Iberian Ranges
| Where | Central-East Iberian Ranges |
| When | Late October |
| Distance | 266 km / 165 miles |
| Length | 9 days |
Lands of Iberia
An off-the-beaten-track route through the most sparsely human-inhabited regions of the Iberian Peninsula, away from the big mountains, inspired on my trips in similar areas in North America, enabled by the need to stay local in 2020 pandemic times.
The following is a set of land, human, environmental and personal aspects that shaped my trip in The Empty Quarter.
The plan was for a 2 week, one way trip, starting and finishing at a train station, with very little, if any concession on uninteresting terrain on either end. I had planned for one resupply point on day 6, possibly a second one around day 10. In both instances, I’d resupply and keep going. I planned for no overnight stays in town.
Population shifts in Spain in the latest decades have gone through a dramatic polarization trend. It’s not only the typical move from rural to urban but also the lack of any thriving population hotspots in most of the inland areas. The highland regions where farming is tough have particularly suffered from depopulation and there were no regional urban alternatives.
The villages and the roads are still there but they’re increasingly empty. Empty of human things which, in turn, means it’s nature that thrives.
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