It has been some time since I’ve gone hiking (and written here), pretty much since I hiked from Morata de Tajuña to Chinchón in March. Because my athletic goals this year are different than my partners, I’ve been focused more on running than slow hiking with a heavy pack. In addition, his training hikes usually correspond to either an easy day or rest day for me. After waking up and getting moving early during the week, doing the same on the weekend makes me so unbelievable grouchy and unpleasant that it is akin to being trapped inside the mind of a petulant teenager. No thanks! I can’t stand that and I’m pretty sure my partner can’t either (and, frankly, shouldn’t have to).
Luckily, this weekend corresponded with the start of a down week in my training and the end of my vacation for Semana Santa, which despite its name, was closer to two weeks for me. So, after two weeks of running in Casa de Campo and couching on my couch, I took advantage of the perfect confluence of events and weather to head to La Najarra, a hike which I had already bailed on the week before to spend valuable time doing the aforementioned activities.
La Najarra sits above the town of Miraflores de la Sierra, a beautiful, hilly village nestled into a valley. And, importantly, the most common trail starts in Puerto de la Morcuera, which is where the Cuerda Larga ends. My goal for the hike was primarily to scout a better route from the end of the trail down to Miraflores, which my partner had discovered from a friend of his whose family lives in Miraflores.
This better route starts at the bus stop at the edge of the village, unlike the last time when we ended in the center, which added a considerable amount of walking. It heads up through a quiet residential area for about a mile to a forested, picnic area at the Fuente del Cura, which also has a chiringuito. This is a stand where you can buy food and beer, like a tiny, informal restaurant. I had forgotten it was there and as we walked by, I was already planning to end my goal run there.
From here, the route takes a dirt road past some more houses, then farms. Peppered along the road are several lots with small, towable trailers that people have set up as summer living spaces on the house-free lots. Perhaps it’s my rural upbringing, but they look like a quiet, tranquil heaven to me. I said to my partner, “We could get a lot and trailer like this. If we added a hot tub, it would be perfect!” Then, not sensing the same level of enthusiasm, I followed up with, “Wait, is that too rural for you?” Fortunately, he was too kind to question (out loud?) why he had tied himself to this dirty forest troll.
We followed the road, past a small dam and reservoir, until we turned onto an actual trail into a dry, pine forest (oh, the delicious scent!) until we reached Puerto de la Morcuera, where we discovered where all the people we didn’t see on the trail were spending their time. Here, there is a medium-sized parking lot to access the trails and the road over the saddle is extremely popular among bikers and cyclists.
From here, we made the steep climb up to the summit of La Najarra. It was quite pleasant, steep, but easy, especially for someone like me who was not carrying a 45lb pack like my partner. I would stroll slowly ahead and stop to wait and enjoy the views of the Sierra – the Cuerda Larga and the gullies on Peñalara in the distance – then turn to watch my partner trudge slowly up with his over-size pack, which one family commented on, telling their son that he would fit in that pack.
As I stood there, waiting, enjoying the breeze on my un-sweaty back, feeling no feeling of misery in my legs, I started re-thinking mountaineering. Okay, not really, but it was so nice to just feel light and happy and free from struggle, stress, self-expectation, and anxiety for a change. Sometimes, I think I spend so much time pushing my mental boundaries that I forget that I don’t always have to make life so hard all the time. Crazy, I know!
The summit of La Najarra is everything I like about the Sierra, rocky outcrops and flat, grassy patches begging to be stretched out on if you don’t mind a little bit of dry goat or sheep poop, which I actually do so I sit on the rocks. How hypocritical. We ate a typical sandwich of jamón con tomate and followed up with special Easter treats, to meet my CMTR Spring Scavenger Hunt goals. My partner dumped out 25lbs of water he had been carrying to make the descent. We walked together to Puerto de la Morcuera, where I took the lead so I could practice following some confusing turns on my own in preparation for my run. We talked about maybe doing my run on the first weekend of May before he goes to Nepal, since it is a long weekend, and he could meet me at the Fuente del Cura with food and dry clothes. I really hope the weather is good that weekend.
