una rutita otoñal / a short autumn walk

Para mí noviembre es sinónimo de paseos por los bosques. Sólo disponía de la mañana, así que me vino de perlas descubrir una subida que desconocía y que permitiría realizar una ruta circular, bajando por un camino muy bonito ya conocido. 

Comencé la ruta en Los Llares, y siguiendo la margen izq. del río fui por un sendero y después un camino señaliza podo como ruta 7 por Cuchío. Cruces un puente y empieza la subida al Alto de la Manzana. Se ve el sendero claramente en la foto

I try to get out into the woods as often as possible in November. On this occasion I only had time for a morning walk, so I was fortunate to discover the existence of a path that would link up with a walk I have fond memories of and which would make for a loop.

I set out from Los Llares, and went parallel to a signposted walk to Cuchío via a path alongside the river as far as I could. Thereafter I had to follow the trail and cross the river over a new footbridge. The walk up to the Alto de la Manzana begins at once. You can see the path clearly in the photo.

Se gana altura rápidamente  

It's a steep climb and stopping to take a breath gives the opportunity to admire the countryside below

Es una subida muy pindia, jalonada por ocasionales afloramientos rocosos

There are several outcrops along the way

Abajo a la izq la pista que va a Joyancón y Cuchisecos, escenarios de mis últimas salidas por esta zona

Down to the left is the trail that leads to a couple of places I've been to on my most recent excursions in the area

La última parte de la subida, que finaliza en un terreno casi llano muy cerca de la Manzana

The last part of the ascent, which eventually levels off and leaves you a stone's throw from La Manzana

Abajo está Los Llares

Los Llares lies below

La colina un poco hacia la derecha es Navajos

The hill a bit to the right is Navajos

Y desde el Alto de la Manzana se ven las montañas nevadas de la Sierra de Cordel

and from the Alto de la Manzana you can see snow on the mountains to the SW 

Continuando hacia la derecha: en el centro de la imagen está la ermita del Moral, pero apenas se distingue

Moving a little to the right: in the middle of the picture (barely visible) is the little chapel that you can walk round to from here

Pero hoy, en lugar de seguir hacia el Moral, vuelvo a la zona arbolada de antes. Aquí asusto a un corzo, que sale disparado. Es la única parte de la ruta donde puede haber una ligera confusión en cuanto a la dirección a seguir. Sin embargo, al hacer la ruta al revés es evidente hacia donde hay que ir.

But today, rather than carrying on that way I return to the the wooded area I came out onto after climbing up the hill. This is the only part of the walk where it's not so clear which way to go. While I'm looking for the path I startle a deer that bolts away into the trees

Una vez que encuentras el camino que se dirige hacia abajo no hay dudas

Once you get onto the path that leads downhill, it's easy to follow the route

La parte más bonita de la ruta es cuando vuelves a entrar en el bosque. Esta zona es la Vargona

The prettiest part of the walk is when you come back into the woods  

No hay que coger ese camino de enfrente sino bajar hacia la izquierda (está balizada)

Don't take that path opposite, but swing down left (there are signposts) 

El camino serpentea por el bosque

The path snakes down through the forest

y sales a un camino que te baja al río

and you come out onto a trail that takes you down to the river

Estaba el río suficientemente crecido como para tener que cruzar con cuidado para no mojarse

The amount of water coming down the river meant I had to tread carefully so as not to get my feet wet

Continúo por un sendero al otro lado. Son las últimas instantáneas del otoño de este año para mí 

I carried on along a path on the other side, knowing these would be my last glimpses of autumn for this year

Paso al lado del puente que crucé al principio de la ruta y al salir del bosque vuelvo a mirar la cuesta que subí hacía casi cuatro horas

I got to the footbridge I crossed earlier on and when I came out of the wood I had a last look up the hill I'd walked up nearly four hours previously.

Track

 

rushing water and autumn leaves / torrentes de agua y hojas otoñales

If you go through Bárcena Mayor, and follow the road you get to the old campsite. A good place to start walking, along the track that follows the Argoza river

Uno de los caminos que salen de Bárcena Mayor es el que sube a Fuentes. Si empiezas a andar en la Braña el Castillo vas acompañando el río Argoza

I'd come at this time of the year to enjoy the autumn colours

Es un buen sitio para disfrutar de los colores otoñales

After a while you go past a well-known big yew tree, but there are others nearby that stand out amongst the beeches and fern

Después de un buen rato llegas a un tejo "singular", pero hay otros cerca que destacan entre los hayas y los helechos

Roughly an hour and a half after setting out, you get to the Arbencia pool, where two rivers merge and seem to be competing as to which one can offer the prettiest waterfall. In the past you could walk down to the water's edge and get close up, but in the 15 years or so since I last came this way the lie of the land has changed and you have to gaze from above and afar

A una hora y media después de comenzar a andar llegué al Pozo de la Arbencia, donde convergen dos ríos y ofrecen sendas cascadas bonitas. No vengo por aquí desde hace unos 15 años, pero me llamó la atención que ya han colocado una valla y alambres para que la gente no intente bajar hasta la orilla. De hecho no se ve factible como era antes. Total, que sólo puedes ver las cascadas desde lejos

Río Fuentes

Río Hormigas

Río Hormigas

I carried on along the track a little to find somewhere where I could get down the bank and hopefully get a better view of the River Fuentes fall:                                                                                                               Seguí un poco por la pista hasta encontrar un lugar donde podría bajar al río Fuentes y acercarme a la cascada

I then crossed the bridge and glimpsed the upper part of the River Hormigas fall through the vegetation

Luego crucé el puente y atisbé la parte de arriba de la cascada del río Hormigas a través de la vegetación

There's a cairn on the other side indicating a crossing point, but there was too much water coming down so I carried on upriver, past this other little fall

Hay un hito al otro lado del río, pero venía demasiado agua para poder cruzar sin mojarme, así que seguí río arriba, pasando cerca de esta otra cascada

and eventually found a place to cross:

hasta dar con un sitio donde conseguí cruzar:

Next came a walk up through the gorse

La continuación era la parte menos agradable de la ruta; primero subir a través de los escajos,

till I got to a path that made its way up through the gorse and eventually came out into the open

hasta llegar a una senda que atraviesa los escajos y finalmente sale a terreno despejado

The last part up to the Paguenzo pass was much easier. Down below on the other side is Pesquera 

El último tramo hasta el collado de Paguenzo era mucho más fácil. Al otro lado del collado se ve Pesquera, y enfrente a la izq. el pico Jano

Time for a bite to eat. Then back the way I'd come, but instead of going back down to the Braña la Valleja (left of photo)...

Tocaba comer algo. Luego desandar la última parte del camino, pero en lugar de bajar de nuevo a la Braña la Valleja (izq.)...

I carried on along a dirt track

Seguí por un camino de tierra

that eventually led to some amazing-looking larches amongst the pine trees

que me llevaría a unos alerces muy llamativos entre los pinos

Down below: the track I'd been on that morning

Valle abajo veo la pista que había seguido esa mañana

The conifers gave way to a beautiful beech forest, through which a path that was fairly easy to follow wound its way                                                                                                                                                                            Las coniferas pasaban el testigo a un hayedo precioso, por el que un sendero indica por donde seguir

Looking down the hillside                                                                                                                                             Mirando ladera abajo

And across to the other side

Y de frente

I got down to the river and sat for a while transfixed by the rushing water

Llegué al río y me quedé sentado un buen rato, dejándome hipnotizar por la corriente

I had to scramble up a bank to get back onto the last section of the path and then rejoin the track to take me back to the car

Tuve que trepar por el talud para reencontrarme con la última parte del sendero y luego salir a la pista para volver al coche

Track

Some musings:

This walk left me pondering the changes in landscape and within oneself that can take place over a period of ten to fifteen years. The previous time I did this route I went up through the forest first and came back down the track. 

In those days I didn't even take a camera with me, let alone have a blog! I didn't bother about looking for a path up through the forest; I just made my way up to the SE and by intuition came out at the Braña de Lodar clearing. From there to Paguenzo there's no problem. It might well have been the winter or early spring because if the trees had been in leaf it would have made finding my way trickier (you'll remember that you can't see the wood for the trees). I found a sort of path and made my way straight down to the Pozo de la Arbencia. There wasn't as much water on that occasion so I was able to cross both rivers fairly easily and scramble up the bank to the track. I remember feeling pleased with myself that I'd managed the orienteering well.

This time round I made an effort to follow the path down through the forest and was surprised how easy it was to follow (based on opinions I'd read). However, I never even noticed the Braña de Lodar clearing. How can that be if the trail goes through it? Either I wasn't paying attention (which doesn't sound plausible) or I'd got on to a different path which skirted the clearing... A mystery. 

Also, because it was the afternoon, and the sun goes down at 6pm now, I was distinctly aware that I was on my own and that if I lost my way, I'd be in an unenviable situation. There's no mobile signal in the area. Clearly, exploring a forest is better left for the morning, so as to give oneself time to retrace one's steps if things go awry.

I'm not accustomed to this feeling of being a little unnerved when by myself miles from anywhere in the country. I must say I tend to appreciate the peace and quiet, and feel comfortable being in the midst of nature. So an interesting day all in all.