10 July 2011 Laguna Yeguas

The group at the laguna Yeguas

Access to the Laguna Yeguas is good so we included this walk in our Sunday walks with the whole group. With the weather warming up we thought it would be a good idea to go somewhere cool this week, so a trip up into the snow on the Sierra Nevada and hopefully another chance to look at the icebergs we saw last year was planned. The big worry was that with all the snow we have had this year we might have trouble getting up to the Laguna Yeguas.
The walk starts from the carpark at Hoya de la Mora and there was a cool breeze blowing when we arrived, which had everyone digging in their bags for fleeces. As we started to climb the wind got stronger and its direction kept changing, one second you would be stooped over leaning into the wind like a ninety year old and the next you were going arse over tit down the hillside. The higher we climbed it became apparent that all the expected snow had disappeared and even the icebergs had melted, global warming was spoiling our day out. In an effort to get some snow we climbed a little higher up to the Lagunillas de la virgin. These were covered in snow, but it was a lovely spot out of the wind so we stopped here for a bite to eat, as lunch progressed boredom set in and it was not long before a snow ball fight broke out. We were so well sheltered out of the wind we thought it must have died down, it came as a shock again as we rounded a corner to be met by a gale force wind, we had to hang on to the lighter members to stop them flying off, what we should have done is add some ballast to their rucksacs to keep them on the ground. Arriving back at the carpark we found that some of the bars had closed as they were unable to keep their chairs from taking off, but one was open and serving refreshing beers and good tapas, or so I am told, it was meat. We were all wind blown and covered in dust but we had a good day out and it certainly blew the cob webs away.
We walked 12.1 km and climbed 444 metres
On the walk Mike, Kees, Ray, Mark, Marie Carmen, Conchi and her cousin Conchi, Charley and myself.

Distance covered 12.1 km, height climbed 444 metres, maximum altitude 2454 metres.
Total distance on Laguna walks 26.6, Total height climbed 1296 metres.