The mountain valleys of the French Pyrenees  are a paradise for hikers.  There are routes for just about every level of hiking expertise that offer splendid views of the mountains, and often interaction with the wandering herds of cows and sheep that pass the summer in the high pastures.  The Vallée d’Ossau, just south of Pau, follows the river Ossau (a river is called a “gave” in the local dialect) as it tumbles down from its source in the high mountain lakes near the border with Spain and eventually joins with the gave d’Oléron.  If you feel like the name is familiar, it may be because the region is famous for Ossau Iraty, a sheep’s milk cheese that we often featured on our cheese board at Le Pichet and  Café Presse.

We spent 3 days hiking in the Vallée d’Ossau last week and  were lucky enough to have excellent weather: warm but not hot, cloudy but never cloudy enough to interfere with a nice view. The highlight was a hike up to the col de Peyrelue, a mountain pass into Spain at the crest of the Pyrenees.  The pass itself is a wide prairie with a few small lakes and a stunning view onto the Spanish sierras. Our path up skirted the pic du Midi d’Ossau, one of the most distinctive peaks in the Pyrenees Atlantique.  Wow!

When we got to pass, we were greeted by a herd of about 40 Béarnais cows lounging in the tall grass and wildflowers.  The bull seemed very lethargic despite his ferocious looking horns,  the lyre-shaped spread typical of the Béarnais breed.  He left us to the view.

Somewhere along the GR10 in the central Pyrenees mountains, a Great Pyrenees sheepdog protecting its troop of sheep.  Know as a “Patou” in the local dialect, these are guard dogs, not herders.  That job falls to another dog, usually a border collie or other herding specialist.

Thanks to Doug McDonnal and Lisa St. George (who are actually hiking the GR10, unlike me!) for the great photo.

The transhumance is the practice of moving livestock to high mountain pastures as the weather warms in early summer.  As I learned when I visited the Fromagerie Écologique Agour Irati, this ancient practice has economic and culinary roots. Moving the flock to communal mountain pastures in the summer allows the farmer to use his land to produce hay to feed the flock during the winter. And the untouched fields of mountain wildflowers, clovers and grasses are ideal for producing the most flavorful milk for cheese making. In the Valley of the Aspe, these mountain pastures are vertiginous patches of green perched on the sides of the rugged Pyrenean hills.  There, watched over by the lonely “berger”or shepherd, along with his herding and guard dogs, the flocks pass the warm summer wandering higher and higher into the mountain passes as the summer warming causes new pastures to bloom.

Each year, the beginning of the transhumance is celebrated with community fetes throughout the mountain regions of France.  We attended the fête in Loudios-Ichere, population 155 souls and a great number of sheep, cows and horses.  The day started with the gathering, marking and belling of the flocks.  Each shepherd marks his animals with a distinctive colored dye and mark shape.  After that, the local priest gave a benediction for the safety of shepherds and flock, then the mayor  offered an aperitif for all the people come to witness the evant. Then, urged on by shepherd and herding dogs, and followed by spectators, the flocks begins to movebtoward the hills.

The days events continued long after the flocks had departed, with a communal lunch in the square in front of the Mairie, or town hall, and a market of local producers near the church. It was really a wonderful look into a practice as old as domesticated animals and a unique way of life in the isolated farms of the Pyrenees.