Lecrin Valley Limpers

This week it was our big end of the month walk and we went to Mulhacen. It was a walk for the tough and the brave, a walk to remember, a walk with no views. We have had a pretty mixed bag of weather this week. The promised rain finally appeared along with some heavy thunderstorms. The forecast for Sunday, whilst not good,  did look like we stood a reasonable chance of remaining dry. As usual for the Mulhacen trip we had an early, 7 am start from Beznar, this gives us enough time for the drive to Capiliera, a quick coffee and sufficient time to get the tickets for the bus. There was 15 of us and I counted up how many actions the ticket issuer had to go through, each ticket needed 11 ticks, stamps, or something written on it. 165 actions to issue 15 tickets. We could have had an extra 30 minutes in bed. The cloud was hanging about at around 2500 metres, somewhat short of the predicted 3800 metres in the forecast, and considerably lower than the 3482 meter summit of Mu...

Hi This week the weather forecast had been predicting rain for the weekend so I had found a local walk on hard tracks, one we could shorten if it turned wet. We met at the crossroads in Talara, the sky was grey and the cloud base was low but the temperature was perfect for walking. We headed off in the direction of Chite bajo, and then down into the barranco that runs down to the Pantano de Beznar. The path kept crossing a small stream and it was quite slippy. I kept expecting to hear a SPLAT as someone went in but no, everyone remained dry. The path alongside the lake was overgrown in places, some in the group called for the man with the sharp Machete to clear it. I maintained it looked like a weeks job so we just struggled through it. We stopped at the Beznar recreation area for a drink and Javi and Rosa joined us. Seemingly they had been tracking us since Talara, they had gone for a coffee before the start of the walk and when they came out we had gone. Losing two befo...

Well, this week we went to the Barranco de la Luna and for a change we did not lose anybody, a bit boring really, except for the fact that this must be one of the most spectacular barrancos in Spain. I could not believe the number of people who turned up today for the walk. When the number reached 33 I thought it was time to leave before the whole valley decided to join us. The walk starts off in Saleres and heads uphill on the Albunúelas road. Always a good start when you are supposed to be heading down into a barranco. It then heads downhill, following  a number of campo roads, before finally dropping down on to a little track down to the river. We had a short break to change shoes, because from here on the path gets wet. The stream does not look much at this point but it does get deep in places. The start of the barranco was obscured by undergrowth. I should have brought the Machete because we had to fight our way through a jungle. Talk about exploring, it looke...

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 br...

Hi This week it was our end of the month hard walk, we went to Capileira and a walk in the Poqueira gorge. There were 10 in the group so we squeezed into 2 cars for the drive. The weather forecast was predicting rain from 5pm onwards so we had no time for  coffee at the start, we needed to get going to avoid the heat in the valley, and the rain later. The walk starts in the village and heads uphill towards the Hydro Electric station at Cebadilla, this is a pleasant trail, one we have used many times when we have wanted a short walk around Capileira. Today our sights were set a lot higher as we were heading towards the Poqueira Refugio. From the Hydro station the path follows the river in this wonderful valley, next time we will come in late spring when all the wild flowers are out. The path is easy to follow, it is wide and well marked, it, being the main access route for the refugio.  It was a bit of a shock to discover we had lost 2 in the group. Yes, we had ...

This week we went to Prado Negro and a walk along the top of Tajos del los Riscos Moro. The walk started from the bar in Prado Negro, always a good place to start from as there is a cold beer waiting for you when you get back. To start with we followed a track heading uphill, and away from the direction we needed to be going, but there was a plan. Mike and Kees were going off exploring on their own, and we needed to set them off in the right direction, so they joined us for the first couple of km. We said goodbye and arranged to meet them in the bar later. We headed for the pimple, a small hillock on the ridge. In other situations it would be considered as a spectacular outcrop of rocks but amongst these magnificent rock faces it is a mere blip, but for us it served as a pleasant place to sit and have a snack before our serious climb. Now if you have not been up the Tajos del los Riscos Moro before it comes as a bit of a shock, when someone says “We are going up there” ...

Hi We had a superb walk this week, well it could not really be described as a walk, it was  more of a scramble in a river, and we all got soaked. We had met at Los Mondarinos in Durcal and then driven down to the Rio Durcal picnic area, it’s only a couple of kms but it saves the walk back when it is starting to get warm. You can only do this walk in the summer when the water temperature is high enough, and the volume of water is reduced. The walk starts by following an acequia as it meanders through a cleft in the rocks. If you can take your eyes off the narrow path for a moment and look up it is a truly stunning path. Anywhere else, it would be a tourist attraction, with coach trips and “that will be €5.00 please”. In our corner of Spain it’s “so what, why would anyone want to come here” Long may this attitude continue and we can continue to enjoy our walks in solitude. Well, not quite, there were 22 of us. The acequia and river eventually meet up and this is w...

With hot weather forecast for the weekend we wanted somewhere cool to walk this Sunday, so we introduced a new walk to the group. The walk is centered around the Rio Bermejo, a delightful little river above Pitres in the Alpujarras The start of the walk is on a forest track some 20 minutes drive above Capileira. At 1750 metres altitude it made the perfect place to start a walk from  in August. The temperature was just right, with a gentle breeze blowing to cool things down. The path climbs steadily for the first 3 km, with much of it in the shade from the surrounding forest. At the top we met up with the Sulayr trail and we turned back along this towards Capileira. The walk crosses a number of tiny streams which all join up to make the Rio Bermejo, we discovered the delights of this river later when we had returned to the cars. Finding a nice shady spot we stopped for elevenses, we had now reached our maximum altitude of 2239 metres. With the slight breeze keeping th...

We had an easy walk planned for this weekend to the Sierra Huétor. The Parque Natural de   Huétor is on the far side of Granada, just off the A92 Guadix road. There are a lot of paths and trails to choose from, so this week, due to the expected high temperatures we chose one that was quite short and kept to the shade most of the time. The walk starts by going straight up to the Cruz de Viznar on a rocky path. In the past I have always come down the path but going up was a lot easier. After a short scramble on the last few metres we all made it to the top. The views from up here are superb, we stayed a while admire the open vistas, and then returned to the forest for a walk to some civil war trenches. These have recently been restored and are a potent reminder of the utter senseless stupidity of war. We stopped here for an early lunch and then called in at the visitor centre. The receptionist asked where we were from, and was quite surprised with the answer we gave ...

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...