Mountain hike to help dogs in need

Article in the Sur in English;

MIJAS. A group of hardy souls from an inland walking group called Al’s Rambles are planning a gruelling hike to ‘La Bola’ at the top of Sierra de Mijas on Saturday January 23rd, to blow away the Christmas cobwebs, while raising funds for the charity SOS Animals. The 14-kilometre route will take the group of weekly walkers up to 1,107 metres above sea level. “That’s higher than Snowden at 1,085 metres and nearly as high as Ben Nevis at 1,344 metres, but with a lot more sunshine,” jokes the walking group’s founder, Alan Nicholls, who lives in Villafranco del Guadalhorce.  The ten to 12 members of Al’s Rambles meet every Saturday to walk between eight and 15 kilometres but the hike to the top of one of the coast’s tallest mountains is the group’s biggest challenge so far.  Alan says the group, many of whom are over 65, decided during one of their regular Saturday hikes to tackle the tallest point of the Mijas mountain but they are aware of the challenge they face. “It will be testing, so it’s not for the faint hearted, but the route is along a fairly good track and the view from the top will be spectacu
lar, given a clear day,” he says.  The four hour climb and two hour descent will be open to anyone to join, providing they are fit enough to complete the course and are willing to pay five euros of sponsorship that will go to SOS Animals. “If people are not up to the hike but want to be involved, we are also looking for sponsors and hope to raise enough funds to buy two tankers of water for the dog rescue centre in Villafranco,” explains Alan, adding that the dog sanctuary’s well is still dry following the long summer and lack of winter rains. As well as affecting the water supply for the 30 or more dogs at the centre and the student volunteers who live on site to look after the animals, Alan says that the lack of well water is also impacting a number of residents in the countryside around Villafranco. “Every day we see tankers delivering water to properties around the village. It is a real problem,” he adds.
Mountain hike to help dogs in need
 · T o find out more about the challenge or joining the group : email alsrambles@gmail.com or visit the ‘Rambling with Al’ Facebook page