Valle de Hecho

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There was no way to get from Torla to Hecho by bus and the hour and a half trip would cost hundreds by taxi, so I headed out at 9:30 AM to find a ride..

I had the hardest time near the town/park entrance because police and rangers kept passing and tourists waiting for minibuses kept cramping my style.

After 40 minutes, my fortune changed: a quality control inspector who travels to Libya and Iran took me to Biescas; a carpenter who lives in a hippie town took me to Sabiñánigo; two dentists and a nurse in a rented camper van took me to Jaca; a Cuban-Spanish taxi driver took me to Puente la Reina de Jaca; an older world traveler with COVID wanderlust took me Hecho. I walked the final 8K to my hotel - Montaña Uson. It took about 5 hours overall and I didn’t spend a dime.

The next day was cool and breezy with a mix of blue skies and heavy gray clouds that threatened rain. I walked the Calzada Romana (Roman Road), which passed a very old (Roman? probably not) tower and eventually rose to the cliffs above the road. It was nothing special but was a nice walk. It ended in Oza, a campground with permanent tents, zip lining, and ropes courses. Luckily with school still in session, it was completely deserted. I ate lunch there and randomly chose the 5k hike to Cuello Estribiella.

It begins as a jeepable road before turning to a steep, rocky, single-track ascent. I nearly turned around when I got to a sheer cliff till I realized I’d lost the trail. I’m glad I continued because at the top it opened into a spectacular basin that I had all to myself (see video of 360-degree view). [youtube=

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I walked to the end and rested awhile near the remaining spot of snow. I wanted to spend more time but the winds were picking up and I didn’t have the food or clothes to get stuck there.

I walked back from Oza along the road, which is carved into the cliffs above the river. The rain arrived about half an hour later.

The hotel owners were kind enough to ask around for someone to drive me to Puente de la Reina de Jaca, next to the highway toward Pamplona. Two brothers took me on their way back to Barcelona and I left my hat in their car, which depressed me as I waited for almost two hours with my surf hoodie protecting me from the sun. I was starting to eye up a sign that said cars for rent when a young guy delivering Catalonian delicacies to the Basque country picked me up and took me all the way to an exit with big box stores in the outskirts of Pamplona, where I took the first bus that passed to the city center.

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Photos

Hacer dedo
Who could resist? It’s really fun watching everyone’s reactions. Some people make it abundantly clear that they aren’t going that way or that their car is full. Others pretend to ignore, look on in horror or laugh at the prospect of picking me up.

Scrunchy Mountain
Technically Peña de Agüerri

Path
Good thing for trekking poles!

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

The journey
It sounds like you got a lot of help getting to your destination. Sometimes the journey is the best.