Description

This is a summary of some specifics about the Cantabrian Ranges and their High Route traverse.

Mountains

The Cantabrian Ranges run along the Iberian peninsula’s northern coast, watershed roughly 50 km inland. They’re a major barrier: rain shadow effect and very different ground configuration either side. To the south, the flat lands are a highland, the mountains are not that prominent and the relief is gentler than on the other side. To the north, deep, narrow valleys and precipitous ridges. When the High Route leaves the actual watershed crest, it usually falls to the gentler south side.

The watershed crest is mostly between the 1700 and 2000 m height marks. This is not beyond plant life’s reach at this latitude. Bare rock is only found when the terrain is nearly vertical. There are no glaciers. It’s not uncommon that the highest peaks are not on the actual watershed.

Environment

The lack (with a few exceptions) of true high altitude environments makes these mountains less massively attractive for recreation than the nearby Pyrenees or further away Alps. Human reach is all over the place in the form of little hamlets deep into the valleys and cattle grazing in the high meadows. Despite this ancient colonization, from a mountaineering perspective, the Cantabrian ranges can feel wild and remote, far more than said Pyrenees or Alps. In most areas, you’re more likely to meet shepherds than climbers.

Weather

The Atlantic sends humidity, then the mountains stop it on their northern side, which is often dark and cloudy, even with no weather system involved. Fog and mist are a staple year round in the northern valleys. South slopes are far sunnier.

Then the Atlantic also sends weather systems that commonly hit the area in the fall, winter and spring, leaving lots of precipitation. Summer is more settled but not free of some weather.

Finally, the same Atlantic and the Gulf Stream make temps mild. Winter snow may fall in large quantities and may also melt in similarly large amounts. Seamless snow cover is commonly found in the high areas roughly December to April.

Don’t expect much peace in Cantabrica weather. Sea and mountain so close together are a rough mix.

Season

From a backpacking perspective, any High Route in Cantabrica is a summer thing, roughly June to October.

Route

The Cantabrian High Route is just an idea. It is not a trail, it has no signalling on the ground and there are no guidebook or map sets. The idea is clear enough though to be consistent among takers: follow the watershed, either right on top of it or along the foot of the hill.

The actual watershed may not be evident on the ground. It’s not about hiking on the knife’s edge while looking down on the rest of the world. Side ridges and spurs may lead to ground higher than the actual watershed crest and some of the tallest massifs are off it. Yet the watershed is typically seen as a synonym for the High Route. It’s the average highest route possible.

The Cantabrian High Route is seldom attempted as a thru-hike. Most hikers/mountaineers in the area will be there on day hikes/climbs. Self-supported thru-hikes are even rarer as it’s common for hikers to rely on nearby facilities for overnighting and provisions. The lack of a set route and defined trails is a clear show-stopper. Local mountaineering culture favors other outdoor options.

Trails

Most of the route goes over some kind of trail.The most representative types of trail to be found on the High Route are the Crest Tracks and the Foothill Tracks. They’re different from each other for more reasons than just location.

The Crest Track usually takes the form of a faint, intermittent, one-shoe-wide clearing on the ground vegetation, over the very crest or close to it. It’s usually meant for hikers/mountaineers: wildlife or cattle have no interest in long crest traverses. I guess at some time there was someone with a hoe cutting these out but I don’t think these tracks get any maintenance other than the actual hiking on them, hence the faintness and intermittent character.

The Mountainside/Foothill Tracks are so ubiquitous that may seem random but there’s a certain plot to them associated to their users, mostly cattle that create/use these trails to access and link meadowy areas commonly found below the ridges. These trails are a lifesaver for the hiker. Lower down the hillside, the bush can be maddening to walk through and the inclines just make it worse. Whenever you are forced or opt out off the crest, look for a cattle trail that suits your itinerary: there’s bound to be one.

Those two types would cover about 80% of the tread. The remaining 20% is a mix of dirt roads, occasional, short tarmac sections and some fine, standard hiking trail stretches usually found in the few areas of the range where recreational hiking is actually popular.

Most of the crest is walkable but there are a few sections that are too narrow and rocky, with steep walls on both sides. They can usually still be traversed with no rope but they’d be too hairy for many -they certainly were for me. These sections can usually be skipped by climbing down to safe ground, then back up.

Sometimes a rough trail will exist on the slopes just below these narrow ridges. Follow it at your own risk. I held my breath in every step along such a trail in this slope below:

In the absence of a trail, the bush is usually walkable on the crest but it can be maddening to hike through lower down. Over the crest, it’s usually short size heather, not a problem:

Further down the slopes, the bush can be 2 or 3 meter high with thick, stiff trunks. This can be a nightmare. In such a case, always look for a way through that’s been open by cattle. Horses and cows have much harder shells than humans. There’s almost always something.

Barely visible line through the bush but it is there and it does help

Hiking through the Cantabrian High Route is not particularly difficult but don’t expect quality, worry free trails. You’ll need to find your way, you’ll need to spend time finding your way and you’ll regret it if you don’t.

Maps

No map sets are available for the Cantabrian High Route. It’s necessary to build one’s own from the IGN (Instituto Geografico Nacional or National Geographical Institute) state maps.

The IGN maps are fine but they pose a few problems:

• They may be difficult to actually buy on paper, even within Spain
• They’re set up in a grid that covers the whole territory with no overlaps and no regard for where the map borders fall into. Parts of your route may be in between sheets, which is a pain in actual use.
• IGN maps are fine as far as the topography goes but trails are poorly and unreliably depicted.

Recreational oriented mapping addresses all these issues but it’s only available for a few sections that happen to be popular hiking/mountaineering grounds.

 

Pastoral life

The Cantabrian ranges are of moderate height, located in a temperate climate area, the right conditions for an ancient, yet limited, low impact human activity. Urban areas near the mountains are rather small so there’s been no massive human pressure of the worst kind except for the now declining mining activities.

The north side valleys are home to tiny hamlets at the end of impossibly winding roads. With virtually no flat land around, traditional life is based on cattle farming. It still is today.

Southern highland valleys are gentler as far as topography goes but weather is harsher. Crop season is limited and cattle of the hairy kind is the staple.

This is all evident for the hiker as seen from the watershed crest. In the summer, horses and cows live in the high meadows. You walk through them. They’re peaceful and magnificent animals and It’s a personal pleasure of mine to wave them goodbye as I stroll along. Their scat plagues the best camping spots though, take it as one added challenge of the outdoor experience.

Just down from the crests and as the slopes ease, water pours out from the aquifers and golf-course-quality grass is found, the perfect setting for the shepherds’ summer dwellings, often fitted with stone enclosures and huts.

Right from the crest you can occasionally see the Asturian hamlets, deep down in their narrow valleys. Less idyllic are the sights of the clearcuts in the beech woods to make room for pastures.

The views south are less panoramic, our crest vantage point being not as prominent. Villages are seldom seen even though they’d be more accessible for the hiker. Summer pastures and their associated shelters are also physically closer to the crest.

Cattle farming is still today the core human activity in Cantabrica. To a large amount, it’s still done as it used to be in ancient times. This is cultural heritage at its best and it’s a huge value of any trek in these mountains.

Limestone & Meadows: the Grey & the Green

The Cantabrian ranges are rich in limestone. Huge massifs are built on it. It’s sort of a bipolar kind of rock: it’s super hard and at the same time there’s a part of it that’s easily dissolved by water.

Limestone relief in Cantabrica tends to the extreme: huge vertical walls like upscaled cathedrals built to overwhelm humans (maybe other animals too) and remind them who’s in charge here. The nicest touch and a personal favorite of mine is not so much about the size or the shape though but the colour: that incredibly elegant light grey and its mix with the grass green is as close to perfection as nature can get.

When Limestone and meadows meet, nature steals the show. In a calm, clear autumn day you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Camp

Camping out in the Cantabrian High Route is relatively easy for a crest route. There is no shortage of quality grass and finding flat spots is a question of looking in the right places. There are two basic places to start:

Crest saddles usually have a flat, grassy area. Lower saddles may also show a spring not far below. Crest saddles are obviously exposed and a very bad place to be in harsh weather but they’re right en-route and they offer solitude, discretion, views and early morning sun. They’ll also be drier and warmer than any valley location in high pressure, temp inversion conditions.

Below the crests and as soon as the slope eases, there are flat-ish, meadowy areas. These are easily seen from the crest. Some may be too far below to make the side trip worth it but many others may involve a minor climb down of 100 meters or less. These foot-of-the-hill meadows are often hanging high over the valley floor, particularly on the northern slopes. This is also where springs often flow from the upper aquifers. It’s all so obviously perfect that cattle and shepherds can’t help but feel the same. Many of these areas are fitted with shepherd’s summer dwellings even if they’re not cattle will use them. Apart from the side trip and the elevation loss, the other drawback is that it can be tricky to find a scat-free spot big enough for your shelter. It can be frustrating to get to the absolutely perfect spot and find a huge cow pie right in the middle of it. Take it as an added, funny challenge to the lost art of camping.

Overnight camping regulations are obscure to say the least in Spain and they depend on the region. It’s better to be discreet. No problem with that in the High Route: you’ll be away enough from civilization most of the time and the area is lightly traveled anyway. Great nights out guaranteed.

(G)astronomy

I happened to be in Cantabrica in a new moon week blessed with clear skies, just about the perfect setting for star watching. The only thing not collaborating was the temp, dropping dramatically after sunset. It was a struggle to keep up but I did every night, even if for only a few minutes. I don’t get to see the milky way that often.

The G- part is really worth a mention in this region: harsh mountain weather brings the need for hearty meals and this is a lot to say in a region where food is taken very seriously by default.

If sticking strictly to the crest route, only a few road saddles will have food services but I’d strongly recommend stopping there, particularly if it’s lunch time. This was at Puerto de San Isidro:

I just didn’t need to eat anything else that day.

At the very least, indulge yourself in a post-hike food celebration and make sure to ask for the local stew. There are local varieties of it, some even with the word “mountain” as part of the name.