European mountains
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Gran Canaria main page; facts, maps, routes, etc. (SOON) | ||
Pico de las Nieves, Pico del Campanario, Roque Nublo, Dec 26 2010 |
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Montaña de Tamadaba, Montaña Altavista, Dec 27 2010 | ||
Pico de Gáldar, Montaña de Almagro, Roque de Las Nieves, Dec 28 2010 | ||
Montaña del Humo, Morro de la Hierbo Huerta, Las Dunas, Dec 29 2010 (THIS REPORT) | ||
Pico Moriscos, Monte Constantino, Pico de Bandama, Dec 30 2010 | ||
Montaña de Arinaga + New Year's Eve, Dec 31 2010 |
The main goal for day 4 on Gran Canaria was Montaña de Sandara (1583m). We took the GC1 southbound from Las Palmas and the GC65 westbound via Sardina, Santa Lucia de Tirajana and San Bartolomé de Tirajana. As we reached the Degollada de Aserrador pass, the mountains were hidden in fog. We drove the GC661 down to El Juncal de Abajo where we lost our spirit...
The GC661 was marked as yellow (paved) on the map, but was narrow and in a bad shape. We were now supposed to follow a forest road (marked as white - poor standard) for 6-7km, and it started very steep and very narrow. I consulted Anne, and she didn't have a strong desire to continue this way. As we also expected rain, we agreed to look for an easier target.
Montaña del Humo
is located just above Degollada de Aserrador and it
definitely qualified as "an easier target". The walking distance was 750 meters
and the vertical gain just above 100 meters. It took us 17 minutes to reach the
top and although it hike was a stroll, it is a proper mountain
top, with a primary factor exceeding 100 meters. The view towards the distinct
Roque Bentayga is excellent from here.
From the top of Montaña del Humo, we identified our next goal - Morro de la Huerbo Huerta - exactly 7km to the south. We returned to our car and drove GC604 down to lake Embalsa de Chira and parked by the dam. Our guide book (Turguide til Gran Canaria) described the route in detail; follow the mountain service road all the way to the top...
On our way up the service road, we could see the results of the 2007 forest fire. The rest of the walk was quite unentertaining, and then it started to rain. After a 5,1km hike, we reached the summit and the fire lookout cabin on top. It was a pity that the surrounding mountains were fogged in, because the view is probably quite good from this top.
On Morro de la Hierbo Huerta
(Click for larger image)
Before leaving Norway, Anne stated that she wanted to visit Las Dunas de Maspalomas. These sand dunes marks the southernmost area on Gran Canaria, and we could see them from the summit. We concluded that there was enough daylight left to go there next.
The guide book also described a mountain path that made the descent significantly shorter than the ascent. In addition, we found a vague path along the pipeline and were back at the trailhead in "no time"...
Las Dunas de Maspalomas
(Click for larger image)
We drove GC60 south to Maspalomas, spent some time trying to locate the dunes, then spent even more time to find a place to park. We ended up in a parking garage, and I hoped that the Spanish payment systems weren't much more different than the ones back home. We were now in the heart of the tourist area and I felt the stress level emerging. But when I started to think about the Norwegian coastal winter storms in December, it was quite OK to be here...
But once we found the dunes, walking around was nice. My mind wandered back to Colorado in June 2000, when Bjørn and me visited the Great Sand Dunes and High Dune (2649m!). How about that for an elevation difference...
The Great Sand Dunes in Colorado
(Click for larger image)
I'm not really a beach-type-of-guy, but Anne was very happy about being here. In retrospect I regret not spending more time creating scenes for photography. There was certainly potential. That said, I was a bit worried about the camera, as the sand was constantly blowing along the ground.
Anne, enjoying the sand
(Click for larger image)
After a 3,3km walk around part of the dunes area, we called it a day, successfully retrieved the car from the garage and returned to Las Palmas. And even if we had bagged two proper mountains earlier in the day, the dunes were certainly the high point of the day....
Las Dunas
(Click for larger image)
The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 550D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6
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Montaña del Humo
Morro de la Hierbo Huerta
Las Dunas
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