AWW 30th March 2016: The Commentator´s Curse, or Trek to the Hidden Valley

 

The pre-match publicity for the walk read as follows:

This will be an excursion into the hills north of Silves, including a descent into an interesting hidden valley where I don´t think the AWWs have been before. Distance about 19km including an optional trig point circuit.  With the opt out from that circuit, the distance will be near enough 18km. All on recce´d tracks, no hands and knees stuff. Total ascent about 600 metres but only one short hill is at all challenging and it can be (will be in my case) taken in easy stages. Some water for dogs. One or two shallow fords to negotiate but, unless it rains seriously over the Monday/Tuesday, wading bags not needed. Time probably 5.30 hours because I am seeking dispensation from the lunch sub-committee to extend the lunch break from the statutory 20 minutes to 35 minutes. We will take lunch at about 1 pm in the valley where, by the way, there is a deep pool for anyone who might fancy a dip. The 35 minutes will give us time to charge our batteries for the slightly challenging hill. No coffee at the start, so grab one in Silves beforehand if you need to.Start time: 9.30 am.

Starting point GPS: N37.12.28   W08.26.10.  Map below for the GPS deficient.

Post-walk refreshments: we will go to Cafe Terrano 2 km further up the Silves – São Marcos road.

The day was bright and sunny, any threats of rain had gone, and the temperature was perfect. There had originally been 15 potential walkers, but only 12 made it to the starting point.

Starters: JohnH, Manuella, Jan, Marian, Ingrid, Maria, Hilke, Pam, David, Nick, Ros, TomH,

plus Peter and Rosie.

Those who didn´t make it were:-

Val – under the weather, Lynne – under the doctor, and Yves – under the hammer.

The Track

The Statistics:-

Distance: 20.8 km. Total Time: 6 hours 38 min.

Moving Time: 5 hours 04 min. Average Moving Speed: 4.1 kph.

Total Ascent: 603 metres. Lunch Stop: 35 min. 

Before we set off, an interesting technical point arose when Nick pointed out that JohnH´s GPS references would have taken him to Tunes. I didn´t agree. And we both studied our SatMaps. It seems that there are several different ways of expressing map references, JohnH using the probably by now old-fashioned d.m.s (degrees minutes and seconds) method practiced by Captain Cook and others, and Nick using decimal degrees.  Certainly there are differences which could lead to confusion. In this case, N37.12.28  W08.26.10 (d.m.s) is lat. 37.207813 lon. 8.436168 (decimal degrees). There are also the possibilities of using “Degrees, decimal minutes” and something called “Universal Transverse Mercator” which looks very cumbersome. What do car navigation systems use? Which method should AWWs use? Do we have an AWW guru who can give a ruling? 

Anyway, we soon understood how the confusion had arisen and this didn´t delay the start. Good progress was made over the hill, past what is called the dog house, and then up a steady but gentle ascent through what used to be a very shaded valley but which has now been opened up to the sunlight by eucalyptus felling.. The pace was not forced and occasional pauses were appreciated ……

……with oohs and aahs being directed at the abundant flora.

Not among the cabbages and peas.

No indeed, they may be Viper´s Bugloss or even Shrubby Gromwell. I can´t tell. No doubt some knowledgeable AWW will tell us.

After some one and three quarter hours, we emerged on the ridge overlooking the São Marcos road and prepared to tackle the trig point circuit. Three, Hilke, Ingrid and Manuella, opted out of this, wisely so in view of later developments.

Up at the trig, Maria did her by now traditional balancing act, while the less-acrobatic milled around in a thoroughly undisciplined manner until Jan had to raise her voice to get them under control.

Finally

A proper Trig Point Picture. 

Rosie meanwhile pondered on life in general

Lord, what fools these mortals be.

Descending from the trig, we circled back to meet up with the waiting three, having completed the trig circuit in a pretty smart twenty minutes, all that faffing around at the trig included. We then set off in a westerly direction, along the high ridges. All around us there were signs of considerable work having been done with heavy machinery to clear fire breaks, the result being enticingly broad new tracks going off every which way.

This was when the Commentator´s Curse struck.

For those of you who don´t listen to cricket commentaries on the wireless (radio in US English), this is what happens when a smug English broadcaster says, for example, “Alastair Cook is looking supremely comfortable this morning against this Aussie bowling” (when he has scored perhaps miserly 13 runs in 1 hour) “and he will surely be eying a big hundred” when  SPLAT his middle stump goes flying and he´s out. One word of complacency, and then  …look out!

Here it was, Nick had just made a remark about the leader  “Isn´t John´s doing very well, not even relying on a map” when said leader spotted a white-suited bee-keeper in the scrub just ahead of us tending to his row of beehives. But, hang on, he thought, there hadn´t been any beehives on his recce, and it suddenly dawned on him that he was off- track. Where was he and which way to go?

Well, we back-tracked of course and, after a certain amount of desperate consulting of SatMaps and having walked a completely unnecessary 1.3 km and wasted a whole half-hour, we regained John´s intended route. The troops up till now had been uncomplaining but, with the clock nearing 1 pm,  stomachs were not so mute, remarks were passed sotto voce and the leader had to plead for an extra 15 minutes until lunch. Mutiny avoided, thankfully shortly later the path did lead us down from the bare uplands into the promised Hidden Valley. (Don´t panic, Geoff. I´ll give you the co-ordinates in a minute.)

There were a couple of shallow fords to contend with before a shady spot beside a deep pool was found and we settled down to rest and refreshment. While some gently discussed the merits of various organic body lotions, the rest simply soaked in the peace and tranquillity of the spot.

As far as I know, nobody went for a dip in the pool, but even so the 35 minute lunch break was restorative; our thanks go to the lunch sub-committee for the extra 15 minutes dispensation. A quick group photo or two, and we were on our way again. A couple more fords to negotiate. Ample evidence of wild boar activity; it must be a paradise for them in this spot.

The slightly challenging hill was scaled without too much difficulty and 11 fit walkers very kindly paused at the top for the leader to catch up with them.

Just taking a breather

We then strolled over the upland tracks again, pausing at a strange orangey-red metal object which may have been an agricultural dispenser of some sort. Why left up there? It´s anybody´s guess.

The trail then led back down into the erstwhile shaded valley, past the dog house again, and then along the broad dirt road leading towards Silves before we swung back sharply to the east and over a gentle rise to the ridge overlooking where we had left the cars. At this late stage some still managed to look remarkably happy -

Back at Rest and Be Thankful

but others including your scribe felt well and truly knackered. An hour longer than advertised – a couple of kms more than advertised –not to mention 200 metres or so of extra ascent ! No wonder.

We then adjourned to Cafe Terrano which used to be famous for having the most comfortable chairs this side of the Tejo. But alas, those mini chaises-longues have been replaced by common or garden upright jobs; apparently, the comfortable chairs had been bad for business, not only taking up too much space but also encouraging clients to snooze over a single libation rather than to drink more. So much for progress.

Even the camera was feeling the strain by this time and misbehaved:

Thanks are due to Geraldine, Hazel, Ingrid, Janet and Maria for assisting me with the recces, and to David, Jan and Tom for additional camera work.

I have suggested that this valley may not have been visited by the AWWs before but, if any senior or retired AWW should wish to correct that suggestion, I´d be glad to put the record straight.

Meanwhile Geoff, back in sunny England, has been champing at the bit, anxious to obtain the GPS co-ordinates for the hidden valley, so here they are, first in degrees minute and seconds, then in decimal degrees, and then in degrees, decimal minutes.

dms   37*13´11.44´´N  8*28´20.62´´W

dd      37.217440* lat   -8.465622* lon

ddm    37*12.849´ N    -8*27.648´W

With all that gen, he should not, I hope, get lost.

And finally the obligatory blog quotations:

I think that gravity sets into everything, including careers, but pendulums do swing and mountains do become valleys after a while... if you keep on walking.  (Sylvester Stallone)

 

Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove,

That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields.  (Christopher Marlowe)