First Snow

Out recently investigating the route of a WWII escape route that I read about in 'La Résistance Audoise' that my father in law lent me.

Ernest Zaugg was in charge of a resistance group - the Maquis de Roc Blanc which was named after the peak that overlooks Lake Laurenti. The picture at the top of this blog is of Lake Laurenti and Roc Blanc. Their escape route began at Rouze in France and ended in Soldeu in Andorra.

Tha part of the route I walked began at the  Forestry Refuge where there is a commerative plaque.

'In honour of the French and Allied officers who crossed the Pyrenees on the paths to freedom with the help of the Donezan couriers and the Roc Blanc resistance fighters'

The route then climbs up to the beautiful Lake Laurenti and rather than turn away towards Roc Blanc, carries on up the Laurenti Valley. From the lake onwards the trail is not marked on the map. The weather was overcast and cold and at the head of the valley there was snow which slowed my progress. From the col I followed the trail down to the head of the Galbe Valley and then back up again to the Col de Terrers - the second col of the day. Descending from the col I could make out the faint line of the trail into the distance towards the D'en Beys Refuge, which was the traditional mid way halt.

I had reached my turn around time but decided to climb Pic de Terrers above the col which, from previous visits, I knew offered great views. I wasn't disappointed.

Looking South from Pic de Terrers

Looking North from Pic Terrers

It was very windy on the summit but the sunlight broke through the clouds for the first time that day for just 15 minutes or so, illuminating the ridge line I had crossed and the way I had come. The south facing slopes were without snow but in the other direction, the north facing slopes still held snow.

Two things during the day reinforced how hard the WWII crossings were. The autumn snow around me and the fact that the last hour and a half of the return route from Lake Laurenti back to my car, was finished in the dark because I had not stuck to my turn around time. The couriers and the escapees would have made the WWII crossings in winter and in the dark. Neither  would they have been properly equiped like I was with my modern clothing and boots.

“The desire for freedom resides in every human heart. And that desire cannot be contained forever by prison walls, or martial laws, or secret police. Over time, and across the Earth, freedom will find a way.”  George W. Bush

Top 10 Mushroom Mistakes

Autumn is the best time for mushrooms in the Pyrenees. Those that are edible like the girolle are a great addition to omelettes or sauces. Those that are poisonous, like the Fly Agaric, can cause health problems and sometimes death. It is obviously important to distinguish between the two groups.

There are several falsehoods regarding mushrooms that don't help pick the edible from the poisonous. Here are my top 10.

1. All black mushrooms are poisonous. The Horn of Plenty, which is black and is called The Trumpet of Death in French, is in fact edible.

Horn of Plenty (Photo: Wikipedia)

2. All white mushrooms are edible. The mushroom below which is all white and resembles the commonly eaten button mushroom is in fact poisonous.

Destroying Angel

3. Slugs only eat edible mushrooms. Slugs will eat any mushroom.

4. Cooking a poisonous mushroom will make it edible. Poisonous mushrooms remain poisonous even after cooking.

5. Edibel mushrooms only grow in pine forests. Edible mushrooms grow in a variety of terrain.

6. All edible mushrooms can be eaten raw. Morels are edible but must be cooked first.

Morel (Photo: Wikipedia)

7. Mushrooms that grow in circles are poisonous. Edible mushrooms like the field mushroom also grow in circles.

8. Mushrooms that grow on trees are poisonous. There are several mushrooms that grow on trees that can be eaten.

Ear of Judas (Photo: Wikipedia)

9. Panther Caps and Fly Agarics are only poisonous when the cap is covered with small white growths/marks/specks. The white marks are absent from young specimins and are sometimes washed off by the rain. The mushroom remains toxic.

Fly Agaric

10. 'Magic' mushrooms are poisonous. They are not. According to research in 2006  the active ingredient in 'magic' mushrooms (Psilocybin), can cause 'spiritually significant moments' that lead to sustained 'increases in well being.'

'One-third of the participants reported that the experience was the single most spiritually significant moment of their lives and more than two-thirds reported it was among the top five most spiritually significant experiences. Two months after the study, 79% of the participants reported increased well-being or satisfaction; friends, relatives, and associates confirmed this. They also reported anxiety and depression symptoms to be decreased or completely gone. Fourteen months after the study 64% of participants said they still experienced an increase in well-being or life satisfaction.'

Although not poisonous, 'magic' mushrooms remain illegal in the US (Class 1) and in the UK  (Class A). In France it is illegal to pick, transport and sell them.