The healing power of hiking alone

Valldenuria (Nuria Valley)always comes to mind whenever I’m in Barcelona. My friend Eduardo took me there one time and I fell in love with this route. Since then, I kept on coming here whenever I get a chance and it also became a place to seek restorative power of time spent alone.

However, this is what you read in any publication that offers hiking advice. “Never hike alone in the backcountry, find someone to hike with. You might run into a grizzly, be attacked by a cougar, slip on the trail, and get injured, or get terribly lost. Many reviews about hiking make this a fair statement — never hike alone.

Also, many people don’t feel comfortable hiking alone, but with the technology available out there in terms of orienting ourselves, there are many apps that could do this job. I like the all-trails app, it gives me info on all the trails around the area you are searching for such as the terrain, rating, level of difficulty, and etc. Also, the terrain and the level of difficulty that comes with it. With this info, it orients ourselves and gives you confidence to hike by yourself.

Living in Barcelona for years lets me get familiar Vall d’ Nuria. As for me, it’s quite easy to get there. I just take the train from Barcelona and when I get to Ribes de Freser, a town that gives you access to all the trails and the cable car heading to Nuria. I also treat myself there with gastronomic experience in this area where their specialty of cold-cut products are exquisite. I go crazy there upon seeing all the goodies on display. Usually I take the trails from Queralbs, because it gives a good jumpstart. One of my favorites is take the Camino de Inginiers going to huts of Coma de Vaca and Ulldeter.

Puigmal

At this time, I headed up to Nuria from Queralbs and stayed in a hut. I heard about Puigmal a number of times and since I was in Nuria, I could have a good jumpstart early in the morning and be back at lunchtime. Puigmal is a popular climb from Nuria. So, there is no problem going there alone. I ran into two trail runners one time when I was on the way down to Queralbs coming down from Puigmal. I saw them in Queralbs taking a long bath after their run. They were kind enough to take me to Vic where I took the train back to Barcelona. So, you encounter all kinds of people when hiking alone.

Over the years of hiking, I’ve run into solo hikers and even women. I like being out there alone and appreciating how beautiful the world is.

I had a conversation one time. who would climb up extra peaks aside from the loop that we were taking. He would take a break from his wife and would do this.

Even when I’m hiking alone, I always feel that I’m going to run into somebody. One thing is I choose a popular trail.

It is a common sight to see solo hikers of any age in Vall d’Nuria. This is probably why I keep coming over the years.

Over the years of coming here, I have come across a sudden foggy area with minimal visibility and a hail storm. That is part of being in nature, you just have to face up the situation.