Lecrin Valley Limpers

Last week the weather was wet in the valley and a bit snowy on the tops, which has left the Sierras covered in deep snow. The forecast for Sunday was cold and sunny, our choice of a walk in the Alpujarras was looking like a wise decision. It was our big end of the month walk and we had an large international turnout of eager walkers. Our destination was Tozvizcón, the little pueblo nestling in a valley on the Cadiar road at the foot of the Sierra Contrevesa. The walk starts from the center of the Pueblo and follows a marked route called “Ruta de Pedro Antonio” I never found out what was amusing about the name but Carmen and Conchi thought it was funny. The path meanders beside a small stream for a couple of kilometers, steadily gaining height and warming you up for the climb out of the valley. With the top still another 5 km away you continue along, climbing all the way, it is a well graded track and it never gets steep. At the top we had extensive views down to the coast at...

Lunch on a foggy hillside Dear All. I have received a few comments about some inaccuracies that may have occurred in last week's email. To address these issues I have rewritten the email, so please disregard anything you read last week. Dear all We went for a walk and then went home. Stuart This weekend, the 17 February, we went to the Sierra Manar, the hill behind Dilar for our walk. I had advertised this as a superb walk with great views over the Sierra Nevada. A Dutch lady in the group wants her money back because the walk contravened the trade descriptions act. I left Chite in early morning sunshine, by the time I got to Durcal fog had reduced the visibility down to 50 metres, it was slightly better at our meeting point in Cozvijar. We decided to continue with the walk with the expectation that the sun would soon burn it off. Setting off from above Dilar, well they had to take my word for it, you could not see the Pueblo because of the fog, we headed up a track towar...

The Almond blossom walk Dear All. This week we went to Albunúelas for a walk amongst the Almond blossom. There were doubts as to whether the blossom would still be out. This year it started appearing at the beginning of January, and with all the wind I thought it might have blown away. The weather conditions were perfect for walking, blue sky and the wind had taken the day off. We met at the car park in Albunúelas and walked out through the village on the GR7 path and then climbed up onto the plateau. With the hard work over we now had a leisurely stroll amongst the blossom which was still in full bloom on most of the trees. Dropping down into Salares Arthur had problems with his knees and found it easier to go down backwards, with Mike guiding him. We picked up the GR7 again in Salares and followed it back to Albunúelas and up to the bar. This is where things went wrong, I had gone off on a medivac mercy mission to recover Arthur, leaving Kees and Conchi to look after, and n...

Our lunch stop on El Calar The weather in the valley last week was excellent, but the forecast for the weekend was for a return of the cold northerly wind. We had organised two new walks for the group, an A team harder walk and a B team easy walk, both setting off from Mark and Anne’s house in Gúéjar Sierra. On the car park in Cozvijar at 9 a.m., sheltering behind the cars out of the wind, there were only 6 brave souls willing to pit themselves against the elements. Because there was only Hilary for Hilary’s B team walk she decided to go home and sit by the fire, leaving 5 of us to make the journey to Gúéjar. Along with Mark and Anne there were another 4 people waiting for us, making a respectable group of 11 to walk to the top of El Calar, the hill behind Gúéjar Sierra. For a long time Mark has been extolling the virtues of this hill with its commanding views of the Sierra Nevadas. As we set off on the short walk into Gúéjar we were protected from the wind by the hills to t...

Above Molvijar Well, this week it is my turn to apologise for letting the team down, first for leading them astray and then succumbing to the unaccustomed heat. It was the end of the month and we had two walks organised, the big A team walk and  also a B team one with Hilary. The A team went down to Molvizar on the coast for what was billed as a spectacular high level ridge walk. I know you don’t expect to find a high level walk down on the coast but the hills behind Molvijar reach up to 1100 meters. We met in Beznar on what promised to be a lot better day than of late, I know we have not experienced the atrocious weather that northern Europe has been having, but even so it has been pretty miserable. Things started to go wrong on the drive up from Molvijar to the start of the walk, the road was pretty rough with more potholes than an English motorway. Not wanting to be landed with a bill for repairing Conchi’s car I decided to park up and walk the extra 2 km to the start ...

The group on the Guajar Faraguilt walk Dear All. Originally we had arranged to go snow shoe walking this weekend, but snow and strong winds had been forecast so we thought the Almond blossom walk around Restabal would be a better bet. The weather forecast continued to deteriorate so we changed our plans again for a walk down in Guajar Faraguilt where, hopefully, the temperatures would be a little higher and it would afford some shelter from the bitter northerly wind. Hilary lead a B team walk from Melegis. Can I start by apologising to anyone who was upset this weekend by the amount of swearing that went on during the walk. Mike has been teaching Kees some naughty words and of course he wanted to practice them. I have been chastised by Marjan for not putting a stop to it at the time. She said she makes him stand in the naughty corner when he misbehaves at home. I don’t know who was worse, Mike who is old enough to know better than teach Kees to say “Bugger off” or Kees who kept ...

Above Lanjaron This weeks weather forecast had always predicted a cold northerly wind for Sunday, we could deal with this by going to Lanjaron for a walk. What was a bigger threat was the possibility that it might rain. At 7 am Sunday morning the wind had appeared and whilst it was overcast it was fine, I thought our luck would hold and our walk would go ahead. At 8 am Sunday morning it was pouring down, it was too late now to cancel the walk. There was nothing else for it, I would have to go Beznar in case anyone else was daft enough to turn out, at least Mike would be there. He would turn up if Noah was launching his Ark. We could always go for a coffee and then home to sit round the fire. At 8.45am Sunday morning Ray and Little Stuart were knocking on the door eager for a walk. At 9 am Sunday morning. Beznar roundabout was being lashed by a bracing wind and   horizontal rain. Oddly enough the group now consisted of 12, already bedraggled walkers. There was now no c...

The group at Prado Negro Our first walk of 2013 was to Prado Negro, we always have good walks in this area but I must say this week it was stunning. The weather was unbelievable, a deep blue sky all day, temperatures warm enough for T shirts, the views unforgettable in whatever direction you looked, and a big turn out of walkers looking to enjoy themselves. We met in Cozvijar at the BP petrol station where the wind was blowing a hooley and the temperatures were just a few degrees above freezing. There was a big group of us this week which necessitated taking 3 cars from Lecrin and we met up with 3 more in Prado Negro. We all got out of the cars well wrapped up against the cold wind. There was nothing, no wind, no breeze, just warm sunshine. Off came the jackets, hats, scarves, gloves and we had not gone very far before the next layer was off as well. The walk was a new one for the group heading uphill (as always) towards the limestone cliffs that dominate this area. We were no...

A happy New Year to everyone Our walk this week was our annual beer and tapas walk around Granada. Once again our guide was Mike who lead us around the city for what was a very enjoyable day out.    Granada, the jewel of Spain, played host once again to our annual "Old Years" pilgrimage through this wonderful city. The day started at 10 o'clock at the Cozvijar roundabout. It was freezing, the wind was howling, it felt more like we were embarking on an expedition to the North Pole. Undeterred we stiffened the sinews and summoned up the blood and set out on our adventure. The gods smiled on us; the City was bathed in sunshine and the wind had gone to play its mischief high up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We parked our cars in the outskirts of Granada and that's when we encountered our first problem. Some in the group, namely Arthur and Caroline, decided that seeing as we were parked outside Lidl it would be a good idea to go and do a little ...

Peña Partida This week we had two walks organised, the first our big end of the month walk, and second an easy walk around Talara. We have had some very good weather this week, with temperatures around 20 degrees and a lot of the snow on the lower slopes of the Sierras has melted. Whilst this may not be good news for the sky resort for us it was excellent news, and, with the weather forecast predicting 21 degrees in Granada, it looked like our first choice option to Peña Partida could go ahead. We have not done this walk on a Sunday before because of the need for either 4X4 or cars with high ground clearance. There are now a number of suitable cars in the group so we could consider putting this walk on our itinerary. It is a spectacular walk, amongst the giants of the Sierra Nevadas. We drove to Guejar Sierra where we met up with Mark and Ursula and consolidated our transport, setting off again in 3 vehicles suitable for driving the 10 km rough road up the Loma de Papeles. The...

Cuerva Marmoles I had had high hopes all week that the weather on Sunday would be good, but Sunday dawned with low cloud hanging over the Sierras. Driving past Padul on our way to Húetor it started to rain, this was definitely not on the radar. Hoping that it would be only a quick shower we pressed on to our destination, driving through more heavy rain on the way. By the time we arrived at the start of the walk it had stopped raining but we were in the clouds. Surprisingly everyone was in high spirits and eagerly doned their waterproofs. Setting off we followed a level path for a couple of kms before taking a superb little path that winds its way down in the valley floor. Mike was on point duty and had been given the task of finding the path, he walked straight past it, so he was re-assigned to the rear of the group, in charge of the stragglers. The last time we were on this path it was before the start of the rainy season and I was beside myself with worry that we would get ...

At the Quarry with Sierra Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama in the background We had another new walk for the group this week, it is one the A team discovered a few months ago. The walk starts from Venta del Fraile, the bar on the Carretera de Cabra road, and follows a dry river bed as it heads down to the abandoned military camp. This was always going to be a potential problem, the camp is used by hunters and I did not fancy being used for target practice. As we approached the limits of the camp gunfire could be heard, this was all that was required to break out the white flag and do a 90 degree change of direction, taking us back into the forest and away from the hunters. We ended up back on the road a couple of hundred metres from where we had started. I don’t think anyone noticed the deviation. They were all too pleased not to be the menu of the day. We continued along the road before heading back into the forest, and to a surprise viewpoint of the Sierra Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama, ...

The weather for our walk on Sunday was a lot better than had been originally forecast, whilst not reaching the temperatures we had in August it was warm enough for some to walk in T shirts. I personally kept my fleece on, it did only get up to 16 degrees. The walk started from the car park in Monachil and followed the easy route through the gorge. The National park have done a lot of work on the footpath, erecting new fences, and fitting hand holds where the rocks overhang, a big improvement. The health and safety executive must have been around, the next thing, we will have to do a risk assessment, before doing the walk. Once again the autumn colours were wonderful and, set against the bright blue cloudless sky, it made the walk well worth while. Sadly this week it did not get the accolade of the best walk ever. On our return to the valley we went to Josettes for a celebration and tapa, Finally the courts have seen sense, and Josette has won the court case that seems to ...

What a great day out we had on Sunday, in fact it was described by one walker as the best walk ever, mind, she says this after every walk. but it was a cracker, the scenery and the autumn colours were stunning. The walk started in Fondales in the Alpujaras and headed down to, and then across, the Rio Trevelez before heading up the dark side of Sierra Mercina. At this time of the year this north facing hillside is mostly in shadow in the morning with a few patches of sun light dotting the path, it was like walking in and out of a freezer. One of the big attractions of this walk is the way down from the top of Sierra Mercina. The drop is near vertical but the path is very ingeniously woven into the hillside, so much so that, when you get to the bottom you cannot see where you have been. I have done this walk a number of times but have never stopped at the health fountain. This is a natural spring, with carbonated water, absolutely fantastic, on the next visit I will take so...

Sunday dawned bright and sunny, and for me that was a welcome change, having just spend 5 days in the UK. I think someone must have forgotten to turn the sun on, I had to walk round with a torch all week. Our walk this week took us down the hill to Guájar Faragúit and we were soon walking and stripping off to T shirts and regretting we had not put shorts on. After a short, stiff climb we arrived at the ruined moorish castle, situated high above the valley where we stopped for our breakfast. Our return journey took us through the lush valley bottom, and the hunter gathers amongst us were in second heaven as we wandered amongst Tangerine, Advocado and Custard Apple trees. Quina excelled herself this week by wangling an invite into a very friendly farmers field, by the time we arrived back in Faragúit we were loaded down with produce. Tapa was held at our house this week and an excellent meal was enjoyed by all. Our walk this Sunday, the 16th November, is a trip into the Alpu...

I do not know what the official government position is regarding the ending of the 7 year drought, but here in the valley we have seen so much rain this week that I keep expecting Noah to knock on the door wanting to know if I want to buy a boat. Combine that with the low temperatures that we are having to endure at the moment and you can understand the trauma that us Lecrin folk are going through. Our walk on Sunday was always going to be a hit or miss affair, not knowing from one day to the next what the weather would bring. When the cat came in at 5am Sunday morning, dripping wet, I thought it was going to be another day reading the Sunday papers, but by 7 am the clouds had rolled back and we had the makings of a fine day. By 9 the sun was shining but it was still only 4 degrees when we met in Nigúelas, but with hats, scarfs and gloves and the odd layer of thermal clothing everything was set for a stroll into the hills above Nigúelas. The views were stunning with Cabal...