Rocky terrain from Cruz de Ferro to?

[Jeepl8d]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

 

[Bradypus]

If you have reached Molinaseca then by far the worst surfaces are now behind you. You will not encounter anything remotely similar from then on with perhaps the exception of a very short section a couple of km before Portomarin. But that section is well signposted and a smooth alternative is marked.

 

[mspath]

If you have not yet reached Molinaseca I suggest thqt you walk down on the verges of the road LE- 142 facing traffic. However the road gets busy with peletons of bikers especially on weekends.Thus you must be aware. After trying the path once years past I always walked down the road.
Good luck and Buen camino.

 

[CWBuff]

Yup that descend to Molinaseca is what horror stories are made of.
As it's already mentioned you're reasonably in the clear going forward.
There is a descend to Triacastela but not nearly as treacherous.
There is also a path to Portomarin - the most direct and shortest distance one, but there are 2 alternatives with not so great distance added and even if you do follow the path mentioned it's like a 10-15 mins tops, so take your time and don't rush. (It is practically right before the city and there is a map showing you all 3 options)
Add the asend to O'Cebreiro and I say those are all the toughest spots.
Good luck and Buen Camino

 

[Anamiri]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

That bit to Molinaseca is by far the worst

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I agree with the above assesments but really I'm posting to say that you have a charming avatar.

 

[dougfitz]

I don't recall there being any stretches after that descent into Molinaseca being as difficult. It gave my poles, and my legs, a workout. I didn't think of it as dangerous at the time, but certainly it had a high level of technical difficulty as a walker. It required great care to select where I was going to walk along the path to get a smooth descent, and to make sure I was stepping where I wouldn't slip or twist an ankle. That level of concentration can be difficult to maintain if you are not used to it.

 

[vernakeoho]

Definitely agree with all of the above. Just take your time and be careful with every step. It's definitely tough on the knees!!

 

[gailsweb]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

The journey down from Cruz de Ferro to molinaseca via El Acebo was the worst day for me out of two camino Frances’s from Sjpp - stopped overnight at El acebo the first camino and didn’t notice it so much - would definitely stop there again in future - brutal definitely! And nothing vaguely as brutal thereafter

 

[JerryStroebele]

Take the alternative routes into Portomarin. (Continue to the right.) The traditional path just before town is a rock climber's paradise. Short but very steep and narrow as you descend. Buen Camino

 

[KirstyannH]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

I also did that section yesterday and I totally agree, it was torturous and treacherous.

 

[Sherpa47]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

It is a horrible decent from Cruz de Ferro, but if make it to Molinaseca the worst is over. Please take care and Buen Camino!

 

[MaryLynn]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/hard.

I have walked the Camino Frances many times and the path coming down from the Cruz de Ferro is the worst - most difficult and treacherous - of any part of the CF. I vowed last time that
I will NEVER walk that part again. All the rest of the CF is easily walkable.

 

[Gringazolana]

This old lady wants you to be careful going down into Portomarín, and afterwards there is another piece around Ligonde that is a challenging downhill trek. Use your hiking poles and buen camino!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Too late I think for the OP but there is a trail that is a nice alternative to take to get from Reigo de Ambrós to Molinaseca. Use the forum search feature to look for posts containing Puentes de Malpaso. To get down to the most important posts confine that search to posts by @peregrina2000.

 

[Bogong]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

I did this in winter 2014. It had been was very wet and the path was rocky and wet, interspersed with snow drifts. I kept on breaking through the snow onto an unrven rock base. Fell over so many times I was too tired to even let fly with a decent, relieving curse. I noticed there were many small wooden crosses on the old fencing adjacent to parts of the track. Everyone else, of the few pilgrims on the walk, came down the road. There was practically no traffic.

De Colores. Bogong

 

[SarahTheKiwi]

Having not walked the Frances Way before, can someone describe the surface of this section of track? It is loose shale, slippery clay or maybe something else? It does sound precarious!

(I'm thinking of using Asics Kayanos, a top running shoe, but has fairly slick undersole).

 

[Bradypus]

Very irregular bedrock. With the strata at an angle to the surface. A couple of images in this blog will give you the idea.

Walking the Camino de Santiago: El Acebo to Ponferrada | eat. live. travel. write.

Walking the Camino de Santiago: El Acebo to Ponferrada with Camino Travel Center

www.eatlivetravelwrite.com

 

[fallow]

Take the alternative routes into Portomarin. (Continue to the right.) The traditional path just before town is a rock climber's paradise. Short but very steep and narrow as you descend. Buen Camino

Just done it today - I wasn’t expecting it and at 70 I found it very scary!

 

[tpmchugh]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

Also somewhat older and also found the downhill to El Acebo one of my worst days on whole Camino. Ahead of you, you will have a tough climb up to O Cebreiro and then again shortly after up to Alto do Poio but no problematic down hills. Onward to Santiago no great problems

 

[Mal.C]

It's easy going after Molinaseca, but coming down that mountain is like running down a rock run! it's pretty wild... take your time, and make sure you plce your foot...!

 

[MassNative]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

I remember (from last October) that the worst section was the descent into El Acebo. After that is was still a steep downhill, but not particularly rocky or tough footing.

Jim

 

[Trekker One]

I was feeling a little beat up already on that day, so I walkd in the shoulder of the adjacent road into Moliniseca. Wasn't much traffic on the road on a week day so was a good option.
I am always aware that a fall or twisted ankle can immediately end a Camino, so I try to avoid tough parts if possible.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I don't recall there being any stretches after that descent into Molinaseca being as difficult. It gave my poles, and my legs, a workout. I didn't think of it as dangerous at the time, but certainly it had a high level of technical difficulty as a walker. It required great care to select where I was going to walk along the path to get a smooth descent, and to make sure I was stepping where I wouldn't slip or twist an ankle. That level of concentration can be difficult to maintain if you are not used to it.

I found that it gave my thighs a good work out as I was lifting my legs much more than normal when I came down four days ago.

As Doug says, it needs concentration.

 

[CWBuff]

I remember (from last October) that the worst section was the descent into El Acebo. After that is was still a steep downhill, but not particularly rocky or tough footing.

Jim

Hah! I found it to be the other way around
IMHO as bad as descend into El Acebo was, Part Deux was a nightmare...
... of course as I mentioned in some previous threads on the subject, going off the deep rocker and out of the blue deciding to change from boots to sandals also did not help the matter..

 

[RRat]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

Yes it's brutal. Recently completed a second Camino and I skipped this section. The steel cross, on a telephone, stuck on a pile of rocks didn't do anything for me. Others were emotional but seem to forced for me.

 

[RRat]

it was brutal coming down from Cruz da Ferro today. Does anyone on the Frances who is in front of us know what the terrain is like until Santiago. I’m older and finding it dangerous/ hard.

Yes it's brutal. Recently completed a second Camino and I skipped this section. The steel cross, on a telephone, stuck on a pile of rocks didn't do anything for me. Others were emotional but seem to forced for me.

 

[Mal.C]

I was wondering, when I came down the mountain, there was a road that crosses the path, and a very happy guy selling coffee and tea, which was very welcome

Well that road, surely is the same road that approches the bridge in Molinaseca? meanig you can skip the rock run and walk the road down to Molinaseca in style.

Checked the road is the LE-142...

As for Ponferrada, think that 'Ruta complementaria' really confuses people, we walked for miles!!

 

[NomadBoomer]

Yeah it's a tough walk down for many of us. My least favorite section of the Camino. Not for the 20yo rock hoppers lucky things. Actually second time round it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I gave up and walked down the road but its pretty dangerous as there is no verge round some of the bends. Keep going. You will succeed

 

[Mal.C]

So you are confirming NB, thats the road, if you take a right at where it crosees it ends up at the bridge going into Molinaseca?

What I liked when I got to the bottom, was a cafe and Tortilla, and getting my feet in the river, the peligrino's dream that!