18 December 2012 Jayena to Albunúelas

Nine friends on a fantastic walk

Once again this week we had the chance of doing a 30 + km walk. The route was from Jayena to Albunúelas and our guide book says it is 31 km, could we finally break the magic number! We did consider a number of different options, in fact, I was quite democratic. I carefully set the options out and asked for the group to vote for their preferred choice. We had 3 votes for doing the full 31 kms, and 6 who would go with the flow. Democracy at its best, the vocal minority dictate what the majority will do.
The plan was that we all meet in Albunúelas at 8 am and take two cars on the forest road to Jayena, a distance of 23 km. Walk back 31 km, why we could not walk back on the road and save 8 km, I don’t know. Then one car would go back to Jayena to recover the other two cars while everyone else buggered off to a Carol concert.  
It was a beautiful morning for the drive through the forest and we were in Jayena before the sun was fully up.
For the first 3 km the track follows a level road in the valley. It was clear from the start it was going to be a fast walk. Ray was setting the pace, I don’t know what Caroline had given him for his breakfast but he was off, oblivious to all the mutterings in his wake. At the entrance to the Natural park there was the obligatory river to cross, I had never realised what a wet park this is. Thinking back every walk we have done in the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama Parque Natural has involved crossing rivers.
From here it should have been a steady climb for the next 14 km but, with Ray out in front we were doing 5 km/h uphill, what a leader, his last job must have been training Mo Farrar. This section of the walk was breathtaking, in more than one sense. The views were stunning, the snow covered Sierra Nevada one way, the peaks of Lucero and Maroma another and all around the thick pine forest. What a way to spend a day.
We stopped for lunch at the highest point of the walk, 1338 metres, just where we started to head down into Albunúelas but still 14 km away. When we met this morning it was still dark and nobody had noticed Dave, but over lunch with the sun beating down you could see he hadn't shaved this morning, he has only been retired 2 months and already he has gone feral. I am afraid this is not good enough for a group that prides itself on its immaculate turnout, you feel he is letting the side down. If he does not improve after his Christmas holidays back in the UK, I will have to have a quiet word with him.
Setting off after lunch we were soon heading off down a barranco. At first the path was well marked, but we missed a marker somewhere because we ended up scrambling about over rocks and trees before climbing up and onto the correct path.
We were now in our own backyard, on a trail  we have walked before, so with Ray still setting the pace we made rapid progress towards Albunúelas, We deviated slightly off the marked route to walk in another barranco and past an old perfume distillation works, long ago abandoned. You could feel the excitement building the closer we got to Albunúelas. Not only were we going to beat our walk record of 29.8 km. we were going to smash the 30 km barrier. I know it’s only 200 metres difference, but these things are important. Stopping to take a celebratory photo at 30 km we then headed for Albunúelas and a drink at the bar.
I must have misheard last week because I thought I had heard Rene say she was going to have a Bondage party after the walk, but it transpires she was talking about a bonding party the day before. It’s a pity, it’s what had kept me going on the last 10 km.        
A big thanks to Ray for setting the pace, the concert goers were in plenty of time for their Carols. Next week he is having some rocks in his pack.
All that was left was for Mike, Kees and myself to return to Jayena for the cars.  
An excellent walk, up amongst the best.
On the walk Kees, Mike, Rene, Ray, Plym, Dave, Julie, Little Stuart, Old Stuart.
Distance walked on the route today 32.3 km  Total distance on route 94.8 km
Distance walked today 32.3 km Total distance walked 105.1 km
Height climbed today 783 metres Total height climbed 2745 metres
Distance driven today 46 km         Total distance driven 432 km

11 December 2012 Arenas del Rey to Jayena

The path down to Jayena

Last week conditions for our GR7 walk were dire, visibility was down to 50 metres and it rained most of the day. This week there was not a cloud in the sky all day.
Our route was to be from Arenas del Rey to Jayena, the Cicerone guide said 15 km and the other said 17 km. I thought it would be a good idea to have an easy day of it, do the 15 km and spend the afternoon in a bar having a few drinks and tapas. Mike wasn’t having any of this, if we walked there and back, we would get to the magical 30 km. A long time ambition of his, we have come very close in the past, but the GPS has never actually recorded the mystical number.
Eight of us set off in 3 cars, Rene was not going to try for the record as she had to get back for her granddaughter, like me she would be happy just to do the section once, leaving her car in Jayena we continued the drive to Arenas del Rey.
It was chilly in Arenas, the puddles had a thin layer of ice on them, we had hats and gloves on. There were plenty of signs to follow as the path headed out of the first valley and up a gentle  hillside, just what we needed to get ourselves warmed up. This section of the walk was never going to achieve any great height, just a progression of hills and valleys to ascend and descend. I know some of the group thought I had played a mean trick when we came to the first stream that we had to cross. Well, in actual fact at the place where we had to cross it wasn’t a stream, it was of more of a river. In my defence I thought we had discussed the possibility that there might be a shortage of bridges on this walk. There was no alternative, we were going to have to remove our boots and paddle across, well, there was one alternative, you could put some plastic bags over your boots, if you had some. I did. It was at this point foul play was mentioned. By all accounts the river was freezing, I did not think it was that cold, because if it had been frozen we could all have walked across on the ice, or maybe it was because I still had my warm boots and socks on.
Setting off again we headed up the next hillside in the direction of the Resinera, once the centre for the processing of the Pine resin, it is now a tourist information centre with a nice garden where we stopped for a quick snack.
Setting off again spirits dipped when another river came into view, but they soon recovered when a footbridge was spied. We now set off alongside another river and confusion set in when the route did not follow my guide, but it was OK with Kees’s guide. The strange thing  was we both had the same one. With the confusion cleared up, and Kees awarded even more Brownie points, we continued along the track until once again we came to a river crossing, this time without a bridge. By all accounts this river was a little warmer, or maybe they were getting used to the cold. I must say the plastic bags were working really well. Again we climbed out of the valley up to Jayena Airport, I kid you not, an airstrip in the middle of nowhere. After walking around it the path heads steeply downhill and to another river. The girls were now starting to get a bit fed up with all this footwear removal malaky, and this time were determined to get across without getting wet. We left them to it as they threw boulders in the river to make stepping stones. Once they were safely across, we followed. Five minutes later we were having lunch in Jayena, in a little plaza with comfy seats. How I spoil these guys.
It was now time to say goodbye to Rene and for the rest of us to make a decision about the return trip. We had clocked up 17.5 km, this would make a round trip of 35 km if we went back the same way. We would also be walking in the dark by the time we reached Arenas. The option would be to take the road back, only 11.5 km and with a few short cuts we could reduce it further and besides, this way we kept our feet dry. The plastic bags were beginning to take water and I did not relish paddling across the streams. I had said that any wimps could go back with Rene. With the exception of Kees nobody wanted to be a wimp and he changed his mind when he found out what it meant.
We set off on the road to Fornes, 4 km away, where some very nice men directed us onto the shortcut we wanted over the hillside. then another road section, another short cut and we were back onto the GR7 we had walked on in the morning, half an hour later and we were in the bar in Arenas.
Another good walk but how I escaped not getting stoned to death, I don’t know.

On the walk On the walk Kees, Mike, Rene, Ray, Plym, Dave, Julie, Old Stuart.

Distance walked on the route today 17.5 km  Total distance on route 62.5 km
Distance walked today 27.8 km Total distance walked 72.8
Height climbed today 773 metres Total height climbed 1962 metres
Distance driven today 100 km Total distance driven 386 km

4 December 2012 Alhama de Granada to Arenas del Rey

A quick snack under the tree

After a couple of weeks off, for sickness and poor weather, we hit the trail again, returning to Alhama de Granada for another 23 km section.
The weather forecast was for sun and cloud with temperatures around 12 degrees, so good conditions for us again this week.
We had another 8 a.m. start for the drive over to Alhama, stopping off in Arenas del Rey to leave Ray’s car, our finishing point for this week.
We have a new recruit on the walk this week, another Stuart who is in training for a 100km, 24 hour walk in May 2013. Hopefully we can get him a bit further than last Sundays walk, when he was down and out after 2 km.
The walk starts from Alhama by going back down into the gorge “tajos de Alhama” we walked in last time. It was like going into a freezer, the lower we went the colder it got, and it was not long before the hats and gloves were on, but not to worry, it was still early, the day would warm up.
There had been a suggestion, at the start of the walk, that we should stop for coffee. I had a better idea, I knew a nice little bar about 2 km along our path. Arriving at the El Ventorro bar I was dismayed to find it in darkness. Kees was bitterly disappointed and rattled the door until the landlord opened up. He said we could come in and get warm and he would make us some coffee in a few minutes when the power came back on. He had the largest roaring wood fire I have ever seen and we stood around it, in the pitch darkness, until the electricity was restored and the coffee was served.
Setting off again, refreshed, I was surprised that the promised rise in temperature and the clearing skies had not materialised. Fortunately the route was on a good forest track, and it enabled us crack on at a good pace which helped to maintain a reasonable body temperature.
There has obviously  been some major rerouting of the path recently, unfortunately it is not always obvious which direction the path is supposed to take. We have 2 guides, a GPS trail, and footpath signs to follow, but at times none of them would tell us where we were supposed to go. We even asked a local farmer who was pruning his trees and, whilst he tried to be helpful, he seemed unaware that there was a “Gran Recorrido” path passing his door.
With the weather closing in and turning to a light drizzle we stopped for lunch sheltering under a tree, it was a very quick snack as we were losing body heat rapidly and we were all eager to move on.
Kees deserves a special mention here, for once he offered salvation, not the usual confusion. The guide that appears to be the most accurate is one we downloaded from the internet. We all have a copy in the hope someone might know where we were supposed to be going. My copy was missing a crucial section, yes I had left it at home, but Kees had his with him. He saved the day and was awarded a brownie point. Please note these are awarded for outstanding merit and are not to be traded for bars of chocolate.
We set off again in what the guide describes as an area with spectacular far ranging views, but which I can only describe as grey. The mist had descended and visibility was down to about 25 metres. I was just starting to worry we had missed a turning, we had been going north uphill for 4 km and our destination was somewhere below and to the east of us, when out of the mist a marker appeared. Heading rapidly downhill we were soon out of the mist and we were able to take another lunch break at a very convenient picnic spot, and, because I had discovered it, I got to sit on one of the four seats.
From here it was an easy 30 minutes walk to the bar in Arenas del Rey for refreshments and a warm fire. All that was required now was for Ray to drive Dave and myself back to Alhama for the cars.
Whilst the conditions were far from good I think everyone enjoyed themselves, it brought back memories of walking in the UK.   

On the walk Kees, Mike, Rene, Ray, Dave, Little Stuart and Old Stuart.


Distance walked on the route today 23.6 km  Total distance on route 45 km
Distance walked today 23.6 km Total distance walked 45
Height climbed today 596 metres Total height climbed 1189 metres
Distance driven today 126 km Total distance driven 286 km