Lecrin Valley Limpers

A perfect walk on a perfect day just about sums up our walk this weekend to Elorrieta. It was our big end of the month walk and we needed to go high, as this week it was going to be hot, not like last week when we were wearing fleeces in Cozvijar. Our destination was Elorrieta, This used to be a former Tuberculosis Hospital, or a hut for Forestry workers in the Lanjaron valley, depending on what story you believe. Nowadays it is a refugio but not like the super luxury Porqueira one we stayed in a few weeks ago. This is basic, no doors, no windows and snow on the floor. I don’t think it will be on our weekend away list for next year. We had an early 8 am start from the valley and met up with the Granadinos contingent at Hoya de la Mora, the car park on the side of Veleta, at 9 am. The first part of the walk is a bit boring as it crosses the lower slopes of Veleta, which is not the prettiest place in the Sierra Nevada due to all the sky lifts and buildings that are sca...

This week we had a short easy walk from Venta del Fraille. With the temperatures at this time of the year always nudging 40 degrees, we needed something that was quick and easy so that we could get to the bar for a cooling drink and some shade before the heat got to us. Instead of the temperatures steadily rising throughout the week, as normal, they kept going down. By 8.30 on Sunday morning at the BP garage it was freezing and overcast. Everyone was looking for the long lost fleece at the bottom of their rucksacks. The ones who could not find something warm to put on just huddled in a corner out of the wind, with their teeth chattering away. We drove to the bar Venta del Fraille on the carreteria de cabra road for the start of the walk. There was thick grey cloud hugging the hill tops and a strong wind was blowing. I swear it was warmer when we here in January. Bring on global warming I say, at least then we would be able to enjoy a walk in shorts and T shirts in July. T...

Can I first start by apologizing to all you poor sods who spent last weekend crawling over the mountains of the high Sierras only to be credited with walking 38.5 km, when we had actually walked 46.9 km and climbed 2465 metres, I needed new batteries in my calculator. It was a great effort by everyone who went. This week we had something a little easier planned for the group, a quick up and down the hill and then into a bar before it got warm. We met in Marchenna and I was surprised to find we had amassed a group of 19! Setting off in 4 cars we drove the 4km to the start of the walk above Padul. The walk follows an undulating path in the forest, with plenty of shade from the sun, the temperature was forecast to be 38 degrees. After a couple of kms the path starts to gain some serious height with a short climb alongside a barranco. Unfortunately this bit of the walk is in the sun but it was still only 9.30 in the morning, so the blistering temperatures were still a few ...

Can I first start by apologizing to all you poor sods who spent last weekend crawling over the mountains of the high Sierras only to be credited with walking 38.5 km, when we had actually walked 46.9 km and climbed 2465 metres, I needed new batteries in my calculator. It was a great effort by everyone who went. This week we had something a little easier planned for the group, a quick up and down the hill and then into a bar before it got warm. We met in Marchenna and I was surprised to find we had amassed a group of 19! Setting off in 4 cars we drove the 4km to the start of the walk above Padul. The walk follows an undulating path in the forest, with plenty of shade from the sun, the temperature was forecast to be 38 degrees. After a couple of kms the path starts to gain some serious height with a short climb alongside a barranco. Unfortunately this bit of the walk is in the sun but it was still only 9.30 in the morning, so the blistering temperatures were still a few ho...

This weekend was our biggest Limper event ever. We went on a walking weekend in the high Sierras, staying 2 nights at the Porqueira refugio. With eleven of us booked to go on the weekend we needed 3 cars for the drive up to Hoya del Portillo, above Capileira, the highest point to which you can drive. Everything went well on the drive until we hit the dirt road above Capileira. Once again my Suzuki proved it was not up for the job and died. We abandoned it by the side of the road and squashed ourselves into 2 cars, fortunately Cees had a deck chair in the back of his van and I was able to ride in style in the back. We just need to cut some windows in the side and we have the perfect transport, enough room for us all.  From the carpark you have to walk to the refugio, some 8km away. The walk also involves a 500 metre climb up to 2500 metres, so it made a good warm up session for the main event of the weekend, Alcazaba. The refugio is not the typical hut you find dotted...