La carrasca

"Route this afternoon to La Carrasca, a mountain in front of La Atalaya de Cieza, the gray sky and intermittent rain have accompanied me during the journey, on the way up the gypsum valley I found pieces of green shaped by erosion, also many traces of mountain goats. The part near the top is quite rocky but from there you can see many mountain ranges and quite distant peaks. Some old quarries are being occupied by good-sized pines so Nature is once again recovering what belongs to her." — franciscobirruezo • Feb 25, 2025

"It's been eight years since I last climbed the Sierra del Oro in January and then there was snow at the top. Today was a pretty sunny and warm day and I walked about 9 miles to get there. It is a fairly prominent mountain so it has good views but it will also make you sweat from the beginning. I started from the hermitage of the Virgin of Good Success and passing through the Carrasca hill and some fields of almond trees I approached the base of the mountain range. Afterwards, a sign indicates the Portazgo path. Already on the slopes of the mountain range, the pine forests provide plenty of shade while a fairly rocky and steep path takes you in the final stretches to the top." — franciscobirruezo • Sep 23, 2024

"I start the route to climb these peaks on the path called Manolo Dato included in the Ruta del Portazgo. These mountains are located between La Sierra del Oro and La Atalaya de Cieza. This area was highly disputed and occupied for many centuries because it was a crossing area from the Meseta to the Mediterranean and it was located next to the Segura River. The wind blows quite a lot and perhaps that's why I find few hikers today, if any ibex speeding up a hillside. At La Carrasca peak I go up the eastern side, steeper and with plaster rocks eroded by the water. On the way to the 467 m peak I see rabbit digs that reveal the layer of plaster that is hidden under the red clay." — franciscobirruezo • May 6, 2023

"These days we have betwen 39 and 50 Fahrenheit above average. This encourages us to enjoy nature before things get worse at the Global Level. Forest fires in Portugal and Spain indicates that something is wrong. To get closer to the mountain today , we followed a topographic map but on the come back we found a path called "Manolo Dato" between pine and fig trees that we liked a lot." — franciscobirruezo • Oct 24, 2017