"Once descended from Hacha Grande I made my way back up to the goat station, where I paused to stuff half a cheese and ham croissant in my mouth whilst observing the little canaries jumping about, then up the small hill above it. I followed the wide path here in the hope it would give me one that went up Redondo, but it descended so I headed north and tackled this head on. It did look a little hairy from below, the rock brittle and not stable but I found a firm footing pretty much all the way up, and was slightly surprised to reach the summit when I did, having assumed it was the same height as Hacha, whereas in fact it is some 50m lower. Saw some interesting vegetation, see photo, a strange succulent type of plant. Descended northwards, it looked a little dicky at first but I found a fairly well used though small path, a little loose underfoot. Here I saw a para-whatjacallit who crossed from Atalaya de Femes riding the thermals, and soared aroung the top above me. Regaining the saddle with Aceituna I traverse the east side of the latter this time, with a great view of the valley to the east. Here I encountered more prickly pears which I now understand might be planted to prevent so..." — vygodski • Dec 9, 2025

"From the saddle between Pico Redondo and Pico de la Aceituna. I wavered about heading up Redondo first. I couldn't see a path from the saddle although I was aware there was one, but decided to tackle it on the way back lest I exhausted myself on what was quite a steep climb and would not feel ambitious enough to go to Hacha Grande. (I had been under the weather for seven days and was unsure how much energy I had). So I decided on Hacha Grande first. The good path rounds the bottom of Redondo, alongside quite a steep incline, with some ravines and drops to the right. I came across prickly pear cacti and picked one of the red fruits. I was careful to avoid the large spines but had no idea that the fruit itself has several tufts of tiny little spikes that embedded themselves all over my hands, and annoyingly into my lip when I tried to eat it. I was surprised it was not sweeter but it was also pretty bitter picking out the tiny little devils for much of the rest of my walk. After rounding Redondo and descending a little, one arrives at Degollada Portugues which is a small enclosed area for goats. Here one joins a track and descends some more. There was little of the breeze I anticipat..." — vygodski • Dec 9, 2025

"The first hill of three in a super midday walk. From just west of Femes, in a parking spot at around 330m, walked up into the town then took the dirt track that heads to the large building on the ridge. A little after the sign announcing entry into the national park, I veered right and headed straight up this. There was no path marked but it was clearly a route taken. Just below the summit there are a couple of fairly delapitated shelters. I descended to the saddle of this and Pico Redondo, still unsure of where to head next." — vygodski • Dec 9, 2025

"From the edge of the town to the east, a straightforward walk along a popular route. Reaching the crater rim I did the round anti-clockwise. Within the basin people have used rocks to write their names. Quite a bit of lichen on the rocks inside the crater here. I have learnt that this is the first vegetation to grow on these volcanic rocks and it is the building block for other elements of the eco-system. It can take up to a thousand years to develop. " — vygodski • Dec 7, 2025

"From the road to the south west. This hill is steeper than it looks. A rough path with some loose and some solid rock beelines up it with one small false summit before one reaches the top and a good view of the crater. One could walk around the rim but I descended much the same way, taking care not to slip on the loose dirt and gravel. Saw some people going up and meeting my path from the south, which would have given a more favourable angle of ascent." — vygodski • Dec 5, 2025