El Perro Negro's Day to Day Ramblings
Packing for an overnight mountain trip into the Sierra Nevada for tomorrow and Wednesday. Had to get my big expedition pack out to fit it all in! 9 kilos is much more than I am used to carrying but I have to take crampons and extra gear to cope with expected below freezing temperatures and strong winds. Sometimes hard to believe I live in southern Spain within sight of Africa!
A moody Saturday morning in Lanjarón. Maybe some rain?
Today, a client borrowed and tested my Six Moon Designs sun umbrella. Like me, he seemed happy with it as it really does create some cooling shade. Will be a standard item in my backpack during the forthcoming summer months.
P.S Can also be used to keep the rain off 😂
Today I've been hiking round the quiet, arab-influenced villages of La Taha before crossing the ancient bridge over the Rio Trevelez, ascending the gorge via the old pack horse trail and then dropping down to a fine lunch at El Valero, author Chris Stewart's farm..
My wife is away working today, so I've been busy food preparing. Vegetarian chili, guacamole, potato wedges, focaccia bread and liver cake for my dogs. Hope I don't get things mixed up when my veggie wife returns 😂 😂 😂
A tree with a view!
Today's trailhead was just a 20 minute drive from Granada city. 4 kilometers and 300 meters of ascent later we reached the delectable and very well named summit of "Cerro Buenavista". We ate our lunch in the warm sunshine, on the soft grassy summit slopes with the snows of the Sierra Nevada stretched out before us. The dulcet tones of Lou Reeds "Perfect Day" played gently in the background. Yup, about right!
I've been out guiding with author Chris Stewart today on the GR240 and GR7 trails between Hoya del Portillo and Busquisar in the Sierra Nevada. Stunning day with super views. Found a solitary gentian in a stream bed, a couple of weeks more and there will be hundreds! Apart from our group we saw not another soul en route in 6 hours of hiking.
Overnight Camp - post 3/3
As light dawned on a very cold and windy morning we hurriedly packed up our tent and waited in the lieu of some rocks for the sun to arrive. The cold wait was worthwhile as the morning sun started to touch the summits and quickly spread to the ridges. A magical time of day to be in the mountains.
Overnight Camp - post 2/3
As the sun went slowly down to the west of Granada we were left with a brief but beautiful sunset over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. We watched the sun dip below the horizon and then the clouds illuminated with color, before the cold had us hurrying towards our tent.
Overnight Camp 11th/12th April - post 1/3
Images of the northern faces of Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains from yesterday afternoons arrival at our campsite at 1900m.
Details of each mountain image are detailed in the ALT text
Wow, what a wild night. Total calm until 2am and then the strong winds hit our exposed perch on the mountainside. Not much sleep after that. Winds were more suited to Patagonia than southern Spain.
Good job we had a good tent. If we had a festival tent we would have woken up in Morocco 😀 😂
With @khusky @chriswright
Camp erected ready for the night. Beyond are the snows of the Sierra Nevada. Hoping we get a good sunset and sunrise.
With @chriswright @khusky @chriswright
Heading up into the Sierra Nevada this afternoon for an impromptu wild camp. Second time out for the very lightweight (but expensive!) Samaya tent.
Hopefully I will be able to capture a nice sunset and sunrise over the high mountains. We shall see.
Río Bacal, Jayena - Sendero de los Arrieros - Mirador de la Encina - Poza del Romance
Brilliant hiking route over some new ground for me/us. Incredible that so much varied and interesting walking terrain is available within an hours drive of home near Granada. Must have done over 100 routes so far.
Here's some photos from the "non-river" part of yesterday trip (see previous post)
Spring is in the air and so starts our Andalucia river walking season. Yesterday, we found a 6 km long stretch of river, a bit overgrown after the winter, but full of color, challenges and interest. Glorious scenery with 20+ enforced crossings of the river with rock pools galore to cool off in. A fabulous day!
Blog post (yes, they still exist! 😆) - A weeks snowshoeing in the Picos de Europa
In March 2024 we headed for the Picos de Europa for a few days snowshoeing. Here is a short report about what we got up to
https://elperronegro.com/posts/2024-03-23-snowshoeing-picos-de-europa/
Wonderful circular hike today starting at the Collado del Muerto above Monachil (Granada) and taking in Cerro de Cuesta Bermejo and the Rio Monachil. Lovely mix of valleys and mountainsides and at every turn backed by the snow covered Sierra Nevada and Cumbres Verdes mountains.
Self sufficiency in the mountains 😂
BREAKING NEWS: The clock in my car now shows the correct time 🤣