Weather update and decision time

So the rain. Uh. Yeah.

Again, Seattle woman. Rain should be NO BIG DEAL.

Except today I am facing going over one more mountain, a trail that is described by the very handy TrailSmart app as such:

“This is a Main Path trail section with a difficulty of Strenuous and terrain of Steep Hills.”

Let the record show that TrailSmart did NOT describe the trail from Bizkarret to Zubiri as strenuous or steep. In the torrential downpour, that trail was extremely dangerous and I saw evidence of many, many people falling.

If it were a wee bit drier, I would simply be bracing myself for a hard climb and descent. But it’s not drier. In fact, the government weather page I follow is marking today through tomorrow as the second highest risk on their scale for this region.

My Facebook friends already know that this has been on my mind since last night. The bartender at the ham bar told me not to do it and drew me a map to the bus station. Oh c’mon!

I resolved last night before going to bed that I would go for it and hope for the best.

This morning, however, the wind is already rattling the windows of the hotel.

A gust came through the hallway from an unknown location and BLEW THE DOOR OPEN TO MY ROOM at around 7 am.

That’s an omen if I’ve ever been given one. My spidey senses were in overdrive.

I just talked to the hotel desk, and they too are recommending I not attempt the mountain trail. They helped me hatch a new plan: I will walk to the base of the ascent, and he called a taxi company that will take me the 7 miles around to the other side.

I will then keep on keeping on from Uterga on the other side. To make up for the 7 miles by taxi, there are two scenic alternatives I will walk (to fulfill the Walk-a-thon campaign).

I have made peace with this. I’m ok with this plan because I just sense I shouldn’t attempt Alto del Perdon today in these weather conditions. It does mean I will miss the famous metal sculptures at the top, but I’m ok with that as well if it means I won’t risk injury today.

Sometimes the Camino provides in different ways. Today it provided a clear omen and a link to the national weather page.