For today, I had planned a circular hike to the top of the Campanilles hill (572 metres) planned. I had mapped out a route on Komoot and at 9:45 I set off with daypack and hiking poles. The trek was 17 km and was rated 'tough' by Komoot. It gets dark here at 6pm, so I brought my headlamp just to be sure. And a power bank because my old phone drains quickly while navigating.
After 5 km along the coast and through olive groves, the path began to climb steeply. At the 'Font de la Parra' spring - which was bone dry - I had to turn away to Campanilles. Another two kilometres, so I planned to have my packed lunch there.
That was beyond my reckless stupidity. The signage on the hilly climb was no longer good. At one point, I found myself at a fork without the familiar yellow-and-white markings. The path on the left seemed to dive straight into a dark gorge. To the right it went uphill on a cobbled path and there I uncovered some cairns. So I turned right. After a few hundred metres, the path ended in a wide and very steep strip of cobbles.
I got a bit hungry and decided to eat something before starting this. I checked on Komoot whether I was still sitting correctly, because actually I thought that cobbles were dangerous and irresponsible to chase a hiker across. When the pebbles start sliding under your feet, you're off... Komoot didn't find my correct position and according to the map I was close to the path. So I climbed on, as much as possible at the edge of the gravel to hold on to bushes, and often on all fours when I had little grip. I knew: this is dangerous.
I should have turned right at my lunch spot, but the cairns higher up made me suspect I would get back on a more passable path there. Nothing of the sort. After a hundred metres or so of climbing over crushed rock, I reached firmer ground and, working my way through scrub and dwarf stone oaks, made it to the ridge. There I expected a path... second time, nothing of the sort. Just pointed rock pinnacles that I had to pass while scrambling. On the ridge, though, I was treated to a nice panorama all around, with a view of the peninsular municipality Peñiscola in the north.
On the ridge, Komoot had back range and I saw that the local GR trail was two altitude lines lower! I was way too high and should probably have followed the left path at the fork without route markings. I had to try to descend, but to make matters worse, the mountainside below me was overgrown with dense scrub. On some stretches, I got completely tangled in spiteful thorn twigs that snaked between gorse bushes or holm oaks. At times I was closer to crying than laughing. Meanwhile, it was also after 1pm and I had only covered a third of the entire route. When I suddenly noticed the path after about half an hour of toiling through the thicket, the relief was great!
Twenty minutes later, I was at the top of the Campanilles, where four Spanish hikers were sitting, walking in the opposite direction. I asked them info about the route to decide whether to continue or retrace my steps, along the right path that is. I didn't feel like being in those hills in the dark, even with a headlamp. There were no really difficult sections left in the trail, and after four kilometres it even became a gravel road suitable for cars. I walked on until a fork where I had a choice: follow the easy path for 5 km, along the Santa Lucía hermitage to Alcossebre, and then another +3 km along the coastal path to the campsite. Or a 3 km descent to the coastal path, and then another two kilometres of coastal path.
I chose the shorter option and after a few hundred metres of gravel road was treated to a tough descent along a narrow path. Here I also briefly got off the path, but this time I turned right when I saw it was getting too difficult. Providence was now very kind to me! As I approached the spot where I had missed a turn, I saw the orange bag with my mobile phone tripod dangling from a branch. It was in a side pocket of my backpack and the loop had hooked itself without me noticing anything. What luck.
As dusk began to set in, I was on a two-track road in an olive grove, and just under half an hour later I was in the campsite. I didn't need the headlamp.
In the shower, I noticed my legs were seriously scraped. But my trekking trousers had held up.
16 September: Opening the door at Diamondway Buddhist Centre in Tallinn The centre's meditation sessions are open
