Walk Sunday 23 August 2015 Lavadero de la Reina

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Our walk this week was to the Lavadero de la Reina. It was a walk with a 12km off road drive requiring 4X4s. This limited the number of people who could go to 17, but we managed to squeeze an extra one into Mark’s trusty little Renault to bring the number up to 18.
The weather forecast was for a dramatic fall in temperature down to 30 degrees in Granada, almost autumnal after the stifling heat of the summer.
After a dusty drive along the rough track we stopped at what must be the car park with the best view in the Sierras.As you head off walking in the direction of the refugio at Pena Partida you are surrounded by the lofty peaks of Veleta, Mulhacen and Alcazaba. The refugio made a good stopping point for our mid morning break.
Up at this height the temperature was around 15 degrees with a strong north westerly wind. What was not forecast was the cloud that was sneaking up on us. It was not above us but it was coming up the valleys below us. The refugio sleeps about 12, so with 18 of us we would be in for a very cozy night if the conditions continued to deteriorate. With the prospect of a night on the mountain and the stale remains of half eaten sandwiches for supper and breakfast our group set off with a renewed vigour for the lavadero de la Reina.
The valley is a green oasis of lagunas, waterfalls and rivers, admittedly it was a bit dryer this year after the long hot summer but there was still sufficient water about to make the valley verdant. With the cloud in retreat and the sun shining we stopped for our lunch and then slowly made our way down besides the waterfalls. Eventually you meet up with the Sulayr long distance footpath, an old favorite for some of us, we followed this path back towards the refugio.
We  then picked up our outbound path for the walk back to the cars. We had to keep stopping to admire the Vultures that were soaring around us, there were so many I was convinced they were looking for the oldest amongst us. Not that there is much meat on him as he is all skin and bone.
After arriving back at the cars all that was left to do was bounce our way back down the mountain and then drive back to our valley.
We had a great walk surrounded by stunning scenery.       
We walked 16.8km and climbed 748 metres.

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