Camino Day 18 - Leitza to Tolosa

Rain day today, and chilly. I could see my breath most of the day.

Only pic is the crossing into Basque territory.

Didn't take the Via Verde to Andoain for fear of flooded tunnels, and no towns along that route as a back up plan for taking a road instead.

So, the plan was to mix some highways with country roads. The highway got me out of Navarra into Basque territory just fine. Wasn't raining then, and little to no traffic.

I then crossed under the freeway A-15 onto a country road that climbed up over the mountain tunnels that A-15 passes through.

This country road turned into a hiking trail climbing on the crest of the mountains. It had started to pour by now, and I was hiking partially blind up in the clouds.

I got to one of those famous crossroads, and had 3 options: 1) take the trail down to the valley below and follow the river and the highway (curvy with no shoulder and wet roads), 2) the narrow path along the crest of the mountains (according to the posted trail map this looked like the most direct route), or 3) take the right path where the mountain bikers were heading (a wider but longer path that had a few offshoots that looked like great opportunities for me to get lost).

I took option two, the narrow path. It climbed up immediately. Got very dark with the fog of the clouds, the rain, and the trees. After about an hour of hiking, I came to a bunch of fallen trees and a path that was washed out down a steep face.

I attempted to cross, but immediately got stuck in the mud, and backtracked an hour to the crossroads again. I decided to retreat from the mountain, take option 1, and head on down into the valley.

I had a moment of sun when I got to the valley floor, but then the rain came pounding down on me again. My gloves were long ago soaked through, but they kept away a bit of the chill.

I stumbled into Ibarra, and couldn't find a hotel. Asking a bartender, he pointed me down the road a bit to Tolosa.

Tolosa looks like a cool town, will take some pics in the morning if the rain ever stops.

Spent the night washing the mud off of the clothes.

If there's rain in the morning, I think I will keep off of the highways, and take the train into San Sebastian (don't want to become a roadside casualty).

Cheers!