Hola friends,
As many you know, last week I hiked the Quintar Mountains (at least one of the many of the range). It was an absolutely incredible experience that I will never forget.
During our long trek, my friends and I were discussing what a difficult, and nearly impossible, of a task it is to explain and accurately describe one’s experience in nature. Today I will be daring to take on that exact task. I am fully aware that there is no way I can transcend what I felt at the peak to you all, but I will do my best.
My experience began even before I stepped onto the base of the mountain, or even onto to the bus. When I was signing up for this trip, neither I nor my roommate knew what we were getting ourselves into. Not until after we paid did we look at the packet of information. This excursion required you to have hiking boots, a hiking stick, and other things that I did not have with me in Spain nor at home in the USA. (My family is Polish and when we go to the mountains we hope to have sneakers without holes and some Milka chocolate to give us energy.) The packet also explained the trail, but it was all in Spanish which required too much effort and energy to fully understand, but I did see 20 km. I’m pretty sure I never hiked anything close to 20 km before in my life, at least knowingly.
Distraught by what we got ourselves into, we went home crying to our Senora. She read over the packet with an expression that scared us even more. She told us it definitely would be a tough hike, and that was the breaking point for my roommate. She decided she would not be going. As for me, I knew I wanted to take on the challenge, but then again I had none of the equipment. My Senora then offered to ask her cousins if they had the equipment I needed.
A couple of days later, she came into my room with a full bag of gear. She found me a proper jacket, boots, and a hiking stick! I was, and still am, so appreciative of her. It definitely was not part of her job description to help me to this extent. This small act of kindness I will never forget. She reminded me how the little things can make all the difference to someone else.
Then it was finally the morning of the hike. I had to get up at 4:30, which is the same time my roommate was getting home. (Oh my to the Spanish horario.) I didn’t sleep much — waking up every hour, nervous that I would not hear my alarm. As I walked to the bus stop, the streets were still full of people – most not even going home yet, but just to another bar or club.
We finally started hiking at about 9:30. It was a cloudy morning, but not cold. There was a soft mist, but not unpleasant. We started on an easy trail, which would be like any other forest preserve. Once we started hiking, I felt much calmer. I knew I could keep up with ease. After about an hour, we started on a tougher route. The incline got steeper and the path rockier, but nothing too strenuous. The beautiful scenery definitely helped the time pass quickly. There were tall trees surrounding us on both sides and a river that we walked alongside. The air smelled fresh and clean.
After about two and a half hours we hit snow. At first just a little, but then the entire path was covered with a white blanket. I walked in the footprints of the person in front of me, making the journey through the snow less difficult; however, I had to keep my head down a lot in order to not fall! Whenever I got the chance to look up, I was amazed by what was around me. It’s flabbergasting to think that no one created any of it. It was “all natural,” and so inspiring.
After about four hours and a couple of breaks, we broke through the tree-line. We were no longer walking through the forest but through open terrain. The snow got deeper and the wind got stronger. Luckily the sun was starting to break. This part of the hike definitely got tricky. The higher we got, the slushier and more slippery the snow was. It became evident that hiking boots and a hiking stick were definitely necessary. This part of the journey took about an hour and a half and it was one hundred percent worth it. The views were immaculate, and they were even better from the very top.
When we finally arrived, which was what all our hard work was for; the clouds opened up and offered us a beautiful view of the mountain range. We were literally standing amongst the clouds. The intensity of white was blinding. The wind was strong and the air was cold, but it was all worth feeling like we were on top of the world.
The climb down was much quicker, but just as interesting. Once we escaped the fields of snow, we went down a luscious path filled with greens. I still can’t believe the various terrains we encountered that day: dirt, grass, snow, water; I felt like we experienced it all.
The hike took about nine hours. Nine hours sounds like a dreadful amount of time, but I appreciated every 54000ish minutes of it.
Salamanca, SPAIN. 