Morning light on Cerro de Caballo (3009m) reflected perfectly in the small lake by Laguna de Nájera as we get ready to strike camp
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A marvelous 2 day backpacking trek into the upper reaches of the Lanjarón Valley in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains. Still lots of snow which form tunnels through which the river flows. Beautiful scenery of mountains, rivers, wildflowers and a feeling of remoteness.The trek is 26km in total with 1500 metres ascent/descent.
Video 3:52
Did I tell you I like snow tunnels? This image from the upper Lanjaron Valley a couple of days ago
All packed up & ready for tomorrow's jaunt up the 15km Rio Lanjaron valley & reaching the Laguna de Lanjaron at 3000m tomorrow pm. Returning following day via the Verea Corta & lagunas at Bolanos, Cuadrado & Caballo. Maybe summiting Cerro de Caballo along the way? Taking spikes as I have heard some trails still affected by hard snow in the mornings.
Pack weight is 5kg + 1.5kg consumables and 0.7kg camera equipment.
@[email protected] it's 11am and its 100°C. It will generally cook from 10am until whenever we are ready to eat. Afternoon temp expect 150°C. We adjust the direction of the oven/shields if we want lower temps
The ultimate slow cooker, nothing overcooks
Our trusty sun/solar oven at work early this morning. A dhal curry is gently going to cook for hours during the day.
We bought this oven some 15+ years ago and its given excellent service. Anybody with some DIY skills could make this (I have none!). Its relatively simple, a black box with a parabolic aluminium shield. A very efficient, free energy resource.
Been messing about trying to convert some very old outdated/unused mobile phones to be used as GPS devices in the hills. Might as well get some value from them, yes?
BQ Aquarius 4.5 running Ubuntu Touch OS - big fail. Bricked it :sablobsmilehappy:
OnePlus 3 running e/os/ (Android) - big fail at loading Lineage OS until I luckily hit the right combination of recovery buttons that led to a complete restart of e/os/. Now functioning well just as a standalone GPS device using OSMAnd+ for mapping
The weather forecasts said rain/storms from early morning throughout the day. I was somewhat suspect as the norm this time of year is for cloud build up mid-afternoon and maybe some thunderstorms late afternoon. Anyway I heeded their warning so today we changed venue from high mountain to low mountain. We hiked in the Forests of the Cumbres Verdes with an easy escape available.
Anyway we had a lovely walk. Here's a 2 minute video of the hike.
I've joined a Peertube instance to produce a series of short hiking and mountain videos of my travels through southern Spain.
As a bit of a test today, I filmed our regular morning dog walk. Please bear with me, I have recently acquired a DJI Pocket 2 and it is all a bit new.
I intend for the videos to be either "Silent" or with easy listening music, no narrative. I'm probably not that natural a speaker anyway and the landscapes should do the talking, not me! 😀
Trumpet Gentian found on a hillside at 2500m in the Sierra Nevada a few days ago. Proper name I think is Gentiana alpina (or Southern gentian)
I've upgraded our Petzl Via Ferrata lanyards in preparation for our forthcoming July trip to the Dolomites. These "Scorpio Vertigos" weigh only 380 each (+ pully) so are quite a weight saving on the previous models which we have.
There are more and more Via Ferratas popping up here in Andalucia so the old kits will still be well utilised.
Yesterdays early morning start from our bivouac site had us ascending using an easy snow staircase that led up 400 meters to the ridge line. We arrived to meet the sun and walk the high ridges southwards, going up Cerro de Caballo, before dropping steeply back down to the car. By lunchtime, a couple of hours later, we were enjoying a cold beer in Lanjarón.
An excellent two days that will live long in the memory.
First light reaches the mountains of the Alayos del Dilar group with Corazon de la Sandia prominent. Behind the outskirts of the city of Granada.
What a morning! This was our view when the suns rays reached us yesterday morning after a 2 hour ascent through the dawns shadows. In front of us the magnificent Cerro de Caballo, Europe's most southerly and westerly 3000m peak.
There is much more snow here this June than I can remember from previous years. All good news for this summers irrigation supplies in the Alpujarras
What a magnificent setting for last nights bivouac. A small lake surrounded by crags and snow slopes. It's grassy banks were filled with bright blue "trumpet gentian" flowers and the noise of busy insects filled the air. Waterfalls gushed over the lip of the corrie as the sun set over Granada city, some 2200 meters below.
Spread my ashes there when I pass on please!
Our Crux Raid single skin, 4 season tent is a bit of a tight fit for 2 people, but is so easy to put up and the most reliable mountain companion. Not the best for expeditions where space on bad days would be preferable, but perfect for overnight, lightweight excursions into the mountains
Our first sight of overnight camp last night, a small, well hidden lake (Laguna Carnero) nestled amongst crags.
"Don't Pack A Halfie"! Been transferring half empty gas cannisters to top up my small ones. Really works well using the Flip Fuel from https://flipfuel.co
Good way to conserve weight and redistribute gas for camping
I love packing for an overnight mountain camp. Decisions have to be made regarding expected weather, temperatures and underfoot conditions. Hopefully I've got this one about right? Up tomorrow into the Sierras to camp by a hidden lake, back Tuesday after summiting a couple of 3000m peaks. Weight about 5kg + water + camera equipment
Overnight clouds beginning to clear this morning. Lanjarón, Granada, Spain
