Bright and sunny morning as we met in the centre
of Gata for this weeks Soldates walk.
Warmer than last week and difficult to know what to wear. It’s always cool at the start, but we were
well aware that we would soon warm up climbing Soldates
It takes about an hour to reach the foot of the hill, where
we always have our banana stop and try not to think about the climb to come.
Apparently it only takes 15 to 20 minutes to climb, but it
seems a lot longer than that. The more
you climb the steeper it gets. The
usual chatter is soon replaced by silence except for the heavy breathing. Worse of all there is a false summit.
Everyone takes it at their own pace. We have done it quite a few times, and we
seem to adopt the right sequence for each to be able to stick to their own pace
without slowing anyone else down. As we
approach the top the group is spread out, but not more than one or two minutes
between the first and last.
Jackie, Jan and Pat are amongst the first to reach the top,
and settle down to recover and enjoy the view.
The views to the coast and the surrounding mountains are
pretty impressive. However it is often
windy and chilly at the summit and we tend not to linger here too long.
We wait just long enough for everyone to recover, and to
take the traditional group photo with the trig point to prove we have all made
it. We do this walk at least once each
year, and it might be interesting to compare the group photo each year .
Having climbed all the way to the summit, we immediately
start downhill again. The path is not
as steep, but the surface much worse.
Lots of loose rocks and pebbles ensure that everyone spends more time
looking at their feet than the lovely views.
About half way back to Gata here is a wide flat area with fine views, a good place for a final water stop.
There are lovely views of Montgo and the surrounding area, and
in particular the route we will follow back to Gata.
Not sure what Mike and Peter are talking about, but it seems
quite serious
Pat is showing Jan where her house is, quite close to Montgo
As always we stopped for a drink in Gata, and it was warm
enough to sit outside. But the highlight
was this Christmas tree made of plastic water bottles.
19 January 2015
Next Monday will be Cocoll.
Meet in Benichembla at 10am.
Walk cancelled due to poor weather. Hope to walk to Cocoll next week instead
Walk cancelled due to poor weather. Hope to walk to Cocoll next week instead
