A perfect trekking day

We have been keeping an eye on the weather forecast. Temperatures are rising, the best sunny and warm day is today, thursday. It is not that we don’t like bad weather. You know us. Still a clear day, sunny and warm, this makes perfect views from the top and less risky.

According to the book this will be a six hours trek. Normally our pace is quicker, but we will allow for their time anyway, just in case. As we know, things can go horribly wrong. If they are OK, we will have plenty of time to play or relax at the top.

Alarm clock wakes us at 7.00 am. It is still dark, however the sun doesn’t take long to rise above the horizon as we drive to the start of the walk.

Down on the plain, clouds hug the ground. It is going to be foggy down there.

A vibrant orange colour filters through the trees.

The mountains look like they are on fire.

There are two other villages near Guisando; El Hornillo, the closest and El Arenal, about 8 kilometres away. Obviously they are not as beautiful as our village, but they still sit in the mountains. Today, El Arenal is the starting point for todays trek. Although it is so close, it is not a village we know well, so it will be nice to explore a little. Perhaps it will be more attractive than we remembered.

We find somewhere to park Dora, overlooking the village.

We debate what to take with us. Ice axe and crampons? Our destination is the same height as Refuge Victoria on La Mira trek. This was the start of the snow line, therefore the snow gear should not be necessary. We will take the crampons, just in case. Although it is important to take the right equipment, it is also important not to overload yourselves and take unnecessary stuff that you will not use.

We head off looking for the start of the trek in the main square, Plaza de Espaῆa. We need to find a stone fountain, on the right hand side of the square. There it is. Check the watch, it is: 9.05 am

We walk up along the Calle de Avila. It is actually quite a nice village, although pretty deserted at this time of the morning. After five minutes we come across a rather manky fronton court. Here there is the usual sign board describing the walk, the flora and fauna. We might get to see woodpeckers. Our route follows the PR AV 44, with yellow and white marks. The path ascends to the ridge via  the Puerto de la Cabrilla (The pass of the goat) our final destination. The path then continues to the other side of the mountain and the village of Navarredonda. The estimated time to the pass is three hours.

At the sign we turn left, leaving the court on the right hand site. We continue on a concrete road that soon leaves the village. The road winds and undulates through gardens, allotments and orchards. It is rather boring on the concrete. We follow the marks, waiting for the path to change to a wilder path.

Suddenly Gary stops, he has heard something in the trees. A fast tapping, a rapid percussion. Then in response further away a repeat of the noise. Eventually he sees the culprit, clinging to the the trunk of a tree. The sign was correct, a woodpecker. It is too far away to work out whether it is green or lesser spotted. Nevertheless, its distinctive profile against the tree, beautiful, what adaptation to its environment.

Twenty five minutes later and we reach a junction where we turn left to continue upwards still on the boring concrete path.

After forty minutes we come across some chalets built in the woods. They look as though they are rental holiday homes. All the same. They all look shuttered up for the season, hibernating for the winter, we are the only ones in the area.

Immediately after the chalets and the concrete path disappears, replaced by a nice track through the pine forest. We can hear a small river below us, on our left. The path continues more steeply up, towards the left. The PR AV 44 now turns into a narrow, rocky steeper path through the woodlands. We know from the guide that we will generally follow the route of the river.

It is now 10.00, an hour since we started. We reach a forestry track for 4×4 vehicles. The PR AV 44 crosses this track and continues to go upwards.  A sign post gives an indication of the time to the Puerto la Cabrilla: a further two hours.

The paths narrows and gradually turns steeper, becoming less rocky. It has not rained for a while. The fallen leaves from the pine trees cover the ground and they break under our boots. I can imagine how slippery and, therefore tricky, the trek on this path could be in wet weather.

The path snakes up, thinning on its way up through the woods. We keep a steady, comfortable pace, but nonetheless brisker than the pace we took on the concrete road. Generally, mountain paths invite us to accelerate our rhythm.

Gradually, the landscape opens up, revealing a clear blue sky, letting us enjoy the sunlight before taking us back into the woods. The path doesn’t seem to want to leave this woodland. The path follows numerous switchbacks. A gentle gradient, gradually climbing, then turning, climbing then turning…Up, Up, Up through the woods, views, just tree trunks and pine needles and the tree canopy above. We hunger for the vast, open and stunning scenery of the Sierra de Gredos.

At 10.30 am we come across another 4×4 track, the path forces us to take a sharp left.

Fifteen minutes later and we are above the tree line. We have been an hour and a half, not bad. We reckon it will be another hour before we get to the top.

11 O’clock and the path starts bearing east, below a crest of boulders, following the valley. The views over to our left hand side are incredible. We have not turned for a while. We keep looking up, trying to make out the path to the top. We could, of course, take the map out and have a look but we don’t. Guessing the peak we are heading to is much more fun.

11.15. We eventually cross the river we had heard in the valley below. It is noisy now it is high in the mountains, crashing across the rocks. According to the estimated times in the description, we should only be 45 minutes away from the top. Where would we start seeing some goats? I miss them.

The path zigzags up with short and sharp bends.

We look up, a post in the distance reveals the direction to the Puerto. It is just there, in between the two ridges.

At last, we see the first and only herd of goats in today’s walk. They are a big family, unusually there are lots of ‘boys’. Goat groups tend to be formed of one male (‘macho cabrio’ or ‘cabron’ – careful with this word, it is also an insult to a man. Gary does not seem to have grasped the intensity of the word. He has occasionally said it to some relatives of mine, in a ‘friendly’ manner. My relatives have no choice but to smile forcedly)

Midday and we have reached our destination, we are at the Puerto de la Cabrilla, 1,942 metres.

What should we do? It is a bit early to have lunch. We should explore the surroundings. Two peaks stand at either side of the pass (Puerto). We look at the map. Their height, over 2,000 and they don’t seem to be far away, it will also mean we will get to the snow line.

We first go to the one on the left, the highest. It is marked on the map at 2,012 ,metres but with no name. No reason not to climb it. This is the first time we come across snow. Although hard and icy there is no need to take the crampons out. The slope is shallow.

The temperature stands at an incredible 15 C. I am in short sleeves, in December, at 2,000 metres, climate change, I love it .

We reach the top half an hour later. We look to the distance. The views offers an impressive scene; the clouds sitting in the valley below. No quite sure where that valley starts and ends. Whoever lives there is bloody unlucky. They will not be enjoying the sunlight today. Later I speak to my mother, they have endured a miserable day in dense fog.

We walk back down to the pass and up the other side to the peak on the right. This one is lower, just under 2,000 metres.

The walk down and up has only taken half an hour. It is now 13.00. We sit here and enjoy the other side of the valley. In the distance, we can make out the road to the ‘Puerto el Pico’ (the Pass of Sierra de Gredos). Navarredonda, the first village after you cross the pass, appears in the distance. That village would be the start of our next trek,which we have planned for next week. However, because the pass is so far away from Guisando – approximately three hours drive –, we will need to drive there the night before and spend the night in Dora to start at a reasonable time and not get caught in the dark.

Sleeping in Dora! That will be a tough one to get used to again!

Let’s sit here for a while before going down to have some lunch. Looking up, a few eagles fly over our heads.

They soar effortlessly, elegant and majestic. These birds seem to be the vivid representation of freedom.

We come down and have some lunch. Industrial strength Spanish omelette from the supermarket and stale bread, we forgot to buy fresh this morning. There is not much bread and what we have soon gets covered by what seem to be baby ticks. Black bugs. They will give a bit of protein I suppose. We move quickly on to dessert, some fruit.

Two O’clock and time to move down. We estimate it will be two hours back to the village.

Obviously, we move down faster. We are very quiet, we both have light headaches, probably we have caught the sun.

We cross the river in half an hour and reach the tree line twenty minutes later.

Without even noticing we reach the cross with the forestry track where the sign post pointing towards the pass. It is 15.15. Here we have two choices to get back to the village: the same way we came up or taking another path, the PR AV 20. Both would take the same time, 1 hour. We like variety, we take the latter.

The track becomes wider and wider, a motorway. At 15.30, we bump into a junction. The path leads us to the right. It suggests another half an hour to the village.

The walk becomes easier, we are quite hot. Gary is craving for a beer as soon as we reach El Arenal.

Another fifteen minutes and we are nearly there, at the edge of the village.

At 16.15 we reach the main square of El Arenal, where we started. All bars are closed. Gary gets a bit sulky. Is there to be no beer. Luckily, the bar on the way down to Dora is open. It is pretty grotty but it will do. Anything to stop him moaning.

Back to Guisando, nice shower, nice raging fire and relax. Another perfect trek, perfect length with perfect weather and nicely tired.

Total time seven hours, including lunch and the two small summits.

 

SM