Mar-May 2023, Hiking in Spain

Thu, 23 Feb 2023

Big winter storm in Sierras, possibly continuing through Monday. Decided to fly to San Francisco instead of relying on Flix bus. $419 for nonstop flight on United, including upgrade to allow checked bag (would have been $40 for checked bag alone versus $48 upgrade that includes checked bag). Nonstop Southwest flights available to/from Oakland for under $100 if purchased month in advance, departing Tue-Thu at approximately 06:00 or 18:00 from Reno, 09:00 or 19:00 from Oakland. Another possibility is Los Angeles, which also has flights to/from Reno under $100 on Southwest: 10:40 and 19:00 departures from Reno, 07:00 and 19:00 from Los Angeles. Probably need to forget buses in USA and plan for air travel henceforth between Reno and either San Francisco or Los Angeles. So maybe $200/year extra travel expenses.

Mon, 27 Feb 2023

Flight delayed and then canceled due to weather. (Bus was also canceled and probably no buses will be able to cross Sierras until after Wednesday, so correct decision to buy airline ticket.) Rescheduled Reno-San Francisco flight for tomorrow at 06:00. Rescheduled San Francisco-Madrid flight for tomorrow evening, arriving around midnight Wednesday. Rescheduled Madrid-Granada bus for early morning Thursday. (Original bus ticket included option to change itinerary. Cost was about €30, using CapitalOne credit card, which doesn't charge fees for use outside USA.) Retrieved luggage and spent night in airport, using foam pad and quilt for bed. Noise was tolerable, so able to get several hours sleep.

Tue, 28 Feb 2023

Flight to San Francisco experienced turbulence during ascent, but after that was smooth flying.

Wed, 01 Mar 2023

Arrival in Madrid. Metro to Estación Sur de Autobuses (€7.50). Arrived at bus station after midnight, so too late to buy SIM card from kiosk there.

Thu, 02 Mar 2023

Alsa bus from Madrid at 01:30, arrived Granada at 6:30. Cash from ATM. Bought food and loaded with water for 1 day. Bought SIM at Yoigo store on C/Alhamar 9, east of C/Mulhacén. Alternative would be GreenPhone store on Reyes Católicos, where I bought Llamaya SIM card last year. Need to get list of Yoigo and other locations to buy SIM before leaving Reno. Made reservation for tomorrow at Hostal Manolete in Lanjarón, €30 through booking.com.

Fri, 03 Mar 2023

Couldn't get to sleep until early morning, then slept until about 11:00. Paid for two nights at Hostal Manolete to allow for adjusting sleep schedule. Pullups using bridge frame in park at east end of town.

Sun, 05 Mar 2023

Sleep schedule almost adjusted to local time. Briefly talked to 2 American men hiking GR7. Pullups using football goal frame at exit from Soportújar. €30 at Hostal Atalaya in Capileira. Head felt hot in afternoon, then splitting headache at night.

Mon, 06 Mar 2023

Slept full 7 hours for first time since leaving Reno. Headache mostly gone in morning, but still some heaviness in head. Felt better after yoga, then fully recovered a few hours later. Beautiful day. €30 at Hostal Fermina in Trevélez.

Tue, 07 Mar 2023

Headache again in morning, but not too bad, disappeared by end of day. Maybe from disrupted sleep. €25 at Bar Cadí in Cádiar.

Wed, 08 Mar 2023

Mild headache in morning, disappeared almost immediately. €45 at Pensión La Fuente in Yegen through booking.com. Bar El Tinao was full. Made phone reservation for hostal in La Calahorra.

Thu, 09 Mar 2023

Still having trouble with sleep schedule and mild headaches in morning. Warm weather. Camped at usual spot 2km past Bayárcal, but will backtrack tomorrow and follow paved road to avoid bad trail conditions. Even 100m of trail from end of dirt road to campsite was treacherous because of thorns. Carried 4.5L out of Bayárcal, in case Fuente de las Yeguas is dry like last year. Given warm temperatures, 2L would not be enough to comfortably get to fuente at Ferreira picnic spot.

Fri, 10 Mar 2023

While backtracking to paved road, noticed two possible campsites that are just off dirt road, so no need to pass thorns. Both stealthy except from dirt road, which is seldom used. Strong north wind and cooler than yesterday. Fuente de las Yeguas dry like last year. Trail overgrown with thorns last 200m before road to Ferreira. Next year, stay on ridge, cross to east side of Arroyo Hondo near bottom of ridge, continue 100m north on east side slope, then descend to road, versus following GR7 through thorn infested Arroyo Chico. €30 at Hostal Labella in La Calahorra. Bought 2.5 days food, since store not open until 9:30 tomorrow and I want to leave earlier.

Sat, 11 Mar 2023

Sunny and mild. Hiked shirtless all day. Fuente in center of Charches running. Fuente La Fragua running several liters per minute. Picked up 4L there. Camped at usual spot about 5km hiking distance past Fuente La Fragua.

sierra nevada

Sun, 12 Mar 2023

Disrupted sleep and mild headaches each morning continue. Not sure what problem is. Sunny and warm. Talked briefly to German girl hiking GR7, alternating between camping and hostels, plans to leave trail at Puebla de Don Fadique. Picked up 2L at Fuente de la Canaleja Alta. Camped at usual spot about 15km from Baza.

Mon, 13 Mar 2023

Finally woke up after good night's sleep with no morning headache. Probably some mild version of covid or flu that would have quickly disappeared had I simply slept my normal USA schedule for several days after arriving in Spain. Combination of changed sleep schedule, stress of hiking, plus illness itself, together caused continued bad sleep, so no opportunity to recover from illness.

Ran into owner of hostal Casa Grande in Baza, where I stayed 95 days during covid lockdown, while descending along GR7. He was bicycling with group. After eating in park, checked into hostal at €54 for 2 nights.

Successfully tested receipt of SMS on spare smartphone, which is using Mint in roaming mode (SMS sent via Skype, since Yoigo doesn't support sending international SMS).

Tue, 14 Mar 2023

Slept well again, with no morning headache, so illness evidently gone for good.

Wed, 15 Mar 2023

Warm and sunny. Picked up 4L in Zújar. Camped at usual spot on way to Benamaurel.

Thu, 16 Mar 2023

Both Hostals in Cúllar had no vacancies. Bought food for tomorrow at store, filled water bottles, camped about 1km from town in dry wash, stealthy spot behind bushes.

Fri, 17 Mar 2023

Camped in pine forest before Orce.

Sat, 18 Mar 2023

Bought food in Orce and camped at same spot as yesterday. Want to arrive in Huéscar tomorrow.

Sun, 19 Mar 2023

€32 at Hostal Ruta del Sur in Huéscar. Some rain in afternoon, first rain since my arrival in Spain.

Mon, 20 Mar 2023

Pulled back muscle doing pullups in morning. Camped on way to Puebla de Don Fadrique. Weather beautiful, as it has been almost every day since I arrived. Earlier spring than usual.

Tue, 21 Mar 2023

Torn back muscle continues to ache and go into spasms occasionally, but nevertheless able to do morning exercises and hike with backpack. €30 at Hostal Puerta de Andalucía. Restaurant closed for vacation, but telephone numbers on door for information regarding rooms.

Wed, 22 Mar 2023

Headache on morning again, maybe recurrence of covid. Torn back muscle healed somewhat. Did morning pushups but skipped pulling and other exercises. Fuente running in Cañada de la Cruz. Back muscle cramped horribly every time I rolled from side to side while lying down in evening.

Thu, 23 Mar 2023

No headache in morning and back muscle much improved over yesterday. Able to do usual morning exercises. Weak flow at Fuente La Rogativa: good thing I carried 4L out of Cañada de la Cruz, because fuente might be completely dry in drier year. €25 at Pensión El Nevazo in El Sabinar.

Fri, 24 Mar 2023

Again did morning exercises. Back muscle mostly healed. Warm day. Left pensión with 4L. Camped at usual spot, about 7km walking from Moratalla.

Sat, 25 Mar 2023

Camped at usual spot on way to Calasparra.

Sun, 26 Mar 2023

Spotted adult tick in morning while doing exercises: crushed between rocks. Did tick inspection afterwards but found none on body. €45 at Hotel Primavera in Calasparra.

Mon, 27 Mar 2023

Warm day. Drank 3L with breakfast, carried 4L out of town, plus .5L in rinsing bottle. Camped at usual spot amid pines, just past Barranco de la Murta.

Tue, 28 Mar 2023

€38 at Hotel Mesón del Moro in Abarán.

Wed, 29 Mar 2023

Drank 1.5L with breakfast and left hotel with 3L. Picked up 1L at Torre del Rico. Camped at usual spot after Torre del Rico.

Thu, 30 Mar 2023

€72 for 2 nights at Hostal La Cañada in Pinoso. Need rest day plus need to delay arrival in Elda until Sunday. Made reservations for Elda, Castalia and Alcoy through booking.com, because next week Semana Santa.

Sat, 01 Apr 2023

Bought 2 days food. Camped at usual spot on way to Elda.

Sun, 02 Apr 2023

Met older German guy on way into Elda. He started GR7 near Granada about 2 weeks ago and will take bus from Castalla to Alicante tomorrow to meet wife. He lives in Málaga. €48 at Hostal Carrizo in Elda.

Mon, 03 Apr 2023

Camped on way to Castalla, 600m WSW of Collado de Roque.

Tue, 04 Apr 2023

€36 at Hotel Caseta Nova outside Castalla. Paid with CapitalOne credit card because I didn't trust automated check-in machine to work properly with cash.

Wed, 05 Apr 2023

Camped on terrace amid pines, on way to Alcoy, 1.7 km before paved road CV-801 (UTM 30S 708247 4281315).

Thu, 06 Apr 2023

Bought food for tomorrow, since stores will be closed then. €56 at Hostal Savoy in Alcoy.

Fri, 07 Apr 2023

Good Friday. Drank 1.5L with breakfast, carried 3L out of town in case Font de Mariola dry, but it was running strong. Camped along road.

Sat, 08 Apr 2023

Warm day. Bought 3 days food in Bocairente, ate 1 day of food in town, drank 2.5L (another .5L with breakfast). Carried 5.5L out of town to allow 2 nights camping. Camped about 9km walk from town, just off trail in small clearing surrounded by pines. Not stealthy, because visible through pines from trail, but probably no hikers in morning.

Sun, 09 Apr 2023

Easter Sunday. Camped before Vallada.

Mon, 10 Apr 2023

Adult tick on leg after pushing through brush on descent into Vallada. Crushed tick between rocks. Did inspection after showering at casa rural, but find nothing. €50 through booking.com at Casa Rural Casa Peseta in Vallada. Stores closed today.

Tue, 11 Apr 2023

Warm and sunny. Stocked up on dark chocolate and peanuts, in case none in Cortes de Pallás. Drank 1.5L with breakfast, carried 4L and 2 days food out of town. Followed road to plateau soon after passing under railroad bridge rather than going through barranco then ascending. Camped amid pines about 500m before CV-590.

Wed, 12 Apr 2023

Warm and sunny again, with gusty northwest wind. Started hiking at 8am, to make good progress before afternoon heat. Picked up 4L at Fuente Benalí. Spring box full of clear water but only slow trickle of water entering box. Spring might go dry by May, unless some rain soon (no rain since I arrived March 1). Camped about 2km past Alto de la Sima de Quesa, just off road at 870m elevation amid pines, so sheltered from wind.

Thu, 13 Apr 2023

Fuente at Collado Carroche running several liters per minute, slower than usual. Camped at usual spot.

Fri, 14 Apr 2023

2 nights at Hostal El Rincón de Cortes for €70.

Sat, 15 Apr 2023

Noise from loud thumping music played through loudspeakers until maybe 3AM. Another reason to avoid Saturday nights in hotels. However, I've been mildly sick last week with conjunctivitis and cold symptoms, probably from latest version of covid, and needed a rest day to fully recover. Slept well enough despite noise.

Sun, 16 Apr 2023

Drank 2L with breakfast, left town with 3L and 2 days food. Camped at usual spot.

Mon, 17 Apr 2023

Drank 2L with breakfast, another 1L at Venta Gaeta then carried 4L from town. Because of drought (no rain since November), all but most reliable fuentes will be dry. May need to adjust plans to adapt to lack of water availability.

Tue, 18 Apr 2023

€45 at Hotel Patilla de Requena, which has excellent location near stores and playground where I do pullups. No vacancy at Hotel Avenida, where I usually stay. Probably 8 days to next hotel stop, so need to be careful with smartphone power usage.

Wed, 19 Apr 2023

Drank 1.5L with breakfast, left town with 4L, lunch plus 2 days food. Camped at usual spot, about 10km from Requena.

Thu, 20 Apr 2023

Drank 2L with breakfast, drank another 1L with lunch at Las Nogueras, then carried 4L from fuente there. Fuente running at Villar de Olmos, but slowly. Arrived at usual camp with 2.5L, so drank 4.5L.

Fri, 21 Apr 2023

Drank 2.5L with breakfast/lunch, picked up 3L from Fuente de Chelva, which was running slowly, arrived at camp before Chelva with 1L, so again drank 4.5L. Thunder and lightning at night, plus some rain, but not enough to end drought.

Sat, 22 Apr 2023

Bought food at Chelva. Confirmed that hotel is no longer operating. Sprinkling of very light rain in afternoon. Camped in forest about 1km before Alcotas.

Sun, 23 Apr 2023

Fuentes running at Alcotas and Andilla. Camped after Collado de la Salata. Trees blackened in this area, whereas they weren't last spring, so evidently forest fire here last summer.

Mon, 24 Apr 2023

Bought food in Bejís (bakery, store). Camped at usual spot about 10km later. Lots of blackened trees but also some green areas.

Tue, 25 Apr 2023

Camped at usual spot 1km after Montán fuente. Area blackened by fire, but green trees in distance. Made hotel reservation for tomorrow.

For summer, current plan is several weeks each in Nis (Serbia) and Skopje and Lake Ohrid (Macedonia). Saturday train to Zaragoza, night in hotel. Sunday bus to Barcelona, night in AirBnb room (or airport if AirBnb has problems). Monday morning flight to Belgrade on Air Serbia, buy SIM and bus ticket, night in hotel. Tuesday morning bus to Nis. Further buses to Macedonia and Bulgaria in August.

Wed, 26 Apr 2023

Booked hotel in Teruel for Thursday and Friday (May 25-26), train trip and hotel in Zaragoza for Saturday (May 27), bus trip and Airbnb in Barcelona for Sunday (May 28), flight from Barcelona to Belgrade for Monday (May 29). Flight was about €120, train and bus tickets under €30 each, plus a few euros metro, so about €180 total transportation costs. Barcelona Airbnb room in apartment with shared bath was €40. Hotel costs in Barcelona are very high, as high as USA. Only thing remaining is hotel in Belgrade but maybe wait until I get there and look into bus schedules.

€40 at Hostal Oviedo in Montanejos. Landlady informed me that forest fire for area near Montán was just 2 weeks ago. No wonder so much smoke smell. Area closer to Montanejos untouched by fire.

Thu, 27 Apr 2023

Carried 4L out of town, plus some extra food in case stores closed next few towns. Camped before San Vicente Edde Piedrahita, usual spot just off trail.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023

Bought food at store in San Vicente de Piedrahita, however panadería closed today. Shepherds grazing flock at hardwood forest north of Ermita San Bartolomé, so had to wait until almost dark to setup camp. But worth the wait, given how beautiful this spot is.

Sat, 29 Apr 2023

€35 at Hostal Ruta de Aragon in Villahermosa del Río, plus ate midday meal there. Bought food for next two days. Will buy bread tomorrow, since panadería open in morning.

Sun, 30 Apr 2023

Spotted adult tick on gear during lunch break. Crushed tick between rocks, then did quick self-inspection but found nothing. Camped before Vistabella del Maestrat.

Mon, 01 May 2023

Fiesta de Trabajo. Store and panadería both open in Vistabella del Maestrat, so bought some fresh food to supplement what I was carrying. Continue to carry loaf of pan de molde until Teruel, as emergency food. Camped on old terraces on way to Villafranca del Cid.

Tue, 02 May 2023

Hotel Los Arcos closed in Villafranca del Cid. Waited for store to open (arrived after 14:00), bought and ate food. Camped in forest on way to Portell de Morella (following GR331), which booking.com shows as having operating hotel.

Wed, 03 May 2023

One small store in Portell de Morella, with just frozen bread. Bought food there, ate outside, then €40 at Hostal de Portell. Would be cheaper if reserved through booking.com.

Thu, 04 May 2023

Bought food at small store in morning. Camped at same spot as Tuesday. Beautiful hardwood forest. However, while resting in shade, waiting for sun to set, noticed adult tick on leg. Crushed between rocks. Campsite itself was in clearing, so shorter grass and exposed to midday sun, thus less chance of ticks.

Fri, 05 May 2023

Bought food in Villafranca del Cid. Camped on way to La Iglesuela del Cid.

Sat, 06 May 2023

Bought food at store in La Iglesuela del Cid and camped afterwards.

Sun, 07 May 2023

€30 for room with shared bath at La Posada in Cantavieja.

Mon, 08 May 2023

Bought food at store in Cantavieja. Camped before Fortanete.

Tue, 09 May 2023

Bought food at store in Fortanete. Light rain in late afternoon. Camped before Valdelinares.

Wed, 10 May 2023

Camped before Alcalá de la Selva.

Thu, 11 May 2023

Bought food at store in Alcalá de la Selva. Camped before Mora de Rubielos.

Fri, 12 May 2023

Bought food at store. €50 through booking.com at Hotel Mora, a few km outside Mora de Rubielos. Upon checking in, big sign saying best prices available at hotel website. Presumably they want to encourage reservations through their own website and avoid thereby 15% or higher booking.com commission. However price on hotel website was €54, so higher than booking.com price.

Sat, 13 May 2023

Bought bread at store in Valbona, open until noon only. Continued on GR8. While resting under tree, spotted adult tick crawling on shirt. Flicked it away, since no rocks around to crush it. Camped before La Puebla de Valverde. Short day.

Sun, 14 May 2023

Camped before Camarena de la Sierra.

Mon, 15 May 2023

Bought food at store in Camarena de la Sierra. Camped on way to Riodeva.

Tue, 16 May 2023

Ate at bar in Riodeva. Camped on way to Villel. Made reservation for Friday through booking.com.

Wed, 17 May 2023

Arrived in Villel at 11:49, but bakery/store only open until 11:30. Rang bell and they opened, so able to buy 2 loaves bread, cheese, tomato sauce. Camped on way to Camarena de la Sierra.

Thu, 18 May 2023

Bought food in Camarena de la Sierra. Bakery closed because Thursday and only 1 loaf pan de molde at store. Fortunately, still had pan de molde loaf from Monday. Need to always carry extra pan de molde in these remote areas. Drank 1L with breakfast, 2L with lunch, then left town with 4L. Extra water will allow bypassing La Puebla de Valverde tomorrow. Camped at same spot as Sunday.

Fri, 19 May 2023

Skipped La Puebla de Valverde and followed Camino del Cid along dirt road marked on map, thus avoiding most of tiresome barranco walk. €28 through booking.com at Hostal Chino in Valbona. Paper thin walls and noisy neighbor yelling into phone. Thankfully, he shut up eventually and didn't snore at night

Sat, 20 May 2023

Bought food in Mora de Rubielos. Camped on pine terrace a few km outside town. Carried 4L out of town. Cool and overcast most of day, with light rain in evening.

Sun, 21 May 2023

Fuente running outside Ermita de San Antonio del Campillo but had 2.5L remaining after breakfast, so no need to replenish supply. Camped on way to Alcalá de la Selva. Overcast most of day, with very light drizzle in afternoon.

Mon, 22 May 2023

Bought food in Alcalá de la Selva. Camped on way to Cedrillas.

Tue, 23 May 2023

Slept poorly and woke up feeling exhausted. Headache in Valbona on Friday and feeling weak each afternoon since then, so maybe fighting another recurrence of covid. Or maybe psychological due to not wanting to leave camping in Spain for hotels in Serbia/Macedonia.

€30 at Hostal Ramiro in Cedrillas.

Wed, 24 May 2023

Rained while hiking. First instance of heavy rain this trip, whether day or night. Camped on way to Teruel. Light rain during night.

Thu, 25 May 2023

€69 through booking.com for 2 nights at Hostal Alcazaba in Teruel. Would be several euros cheaper to reserve through www.hostalalcazabateruel.com.

Fri, 26 May 2023

Applied Mirazyme to underarms of insulated pullover, to eliminate perspiration stink. Scrubbed underarms of hiking shirt, which also stank. Washed mud from soles of boots and installed deodorant insoles. Bought another dress shirt (€40) and city shoes (€70). Loaded up with €50 notes, in case of ATM issues in Serbia.

Sat, 27 May 2023

Train to Zaragoza. €42 through booking.com for single occupancy at Hotel Delicias.

Sun, 28 May 2023

Bus to Barcelona. €38 through Airbnb for room in apartment.

Mon, 29 May 2023

Flight to Belgrade, Serbia.

Statistics

Total of 89 nights in Spain: initial night on bus, 54 nights camping, 34 nights in hotels. €1223 total hotel expenses, or average of €36/night (about $39/night).

Comments

Spain experiencing extreme drought this year. Frightening to think that forests might burn this summer or simply dry up and die. At least I was able to see them in their splendor. Because of drought, weather unusually mild and perfect for hiking and camping. But I would definitely prefer to exchange beautiful weather for enough rain to keep forests from disappearing.

Stores/bakeries either disappearing or reducing hours in small towns, especially remote towns of south Teruel province. Will need to carry more food in the future.

All gear working perfectly.