The BIG hike in Torla

The biggest scenery yet greeted us in Torla. The hotel, a stone-built cousin of our first, was a little nicer. It sat just outside of town on the edge of Ordesa National Park. The town itself was a little older and presented an almost medieval personality when seen against the mountain backdrop. We had arrived between two storm fronts on a gray and misty day, which made the scene all the more dramatic.

After settling in, we met Fede, our mountain guide for this part of the trip. He was ready to go on the short, 2.5-hour warm-up walk up a valley near our hotel. I was still recovering from the previous day's climb and really needed to opt out. In truth, I was steeling myself for what was coming.

Fede

Fede was 32, looked 22, and was always dropping clues to his experience like, "yeah, I've climbed the Matterhorn a couple times," or "When I take clients mountaineering in the Alps, we . . . ." Our hikes were to be another literal walk in the park for him and a survival experience for me.

My afternoon was spent doing some laundry, a little writing, and taking a nap with the cool mountain breeze coming through the window. Heavenly! The brave hikers returned around seven, cold and tired. In this season, the national park buses were only running on the hour so they had to wait for forty-five minutes at the end of their hike. At five thousand feet, the air cools quickly after sundown, so they were both ready for a hot shower before dinner. The shower was about all they had time for as we headed out for dinner about 8:30 for the short walk to town.

It's a little romantic walking the streets of these old villages. It's not difficult to image the daily life of the residents hundreds of years ago. The stones hadn't changed much in centuries and took little note of who was walking on them.

We had a great dinner in the old town in a bar that was a cave hacked into the wall of the place and then bricked up. Our conversations were slightly amplified and it felt very cozy. The picture of us didn't come out that well, but we were indeed a merry band of adventurers and happy to be in that place with each other.

Because it was almost 9 PM when we finally ordered, we went light with a selection of about six different tapas to share. It's a great way to eat, with each one a tasty delight and often a treat for the eyes. Served with fresh baguette and a cold beer, it's my perfect meal.

Transportation to the trailhead was again by national park bus. The bus was packed with people, but when we arrived, most of the hikers avoided our route. I should have gotten the clue! Because Thursday was the only really sure weather day, we had decided to seize the moment and go for the BIG ONE. It would be a nine hour round trip, with a 2 hour, 2000' very vertical climb starting a short distance from the bus. Turns out it was really hard and well worth the effort.

Fede kept us moving Really Slow during the steep ascent. This flat out made it possible for me to do this leg at all. We were climbing from 5000' to 7000' after all. Other hikers passed us (sometimes with a huffy attitude) and, as Fede predicted, we passed them two-thirds of the way up as they sat exhausted on the sidelines. That was fun! After 2 hours, we arrived at the top of the climb, where there was a vista point that rewarded us for our efforts. The photo shows the view looking down to the valley floor. Yup, proud of myself!

From there it was an easier but long four hour ridge walk down to the valley floor. The big vistas followed us down the trail. It was a lovely place to take a lunch with the mountain peaks and hillside waterfalls spread out in front of us.

The end point of that leg of the hike was the Cola de Caballo or Horse Tail Falls. As we approached the waterfall, it seemed to grow in size and fan out across the rocks just as its name implied. It was also where we met up with 60 or so of the other hikers from the park busses who had taken a different route. After a brief rest, a change of socks, and some second skin on a hotspot or two, we set out on the final leg of the hike.

We followed the river, created by the falls, down the valley and passed waterfall after waterfall on the way. Each set of falls was spectacular in a different way. Given our fatigue and sore feet, it was a great form of entertainment as we eased down the valley. As we got closer to the end of the hike, people drained out of the hills on other trails from various directions, and we all wound up in a long line to catch the busses for the ride back to the village.

After this hike, you'd have think we'd have gone directly to the showers. Truly, I was ready. But the sense of relief with the big hike behind us, and the connection and gratitude for Fede gave rise to another celebratory beer with the whole group in the pub at the hotel. Lest you think we're a bit overdoing this beer tradition, you should know that the beer is a blond Pilsner, just a little tart, served in small glasses, and is the perfect cold beverage for weary hikers. It's a fine conclusion to a grand adventure. Another nice dinner in Torla and early to bed made for an all around great day.

At the end are some other hike photos that I couldn't fit in above. They make me happy and I hope you enjoy them too.

I'll finish the Torla story in the next post. The second weather front is about to set in, and decisions about the next hike have to be made in the morning. I went down hard dreaming of high mountain passes and roaring streams.

Soon . . .

Earl, Gwen, and Max