I knew I wanted to hike in Portugal the second I found out I was going. After the first week of walking around Lisbon so much that my feet were covered in blisters and my toe was already bothering me, you would think I would have taken it easy. Instead, when my friends and I planned a 5.5-mile hike labeled “Hard” on AllTrails, I was beyond excited. What we did not realize was that this “5.5-mile” hike would end up being closer to 9 miles, much more strenuous than expected, and somehow turn into a solo hike.

My friends and I left our residence hall around 8 AM and took the bus for about an hour to get to the nature park. When we arrived, we decided to save some money and walk to the trailhead instead of taking a Bolt. Looking back, this was probably our first questionable decision of the day. We ended up walking up and over a mountain, only to come back to the base on the other side and reach the trailhead about an hour later.

Once we finally started the hike, the information center at the base immediately warned us not to get lost. Naturally, we got lost almost right away. After some trial and error, we finally found the correct trail and started climbing. The beginning of the hike was a narrow forest path with low-hanging branches that forced us to duck underneath them. About 20 minutes in, my foot started hurting badly enough that I decided I should turn around before making it worse. I told my friends to keep going and started heading back while they continued toward the peak.

The problem was that I got hit with the biggest case of FOMO. I had already made it this far, and I felt like I needed to at least try. I decided that I would make it to the first peak and turn around if my foot became unbearable. I didn’t tell my friends yet because I honestly was not sure I would even make it that far.

A little past where I had left them, the forest opened up into a huge rock scramble that went straight up the mountain. The trail had an incline of around 56%, and we were basically climbing straight toward the highest peak in the area. I ended up gaining over 1,300 feet of elevation in about 1.5 miles. It was definitely one of the hardest climbs I have ever done, but when I finally reached the top, it was completely worth it. I called my friends and told them I had somehow made it to the peak only about 10 minutes after they had left. I sat down, ate my pastries for lunch, and enjoyed the incredible view of the mountains and the ocean.

At that point, I decided I would rather keep going than attempt to go back down the steep rock face I had just climbed. The rest of the trail took me through some amazing viewpoints and steep descents, before bringing me out onto the highway that runs through the nature park. 

After the highway, the trail took me back into the forest and led into a neighborhood where many wealthy families had vacation homes before finally bringing me back toward the visitor station.

When I finally reached the end, I was exhausted. Seeing my friends again was the best feeling, and I immediately collapsed into a chair and chugged two freezing cold bottles of water. We thought we were finally done, but unfortunately no Bolt would pick us up so we had to hike back to the town and over that first mountain.

After everything we had done that day, we all decided we deserved a break and took a Bolt to a nearby beach. The beach was beautiful and completely worth the extra effort. We ended up eating at the only restaurant nearby, which definitely took advantage of its location with the prices, but after such a long day it was the perfect ending.

Getting home was another adventure because we had trouble getting a Bolt (notice the trend?) and were all trying to figure out how to communicate with the drivers in Portuguese. By the time we finally got on the train back, everyone immediately passed out asleep. We all agreed that AllTrails seriously underestimated the hike, but despite the blisters, exhaustion, getting lost, and unexpected solo adventure, it was one of my favorite days in Portugal so far. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I trust AllTrails again? Probably not.