And it's so nice to see the irrigation channels running full blast this morning. The dogs loved it!
Social-Feed – 2023 (342)
Since Dec 2022 we have been running our own Mastodon & GoToSocial servers. What a breath of fresh air the Fediverse has been. We have made many hundreds of new friends from around the world, mostly related to our mountain, tech and nature interests.
Connect with me/us on the Fediverse at:
The cooler air made for stunningly clear views this morning from the dog walk
No mountains for me this weekend, sadly. I'm putting my amateur developer head on & rebuilding my local walking club website. Originally was a Ghost site, I converted it to MD files & imported to @eleventy & used simplecss.org for easy styling. No Javascript. The usual post build production (html-min etc) gave me this result on Lighthouse. More than pleased with the day's work! Clean & functional, no frills, as you'd expect from this combination.
I have to admit that I am fascinated by snow tunnels. One glance inside opens up another world, almost other worldly. A world that has laid dormant and asleep for months. Strange colours and textures line the walls, insects stir, green shoots appear and the air is filled with the sound of running water. Life is returning. I did tell you I like them. Didn't I? 😂
Good morning Tooters! The head belongs to our cat, "Sweep". She is the most "cat-like" of our cats. Here, seen snuggled up to her sister. Difficult to tell which body belongs to which 😂
Today, with no great expectations, we went in search of a thin ribbon of snow that would lead to the summit of Caballo 3009m. Sad to say, that did not exist. After 20 years of enjoying superb winters here, this winter is definitely the worst. In earlier years I have skied this slope in mid-May, but today end of March 2023, it's like June. Anyway, any day out on the hills is good & this area of the Sierra Nevada is so wild & unspoiled.
Just made my first major change to Open Street Map when, a few days ago, I came across a marked hiking path in the Sierra Nevada that was in fact a shallow dry watercourse with no sign of passage that led to some steep and difficult terrain to descend. Hope I've put it through OK on the edits.
The eastern Sierra Nevada west of Puerta de la Ragua provides high, rolling mountain country. Morron del Hornillo (2377m) and Morron Sanjuanero (2609m) are moderate objectives for a day hike but we made it a little more interesting by coming down SE of the summit to join the Trans Sierra Nevada cycle track.
@breitensteinart The GIF on the following link is very interesting. It does indeed show that whilst Spain does receive some heavy amounts of dust it can miss out by prevailing winds that head west of Spain, and then north to eventually arrive in Northern Europe. Some photos from our clean up operation
https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cams-accurately-forecasts-first-saharan-dust-transports-2022
Sometimes going off the beaten track can land you in some incredible situations. Of course, you have to be prepared for rough terrain and going pathless isn't for everybody, but do it, take it in, embrace it and enjoy it! You see the Sierra Nevada how it used to be. Wild, untamed and natural. We left no trace
I think they enjoyed today's hike into the high mountains!
I was a bit too late to capture tonight's "Parade of the Planets" but a beautiful sky nonetheless. The bright planet must be "Venus" I guess.
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/rare-sky-event-parade-of-planets-2023
Short video: Scrambling down the west ridge of the Peñon de la Mata. To the south the snow clad Sierra Nevada mountains and to the west the outskirts of the city of Granada
Warm morning walk today along the "acequias" (irrigation channels) above Lanjarón. Earned the cold beer afterwards!
A year ago today the Sahara Dust arrived (Calima). The whole of the south of Spain was affected. Our town Lanjarón, was turned dirty orange, almost like a Sci-Fi movie. After a week we were left with houses, cars and trees covered in a dirty brown dusty mud. That legacy still remains in many parts of towns and villages.
Instead of re-painting our house white we painted it "Sahara Dust" colour in case it returns. Lazy aren't we? 😂
End of another glorious day. Night all you Tooters!
Loved this frontage to a house in the village of Izbor, Andalucia. Despite being covered with remnants of the Autumn's Sahara Dust storm (Calima) the owner has decorated with plants in beautiful ceramic vases.
Memories from the past: 17th July 1983 and my first time on the summit of Mont Blanc 4807 metres. Couldn't see a thing! Love the cheap "scout shop" waterproofs and the lack of helmets and harnesses. Joined together by a simple bowline around the waist. Our ice axes were cheap, old and wooden with a small, straight pick. We survived though, possibly because summer alpine snow conditions were safer than these days. Good times.
A beautiful hike today, closer to home and at lower level. From the Beznar dam down the Rio Izbor to the village of Izbor and then back uphill for a couple of cold beers in Pinos de Valle. Part of this route forms the long distance path called "Ruta Boabdil", in the Lecrin Valley area, south of Granada
Sat in the middle of the road eating our lunch under the shade of the olive and lemon trees.
