Montañas Vacías Bikepacking Trail, Spain, was Awarded the Spain’s First Quiet Trail Status on May 01, 2024
On Wednesday, May 1st, 2024, Quiet Parks International awarded Quiet Trail status to the Montañas Vacías Bikepacking Trail. The Award was official at the culmination of a bike ride with the trail’s founder Ernesto Pastor and Quiet Park volunteers Emily Hesler and Nahun Saldaña in Teruel Spain.
Quiet Parks International presented the Quiet Trail award to Ernesto for his continued exploration and search for quiet areas in this region, connecting a bike-packing route between wilderness, countryside, and small towns. Veteran Quiet Parks volunteer Emily, who had participated in the initial testing of the location in 2023, returned to bike and represent Quiet Parks, traveling with Ernesto to unique sections along the Montañas Vacías trail.
This Award culminated a two-year process that included riding and camping sections of the Montañas Vacías trail to collect qualitative and quantitative acoustic data.
Nick McMahan, Director of Quiet Trails, reflected that, “The quality of sound in the environment is an essential sign of ecological health. To have a meaningful observation of ecological acoustics you must take a journey. A journey of experience and contrast. For me, this was as important of an inner journey as an outer one. A search for quiet and solitude, but also a shared experience, allowing the space of the location to bring people closer to each other and closer to themselves.”
Photo Credit: Quiet Parks International
At least one in five Europeans was currently exposed to noise levels considered harmful to health. In urban areas, the figure rose to one in two (European Environmental Noise Report, European Environment Agency, 2022).
The Montañas Vacías bikepacking route was located in one of the most depopulated regions in Europe, a vast mountainous area between the provinces of Teruel, Cuenca, and Guadalajara where usually less than one person per square kilometer lived. It was an area of high ecological value due to the diversity and fragility of its landscapes, as well as the presence of a large number of protected animal species.
Reflections from Emily’s initial testing in 2023, “The overall experience was audibly and visually very serene, peaceful, and almost otherworldly.”
Ernesto stated, “The protection of Quiet is one of the most powerful tools to protect the environmental wealth of this area and an opportunity for its inhabitants.”
Montañas Vacías Bikepacking Trail became the first Quiet Trail in Europe, joining Niobrara Wild and Scenic River Trail, Nebraska 2023, and Coifing Lake Circular Trail, Taipingshan National Forest, Taiwan 2022.
Press Contacts
Gordon Hempton, Executive Director of Media Affairs, gordon@quietparks.org, cell +1-360-477-9588, Skype ID quiet.planet1
Nick McMahan - Director of Quiet Trails nick@quietparks.com
Ernesto Pastor - montanasvacias@gmail.com
Emily Hesler - Quiet Parks Volunteer: emilymhesler@gmail.com