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Manddale, La Rhune

Manddale - 573M

283M Prominence

La Rhune - 905M

683M Prominence


HRP Day 2 stats

28.37KM

1768M Ascent, 1415M Descent


Last night I made my start on the HRP. The HRP is the Haute Route of the Pyrenees, traversing the Pyrenes mountain range that separates France and Spain. I started hiking on the edge of the Atlantic ocean in the town of Hendaye, and soon set up camp after finding a spot just outside of town. On day 2 I woke up for my first full day of hiking and started making my way to summit number 1. Manddale is the first summit that is close enough to the trail to justify tagging. This summit is quite uninteresting, but it is so close to the route that I could not turn it down, despite being just a small coastal bump. I had the chance to bag one more small bump before this, but was too unenthused by it and the damp and grey weather. I ended up taking a lower route on the mountain which ended up being a catastrophe of a soaking wet bushwhack on a goat trail, avoiding the peak probably even ended up adding time. As I made my way to Maddale though the trail re appeared through the thick fog. The area is mostly grazing land for the sheep and horses that live all around, along with some areas of bushy shrubs. on the summit there was a small monument, but that is about all I could see as it was a complete white out and foggy all day. I descended the East side of the mountain after having come up the West side, on the sort of dirt road/trail that passed over the hill. I then descended into the village of Eltzaurida and continued along my HRP trek. As I kept hiking and making progress on my route, I made my way towards La Rhune. La Rhune is a bit of a tourist summit as there is a gondola and some restaurants/bars up at the summit. It is however 905 Meters tall and has 683 Meters of prominence, so it is taller than all the other bumps in the area. I ascended along my HRP route which cuts up and across the South side of the peak. The route follows a road which is part paved and part gravel. The road then cuts North West close to the summit and basically goes to the summit. I hung out on the summit for a bit and ate my soggy baguette and cheese while I watched the sophisticated tourists laugh and eat at the restaurant. I then descended 300 meters back down the stone path before going down the East side of the mountain to continue along my HRP trek. The east side of the mountain was bouldery and quite a steep trail compared to the rest of what I had seen so far today.

Touching the Atlantic in Hendaye, Traverse Start















Night one camp, Overlooking Hendaye















Moments before diving into the wettest bushwhack ever

Nearing the summit, a view of a pond barely opened up



































Not much to see on the summit















Manddale summit
















making my way back down, eerie vibe














Strange tree en route




















A fair bit of gravel road walking between Manddale and La Rhune














More gravel roads





















Some paved roads nearing La Rhune















Summit sign (not on the true summit) and the restaurant behind it



















La Rhune summit



















Horses everywhere today




























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