The Sierra Helada is 8km long and connects Albir with
Benidorm. When seen from Calpe it looks
like a steep climb from Albir to the aerials, followed by an easy downhill walk
to Benidorm. But appearances can be deceptive!
Some of the group had done it before, and warned the rest of
us that it was a very hard walk, consisting of six or seven steep climbs
followed by as many descents. We were
also warned that the paths were not very good.
Despite this most of us wanted to walk it at least once.
The forecast was cloudy with a chance of rain. So we were delighted to have clear skies and a cool breeze for
the whole walk. Ideal weather for a
hard walk.
It took us about an hour to reach the aerials, the first
part of the walk. This section was on a
quite good path, and we were relieved that it was not as difficult as we had
feared.
Despite
this we were more than ready for our first rest and banana stop
Then it was off again.
Up and down.................
------------ more up and down--------------
A little level walking in between to get our breath back,
but on tracks which required careful attention.
followed by still more up and down
And then the final climb to the last peak overlooking
Benidorm
The walk had taken five hours. Not the longest walk we have done, but one
of the most difficult. We had two
casualties during the walk. David fell
and grazed his arm. Jackie fell and
grazed her knee. Nothing too serious,
but a painful experience. And a
reminder that no matter how careful you are you can always be unlucky.
There only remained a walk downhill to Benidorm, and a bus
ride back to Albir for a well deserved drink.
Monday 3 February
Meet at the cemetery on the outskirts of Jalon at 10am. The walk is another favourite - “the dead
dog”. Our usual meeting place is
apparently now private land, so we will walk from here to the start of the
walk.
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