7 September 2014 Picacho Alto

By -


Hi
This week we had a short but interesting walk to Picacho Alto and we nearly lost the guide.
We had to limit the walk to 14 members because there was a 11 km drive on forest tracks to get to the start of the walk, and we only had 3 suitable vehicles.
We met in Marchena at our new winter start time of 9.00, I know the forecast was for 36 degrees but this time last year we were walking in fresh snow. OK, it was the top of Mulhacen but you never know and the walks are planned months in advance!
The walk starts at the base of Picacho Alto and heads straight up. The path is good, wide, but with steep drops off the side. It did not cause anyone any problems, except for one silly bugger who stepped over the edge whilst taking a photo. Fortunately Kees caught my rucksack as I was sliding down the hillside. Afterwards it turned out he was after my GPS because no one else knew the way back.
The views are superb all the way up, but they really open up at the top, a pleasant breeze  made the temperatures ideal for climbing and cleared away the summer haze.
The path continues on the side of Picacho alto and hugs the side of the mountain for over 1km, it is a superb route. We stopped for an early lunch half way along the path at a convenient outcrop of rocks, with views down into the Rio Dilar.
After lunch there was a short climb back on to the ridge, then down a barranco until we hit the forest road which we followed back to the cars.
A few weeks ago Cees proposed that Conchi should take the ice bucket challenge, and by chance I happened to have some water and ice cubes in the car, well you never know when you might need ice cubes do you? The video can be seen on her facebook page.
We stopped off at the bar on the way home before going around to Veronica and Jonathan's for tapa.    
 
We walked 7.4 km and climbed 415 metres.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk Sunday 2 December 2018 Sierra Manar

By -
Image
This week we went walking in the Sierra Manar, the range of hills behind Dilar.  The walk had been postponed from a few weeks back when it was raining every day, it’s not a walk to do when the ground is wet and muddy. The weather forecast for this Sunday was for sunshine and temperatures of 21 degrees, perfect walking conditions.  The walk starts from the Ermita Nueva and heads up a gentle slope through Olive trees.  After 1 km the path follows the tree line on what at first looks like a level track. It soon becomes apparent that it’s not level at all, but a series of switchbacks with steep ups and downs.  There were only 9 in the group, and we all walked together, chatting and enjoying the warm sunshine. Nobody thought to check that we all turned onto a path into the forest. It was only when we emerged on the other side we noticed our group had dropped to 7, Elsa and Martine were missing.  At first, we weren't worried, we thought they would soon rejoin us. After
Read more

Walk Sunday 4 November 2018 Nerja

By -
Image
This week with snow on the Sierras we decided to go down to Nerja for our walk, at least it would be warm down there. I left home in long trousers, fleece and a jacket. One hour later, at the start of the walk from the caves, I was down to shorts and a T-shirt, don’t worry I had not thrown caution to the wind, they were all in my rucksack along with another 2 coats.  The route was a circular one setting off from the caves and the idea was that we could do an easy and a harder walk, with the easy walkers walking with us for the first half of the route and then making their way back along a 4X4 track, whilst the harder walk went up a hill. Trying to keep track as to who, and how many there were in the group was impossible, even Einstein would have had trouble keeping up with all the comings and goings. For the first 1km, the track follows a 4X4 road to the picnic site, it then drops down into a superb barranco which fortunately, even after all the rain, was still dry. Th
Read more

Walk 18 November 2018 Talara

By -
Image
The walk this Sunday was a local one from Talara. The weather forecast was not promising. It wasn’t a matter of if it rained, it was at what time would it start and how heavy.  We met at the crossroads in Talara and the fallback wet weather option was coffee in Antonio’s where we could reminisce about walking in dry sunny weather. It would only be a short discussion as dry weather was sadly lacking in 2018. It was decided to skip the coffee, it wasn’t raining yet, and we had a walk to do. The route was designed with 12 options to shorten it when the rain started, it also went close by a number of Limper homes where we could seek refuge if necessary.  The walk passed through Chite where we picked up a couple of stragglers and then headed off down to the dam. This is a wonderful path as it winds its way down the hillside in and out of the Agave plants, Fortunately, I had brought my machete with me, as a number needed trimming. I had to be careful this week, my care
Read more