We showed up a bit early on the platform for our bus to the Sierra Nevada. It wasn´t a very big bus. Also coming for the trip were a pair of female Spanish hikers, a couple of guys with mountain bikes, another local, and one last character who will be introduced a little later.

After 45 minutes up the winding mountain road, and about a 12 degC drop in temperature, the driver let us off by the gate to the national park. Our last character asked the driver something that sounded suspiciously like "Chamonix?" Whether or not he was actually asking if this was the stop for the skiing village in the French Alps, the nickname "crazy old man" was assigned at this point and, as you´ll see, stuck.

We started our hike up the hill. It was not entirely what we expected. It turned out the hiking trail we were hoping to take was just a path criss-crossing an out-of-season ski slope. The altitude made the landscape devoid of any plant life taller than a patch of grass. The almost complete lack of other hikers made the open mountainside look barren, and frankly boring.

Of our busload, only the two Spanish girls and the crazy old man were also interested in hiking. The girls tore off straight away at their own pace and we saw little more of them.

Crazy old man had an interesting style of hiking. Have you ever seen one of those little wind up robots? You know, the ones that buzz forward a few paces, then turn to the left by some randomized number of degrees, and continue on their way? Imagine one of those, only wearing loafers and a windbreaker and clutching a leather attache case.



We had 7 hours to kill before the bus would come to pick us up again. Hiking across the ski hill quickly became tedious and unrewarding. As we walked along in this state of mind, our friend would come into view over the horizon, walking a few steps one way, a few another, and would then disappear once again.

"I feel like we´re some kind of lost souls, just wandering about in this limbo. I imagine this is what purgatory must be like."

Things actually did manage to pick up a little later on. We did end up encountering some ibex, who broke up the tedium.





And one of the peaks we reached did give us a nice view out into the valley.



All the hikers, including crazy old man, made it back to Granada safely that evening.