Some time has passed since my hike on the PCT in the USA. I’ve been back home in Germany for almost 4 months now and a lot has happened during this time. First I had to get used to life in civilization again and the last few weeks I’ve used to look for a new job. Since this only starts for the new year and I still have some time before Christmas, I would like to use this time to take a short hike.
This time I have for theGR221onMallorcadecided. the also asDry Wall PathWell-known trail, leads to about 145 km through the north-westTramuntana mountainsthe Balearic Island. Created as a connecting path between the terrace fields, today it serves as a long-distance hiking trail through the fantastic landscapes of the Balearic Island and attracts a number of hiking enthusiasts to Mallorca every year.
Departure – Tuesday 10.12.2024
Since my booked flight departs from Baden Airpark on Wednesday at 6 a.m., I head towards the airport the day before. The train takes you to Baden Baden and from there by bus directly to the hotel, which is right next to the airport. After a quick dinner, I also go straight to sleep because I have to get up early in the morning.
Day 1 – 22.8km – Wednesday 11.12.2024
At 4:15 I wake up and take a last shower. Then I pack everything up and walk the two minutes to the airport, which is right next to the hotel. I’ll drop my luggage, walk through the security checkpoint and go straight to the gate. Less than 10 minutes later I can already get on the plane. Since it’s still very early and I’m sleeping the whole flight, I’m almost instantly there.
I pick up my backpack at the airport and take the bus to a shopping center. In the supermarket I buy food for the next few days, even if I want to eat in a restaurant from time to time. Unfortunately, they only have very large gas cartridges in Decathlon, so I prefer not to buy anything there. I drive to the city center and walk to the Kenya Outdoorshop, which is right next to the bus station and where there are said to be smaller gas cartridges. In fact, there are also matching screw cartridges, so I’m prepared for the next few days.
The bus takes about an hour to go toport dAntratxwhere my actual tour starts.
In the most beautiful sunshine, I also walk straight away. After just a few minutes, I meetAgate, another wanderer who lives in Valencia, born in Kyrgyzstan and grew up in Russia (if I remember correctly). Just like me, he also intends to stay in the tent, but unlike me, he has to go home on Sunday evening and so he has a slightly more stressful program than me. Since we have the same, fast pace (we’ll start again today at 5km/h), we’ll run together for the next few hours. It goes straight up the mountain and soon we get a first view of the sea.
Hiking in the mild temperatures is really fun and my long pants are also exchanged directly for the shorts (why did I take long pants with me at all?). We walk through the beautiful landscape and get along well. While we talk about other hikes, we always go up and down and we get beautiful views of the sea and smaller islands.
Soon we meet another hiker and we talk to her for a moment. But when we walk on again, we make a crucial mistake. We turn twice wrong and continue to run in the wrong direction. At some point we see the port of Antratx again and I notice that we were walking in the wrong direction. So it’s back.
So we’re running the same route again and it’s interesting to see how long we could walk in the wrong direction without recognizing the landscape and as soon as we walk in the same direction again, everything sounds familiar to me.
Soon it’s going downhill again and a few minutes later we see Sant Elm.
It goes straight into the small town.
This is where our paths go for now. Since my current hiking colleague still wants to do a few kilometers and I first have to fill up my water, we say goodbye. Since both supermarkets are closed in the village and there is probably no other shop, I walk to a bar that is open. The waitress is so nice to fill my 3 liter water bag with tap water. Even if the water once again tastes too much of chlorine, I’m still happy about it. With full water reserves I set off again. It’s going uphill again for a long time and behind me I get a fantastic panorama. The setting sun makes it look even more beautiful and so I walk relaxed up through the impressive area.
I’ll pass one of an old garden.
Soon I will arrive at the highest point. Even if there were some nice campsites here, I have to go on. Dark clouds are gathering and if I remember correctly, it’s supposed to be thunderstorm tonight. Of course, I don’t want to be exposed to the highest point without protection and so it’s time for the gentle descent again. Soon it will be so dark that I have to unpack my headlamp to see the path well. From then on I walk through the darkness.
Again and again two eyes blink at me in the distance and as I get closer I see that they are goats, but they quickly run away from me. After the longer descent I pass a tent and as it turns out it isAgatewho wants to stay here. I quickly set up my tent next to him and have dinner. After that I go to sleep pretty quickly. Due to my late start, I actually only wanted to hike 10 km today. Instead, there are 23 km on the display and so I can take a more relaxed approach for the next few days. If I walk that much every day, I would be done much faster than expected.
Day 2 – 24.7 km – Thursday 12.12.2024
I hadn’t slept really well that night. As always, when I sleep outside for the first night, I turned back and forth more than really slept. At some point it started to rain, so I not only didn’t really sleep in, I also have a wet tent. Shortly after it got light, it stops raining and we start packing our things.
We’ll start around half past nine. I haven’t started that late for a long time and that won’t change in the next few days either. So I don’t have much daylight.
First it goes up and down relaxed and soon the first major climb is coming up. We walk up the mountain at a steady pace. We don’t take breaks and so we quickly gain altitude, even if the climb slows us down quite a bit. Unfortunately, the path here is not always well marked and since I find it much easier to find the path, I walk ahead most of the time.
Again and again we take a look back and marvel at the beautiful nature. Two or three times we think that we are already upstairs, but then we have to realize that it goes even further up. After all, the sun is slowly coming out and it becomes more pleasant to walk. Finally got to the top, we have a great view.
On the other side it goes downhill for a long time. Not really steep and the path is easy to walk. So we walk down to the village for a long time, without having to make a lot of effort.
When we get there it’s already 2 p.m. and luckily a small shop is still open. On the way there were no filling options for the water and so we are happy to finally get something.
SinceAgate, I want to do a few more kilometers and I want to enjoy the rest of the evening in a relaxed manner, he goes on and I’m looking for a café. Unfortunately, I only find one restaurant and there is not much to choose from there today. Since I don’t feel like having a big meal, I drink a small beer and set off again.
In the best weather, continue through the landscape. Meanwhile again with shorts and shirt, I walk up the next mountain. With my three liters of water on your back, that’s pretty exhausting. The path leads again and again through beautiful landscapes and over small paths through the forest.
At some point I leave the path to make a detour via a finca path. Here it goes through laid out olive plantations and the dry stone walls, which give the hiking trail its name, are easy to see.
After reaching further up and not a single person since the lunch break, I decide to set up my camp here. I’ll set up my tent in a sunny spot so it can dry out. In the meantime, I cook something to eat and watch the setting sun.
When this has completely disappeared, I lie down in my warm sleeping bag and read a little more because it’s too early to go to sleep at 6 p.m. Apparently, the many ascents took me more than I thought, which would have been possible at 1100 meters in altitude to 24 km, and that’s why I go to sleep quite early to give my body enough time to regenerate.
Since I’ve already completed almost 50km in the last two days, I can take it easy for the coming days and should still make it to the end before I have to start my return journey. The only question now is whether I can also make it slower.
Day 3 – 19.2 km – Friday 13.12.2024
I slept much better last night. Unfortunately it rained again and so I have a wet tent again. Shortly before 8 a.m. I get up and pack my things. It’s really light now and I’m planning to get up a little earlier tomorrow.
With my things in the backpack, it goes straight back through the beautiful landscape. In the morning I have a slight descent ahead of me. In just under 2 hours it goes to the villageBanyalbufar. On the way I take a breakfast break and enjoy the view of the sea.
Again and again in the morning I pass beautiful terraces with stone walls. Olive trees are usually placed on it and animals can be seen again and again in between. Sometimes I’m greeted by goats and sometimes it’s sheep that run away from me quickly.
Soon I’ll be inBanyalbufar, the village, which itself is laid out on terraces and makes a nice impression. Here I buy water and walk straight away.
It’s going uphill again and I quickly gain altitude. Although the climb isn’t overly exhausting, I’ll soon put my shorts on.
Arrived at the top of the mountain, a longer descent through the forest follows before I go around half past 12Esporlasreach. Since it’s too early for lunch, I buy water in a supermarket and have some food on the go. Then I’m on my way again.
At first it goes over a street out of town and continues uphill. Here the landscape is not particularly beautiful, so I’m going to cover the distance quickly.
After a few kilometers I finally turn back onto a small path and quickly gain altitude, which means that I can see better views again.
It goes up and down through oak forest for a long time. In between, I often meet old Köhlerhütten, which would often offer good places for an overnight stay. But since it’s still too early for me, I keep walking through the beautiful landscape. Even today I hardly meet any people. In between, a couple, which only does a day hike. Otherwise I have all the way to myself and I enjoy the silence in nature.
Soon I can start a nice climb again. With my lots of luggage, I start my breath here, but still walk through to the top without a break.
Once at the summit, I get a wonderful view of the surrounding area. From here I can already see the other mountains and also the city of Palma.
Since I’m on the road faster than expected and can therefore take my time, I’m looking for a campsite here. I quickly find what I’m looking for and decide to stay here, although it’s just 3:30 p.m. I set up my wet tent and let it dry.
In the meantime, I’m relaxing to eat something. While enjoying my beans, I marvel at the landscape in front of me. Even after the meal, I just sit there for almost an hour and look at the landscape. I see boats sailing in the sea towards the port and can watch planes take off. I also recognize the cathedral and the football stadium. Pretty interesting what you can see here.
When the sun has set and it gets cold quickly, I go to my tent, write a diary and read for a while before I go to sleep early again.
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