Tossa d'Alp and Cap de Gallina Pelada - all in one day

04-08-2013

Zip

Which motorhome is mine?

The original plan for Tossa d’Alp, a Major 2536m P746 JMH number 87, in the Sierra de Moixero was to start from Collado de Pal and bag the summit properly. However, the pista to the collado had some serious drainage channels that made me worry about the chassis of my autocaravane so I did a seven point turn and returned to the paved road.




I drove a little further in hope of finding an alternative way of getting there and ended up in the ski and bicycle adventure centre of La Molina, where there is the Telecabina skilift that takes one high up onto Tossa d’Alp for ten Euros.

Those ten Euros take you 2.9km up 6.88m ascent from (1622m) N42.33461 E 1.93140 to N42.32523 E1.90347. Besides the slightly guilty feeling this is cheating, the disadvantage is that for anyone, like me, with altitude sickness problems, the drop in air pressure was noticeable.



However, I followed the easy pista past the Refugi Niu de l’Aliga and visited the various tops, including the one with the trigpoint at N42.32056 E1.89266.

2.9km, 257m total ascent

Cap de Gallina Pelada/Cap Llitzet in the Serra d’Ensija, a Major 2327m P117 JMH Iberian prominence number 29 did not impose the same sort of dilemmas.
This was a straightforward walk from the road. I left my autocaravane in the shade (1677m) at N42.20126 E1.75112 and walked up to where the path starts at the Collado de la Trapa (1678m) at N42.19887 E75245.








The path then goes past Font Freda (which is nothing more than a hose pipe with a trickle of water. I recall a number of years ago following a Michelin guide to a fountain which filled me with anticipation of a Gaudi-like creation which turned out to be equally disappointing and uninspiring) through trees to follow a dry stream, the Torrent de la Font d’Ensija.




Through more trees to emerge at (1944m) N42.19384 E1.752151. The path comes out on a ridge with grass that any park manager would be proud to control (2151m) 42.18793 E1.75455, goes past the Refugi Delgada Ubeda (2159m) N42.18793 E1.74846




Slightly steeper rise to the summit marker at N42.18943 E1.73806.

 The return route matched the ascent route. With tempting views of Pedraforca much of the way.

Pedraforca

8.99km, 961m total ascent

Overnight at Martinet on N260 (1001m) – that road again.