Anillo de Picos: Second attempt
It's “funny” that the first thing that comes to mind when I reflect on this adventure is that it wasn't such a big deal.—or at least I downplay it with similar thoughts.
It might also be because I had been waiting an entire year for this journey, and once it stopped being a goal… what do you do then?
What is the “Anillo de Picos”?
In Picos de Europa there are 9 mountain refuges scattered across the three massifs that make up the national park, and the “Anillo” (ring) is a route that connects all nine of them. There are different versions of the “Anillo”, but the one I had previously attempted (and failed at) and the one I wanted to complete this year was the full route, the one across all three massifs.
It’s 120 km with 9,000 meters of elevation gain, including scrambles and small climbs.
It’s designed to be done in 8 or 9 stages.
I did it with two of my brothers in 4 stages.
Stage 1: Poncebos - Culiembro - Vega de Ario - Lagos de Covadonga - Vegarredonda
A heat wave across Spain, and we set off with 30 km on the first day. I don’t remember ever being that hot in the mountains, or drinking so much water. Luckily, we knew where to find all the springs, because each of us had to drink 7 liters that day.
It was a 9-hour hike, knowing this first stage was going to be the easiest one.
We slept at Vegarredonda refuge, an absolute wonder.
Stage 2: Vegarredonda - Vegahuerta - Vegabaño - Cordiñanes
I’d say this was the definition of a perfect stage. We were motivated, it wasn’t the first day anymore so you felt like a daring adventurer, the weather was ideal, and the views… The photo speaks for itself, but among all the mountains I’ve been in, I’ve never felt so small yet so immersed in nature.
It was nearly 10 hours of hiking, ending at Hotel El Tombo in Cordiñanes, a paradise on earth for us from that day on. Highly recommended.
Stage 3: Cordiñanes - Collado Hermoso - Cabaña Verónica - El Cable - Canal de Jidiellu - Casetón de Ándara - Sotres
I can barely fit all the place names from that single day. We covered 38 km and over 3,000 meters of elevation gain in 14 hours. Insane. We knew this was the key stage of the whole route.
On the elevation profile above you can see two big climbs in Stage 3, and the second one was the dangerous one. We knew we’d hit it right after lunch, but we didn’t think it would be with 30°C…
There were doubts about whether to climb it or not, honestly.
On routes this long, doubts always come at some point—the thing is how you face them.
For me, that climb was my happiest moment of the whole “Anillo”.
Stage 4: Sotres - La Terenosa - Urriellu - Jou de los Cabrones - Bulnes - Poncebos
Exhaustion.
We had already finished the toughest stage, and mentally we were elsewhere.
It was 27 km, the shortest stage, but it felt endless.
And the end…
I reached the car with my brothers, with a feeling of emptiness I remember perfectly.
The “Anillo” was done; so… what now?
It took more than two months for me to truly value what it was and to appreciate it.
Would I do it again?