Trail Epic Adventure

Trail in the Pyrenees

Your Travel

Trail Epic Adventure is a journey of 1,000 km on mountain trails that we travelled by motorcycle, but that our ancestors travelled with their livestock.

We left Granollers (Barcelona) at 4 in the morning with 5 motorcycles, 4 Africa Twins and 1 BMW GS 1200. After covering the first 30 km on unpaved roads, the route became increasingly rough, as we travelled along the most beautiful Pyrenean route. As soon as we started to climb the first peaks we also encountered the first problems, as the snow was particularly heavy this year. We started the journey with patience and commitment, helping each other out along the way, and managed to reach Andorra by lunchtime.

While we eat we wonder what awaits us, as the road we will take is complicated due to the altitude and the state in which we will find it: with plenty of snow and mud! As soon as we finish eating we set off … the name says it all: “the smugglers’ trail”. There is a 2,000-metre climb and then the real trail begins, but unfortunately it starts to rain. The ground becomes very slippery and there is also a lot of snow.
It took us 2 hours just to travel the first 5 kms, moving along as carefully as possible because another problem in this season is the risk of flooding. The rivers are full due to the thaw and in many of them the water level reaches a depth of 60 cm.

It is about 7pm when we decide to set up camp and stop to sleep.
The tiredness begins to set in, and after having tackled the severe weather conditions for the entire journey, we know that we will sleep well. Needless to say, it was worth it, the scenery is fantastic.

You can feel the tranquility of the place, sometimes you don’t need 5-star hotels to appreciate what nature has to offer: we are at 2,000 meters above sea level, surrounded by pine forests and white fir trees, a river flows nearby and all around us stand mountains whose peaks top 3,000 meters … spectacular, despite the cold (about 6 degrees)! We start our dinner and discuss the plans for the following day.

The following morning, we wake up at 7:00, luckily we are able to light a fire and make some good coffee for breakfast: it’s cold and good coffee is just what we need. As soon as we start to feel the first rays of sun the heat becomes almost unbearable, so we put everything back in our cases and set off again. The most important thing about camping is that you mustn’t leave a trace, you have to be respectful to Mother Nature.

Once we set off, we travel the first few kilometers with caution because the road is uneven and covered with snow. Despite our best efforts, we have not gone far when the BMW GS slips and falls down a slope of about 8 metres! We check on the rider: luckily he is fine, it was just a slip in the mud. Now comes the worst part, recovering the bike! Luckily the GS only has a broken mirror, we tie ropes to it and try to pull it up with two of our bikes, after about 3 hours we manage to recover the bike and get back on the road. We continue on our way, thinking about the fall: we can laugh about it now but at the time it looked a lot worse!

After lunch we head to a spectacular abandoned ski resort, where we can spend the night; the reward for the hard work are the beautiful landscapes we admire. The next day we set off towards another summit with a 2,500-metre peak. The road is quite good, some stretches are a bit more complicated but no great problem, it is a very scenic mountain path and we take the opportunity to take photos and play in the snow like kids. We were also able to see the local fauna, some deer and several groundhogs.

Once at the top, our descent begins. The road is very rough, with large ditches, but with patience and skill we navigate the route; at the end of the day we find a mountain hut where we are able to prepare a good dinner, take a hot shower and sleep like logs.

The next day we head towards Bausen, a mountain village that is abandoned in winter due to the harsh weather. It is a very easy and fast route, in about 4 hours we are in the city, where you realise just how hard the life in these villages is. We stop to eat, this is a sad time because we realise that the adventure is coming to an end … as we head for home the landscapes no longer seem so spectacular. These were fantastic days, full of laughter, adventures, nature and friendship.

The equipment proved to be very satisfying: the quality and strength of our Givi products was excellent, the waterproof bags were a great success and for our next adventure in August, we will be climbing the Alps with full confidence in our motorcycle equipment!

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