1st September 2013 Rio Durcal

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This week we went for a wet scramble in the Rio Durcal. This is a superb walk in a steep sided gorge in the hills behind Durcal.
We met at los Monderinos in Durcal and I was surprised to find that the group kept swelling, in the end we had 21 in the party. We had a short drive to the start of the path down by the recreation area in the gorge.  
The walk starts by crossing the river on a new bridge, we could have done with this in February when we had to cross the deep, freezing cold river on another walk. You then climb up to an acequia that runs high above the valley floor into the gorge. From the valley it looks impossible that there could be path up there. The path is only 20 cm wide and some in the group did question the wisdom of walking along it, especially the part that has a 50 metres sheer drop into the river. Eventually the river and acequia meet and the pretence of trying to keep your feet dry ends. There is no option, you have to plunge into the river. For the next couple of kms we walked in the river, waded through pools and scrambled over boulders. This walk is a real ¨Boys Own¨ adventure, and all the time you are in some stunning scenery. Eventually the way is blocked by a huge boulder and waterfall. It is possible to get around it but not today, ours was classed as an easy walk.
We stopped here for a break and discovered that Mike had slipped and gashed his leg, we did our best to patch him up but it was an impossible task, there was no chance of a helicopter rescue, he was not prepared to be winched up on the end of a 1000 metre rope. He was going to have to walk out. No one was in a rush to leave, nobody fancied walking in a red river, so we stopped and ate our sandwiches. This deep into the canyon the sun never gets down to the river. We were all wet, some wetter than others after taking a dunking in the river, it started to feel cool so we made our way back down the river.
Bruno, Dave and Linda’s dog gets a mention for the most spectacular dive. A three metre high jump into a 2 metre deep rock pool. His technique is a bit lacking but full marks for effort, a bit of training from Julie and he will make the Olympic team.
We sent Mike round to the Urgencia when we got back to Durcal, and they patched him up with a bandaid, there were a few tut tuts when he told them where he had been. They normally only get 10 year olds with that kind of injury.
A jolly good day out.    
We walked about 5 km and climbed about 80 metres, our average speed was very slow.
The photo was taken at the turn round point.

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