Dhaulagiri Circuit Day 0 - to Kathmandu

Safe and comfortable at home, in the middle of last winter, I was thinking about trips for the year ahead.  Looking back my trip to Mera Peak had been a real adventure so why not have a go at something similar?   I had written an article in Adventure Travel on Mera and in the same edition there was a list of their top 100 treks. Topping the list was the trip around Dhaulagiri (the world's seventh highest mountain at 8,179 metres).  Nine months ago that was enough information - I had to go.

Dhaulagiri Circuit

Return to the GR1 Sendero Histórico - Hill Top Towns

On my last trip I had 24 hours of really heavy rain at Sos del Rey Catolica and didn't manage to walk the section to Biel. Neither Biel or Sos are very accessible so I decided this time to walk this stretch of the GR1 that takes you through a series of spectacular towns from Olite to Murillo de Gállego.

I was in Olite by 12 having travelled from Vitoria via Pamplona. I'm getting used to Spanish buses. They're cheap and punctual and the only challenge is working out the timetables which are run by different providers.

Olite

The walk to Ujue is not one of the best on the route. Before you get back into the mountains you have to cross the flat agricultural plain east of Olite with its mix of vineyards, cornfields and pig farms. This is Navarre and the waymarking is not good but at least you can see Ujue in the distance - a church on top of what looks like a ridge. As you get into the hills you lose sight of the town which reappears, quite magically, as you round a final bend.  It has the perfect location high up out on a promontory with great views all round.

Return to the GR1 Sendero Histórico - to Berantevilla

I didn't do the Fontecha Berantevilla stretch of GR1 earlier in the year because I couldn't find anywhere to stay on the route. Instead I got a lift from Fontecha to Medina de Ebro and then a taxi to Berantevilla next day. I wanted to see what this stretch of walking was like and if it was worth doing. Instead of Medina de Ebro, which wasn't a particularly nice place, I wanted to try Vitoria-Gasteiz.

I'd stayed the night before in Bilboa and had been there just long enough to work out where everything was and conclude that it's definitely worth a return visit with Christine. It would be an excellent place to tack onto the beginning or end of some GR1 walking.

From Bilboa I went to by bus to Vitoria-Gasteiz which, with a lovely medieval core is much nicer than Medina de Ebro. It's where Wellington beat the French in the final battle of the Peninsula War, a victory which lost some its sparkle when the British troops, instead of pursuing their enemy, went on a drinking binge.

Early next morning I caught the bus to Fontecha.  It was a little mini-bus with only one passenger on it for the 40 kilometre journey - me.

One of two castles at Fontecha

Back on the GR1 Sendero Histórico - Cantabria and beyond

Yesterday I crossed a Spanish regional border, from Castile Leon to Cantabria and things GR1 fell apart. It was a frustrating day but provided essential information for my forthcoming GR1 guide.

In Spain regional government and regions are incredibly important. They affect everything even long distance walking routes like the GR1.  The GR1 ends at the "border" between Castile Leon and Asturias rather than going all way to Finisterre as originally intended presumably because Asturias and Galicia (particularly the walking/climbing associations) are not interested.  If the regions don't cooperate it's a problem.

Jesus Garcia Delgado - my host in Branosera

Back to the GR1 Sendero Histórico - to Branosera

This was a walk I had done before with Juan but last time, because it was covered with the snow, the trail was hard to follow and I wanted to make sure I had got it right for the guide.  We also missed a bit of the route to go and look at an old oak tree, something I definitely didn't need to do twice.

It was a gorgeous morning and unlike yesterday I didn't have to leave without a coffee.

The walk starts with a trip through a brand new park just to the north of town - new pavements, benches and street lights.  Away from the shops and where anyone lives it's hard to imagine it ever getting used.  You see developments like this all over Spain, a product of the optimism fueled by the building boom. There is a large new footbridge which Juan and I crossed last time which drops you, heading on the wrong route, in the middle of an empty industrial estate.

Evergreen oak forest near Requejada Reservoir

Return to the GR1 Sendero Histórico - to Cervera de Pisuerga

The hostal at Camporredonda de Alba is fine, good food, nice bar, traditional rural Spanish accommodation and great value but don't expect a smile from the host. He is efficient though and when he realised that I wanted to get away early in the morning he found someone in the bar who could speak English and took my order for breakfast.  It's a typical practical Spanish arrangement, pay the night before you leave, grab your packed breakfast before you go to bed, leave your key in the door and bugger off.

The sunny side of the valley

Back on the GR1 Sendero Histórico - to Camporredonda de Alba

Good job Christine wasn't with me today.  She would have been somewhat annoyed.  I knew it was going to be a long day but no where near as long as it turned out to be.  I got both the length of the walk wrong and the amount of climb. The 4 passes I had to cross must have amounted to at least 2,000 metres of ascent.  As usual I got to where I wanted but it took 12 hours!

The first pass was immediately to the east of Salamon where I stayed last night. The sun was just coming up as I reached the top and to get a better view I climbed up the cliff next to the trail.  The views were amazing.  In the east I could see Peña Espigüette - the second highest mountain in the Cantabrian range (2451 metres) and, because of its near perfect shape, the most iconic.  One side of the pass the valley was full of mist while the other was clear and in bright sunshine.