"It had been more than six years since I returned to this mountain and the truth is that I had a good time today. Near the town of La Puebla de don Fadrique, the almond trees are in full bloom thanks to the mild temperature. The mountains in this area, which include Pico La Sagra with almost 8,000 feet, make the landscape of high mountains and this hour and a half drive from home is lucky for me. I see a stream of crystalline waters and at the summit a large group of white goats, I have lunch next to the forestry booth and I observe near it a large cleft in the rock that later appears in the shadow cast by the mountain." — franciscobirruezo • Mar 12, 2023

"Intense day in the Sierra de María, my son and his girlfriend are with me today, the day is sunny and with spring temperatures, halfway we meet a couple of mountaineers who give up going up, perhaps because they were trying to climb off the trail, we We follow the main route from the forest house. On the summit plain at about 6,000 feet, very strong gusts of wind blow and the thermal sensation is cold. We see the Sierra Nevada more than a hundred miles away and all the surrounding mountains. We meet a couple at the top and chat for a bit. Afterwards we protect ourselves a bit from the blizzard and take the opportunity to have lunch while some vultures hover over us. We went down the path of the Botanical Garden that occupies a drop of more than a thousand feet and that from time to time offers signs with the names of the most interesting plant species, it is a magnificent place." — franciscobirruezo • Mar 11, 2023

"Despite the near-constant strong winds, great day exploring the (original) Sierra Nevada. With a few routefinding mistakes, we took an incredible northern route down the ventanas ramp, didn’t see a single person the entire time. Started to fade a bit on the final summit push but recovered and jogged down to the refugio. Took the standard road route back with the Paso de las guias shortcut — quite intense. Long out-of-body descent back down the slopes of Veleta to the car at Hoya de la Mora. A huge day and great loop!" — scott • Jun 23, 2022

"the track to access this mountain is near Soportújar, a town in Las Alpujarras, this track that seems to have no end ascends to an important Buddhist center in the province of Granada. The silence is only broken by the wind and the sound of a prayer wheel. A dusty trail ascends in the final stretches between oak trees and prayer stupas, Tibetan flags sometimes acting as guides. Some posters invite you to pray and turn this place into a spiritual reference." — franciscobirruezo • Jun 12, 2022

"Today we go to the Sierra de Baza Natural Park, a little visited place but with good forests and numerous trails. It is accessed by exit 28 of the A92 motorway and from here to the Cortijo de Narvaez where there is a small botanical garden and a visitor center. We see snow on the highest peaks as we walk through beautiful forests on bridle paths. Some sources serve to recharge the canteen and rest a bit. We are surprised to see some specimen of sequoia in these latitudes and also some fir trees. The peaks of this Sierra are softened by the erosion of millions of years, but some are quite high." — franciscobirruezo • Mar 13, 2022