Villatuerta – Los Arcos
24 kms (total: 192 kms)
6 hours and 15 minutes (+ 2h35 of lunch and photo breaks)
19 – 28°C., cloudy in the morning and very sunny in the afternoon.
Favorites: the guy who offered us figs, the wine fountain at 10 am, the shade in the morning, being able to keep being zero waste on El Camino at all times (even if it costs me a little extra weight), the « horse tree » on the picture above taken by Sophie, arriving in Los Arcos village and not needing to find lodgings as an older man offered us a room at his small guesthouse and gave us foot massage as soon as we entered!
Downs: the beating parching sun in the afternoon along the last 10 kms without anywhere in the shade; taking so much time on breaks; that little demon voice in the end pissing me off saying « why do you even walk? Your feet hurt, the village is still so far off, there’s no point in the whole thing… », having to think this through…
Stayed at La Casa Mágica, 5 calle Rebote (12€/night) in Villatuerta (heaven with hammocks, swimming-pool, yoga room!).
Met up with Noemie, Tim (Oz), Susan and Judy.
El Camino continues tomorrow… 🙂
Les Petits Pas de Juls 
why do you even walk? Your feet hurt, the village is still so far off, there’s no point in the whole thing… LOL If you have ever watched all the PCT, CDT, AT and other thru hike videos, their videos always came to that point in one or another… LOL And then, once they passed that moment, they were happy as a camper… not necessarily pun intended). LOL 🙂
I know, right! The point is, passing that moment. Because, once you do, wow, there comes the charm of it all!
Exactly! When we were going up the uphill from Kern Hot Springs to Wallace Creek, it was the most brutal day on the trip. I completely went out of water under the scorching hot sun with scarce shade to hide in… The elevation gain was literally over 4,000 feet with the heavy pack on – we carried 9 day worth of food with no resupplies (because there is no resupply station on the HST, unlike JMT or PCT). Obviously it wasn’t like I was going to quit it or there was an option to quit, but the last mile was so bad that I almost lost control over my legs… LOL Gosh… We were super lucky that we had zero rain during the entire 9 days. Not this was the only time when we really hoped for even some clouds over us. LOL So… hot… and one would think that it would be much cooler if he/she is up that high – over 11,000 feet. LOL Not at all!!!! By the way, this section that I am describing… the PCT/ers nor JMT’ers would never get to do it. LOL Only HST’ers. And Wallace Creek is the hub (you can actually see the photo from yesterday) where all three thru hikers meet, and the trail those two thru hikers walk on is another trail. LOL It was just brutal… mentally and physically.
It* was the only time
I can only imagine… the longest I’ve been on a trail with food and gear was 5 days, twice in Patagonia. Next time I’m in Torres del Paine Nat. Park there, I’ll go for the 9-day loop hike.
Hiking in altitude under the sun must be excrutiating sometimes, because it is so relentless, but one never wishes for rain anyway, right?!
And once you’ve overcome that day and that feeling, the feeling of achievement is so complete, you usually forget the hardships.
Well…. I haven’t forgotten about that brutal uphill battle yet. 😉 LOL LOL LOL But, I am sure I eventually will as time goes by. Besides, I’ll be focusing on another adventure, and another, and then another… so just like driving, when you have the first accident (I’m quoting an old insurance agent) when driving, the insurance premium goes up and you feel horrible and whatnot… every year (or whenever) you renew your insurance, that part of the history mattered… and then after a few years, 5 years, 10 years, without any other accidents, it means nothing. Just a hiccup in the past, and now it is not even noticeable. You forget. Insurance companies don’t even go back that far… LOL LOL LOL Time heals all the pain and bad memories, and we can simply laugh about them. 🙂
laugh and learn!
« Oz » is not consistent with « D » and « E », but it sure as hell distinguishes us from Österreich (or does it?) LOL The horse tree looks so alone out there.
😆😆😆
Oh oui…être capable de faire disparaître le petit diable par un beau petit ange qui encourage, réconforte, et félicite 😀 Fais une grande place à ce petit ange tout au long de ton chemin❤️
C’est ton ange que j’écouterai alors…
Why do you walk? To be aware of the journey, to touch the Earth with your feet, to greet the horse tree….I’d have so many reasons to join you!
Thank you, Priscilla! Your thoughts have joined me and I’m happy that as simply as that you shushed the devil’s voice! 😊