Col de Galin and Mail de Hard from Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, dry terrain, early autumn colours.

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Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in July 2024 in rainy weather: for those who enjoy sliding down muddy slopes in the woods, go for it; otherwise, avoid this hike in such weather. However, this hike is sure to be enjoyable in warm, dry weather, with no rain in the days leading up to it.

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Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

dIFFICULT route (not moderate) due to very steep slopes both uphill and downhill!

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Date of your route : Feb 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike to be done outside of the rainy season, as the trail is very muddy, slippery and even dangerous on the descent. Best to do this hike in spring or summer.

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Great!
Hi Francis!

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Date of your route : Nov 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

superb weather, 24°C at 3:30 p.m. in St Bertrand.
Otherwise, it was a pleasant hike, although a bit muddy in places.
The only problem was at the start, and we had to do the route in reverse, so it was a bit steep at the beginning
but easier on the way back.
We encountered a few deer and dogs near the pass.
Just a little disappointed, I thought I would see St Bertrand from the Mail du Hard, but there were too many trees.

If you're wondering, I am indeed Francis Veyssiere from the BSC in the 1980s

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Date of your route : Nov 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beware of hunters on Sunday mornings, heavily beaten coastline of the abyss

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Date of your route : Oct 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Fine in warm weather.
A bit too much road and forest road.

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Date of your route : Aug 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The directions are correct, although it can sometimes be difficult to find your way given the rural setting with alternating footpaths and small roads. The walk in the woods is pleasant, but there isn't much to see apart from a small viewpoint at the top.

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Date of your route : Aug 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This circuit can be completed in 4 hours. Starting at the junction of the loop allows you to avoid the rocky path.
The last third, the climb up the mountain and the descent, are steep, which may surprise occasional walkers. However, the path is not uneven.
There is a section through a forestry site with a lot of mud, making it difficult to avoid getting stuck.
The route is well shaded, which is ideal in hot weather.

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Date of your route : Jul 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A shaded walk that is enjoyable in hot weather,
note that there is a fairly steep climb.
Beautiful view of the Hard mall.

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Date of your route : Oct 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A superb loop under glorious sunshine and a lovely visit to the village of St Bertrand.

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Date of your route : Sep 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The markings are not always very clear in the first part (before the hamlet of Labat and up to Lespugue), but the hike is almost entirely in the woods, so it's very pleasant when the temperature is 30°C.
No mud today, but you can see a few low spots that must be slippery when wet, and the climb to the Col de Galin / Mail de Hard must certainly be slippery when the ground is wet.
A pleasant hike that took 3½ hours, not counting the lunch break and the extra detour to see the Lespugue cave (which, unfortunately, we could only guess at rather than see).

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Thank you for your very useful feedback. I have amended the description based on your comment.
I'm glad you were able to enjoy this extended hike before lockdown!

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Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We completed the hike as planned, using only the map and description, as we are not fans of GPS or apps.
We got completely lost on the way to the Gouffre de LAspugues (point 4) because it is marked in yellow at the sign indicating the chasm. So we foolishly followed the yellow markings and climbed too high. The description should specify that if you pass "near the Gouffre", you do NOT pass BY the gouffre... the wording of point 4 "Take the path that climbs to the right, pass near the Gouffre de Laspugues and a climbing site. Then descend via a hairpin bend" was not clear enough for us. I would have preferred, for example, "Take the path that climbs to the right, then once in the undergrowth, take the path that descends to the left (also marked in yellow) just before the Gouffre de Laspugues (visible by taking a small detour along the path that turns to the right - indicated by a sign). The path is flat for about 500 m and then descends sharply to the road."
There was some ambiguity about this section, so we climbed up to the chasm and continued for a while, desperately waiting to find the path that would descend in a hairpin bend! We understood that the yellow markings stopped after point 4, so we didn't worry at first... We hesitated to take the long way around through the forest (we went as far as Mont Sec, I think) to descend to coast 507, but we retraced our steps for fear of getting lost for good. In short, after this unfortunate detour, the final slope was difficult. The "HARD" email was aptly named, because it was hard, even if the view was superb. We ended up returning by the road and path that goes up to Saint Bertrand on the Porte de l'Hyrisson side rather than by the original route.
All in all, as hiking noviceshttps://www.visorando.com/images/smileys... it took us more like six hours and we were exhausted rather than four hours, but the walk was beautiful. The weather was pleasant and dry, so we didn't have to contend with mud.

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