Ossese, bonrepos, marterat

Susie is keen to improve her mountain fitness before our trek in September (as am I), so today we made another excursion. The rarely used trail to the cabane to bonrepos has reappeared on the latest edition of the IGN 1:25000 map, a trail I followed in descent in 2009 but have failed to find in the other direction several times. 

We started from Ossese, climbing steadily until emerging into the hanging valley above the Cascade de Lastien.

This time we found the faint paint markers towards the Cabane de Bonrepos but for the first 400m or so it was more luck than judgement that we found the correct way. There is no path anymore just occasional red paint marks often hidden below the vegetation which we managed to stumble upon.

Section of chains and cables aid the way through some steep rocky sections then its a long rising traverse across the mountainside.

At last we arrived at the Cabane de Bonrepos a tiny cabane for 3 people - one of my favourites in the Couserans.

We had a couple of options from here but decided to try and find the path to the Cabane de Marterat (another path that has appeared on the map). It looks unlikely that a path could get there through the steep terrain and there is no sign of it from Bonrepos. The climbs steadily once more towards the Col d'Aliot, but once above the steep couloir descending into the valley below it crosses the scree and skirts below the high cliffs again with markers but no trail.

Another climb upwards and some more cables and we arrived at the cabane.

All that remained now was the descent by the well trodden GR10 - interspersed with wild raspberries and bilberries! Spotted a ring ouzel on the descent.

7hrs for the trip with 5000ft of ascent.

Even the sheep like raspberries!

Traditional stone roofs at Ossese

Back home, the rams had started fighting (we haven't managed to sell Moechee yet) perhaps because the pasture was getting poor and this was accelerating the ewes were coming into season. We split him from the herd, but he soon escaped and rejoined them. So we put the sheep into the big field in front of the house - which involved some new fence building and making a new gateway through the hedge, hoping that the better pasture would retard the ewes. Today things are calmer so our fingers are crossed that we have bought some time to sell Moechee before tupping time comes.