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A short walk in the Sierra Nevada Pt 3 of 3

A short walk in the Sierra Nevada Pt 3 of 3


Postby Verylatestarter » Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:21 pm

Date walked: 21/07/2015

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This walk is a continuation of walk report:-
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=109461

Pitres to Capileria and then onto La Cadadilla 21/7/15

1 View from hotel Marivedi terrace.jpg
View from the Hotel Marivedi terrace

2 Early Sun.jpg
Early sun

3 Early breakfast.jpg
Early breakfast in the open

4 timeless landscape.jpg
A timeless landscape

5 A Southern Scarce Swallowtail.jpg
A Southern Scarce Swallowtail up early

6 The Sierra de Jubileyl range forms the south side of the main valley where Orgiva sits.jpg
The Sierra de Jubileyl range forms the South side of the Guadaifeo valley where Orgiva lies

7 The ATV track along the West side of the Rio Poqueria valley - GR 240.jpg
The ATV track along the West side of the Rio Poqueria valley

8 Bubion from above.JPG
Bubion from above

9 Looking North to Valeta.JPG
Looking North to Veleta - definitely reachable, note snow patch in July, see part 1 of report

10 Looking south to the coast - day 6 route down in the valley.JPG
looking South to the Coast - the day 6 route can be seen down in the valley on the right


After a scorching day on the 20th we opted for an early start to take full advantage of the shadow on the east side of the Rio Porqueria valley. We packed early and ate our picnic breakfast in the open with the sun rising. We picked up the GR7 heading East but soon veered off onto a high level ATV track that kept us above the villages of Pampenera and Bubion. We made good time in the cool of the morning and arrived at the hotel in Capileira before lunch. The three towns in the valley were beautiful and prosperous, having thousands of tourists visit every month; everything was immaculate and there were plenty of shops, albeit ones selling mostly useless items.

11 Capileria.JPG
capileria

12.1 The switchback road above Capileria.JPG
The switchback road down to Capileria

12.2 Looking down Rio Poqueria from Capileria.jpg
looking down the Rio Poqueria from Capileria

13.JPG

14.1 local chimneys.JPG
local chimney style

14.2 Someone has left a mop out.jpg
Someone has left their mop out


Having sorted out our packs and had lunch we decided to take a walk up the Poqueria valley towards the power plant at La Cadadilla.

Route day 5 part 2 Capileria North to power station.JPG
The day 5 part 2 route Capileria North to La Cadadilla and back

15 The North road out of Capileria PR- A69 & A23.jpg
The North path out of Capileria, the PRs A23 and A69

16 Threshing floor.jpg
Threshing floor

17.1 La Cadadilla.jpg
La Cadadilla

18 Looking North towards the Refugio Poqueria and Mulhacen 2.JPG
Looking North towards Refugio Poqueria and Mulhacen 2


We took the footpath PR-A69 North out of the village, keeping to the West side of the valley, the footpath picked up and ran parallel to an Acequia and then an unmade road which lead down to the scattering of buildings and bridge at La Cadadilla. On the way we passed partly abandoned farms and threshing floors, terraced fields of wheat and a few cattle. Past the bridge we walked on to the power station, a group of large pipes descended from the East side of the valley from the heights which supplied the water for the Hydro plant. The footpath continued past the plant to Puenta Naute. This path is the PR-A23 which led, with a 1000m of ascent and 5000m travel, to the Refugio Poqueria which would have made a neat circular walk had we not been staying another week locally.

19 Rio poqueria.JPG
Rio Poqueria below La Cadadilla

20 The Puente da Buchite.JPG
The Puente da Buchite

22 A cure for aching feet.jpg

23.1.jpg

23.jpg


Back to the road bridge we followed the PR-A23 on the East side of the valley; this is much less build upon, with a few decrepit farm buildings and overgrown fields. The route rises up the side of the valley and then drops quickly over rough ground to the small bridge at Puente de Buchite (I’m not sure what the English translation is as I didn’t have my phrase book!). There are accessible pools either side of the bridge and we took the opportunity to cool off and sooth our battered feet, despite this being the height of Summer, the water was cold and refreshing, a wonderful spot to rest in the shade of the trees. We dragged our way up the slope on the West side of the valley, past the rock shaped like a fist, past more threshing floors and back into Capileria via a lower path.

24.JPG
Further down the valley

25 Fist rock on PR- A69.jpg
Fist rock on the PR-A69



Capileria to Soportujar 22/7/15

Route day 6 Capileria - Soportujar.JPG
The day 6 route - Capileria to Soportujar


26 Fountain on way out of Capileria.jpg
Fountain on the way out of Caplileria

27 Back on the GR 7 below Bubion.jpg
Back on the GR7 below Bubion

28 Looking back towards Bubion, Capileria and Valeta.jpg
Looking back towards Bubion, Capileria and Veleta

30.jpg

31 Pampaneria.JPG
Pampaneria


We were due to meet Debbie, who was flying in today so we could spend a week in a villa near Bayacas. The idea being that we would walk as far as we could get and meet up for lunch. If we missed each other, we would end up at the villa. We set off from the hotel early, again to have the benefit of the shadow on the East side of the valley. We found an unmapped path out of Capileria, which didn’t drop down to the valley floor, parallel to the road. It dropped into the lovely town of Bubion and then down the valley to Pampanieria; this part of the valley was very green and well farmed.

32 Looking West from the GR7 to Sportujar.JPG
Looking West from the GR7 to Soportujar

33.JPG

38 Walking into Sportujar, Caner on the hill beyond.jpg
Walking into Soportujar, Caner on the hill beyond

39 The plaze in Sportujar.jpg
The Witches Plaza in Soportujar


Somewhere we picked up the GR7 and walked down the winding main road to the bridge and another Hydro plant. After a short distance the path left the road but didn’t stray high up the slope. This contour path took us almost all of the 6Km to Soportujar. We found this a slightly odd town compared to hose we had already visited, not as tourist influenced. The little plaza, which had a great view South, featured a statue of witches and a strange choice of tiling. We were just about to leave when we received a call from Debbie. We agreed to rendezvous on the main road just below the village so we headed down the steep footpath towards Carataunas where we were picked up. We found a restaurant where to have lunch and told tall tales of our adventures.

40 Bayacas, our destination.JPG
Bayacas, our destination

41 Orgiva and the South range of the Alpujarras.JPG
Orgiva and the range to the South


As a postscript, in the following week, with Debbie, we repeated the walk to La Cadadilla, part of the Pitres circular (4th time) and also a walk along the valley above Travelez; the latter proved to be something of a disappointment as the river valley was very scrubby and featureless.

In conclusion a very satisfying week in beautify country. If we had been more experienced or confident in our abilities, I think we would have tackled more, especially La Alcazaba and the Siete Lagunas above Travelez. Having said that it was very hot, and we came out of it without injury or heatstroke so maybe we got it right. Our relative success spurred us on to try a few more hills in Britain, which is an ongoing adventure.
Last edited by Verylatestarter on Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Verylatestarter
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Re: A short walk in the Sierra Nevada Pt 3 of 3

Postby past my sell by date » Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:41 pm

What a wonderful dog - reminded me of those deep shagpile carpets that were all the rage at one time :lol: :lol:
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Re: A short walk in the Sierra Nevada Pt 3 of 3

Postby Pointless Parasite » Fri Dec 03, 2021 9:05 pm

past my sell by date wrote:What a wonderful dog - reminded me of those deep shagpile carpets that were all the rage at one time :lol: :lol:


Musically minded readers will immediately think "Odelay". An impressive walk though, and well done for climbing Mulhacen. I'd intended to climb this when I lived in Barcelona, but unfortunately covid interfered and it never happened :(
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