Friday August 18, 23.2km/14.4mi

Col de l’Ouillat (773.6km/935m) (France) to Banyuls-sur-Mer (796.8km/4m) (France)

I was awake at 6am and left the campground at 6:30. The trail immediately started uphill through a nice forest in the cool morning air.

After half an hour I emerged above the trees on a big grassy ridge. The sun was just starting to come up!

It was a pretty neat looking sunrise over the hillside…

…and over the Mediterranean Sea.

I stood on the summit of Pic Neulos, where there were views in all directions.

After I left the summit there was a little junction, and the sign said I’m getting very close to the finish!

Much of the morning was hiking on an open grassy ridge.

I passed by a little cabin, which was the last one of this trail, and I noticed the door had some odd graffiti on it. It’s in French, but when translated it’s a little… disturbing.

I passed through a small forest where there were cows roaming around, and it had another signposted junction.

The walk along the open ridgeline was a really nice way to end this trail.

In the distance I could see the town of Banyuls-sur-Mer, and the finish.

After hiking on the open ridge lines all morning, I started dropping down in elevation towards the sea.

The signs were saying I was getting really close!

After I had dropped down in elevation I had an even better view of Banyuls-sur-Mer, and all of the surrounding vineyards.

And pretty soon I hiked right by the vineyards and saw them up close.

I went up to the edge of the field, to see what kind of grapes they were.

It was hot and dry down at this low elevation, but there were vineyards everywhere!

There were also a ton of cacti too.

And finally after descending down, down, down… I was in Banyuls-sur-Mer.

I walked through the village, winding through residential streets and eventually a small commercial district.

I crossed the final street…

…. And I was at the beach!

A couple of obligatory finish photos.

Across the street at the hotel there is a sign for the finish of the GR10. I hiked the HRP, not the GR10, but it still has the same start and finish towns so I thought it was a good photo.

After getting all of my finish photos, I decided it was time to get some food. Unfortunately in France the restaurants seem to only be open during lunch and dinner hours. It was 2:30pm, so I went around the corner and got some ice cream instead.

Then I went to a convenience store to buy a new SIM card since my old one had expired, as well as some snacks and drinks to enjoy at the beach. I spent a couple hours at the beach and even swam a few quick laps in this swimming area. Eventually I walked to the campground which was a kilometer away, and got settled in for the evening. What a long day!

The HRP was a beautiful trail, and I highly recommend it, but it’s not an easy one either. There is a lot of elevation change, and you really earn every kilometer. But it’s a grand journey thru Spain, France, and Andorra!