From Eylie, the GR10 climbs steeply to the spectacular wide open scenery at the Col de l’ Arech, coinciding in places with old mining pylons.
The little gite at Eylie is at 990 m and the first bit of the GR10 from here initially drops down to the Lez river at 960 m, where there are some abandoned buildings left over from the mining days at Bentaillou.
Soon afterwards, you cross a bridge and begin to climb, initially in open country, but soon entering into forest. This was another old miner’s route to yet more mines, the Mines de Bulard, which are located south of the Col de l’Arech and very high up just under the Mail de Bulard at 2,750 m. There is a distinct track from the Col de l’Arech to reach them, but it is quite a strenuous detour.
The track zig zags up relentlessly with more old pylons and cables en route. Finally you start emerging into more open hillside, ariot with blueberry bushes. As you near the top there is a refreshing stream, then you leave that to swing left handed (NNE) for the final ascent to the Col de l’Arech at 1,802 m, which you reach after about 3 hours climbing.
At the col, you feel as if the route should drop straight over, and indeed it is a perfectly feasible, if steeper route, to the Cabane de l’Arech, at 1,638 m below.
However, the signposted route runs northwards up the crest for about 10 minutes to a drop off point further along. As it starts to bear off down the hillside, you will see the little Cabane de Lasplanous just up the hill to your left at about the 1,838 m mark.
I love this little cabin. It has marvelous views, even more so from the little knoll just above it. It is a great place to see the last of the sun on Mt Valier and later on at night, the myriad of lights far away on the plains to the north are enchanting.
There is a derelict yard and old water troughs and that is its one drawback: there is no water here and if you want to camp here, you will need to load up with water at that stream just before the Col. However, it is worth it and you are likely to enjoy the mountains in splendid isolation, though often the sheep make the climb and then their lyrical bells add to that special mountain atmosphere.
Ascent: 878 m
Descent: 30 m
Time: 3.5 hours