Jaca to Atares to San Juan de la Pena?

[Vacajoe]

Gronze makes this path seem doable, while posts in 2016 suggest it's nearly abandoned/lost. We are staying at the monastery hotel, so this side route would be perfect if it's still accessible. Anyone try it in 2017? Can you get from Atares to the monastery without going through Santa Cruz?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Can you get from Atares to the monastery without going through Santa Cruz?

A taxi works!! The bar will call one for you; it is a regular occurrence.

 

[Vacajoe]

Taxis are a definite fallback, but I'm more interested in the walking trail. Gronze shows it NOT going via the road through Santa Cruz, but not sure if that path still exists given past Aragones trip reports.

 

[peregrina2000]

Wikiloc has tracks from several people who have done that. Here's one: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/jaca-atares-san-juan-de-la-pena-6640333

A GPS would be a good idea if you are worried about marking.

I came to San Juan de la Peña from the Camino Catalán (this "back door" way has a very manageable ascent) so I didn't have to get there walking from Jaca. But I then walked from the monastery down to Santa Cruz, and it is the steepest trail I have ever descended on on any camino I have walked. It did a number on my knees, so if you are going to go down to Santa Cruz the next day, be careful. I would not even think of walking it in the rain. The road route is much longer, of course, but is likely to leave your knees happier.

 

[oursonpolaire]

I walked it back in 2007, I think, and found the waymarking terrible, and the track easily losable. A few years later, the turismo in Jaca advised against it, saying that the trail had deteriorated further (the rep was a hiker and knew the hills well). I would not think of trying it without checking with the turismo, or with the local amigos group. It's not that it's dangerous, but it would make for a very miserable day.

I tried the trail from San Juan de la Peña to Santa Cruz de los Seros and had to turn back on account of my vertigo making the descent too difficult. Others might do it without this problem, but I would still call it a technical climb and would be reluctant to recommend it. I would strongly recommend against it in wet or difficult weather. I walked the road, which is several km longer, but did not instill terror into my soul.

While there is no albergue in Sta Cruz, the family who ran the Hospederia were very nice. Do not these difficulties stand in the way of a visit to San Juan de la P, as it is one of the most extraordinary sights in Spain.

 

[Vacajoe]

Thank you all for your assistance. The joy -- and curse? -- of the Camino Aragones is that it is so lightly traveled, making for a great adventure without a lot of the resources found elsewhere. I am indebted to the knowledge each of you brings to this discussion.

I am torn between not trying to follow a path that has nearly been abandoned versus walking it for that very reason in order to "reclaim" it for future pilgrims. It's like Dromgoole's "Bridge Builder" - sometimes you do the difficult to make it easier for the next traveler.

That being said, I will equip myself with the gps waypoints, lots of water/food, and a plan to take a taxi if the weather turns bad. I've had a great deal of outdoor experience following poor trails carrying heavier packs than the one I will have this time, so I'm willing to give it a go. Hopefully I will be able to post the results here come April in order to update our greater community.

Thank you all (and anyone else who has info to share!)

 

[Vacajoe]

PS: my wife is slowly shaking her head and checking the bus route to the monastery....

 

[frida1]

We walked from Jaca the monastery and then down to Santa Cruz spring of 2017. It is steep and rocky but not something I would call technical. We are two in our mid sixties and it was fine. In rain, though, it might be dicey.

 

[martin1ws]

Wikiloc has tracks from several people who have done that. Here's one: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/jaca-atares-san-juan-de-la-pena-6640333
A GPS would be a good idea if you are worried about marking.
...

Thanks for the GPX-link. I have imported it. It is the way up... the way done is e. g. part of the all-Camino-gpx-file.

It seems to be really difficult, e. g.:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-the-caminos-by-difficulty.53413/#post-595616

Recommendations for San Juan de la Peña
* GPS: I have a new outdoor smartphone for my camino. GPS is very good compared to my (almost not usable) GPS on my old smartphone
* Poles
* Good weather (not wet, no rain)
* Healthy and fit (no blisters, no foot problems or similar problems)

Do you have additional recommendations for the decision San Juan de la Peña: Yes or no?
It will be probably not so easy to find the right decision on the second day (or so) of my first camino.

I should probably wake up early... make a break at the crossway... and think: the camino will provide.

Of course, if I try it and it is too difficult... I can take a closer alburgue / hostel / hotel or call a taxi.

 

[Albertagirl]

Thanks for the GPX-link. I have imported it. It is the way up... the way done is e. g. part of the all-Camino-gpx-file.

It seems to be really difficult, e. g.:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-the-caminos-by-difficulty.53413/#post-595616

Recommendations for San Juan de la Peña
* GPS: I have a new outdoor smartphone for my camino. GPS is very good compared to my (almost not usable) GPS on my old smartphone
* Poles
* Good weather (not wet, no rain)
* Healthy and fit (no blisters, no foot problems or similar problems)

Do you have additional recommendations for the decision San Juan de la Peña: Yes or no?
It will be probably not so easy to find the right decision on the second day (or so) of my first camino.

I should probably wake up early... make a break at the crossway... and think: the camino will provide.

Of course, if I try it and it is too difficult... I can take a closer alburgue / hostel / hotel or call a taxi.

@martin1ws
I took a bus from Jaca to San Juan de la Pena in the fall of 2016, arranged through the tourist office in Jaca. There was not supposed to be a bus that day, none being on the regular schedule, but there was one going anyway and I booked a place on it. The bus went up to the top monastery at San Juan de la Pena, stopped there, then picked up the passengers later to go downhill to the old monastery (truly amazing- the best religious site I've seen on three long camino routes}. It waited for us and took us down again later to the bottom of the hill, where I and some others were walking on to the albergue Santia Cilia. I would not advise for or against walking, depending on how much time you have and what you think of the route. But I believe that the bus would be much cheaper than a taxi. Depending on when you are going, there might be a bus going even if it is not on the regular schedule, so be sure to check in the tourist office. Enjoy the Aragones. It is truly a beautiful route.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for the GPX-link. I have imported it. It is the way up... the way done is e. g. part of the all-Camino-gpx-file.

It seems to be really difficult, e. g.:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-the-caminos-by-difficulty.53413/#post-595616

Recommendations for San Juan de la Peña
* GPS: I have a new outdoor smartphone for my camino. GPS is very good compared to my (almost not usable) GPS on my old smartphone
* Poles
* Good weather (not wet, no rain)
* Healthy and fit (no blisters, no foot problems or similar problems)

Do you have additional recommendations for the decision San Juan de la Peña: Yes or no?
It will be probably not so easy to find the right decision on the second day (or so) of my first camino.

I should probably wake up early... make a break at the crossway... and think: the camino will provide.

Of course, if I try it and it is too difficult... I can take a closer alburgue / hostel / hotel or call a taxi.

As @Albertagirl says, if you like ancient places of worship, this one is absolutely on the must-visit list. The cloister is built right into the overhand of a rocky promontory and many of the carved capitals are in pristine condition. It is so worth the effort.

Walking from Jaca, visiting the monastery, and then going down and continuing on to Santa Cilia, sounds like a very long day, expecially if you are going to take time for the visit. If you can afford the time and $$$, there are a couple of places in Santa Cruz that look nice. So if you walked from Jaca, you could stay there on the way down after the visit. If you don't mind taking a bus, the option suggested by @Albertagirl sounds great too. If you do mind taking a bus on camino kms, you could always just spend two nights in Jaca and take a day trip to San Juan. Then the next day you would just continue on the Aragonés without needing to take a detour. Lots of options!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Unless there have been GREAT improvements, the trail to San Juan de la Peña from Jaca is long, and in my experience nearly impassable.

I agree it's not to be missed, but I would suggest you take a bus there and back from Jaca and visit it, then begin walking from Jaca down the route to Sta. Celia, then next day to Arres (not to be missed).

We HAVE walked from San Juan de la Peña to Sta. Celia, but we'd already walked the stage from Jaca to Sta. Celia several times so didn't mind missing it.

 

[martin1ws]

Thank you very much for all your comments.

Here is a link to google maps with the terrain view:
https://www.google.de/maps/@42.5388686,-0.6201812,13.25z/data=!5m1!1e4

Additionally to the unscheduled bus mentioned above there is a scheduled bus that stops in Santa Cruz de Seros and goes back to Jaca:
http://laburundesa.com/pamplona-jaca/
So there are really lots of options.

 

[Vacajoe]

So TRIED to walk the old pilgrim trail through Atares and it’s definitely doable except the rain and snow made us abandon it after 7 miles. Wanted to connect with the “new” trail but it was also impassable due to this monster storm in Spain right now. Ended up taking the road another 8.5 kilometers, the last 5 or so in snow!!! Now we are snowed in at the monastery hotel, so it’s been quite the day...

As for the old trail, I wish more people would do it but it’s definitely not for beginners.

 

[Richard P]

Hey Joe
It all sounds exciting, except for the snow. But then you take what gets thrown at you, as they say. My question is did you leave your old boots as markers because I plan to walk the old trail in late September - early October and hopefully the snow will be gone by then!
buen camino

 

[Vacajoe]

Thankfully those were NOT my boots! .

Aragones has been fantastic - nearly empty, no race out of the albuerque to reach the next one, etc. if you want to take the old trail to SJdlP, I recommend the Wikiloc gps coordinates.