I Like The Way You Burke It

It is a good thing that you type with your hands and your hands are connected to your arms and NOT your legs. Why, you ask? Because my legs are so sore that I could probably not even strike a computer key with them. Again, why, you ask? Because we climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro yesterday. Ok, ok, maybe not Mt. Kilimanjaro but we did climb the Navachica Mountain, the HIGHEST in the region. Did I mention the HIGHEST?!? It was 1800 meters and the entire hike took 9.5 hours. I consider myself in decent physical shape (at the moment… it comes and goes) but this hike kicked my ass. Pardon the French but it really did.

We went with an organized group and if we hadn’t gone with this group we would likely be 1) dead 2) still on the mountain 3) in Portugal. There were about 25 of us in total and our Welsh-turned-Spanish friends Steve and Ruth and their 8 year old son James went with us. I don’t know how James did it but he was a trooper and was first to the summit.

The last hike went on to Pinarillo was 5 hours and a real workout for me. Most people gradually move up in their athletic endeavors…but oh no! Not us! We just jumped right into doubting the workout and climbed Navachica. But as much as I want to complain about it I hate to admit that I loved every moment of it and would do it again tomorrow with a smile.

The views were amazing and we passed through what felt like three different forests because the topography changed so much during the ascent. There was even snow at the top!

Wells has added great captions to our pictures attached below. It was one of many really, really wonderful Nerja days.

We planned on making the Navachica hike two weeks ago but Kate and I had to cancel last second becuase my leg was busted up with shin splints. Fortunately for us, weather canceled the hike for everyone else and we got to try the whole thing again today.
The day started out cold with a serious hazy fog hanging over the entire cost. After about an hour we hiked up above what had not burned off. You can just make out the leftover fog behind the tree in the center.		Navachica is the hightest peak in the area at 1800 Meters. Almost the entire approach runs up this dried river bed. A few years ago massive rains filled the entire bed with rocks. I’m not talking about one section, I’m talking about 3 hours of gully washed rock slide debris. It must have been a hell of a rain storm.
The lower appraoch was really spectacular becuase of the size of the surrounding mountain/cliff walls framing the freequent views back to the sea. Every kilometer brought an amazing new vista.
The camera could not capture all of the light range in this picture, but the overexposed background is actually a fabulous steep mountain face drenched in the morning sunlight. Not to mention it was towering above us and since we were on our way to the hightest point around, we had to go even higher.	Did I mention the river of rocks? It was not bad on the way up but on the 8th hour on the way down, we were ready for some stable ground.
Steve, Ruth, and James were super fun on the hike. The Brits and the Yanks made a great team.	Our first rest stop about 2 hours into the climb.
	It doesn’t look like it in the pictures, but the sky was as blue as it could be. A heat haze hung low over the entire coast all day but by the time we reach the top we could still see Nerja and the Mediterranean.
	With about an hour to the top we were finally out of the river bed and the views really opened up. Over my righ ear, you can just make out the forest service road at the base of the hike.		The last half hour was all above the tree line. In this picture we are about two minutes from cresting the ridge…
…opening up an amzaing view of the Sierra Nevada. And wow, the wind really started whipping around up here.	A few minutes and couple of false peaks later and…	Finally! We made it to the top. 8:50AM – 1:30 – All up hill.	The geography on the opposite side of the ridge is completely different. The Granada planes appear dead flat and are covered with olive orchards that create perfectly symetrical black polka dot patterns. You can just make out a beautiful lake in the bottom right.
James made sure he was the first out of our entire hiking group to the top. The youngest and the first, as he pointed out. Good job James! We all had lunch huddled against a low rise rock wall to try and keep out of the wind. A serano and Havarti baguette with fresh alvocado. Delicious!		Flowers were in bloom all over the hike, not to mention the endless expanses of lavander blanketing the sides of the trail.
	I think the hike down afforded the best views of the day. The steep rocky slopes are amazing and completely diffrent from our Appalachian hikes. A few hours later and we were back to the car by 6:20. A fantastic nine and a half hour day with amazing scenery, and no accidents, pop outs, or blisters. This is one that won’t soon be forgotten.