Wild Montserrat; El Bruc to Monistrol via Montgros and Portell de Migdia

The greatest adventure to be had within an hour of BCN - Montserrat's wild south side along the PRC-78.

HIKERS:

PEZ

MIX

TRANSPORT:

Bus to El Bruc (company: Hispano Igualadina) leaving from Maria Cristina (~40 min).

Return from Monistrol de Montserrat with the FGC line R5.

THE ROUTE:

Leaving from El Bruc, we head over olive fields to the foot of the mountain, where we have a little sramble up. From there we pass by the enormous Cova de la Arcada and then on to the Torrent de les Grutes, with it's small equipped section (like a little ladder). We pop out near the crest close to Coll de Porc and then join the PRC-78 to make our way along the south side of Montserrat.

The way wends along, with a lot of scrambling and steep rocky paths. Eventually we are led to Montgros, where we take a detour to the peak to enjoy the views from this big fat needle of rock. Down the very narrow Canal de la Salamandra leaves us close to Coll de Migdia; we take it and pass to the north side of the mountain in the shadow of Sant Jeroni, past the Font del Llum. At the bottom we join the GR-172 for a while past the Monestir de Santa Cecilia. Past a road tunnel we take a path which leads off left from the road down to the Monestir de Sant Benet. From there, a path leads down through madronos and rosemary to Monistrol, where we catch the train.

It's a long one - full day! We left around 10am and were back about 7pm.

HIGHLIGHTS:

It was a very hot day - somewhat of a surprise throwback to August. None of us brought enough water. After failing to exploit the meagre drops falling deep inside the Font del Llum we came across an old refuge with the door open where we successfully begged for a water refill which we shared in an eager but not-so-covid-safe manner. Later the madronos on the north side were the juiciest that any of us had ever tasted, or likely will again, given that they really are not so juicy.

Two ibex (Capra pyrenaica); one male in the morning, one female in the afternoon. After hearing some sounds in the forest, I (Pez) crept closer to investigate. K3, paranoid due to some TV show where the animals go mad and kill everyone (??), was reluctant. I stuck my head behind a boulder to see a giant male with huge horns see me, emit a high pitched shriek and spring backwards into the air and away. I should have waited for Max... Later on the descent from the Font del Llum a female tore down the track in front of us. Max missed it again...

We got lost along the way and started a futile ascent of a steep wooded slope; eventually found the path again.

Lunch perched in a little nook in the forest. Nearby sounds of big animals trampling through the bush.

PHOTOS