Connecting to Camino del Norte from Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port

[BrianLCrabtree]

I’m on the GR10 with one day to go to reach Irun. I underestimated how demanding and technical the GR10 is, especially between Saint-Etienne de Baigorry and Bidarray. It’s hand over hand rock climbing in places. The views are spectacular but you need to be well trained. If I had it to do again, I would take Voie Nive Bidassoa.

 

[grayland]

Congratulations on walking one of the more difficult routes.
We hear very little about it.
I think members would appreciate hearing about your adventure if you would care to share.

 

[BrianLCrabtree]

I chose the GR10 to get to Irun based on the Cicerone guide for the Podiensis. It’s a skeletal and brief discussion that doesn’t provide many details. Some of it is sheer rock faces, hoisting up with hands and legs. In a few places there is rebar drilled into rocks with cabling to hold to improve safety. I was alone, which is a mistake. Most GR10 hikers are going the other way and were all much younger than I. I took 10.5 hrs to get 18 km from Saint-Etienne to Bidarray. The views are incredible, absolutely, but you need to be very well trained and have high tolerance for precarious, knife’s edge hiking in very remote terrain. I certainly don’t mean to fearmonger, but you just need to know what you will encounter. And don’t go alone. I’m glad to get through it without injury. I have one day to go (Sare to Irun) and hoping the most technical climbing is behind me.

 

[Former member 104756]

Bon courage Brian. We looked into the same section of the GR10 a few years ago … and decided against it for the reasons you describe. Yikes . So bravo to you. I’m sure you’ll look back on it as quite the adventure.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

The title of this post is somewhat misleading. You can walk from SjdP to Irun without taking the GR 10. I did this two years ago. In the pilgrimoffice in SjdP they can give you, a rather unclear, routedescription. Sometimes I had to search a little bit, but there were no dangerous situations or climbing sections

 

[StephenChad]

I have walked this section of the GR10 several times and agree that is it a very tough walk with over 1200m of ascent and is not advisable in poor weather or if not fit. However it provides one of the best days ridge walking on the entire length of the GR10 and I highly recommend it for strong parties. It is a walk with excellent GR waymarking and although there is a section where chains in the rock are provided as handholds there is an easier alternative.

 

[BrianLCrabtree]

I have walked this section of the GR10 several times and agree that is it a very tough walk with over 1200m of ascent and is not advisable in poor weather or if not fit. However it provides one of the best days ridge walking on the entire length of the GR10 and I highly recommend it for strong parties. It is a walk with excellent GR waymarking and although there is a section where chains in the rock are provided as handholds there is an easier alternative.

I arrived in Irun today. The GR10 is a beast, for sure. I didn’t know about an easier alternative other than the Voie Nive Bidassoa. I just followed the trail markings and used a GPS navigation app.

 

[Charlie Brown]

I took the wimpy VNB option, and 3 out of 4 days in the landscape is glorious as anything on the Podiensis (remember the train ride from Bayonne to Saint Jean Pied de Port to start the Francés). It has its unappreciated uphills, but nothing like what you’re experiencing on the GR10.

Waymarking is largely fine (there’s been two places where the markings have been wrong), and Google Maps is actually pretty useful for directions if you are unsure (its pedestrian directions seem to hew to the VNB, or close enough). If you do search out and download the gpx trail files, note that the waymarked VNB goes to Bidarray via Irouléguy).