I will resist the urge to act like your mother, or should I say maybe grandmother.
. I walked from Granada to Moclín in one day, it was 9 hours of walking for me (excluding rest stops), but I was 68 when I did that. Since you have a penchant for leaving in the morning at a, shall we say, leisurely time, if you are walking in short days you will likely have to make the ascent to Moclín in darkness even though you will undoubtedly need fewer hours of walking than I did. It’s a stiff ascent, but I didn’t find it as awful as some have described. It’s one of those exhilarating climbs where you get closer and closer to the castle and you just have to get in the groove. I got to Moclín by 4 or so, and was also able to then visit the castle. It’s quite cool. You wouldn’t be able to do that if you arrive after dark.
Granada to Pinos Puente is a pretty uninspiring walk, lots of it through suburbs, lots of asphalt, some along a dirty canal if I remember correctly. Very flat. Lots of plastic bags blowing around. So my advice would be to visit the Alhambra as early as possible (come on Sara, you can get out the door early for a special occasion). The added benefit would be that the crowds are a lot less if you get there early. Walking 20 km starting at noon or 1 is not my cup of tea but choices sometimes require you to choose the “less bad” option. Pinos Puente seemed like a lively little place, I had a good long Fanta boots-off break there. Talked with some nice people.
I personally love walking through olive groves, and the stage from Pinos Puente to Moclín and beyond is just loaded with them. I sing
Andaluces de Jaén, and just generally enjoy being somewhere where you turn in a circle and see the exact same thing in every direction. Row after row, I love them! Anyway, I think either option is doable, but I would probably go for the Pinos-Puente-on-the-first-day option.
And if you are going to visit the Alhambra, make sure to
buy your ticket ahead of time.
When are you going Sara? Buen camino, Laurie