Time To Hit The Mountains

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Pedraforca from Comabona.

Hiking up Comabona with the kids.

Summer was well and truly here in Spain, August marking holidays for nearly everyone in the country and most people around Europe too. I've always found it strange that the entire country basically shuts down, or goes into a sort of hibernation, for a while month. The first week is called "Operacio Salida," or 'Operation Exit.' News is filled with images of crowded airports, wheeled suitcases, traffic jams on the motorways, as well as beaches full of sunbathers and city centre packed with people eating ice-cream. Welcome to Europe in the Summer! I've never been one of these people that wait all year just to lay on a beach and get burnt - I still find it strange that people do this. Why work your life away for 2 weeks in the baking hot sun, on a beach with no scrap of sand free not covered by another person's towel, hawkers moving up and down the beach offering everything from massages to food and alcoholic beverages. What a waste! Getting away from the day-to-day, breaking the routine and making a holiday memorable is about doing something that charges the batteries, leaves beautiful memories and also seems to last longer, individual days with memorable things done rather than a block of days that meld into one forgettable block. Although I'd had my holidays already, the sun was still shining and there was always the weekend. Luckily I share a passion with the outdoors and mountains with a group of friends, and so when they asked me along for a hike, I happily said yes. This time we'd be heading for a mountain called "Comabona," up in the Cadi Moixera Natural Park, in the north of Catalonia, just before the Pyrenees. The boots were packed, snacks for the hike, water and food for the top, and of course the most important thing - the camera.

The view from the carpark.

The view of the carpark.

The mountains of Catalonia.

Our goal - the peak of Comabona. Nearly there!

From Barcelona we headed up the C-17, a road that I love. There's nothing special about the road itself, it's just a 2 lane road, but it speeds straight up north towards the mountains, passing by towns like La Garriga, Aiguafreda and Centelles. La Garriga is the most 'Modernist' village in Catalonia, with large mansions beautifully built around the turn of the 20th Century, and Centelles is where I love going climbing, as the town is backed by straight cliffs that have a ferrata with multiple difficulty levels. This drive also leads up to Pedraforca, a beautiful, fork-shaped rocky peak that I've climbed up on a few occasions. We stopped at the carpark to start our hike, changed into our boots from our comfy city shoes and got everything ready, backpack, walking sticks, food and water, as well as the kids. There were 7 of us on this hike, including 3 kids under the age of 12 - so we'd be stopping frequently to feed them and keep them motivated. I knew they could do it, kids are amazing, but sometimes they need to be distracted, entertained, have their mind taken off the fact that they will be walking uphill for 6 hours. The carpark itself offered great views, so right from the start this was a very scenic Sunday hike. As we started on the trail, we could see our goal, the peak of Comabona, 2,547m high sitting on our left, and Pedraforca always watching from our left. We went down first, into a valley and across a river, before the uphill trek started. This is always amazing to me, the fact that kids can do long, hard hikes, sometimes better than most adults! Is it the fact that they have unlimited energy (until they crash), as only kids do, or is it just the age difference? I'm 38 and although this hike wasn't the hardest, it was fairly long and really tested my endurance. I was slightly out of shape, but not completely - even when you stop for a minute to catch your breath after a hard incline (I use the excuse that I'm taking a photo or enjoying the views... both of which I do as well), if you're fit, this shows in the time taken to stop breathing hard and be ready to continue. In this regard I did well, and my legs kept me going all the way to the top, I but I was tired at the top and very thankful for the 30 min lunch break!

Enjoying the view at the top.

Enjoying the moment.

A Chamois.

One of a few vultures we saw that day.

The views at the top are always something, but here it was incredible - 360 degree views of the mountains around us, one side a slope down towards where we'd started from and a view of Pedraforca, the other side a more or less sheer drop into the green forest. I love the time at the top - you can rest and relax, have some of the best tasting food you'll ever eat (something to do with having made the hike to the peak I think), and of course just bask in the sun and enjoy the views. Something I think there is nothing better than this - up a mountain with friends on a sunny Sunday, not even thinking about work on Monday. All things must end, good and bad, so it was time to head down. Most people hate the uphill hike, as it is harder and a constant stress on legs and lungs. I actually prefer the way up in a way, as it's safer and easier to just get lost in the walk - going down is harder on your body, and it can be dangerous - you have to concentrate more on the path ahead of you, taking away opportunities to appreciate what's around you. Look up and you may end up on your face or even your backside! What keeps me going on the up is the goal at the top and the chance to stop and look around you - what keeps me going on the way back is the promise of the car and maybe even a reward beer in the nearest town. Along the way, we were lucky enough to see some vultures making their loops high up in the sky, searching for prey, as well as some Pyrenees Chamois on the higher parts. Although I love reaching the top of the mountain, I also like getting back to the car - what I call the "Hallelujah Moment," when you stagger back to the carpark, tired, hungry and thirsty, then you see your car and say a big hallelujah! We all headed back to Baga, a town close by, to have a beer and something to eat before driving back to the city. I need these trips, these days away on the weekend, to keep me going during the week. Someone work the week for Friday or Saturday night out, drinking, dancing and partying. Not me, it's the mountains and the fresh air for me!

Morning in the mountains.

Taga covered in light December snow.

Good morning cows!

A shy calf.

Sadly, these hikes are not always as frequent as I'd like. There are a few reasons for this: I don't have a car, so transport is always a problem; hiking alone isn't the safest thing in the World, although I have done it many times, it's not something you should be doing; and there is the weather. There is also the issue of people being busy - everyone has things to do, family and work, and it's not always easy to line things up for a group of people. Between August and December, I didn't get to do much hiking, but as my birthday is in November, that meant that I could make my friends go hiking with me! No party for me, just the mountains! The weather was changing, slowly turning colder and there was a little bit of snow around, so we couldn't just hike anywhere. The original plan for my birthday hike was Puigmal, a 2,900m mountain on the Spanish-French border in the Pyrenees, but as we got closer to the day, it wasn't looking like the weather would let us. The day before we settled on another mountain, close to the original plan, but not as high or snowy - we decided to hike El Taga. This mountain, one I'd never heard of before, is just outside the town of Ribes de Freser (famous for its spring water), in the comarca of Ripolles. Not that high, at only 2,040m, but it should offer a great view from the top of the Pyrenees, Puigmal (the original plan) as well as some other beautiful mountains, even Pedraforca. We drove up on Saturday afternoon, as I now work every Saturday, and headed to a tiny little village where a friend of ours had a weekend house. We got there just before dark, got out gear inside and settled in for dinner and some sofa time in front of the fire - it was going to be an early start the next day. The weather was looking good for the hike and I was excited! I wasn't sure of the way, but I was in safe hands with my friends, who knew the way and had done this before.

Blue and white - the colours of a Winter hike.

Hiking up Taga.

The trail to Taga.

Stone villages dot the moutains.

We drove a little way up a dirt road, to get a little closer to the start of the actual hike. We parked the car just outside a big Catalan country house, a 'Masia,' with chickens and dogs running around everywhere. The morning was crisp, frost still on leaves and also covering small puddles of water in tractor tyre marks in the soil. The sun was out though and it was a glorious day. The path would be fairly easy, following a small dirt road before turning off and going up the mountain along a walking trail to the Coll de Bac - easy! The sky was blue, with long, soft white clouds making the scene even more beautiful. There were very few people on the hike, in fact, we didn't see anyone at all until we reached the top! Along the way, we heard many cow bells, which now always remind me of Switzerland, and we did see some paddocks with cows in them. I'm not sure when baby cows are born (I would have thought in Spring time), but there were some young ones there too, staying close to their mums. I've always loved cows - large yet docile, soft to the touch and very cute. The sun shone down on the white and cream coloured cows, highlighting their big furry ears, their big brown eyes always watching us for any sudden movements. They're cute, but not very bright, and although not really dangerous, they weren't up for a pat either. We left the trees and the cover from the wind and headed up along the side of the mountain, towards the top. It was windy and a little chilly, I was constantly zipping up and unzipping my jacket, trying to achieve the 'sweet' temperature where you aren't cold and aren't sweating. Not an easy feat today, so I found myself a little cold, yet sweating at the same time. It wasn't long before we reached the top and were able to have a snack and enjoy the views - but first we found a place out of the harsh, biting wind. There were plenty of people up here - although they must have taken a different path to us as I didn't see anyone on the way up. Real hikers in their brand gear and hiking poles, as well as a few weekenders with their dogs and selfie sticks, and us, possible a mix between the two. We all posed for photos though and wandered around at the top admiring the amazing views - complete 360c, unbroken views of mountains. I could see Pedraforca and even Comabona, Puigmal stood not too far away, covered in snow, but in between all of these big mountains were smaller, wooded hills and mountains, surrounded by a sea of fluffy white clouds. It was absolutely magical. The wind, however, was not - it cut right through us and before long I was shivering and so we decided to head back.

A sea of clouds.

Photo time at the top.

Crunchy, frozen leaves on the trail.

Making tracks.

Although I'd been busy this year after Summer, I was still missing the mountains and climbing as I'd not done much of that recently. A few trips here and there help, but I wanted more. It can be tough sometimes though - I work Saturday mornings, making it a 6-day week with only one real day that I can completely relax. It's not always easy to make plans with more people, people with families and lives too, and there's always transport. I'd done ok so far, using the trains here to get around, but there's only so many places I could reach that way - the best places are only accessible by car. It was now December, the weather getting cold, and I was off to Poland for a short break and then Australia for Christmas - so I can't complain really! I vowed to myself that I'd make more time for the outdoors, more time for me, but also to work harder and save more money for a car to be able to hit the mountains whenever I wanted. Let's see how that goes! Christmas and New Years is just around the corner and you never know what the next year will bring - come on 2019!

At the top of Taga (2,040m).

Precious time in the mountains - I hope I will have more time for this in 2019.

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