20 January 2025 – Olta Circuit

 

This is one of the occasional more challenging walks

Last time we did it, in May 2023, we did a shorter version

Then we did it clockwise and avoided the scramble

However I prefer a circular walk, and felt we were now ready for the scramble

I did warn everyone and, probably as a result, only 17 signed up for the walk

On the day only 13 turned up

It is hard to convert a normal mountain walk to something suitable for a valley walking group

And I may have put some off by stressing how difficult the scramble was

But it is true to say that some of the group did find it difficult on the day

We were lucky with the weather

It was a typical cold but sunny winter morning

Ideal walking conditions and Olta looked its best

It was particularly cold for the first half hour of the walk

But everyone was warmed up by the time we started the scramble

We did it as a group and had frequent halts to allow everyone to complete any particularly difficult section

Everyone reached the top and we had our first break to allow all to recover

The rest of the walk was relatively easy

We had our usual banana stop at Finca Pastor

And a longer picnic stop at the Ermita

We completed the walk in four hours, which is what I had anticipated

I hope that everyone enjoyed the walk, even if some might not want to repeat it.

Temperature – 10-14c

Time Taken – 4 hours

Total Ascent – 331 metres

Distance – 8.5 km