looked
at SP and said, “I think I’ll sleep out here tonight!” And so it happened: Our first night under different roofs in nine months. The Noses, of course,
were with me in the tent; Rosco because he would have been devastated to have
missed out and River because I didn’t trust that SP would kick her off our bed
in Salt. A dangerous precedent as we
both slept so well we might be hauling out the tent more often than not!
And so we settle into what might be our favorite spot so
far. There will be many more pictures
coming (hopefully starring some fish!) and at least one DITL hiking video.
-K
PS: We dropped
into a sports store to ask about fishing and ended up purchasing our
licenses. The already helpful man became
indispensable when he brought out his laptop and we commenced to converse via
Google Translate. (By the way, a fishing
license for me was only €30, but SP’s was €85—I guess they don’t think women will
fish as often. Or, perhaps, as
successfully.)
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