Wild Encounters in the Sierra Nevada

This happened a couple of months ago, May 2007 to be exact but it has taken me till now to get around to writing about my experience. We had guests staying here at Casa Escocia (Gavin, Sarah, Simon, Ita, Siggi & Helen).

Anyway, this particular day Simon wanted to head out for a cycle, starting with an uphill slog from Casa Escocia all the way to the Puerto de la Ragua, a high pass over the Sierra Nevada from Las Alpujarras to the plains around Guadix on the other side. He then planned to continue cycling south west along the high mountain tracks back to Casa Escocia. I couldn't decide at the time whether he was a hardcore cyclist or just plain mad but I gave him the benefit of the doubt, handed him a bike and thanked God, Allah, Buddha and anyone else I could think of that I actually had work to do which stopped me from joining him until later!!

For anyone who doesn't know, this route involves an initial downhill cycle from Casa Escocia, through Nechite and down to the Mecina Alfahar junction. Then a 4000 ft climb takes you to the high mountain pass of Puerto de la Ragua. Ok, it is on the road but this is no mean feat and has on occasions been part of the Tour of Spain race.

A couple of hours later I left and got a lift from Mary in "The Beast" which is our nick name for the quality vehicle that we use to get around the mountains of Las Alpujarras. I expected to meet Simon somewhere fairly near the top of the pass but was astounded when we drove all the way up to the top of the road without any sign of him or the bike.

"Surely not" I figured wondering whether he could have already made it to the pass and carried on without waiting. A lack of phone signal made a mobile call out of the question so I presumed he must have been cycling like Lance Armstrong up the hill. I took my bike off the rack on top of the Beast and after cranking up the quick release catch which attaches the front wheel to the frame of bike, I made my way up the gradual climb above the mountain pass car park.

Initially the track takes you uphill for about 15 minutes and normally I just cruise up this but I was thinking that Simon may have turned from Lance into Steve Peat now that the road had turned into a dirt track and I really pushed it, hoping to see him in front of me every corner I turned. I climbed to over 7000 ft and reached a great spot which allowed me interrupted views of the mountains running all the way down to the Med. This is also where the first downhill section of the route begins. Still no sign of Simon. "Bloody hell", I thought, he must be really going for it. I pushed on as fast as I could, slowing only for the sharp turns. As I turned one bend I caught sight of two foxes playing on the track in front of me. At least they were playing until they spotted me, at which point they scurried off sharpish into the trees next to the track.

A few bends later I almost crashed into a large cow. I thought it may have been a bull at first, all I saw was a massive body and horns. My heart did skip a beat or two and I pulled hard on the bikes disc breaks to slow me down as I hurtled towards it. Luckily it was only a cow, just as I first thought!! It simply gave me a strange look and I cycled on past it.

A few mountain goats were around as usual, staring at me as I hammered along the track as fast I could go. I turned another corner and a huge part of the mountainside ahead came into view. I scanned the track as far as I could see and was dismayed that I still didn't have any sight of Simon. I stopped at this point trying to do my best maths and work out if it was humanly possible to actually have cycled this distance in the that time. I decided that not even Hong Kong Fuey never mind Lance or Steve could have got here so quickly and my mind puzzled as to how I could have missed him. "Maybe he took a wrong turn", I though but there wasn't really much scope for that up till this point.

I tried again to phone him but still no answer so I carried on going for it just in case Superman had some new competition. An hour or so passed and before I realised, I was above the tracks that lead back down to Casa Escocia. I took out my phone again and discovered a text message had came through from Simon saying that he had got to the top of pass and was now heading back down the way he came. I was relieved, not because I had found out that he was all right but because I now knew that no human was better that HKF after all.

As I cycled along the winding track I looked up and the mountains above just beckoned me to climb up them. I had been eyeing up one summit, Alto de San Juan, for some time now and decided there and then that now was as good a time as any for heading up onto the top of the peak.

I had studied the map many times and knew there was a track that cut up from the one I was on, past the lower slopes of the summit. I found the track and cycled up it for a short distance before a combination of the steep slope and a lack of breath at this altitude made me decide to ditch the bike in a bush at the side of the track and carry on by foot.

I made my way up and into a forest and as I passed through it a feeling came over me which made me pick up a hefty stick lying at the side of the trail. I couldn't explain it but past experience has taught me to go with my gut instinct and having the big stick in my hand somehow made me feel secure. I felt uneasy as I walked on but before I knew it, I came out of the other side of the forest. I passed a building which I presumed was used through the summer by shepherds and on I went towards the pass to my front. As I approached the pass I could see the valley at the other side slowly coming into view. The flat plains around Guadix made an impressive sight but much as I fancied heading further on to take in these views my conquest was still above me.

I turned left and stepped into a bank of snow, the last remnants of the fading winter. I must have been high up now as I was unusually out of breath, pausing every 20 or 30 steps. I slowed down slightly and paced myself up the incline in front, passing ever increasingly bigger snow patches. The last 500 feet were a real slog but finally I came over a rise and could see the trig point marking the summit just ahead of me. I stood on the trig point which marked the top of the mountain which was over 9,200 feet in height.

The views from here were simply stunning. Even HKF would have been impressed here and I think because I hadn't planned to come up here this day, topping out was made more pleasurable. I took a few snaps with the camera on my new mobile phone, technology never ceases to amaze me and after a brief pause I made my way back down towards the forest below. I felt great on the way down and ran for most of it, jumping into the snow drifts and over the loose rocks.

When I reached the path at the edge of the forest the uneasy feeling returned. I carried on regardless, giving myself a slap now and again trying to knock out whatever the feeling was that was getting to me. Half way through my journey back through the forest a loud noise shattered the peacefulness of my surroundings. Then a dark shadow appeared to my front. I tried to stop but my forward momentum kept me moving. I then saw to my horror a huge beast no more than 10 or 15 metres ahead of me launching itself off the banking on my right. It hurtled across the track landing on the left hand edge with a serious thump. It was a wild boar in full flight and I don't mind admitting I was close to staining the cycling shorts I was wearing. It was huge, certainly bigger than any of the beasts I had seen local hunters bring down through the village after a shoot in the mountains. Luckily for me it seemed to be as much spooked by me as I was by it and after the thud of a landing which left huge indentations in the track, it bounded off down the slope to my left, much to my relief. My ordeal was not over however for as soon as I thought I was safe another crashing sound came from my right once again. I glance up just as another beast managed to stop itself in the forest right above me. It glared at me and I reckon I could have given Linford Christie a run for his money over the next hundred meters of that forest track! After about 20 metres I glanced back to check I wasn't being followed by this monster. I almost laughed when I saw that this second beast, which by now had jumped down onto the track and was following the first one, was a mere youngster no bigger than a small dog.

I kept my pace fairly high just in case a third one was waiting for me and this was some kind of wild boar ambush tactic. Thankfully they didn't have me on their menu and it wasn't too long before I was back on my bike and heading for the safety of Casa Escocia.

I have done the next part of the journey many times now and every time it just gets better. From the summit of Alto de San Juan there is almost 6000 feet of full on downhill fun. There are several different options but all of them involve a rapid descent which even the fearless aforementioned cartoon hero would get a buzz out of. Steep tracks, winding bends, loose gravel, rocks, dips, culverts are all taken in top gear as you literally go as fast as your body and mind will allow you to go and you're always hoping that your brakes will kick in when you need them as the slopes here have rather large drops off the sides.

Several thousand feet lower, I blasted around the last corner which brought me down to the path above Casa Escocia. I swung into the street and stopped at the water fountain outside the house for a much needed drink before heading onto the terrace of Casa Escocia for an even greater needed cerveza!! Simon was safely back and I found out that he had turned off a road just before the mountain pass at the time we passed by in " The Beast". That was a couple of hours before I saw the real "beast" which obviously for the purposes of story telling was as big as a lion if not bigger!

Rob & Mary Gray run the fantastic B&B Casa Escocia from their base in the village of Nechite in Las Alpujarras on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

This is the Mountain Base for their company Sunshine Breaks.

Check out their website www.sunshinebreaks.com

Watch Mountain Biking in Traditional Spain the Movie!!

Part of the Sunshine Breaks Video Collection on Youtube.