Transpyrenean in 24 days by Pau Calado

The goal of the adventure

The aim of this adventure was to complete the Transpirenaica mainly via the GR 11, alone, with as much autonomy as possible and in less than 30 days.

GR11, a dream

I had dreamed of doing the GR 11 for a long time. In fact, on my first 6-day route through the Pyrenees it was already clear that one day I would do it. For me, it was an almost impossible challenge and I saw it very far away, but one day I would manage to do it.

Little by little, I went up in level, I took the mountain more seriously each time and finally, after several routes and feeling very prepared and confident, I set out to do the Transpirenaican dream.

Els Encantats, Aiguestortes

Why autonomy?

By doing it with as much autonomy as possible I mean not using comforts as safe havens. I only refilled food in certain towns, and at most I spent the night in some free shelters, cabins or tents. This involves being self-sufficient with all electronics, overnight accommodation, and having everything very well planned. It’s a lifestyle that connects much more with nature, you feel much more vulnerable and experience adventure with a different intensity.

Even if it doesn’t seem like it at first, there is a big difference between simply spending even one night with a little more comfort or continuing with autonomy. When several days of very bad weather came together, all the clothes were soaked, one day with more hunger due to miscalculating the food portions, the batteries ran out because they couldn’t charge with sunlight… mentally it was very hard.

The weather did not make it easy

With the weather thing I had an impressive aim, if I had wanted to do it on purpose I wouldn’t have succeeded as much. I exactly started walking on Monday 29 May in Cabo Higuer. There were few days when I didn’t have to use the raincoat. Many days in a row of bad weather, very intense rains, storms, a lot of wind and a bit of darkness.

This variable makes it the hardest adventure I’ve done so far

I am very happy for all the experience I have gained. It’s been a way for me to face really uncomfortable situations head on and get out of my comfort zone.

My used shoes

In this adventure I was going to travel many kilometers. From the Cantabrian Sea to the Mediterranean, crossing all over the Pyrenees, passing several passes of more than 2700m, with parts of hard snow, some more technical terrains, quarries, trails, tracks and very uncertain weather.

My choice was the Bestard Alp FF, semi-rigid boots that I had already tried on other adventures and important routes such as “Berga – Pica d’Estats en winter” and I was very happy, so I decided to bet on them. On this occasion, it is true that they were quite hard for the first and last sections of the Transpirenaica. Many kilometers on simple terrain (tracks, road…).

But when going uphill, entering high mountains, they performed as I expected with this versatility that I like so much. They especially went very well for the snowdrifts, terrains with hard snow, and in the more broken and technical areas.

If I were to do it over again in the same way, without having so many areas with snow, I would definitely choose the Bestard FF. A similar but much more flexible model that will be appreciated for all those simpler terrains.

In the following link you can follow the series of chapters that Pau has made on YouTube: Click Here

Pau Calado