Magnificent. About 18k and 1,200m of ascent. 8 hrs. Extremely Hard. Prickle Factor low (except if you save height loss/gain by using the footnote when it is Extremely High).
You can start this walk either at Juanar or Istan and do it either way round. I've described it clockwise as we did it. It took us 8 hours and we got lost twice losing about an hour. Reading this you shouldn't!! Doing it anti-clockwise I think it would be very hard to lose the path. Anti-clockwise means having the very steep sections uphill (personally I prefer this, steep downhills wreck my knees!) but if you're a scrambler you can add to your enjoyment by incorporating several short rocky steps. You can't however use the "short cut", but nor can you if you start from Juanar. Starting at Juanar has the huge advantage that you can refill your water bottles at Istan.
Start by taking Walk 4 until 15 mins before La Concha there is a signpost Istan 3.5 hours. (if it is has taken you much over 2 hours to get this far I'd leave La C to another day!). Drop down from this to the path about 50m lower and go right on this following cairns. It goes down the ridge ahead and very soon there is no real trace of a path but frequent cairns mark the way. Every time the route ahead is rocky necessitating a climbing descent you will see that there are cairns on the left indicating the way avoiding this.
Eventually you will see a path across the gorge on your right and (after yet another detour off the ridge a post (the 2nd post?) on a rocky area. There are no cairns ahead and just before the post a (slightly concealed) path goes back right to make a big dog leg down to it.
Cairns etc now get scarcer because the path is fairly clear. There is a second large dog leg and a few small ones. Eventually the large number of white buildings forming Istan can be seen and at another pole on a gorse knoll we turned right on a small path leading more or less towards it. (I think that straight on would be the larger path leading to the same spot). A sign (Istan 45 mins) is reached at Picacho and the way is now clear.
At the bottom go right (first refilling your water bottles at the tap by the concrete building a few metres left) and then follow Walk 5 back to Juanar.
If you start at Istan and go clockwise when you reach the col below 1139 you should descend the zig-zags and then take the dirt track left for a short way as far as the sign to La Concha then go right.
However the fun bit is the “short cut”. (In mileage, but not time!)
At the col a ridge with a prominent rock tower nearing the far end will have been visible leading directly to 1212 and avoiding the drop and re-ascent. Six years ago there were indications of people going this way but in 2005 there was no sign. It makes little difference because you cannot go along the ridge without getting extensively scratched so long trousers are essential.
So turn right and head through the bushes keeping as near to the top of the ridge as possible until a small descent leads to a dry stream and what looks like a track in it (though I doubt it is!). Ahead is a steepish limestone face which does not look too easy where it is reached. Going right and up a little might lead to an open scramble up it but, as I had a ten and eleven year old with me at the time, I decided to go a little further down and round left on the “track” to where it was possible to scramble up fairly easily (though in a rather serious situation) through bushes to return to the summit ridge. The boys didn’t find it hard and – as they had longs on whereas I was in shorts – they returned home very considerably less scratched than I!
Back on the ridge as before keep as near to the crest as you can to reach the rock tower. This proves to be a delightfully easy scramble both up, along and off. After this go directly on to the summit of 1212. From here take the easiest way on to the unseen path below you. When we did it we were making for the Cruz and went left which proved horribly scratchy but the way rightish directly towards the next summit of the slightly higher Salto del Lobo is easier and you will pick up the path at its highest point.
A real fun variation after which its on to La Concha and down at the signpost as previously described.
Istan - Rio Molinos
Salto de Lobo
