Another view of Mulhacén.I hiked up to the bowl at the top of the ravine. At this point there was a building of the sort marked on the map as a 'cortijo' which appears to be localese for farm/land structures.
I wonder what this is. Perhaps one of the fiber-readers can comment.
Man, did we come all that way?They appear to be used mostly for animals, but some of them appear to also have rooms for the shepherds to stay in. I ditched the big pack there, and continued on up with just a day bag, since there was a trail junction here.
Man, did we come all that way?
Just making sure where we are.After about 45 minutes I reached the mountain hut. This hut is actually accessible by a road that comes over one of the mountain shoulders, and was reminiscent of huts I've seen in the Alps.
I had a short chat (if you can call my broken Spanish chatting) with the proprietor, and realized that Mulhacén was not reachable given my time constraints, and realistically, neither was a neighboring peak Pulpito. (In White Mountain terminology, Pulpito was probably not a proper peak. It was more like Boott Spur, a high bump on one of Mulhacén's shoulders.)
View of El Vieja, the big peak next to Mulhacén.So I decided to go part way towards Pulpito, and then deadhead (can't call it bushwacking, no bushes to whack) across to the trail that goes up towards Mulhacén). On this deadhead, I had a fortuitous encounter with an apparently fairly rare Iberian mountain deer. No fear, I have some good pictures, in spite of most of them being skittish. One most kindly posed.
I eventually returned to the mountain hut, shared my find with the guy (thus finding out what it was...), and headed back down to my pack.
The rest of the day was a very long slog in the hot sun along a high trail heading down the ravine. There was almost no cover, and eventually there was an outcrop near which I could set up camp in the shade.
One last view of Mulhacén.
No cover.I slept al fresco that night, the stars were wonderful.
1 comment:
As far as the mystery quadrapeds goes, I agree with Patience that they are sheared sheep or goats. Their rough coat suggested having just been sheared. Goats tend to be glossier. On the other hand, people around here tend to shear their sheep in April or May so they would have been a little more grown out by now. So, who knows.
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