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Picos De Europa.
We got to Madrid on Saturday evening and after a quick night in some airport-side motel were driving north towards the region of Asturias the following morning. The weather forecasts for the Picos de Europa have been changing hourly over the prior week and so we were not sure what conditions we’d actually encounter. Mid-day arrival at the trailhead and overcast but dry skies. We did get some spitting rain on the 3 hour hike up to the Refugio de Urriellu but the clouds looked broken up and not overly threatening. Our main concern that night was just how packed the hut was. That and the snoring f…er sleeping in the same communal room with us: like a fucking revving chainsaw with a persistent backfire. While Shirley slept like a baby thanks to some earplugs, I got a total of 15-30 minutes of shuteye. We got up at 6 to socked-in conditions and a steady drizzle. Along with other hopeful climbers, we hung out till about 9:30 and, as things were not improving, decided to call it quits and hiked back down.
Photos
Sorry buddy – not this time (Sept. 2017).
Nearing the trailhead above the village of Sotres in the Picos de Europa (Sept. 2017).
Shirley packing up at the trailhead (Sept. 2017).
First views of Picu Urriellu early on the hike in (Sept. 2017).
Early on during the hike up to Refugio de Urriellu (Sept. 2017).
Picos de Europa in the region of Asturias. More cowbell!
Scenic approach and pretty gentle overall (Sept. 2017).
After seeing the mountain, we were pretty psyched (Sept. 2017).
Getting closer (Sept. 2017).
Arriving at the Refugio de Urriellu after a ~3 hour hike (Sept. 2017).
The impressive west face of Picu Urriellu (Sept 2017).
Communal sleeping quarters in Refugio de Urriellu (Sept. 2017).
Refugio Vega de Urriellu the following morning (Sept. 2017).
Waiting out the weather the following morning (Sept. 2017).
A momentary clearing late in the morning (Sept. 2017).
Final look back at the unachieved objective during a brief parting of the clouds during our hike down (Sept. 2017).
Idyllic pastures in the Picos de Europa (Sept. 2017).
Happy cows come from Asturias (Sept. 2017).
Road trip continues. Relocating from Picos de Europa in Asturias to Riglos in Aragon (Sept. 2017).
Rest area refuel (Sept. 2017).
Spanish countryside sights (Sept. 2017).
Approaching Riglos (Sept. 2017).
Go to Day In Riglos.
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