Points
of Interest
The
Roques de Sant Honorat i de la Mola
del Corb are interesting.
There are good panoramical views from
the summit of Coscollet, both towards
the Pyrenees and to the plane and mountains
by the Segre river. There are as well
a number of peculiar views over the
reservoir of Oliana. |
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How
to get there
We
must go to the road C-13, between Oliana
and Coll de Nargó. Driving from
Oliana, once passed the bridge over
the Segre river, we take the road LV-5118
direction Peramola. Some 3 km later
we take a deviation at right towards
the Hostal del Boix. We get there after
1,5 Km. and start the walk. |
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Technical
data
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Time:
7:45
hours. |
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Slope:
+1130 meter; -1130 m. |
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Distance:
24 km. |
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Difficulty:
F-3; T-2.
The technical difficulty is considered
because paths are often not easy to
find. |
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Recomendations
We
must take enough water because there
is no fountain through the whole journey.
It maybe pretty hot in the middle of
the summer. Eventhough is rare, we suffered
a heavy snowfall the last time we were
there.
It's mandatory to take good boots and
strong pants, which are especially useful
for the descent..
It's necessary to provide transportation
for coming back.
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Description
of the route
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Hostal
del Boix - Coll de Mur - Cortiuda
- Coll de Creus - Collada d'Aubenç
-Lo Coscollet - Corral de Remolins
- La Maçana - Sant Miquel
de les Masies - Coll de Bura |
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Hostal del Boix. 0:00 h; 580 m.
We start alt the Hostal del Boix. We
go to the right, at the back side of
the house, at the beginning of the Canal
del Boix. We inmediately leave at right
a path indicating "to Fontviva"
and we take left by a path marked as
GR. After 2 min we leave a deviation
at left and continue going up, more
steeply, in order to pass the Grau de
Porta. After 13 min we find a trail
which we follow at right. There is a
signpost indicating "Ruta del Corb".
Nine minutes later, after crossing a
small torrent, we find another signpost.
We continue by the trail and after 3
min we arrive to the Carena of Nerola.
Quatre Camins. 0:27 h. It's
the place called Quatre Camins. A trail
comes up from the left. We follow it
at right and leave another one which
inmediately flattens going left. The
trail goes up initially over the ridge
and afterwards moves to the east hillside.
After 8 min, if we are watchful, will
see the casm "Forat de Nerola"
at our left. Also at left, over us,
we see the Mola del Corb and the Serra
de Sant Honorat is in front of us. The
trail turns suddenly at right and after
3 min there is a path at left going
to the Casa del Corb. The GR signals
continue by this path. We don't take
it. We continue by the trail which goes
around the Mola del Corb. After 3 additional
min there is at left a path going up
to Sant Salvador del Corb, which is
considered the smallest romanesque shrine
in Catalunya. Continue by the trail
and arrive to a pass in 8 min.
Coll de Mur. 0:40 h; 900 m.
The pass appears at the right side of
the trail. We could go through it to
the Serra de Sant Honorat. Continue
on the trail and after 4 min we arrive
to the western side of the Roca del
Corb. At left there is a path which
would also take us to the Casa del Corb.
Our trail turns right, going down on
rocky ground, and then goes flat.After
2 min we leave a deviation at right.
The trail has a clear western direction.
Ten minutes later and some 50 meter
prior to a sudden left turn of the trail
there is a small path at our right,
which we take. It goes down smoothly
towards the Coll de Maimorta, from where
it continues mostly by the ridge direction
NW. After 13 min it becomes a rudimentary
trail which takes us to the Casa de
Teixant in 4 min. Slightly elevated
in front of us we can see Can Bernadí.
We continue, leaving a trail which we
find at right. We follow the one at
left, around the fields, which in 5
min joins the trail which comes from
the village and that we take to the
right, direction Can Bernadí.
Can Bernadí. 1:40 h; 1000 m.
This is the only lived in house of the
village of Cortiuda. At the back of
the house there are a few notable holm
oaks and two ponds. Now we begin the
ascent to the Coll de Creus by the old
path from Peramola to Gavarra. The path
starts at the side of the holm oaks
and the ponds., direction N, towards
an electric line which climbs up till
the pass. The path is initially blurred,
then finds a trail which inmediately
leaves to take a path at left, which
goes up with a wise zigzaging.
Coll de Creus. 2:35 h. 1290 m.
Ample and desolated depression in the
ridge. The path we were following crosses
the edge and descends at the other side
towards Gavarra. We leave it and continue
over the ridge, to the right (NE) towards
the Tossal del Coll de Prat, going up
without path on a clean ground. Once
at the peak of the tossal, the panorama
broadens, especially over the Oliana
reservoir. Then we walk flat till Coll
de Prat (1470 m), which is a small grassy
depression. We ascend a bit more by
an abandoned trail and 50 meter forward
we take a small path at left (N). It
besects beetwen the trail we were following
and another one, very vague, which goes
left. Our path, which is now pretty
blurred, used to be a well built old
trail. It goes around the west side
of the hill in smooth ascent and gets
to a trail in 13 min (1530 m) which
comes from the peak of the hill. We
follow it down, at left, and in 7 min
we arrive to the Collada d'Aubenç.
These trails are the remains of an oil
searching intent.
Collada d'Aubenç. 3:25 h. 1470
m. This pass is a crossroad.
At left (SW) we would go to Cal Frare
and La Gavarra. Right ahead (N) to the
Pla de Tolustre. But we follow at right
(E) and get to the Casa de l'Aubenç
(1430 m) in 4 min. It's surrounded by
cultivated fields. We continue by the
trail which goes up smoothly (NE). We
cross a chain and 9 min later at the
point where the trail starts descending
we take another one at right which inmediately
becomes a path. We leave an old woodway.
The path goes up and in 15 min arrives
to a trail (1570 m) coming from Masies
de Nargó. In front of us we may
see the impressive Coscollet, where
we arrive in 20 min following the trail.
Torre d'Aubenç or Coscollet.
4:13 h; 1611 m. Highest point
of the journey and of the ridge. A vast
panorama appears in all directions.
After enjoying it for a while, we go
back till the deviation we took to go
up. When the trails starts descending
and separes from the cliff we leave
it and continue by the ridge, close
to the cliff, with little clear path,
on clean soil. We pass a small hill
(Tossal de Remolins, 1583 m) and the
path separes from the cliff and goes
towards the Tossal del Faig. We find
a trail, leave the path and take another
one at right, difficult to see, which
goes down to the head of the barranc
de Remolins. Initially the path is confusing
but it follows approximately the center
of the barranc. Once we are at the center
of the barranc we must leave a nice
path which leaves at our right and continue
by the right side of the torrent, till
the path gets clearer and deviates a
little from the torrent, but never too
far. We arrive to the remains of a fountain
in 20 min, from where we may see the
Corral de Remolins. We cross the torrent
and 5 min later arrive to the ruins
of the Corral. (Note: From Tossal de
Remolins one could go direct to the
pass under Tossal del Faig -item 8-
but I have not done it. Moreover one
would then loose the magnificent view
of the Oliana reservoir from the Corral).
Corral de Remolins. 5:23h. 1430 m.
It's interesting to get close to the
edge of the cliff (very carefully) to
contemplate the reservoir some 1000
meter under us. We leave the corral
by the other side, crossing some fields,
not going down, till the grassy Pla
de Gramenet, which we cross diagonally.
We find again the path at the other
side. After 7 min we leave a path at
right which goes to the Casa del Coll.
We keep going flat by the pretty weard
away head of the Barranc del Boter.
We have the Tossal del Faig right over
us. Ten min later we arrive to a small
pass.
Small pass under Tossal del Faig. 5:43h;
1400 m. A blurred trail joins
us coming from the left. It appears
in the later edition of the ICC maps
but it's difficult to find it in the
country. The path now enters a woodzone
and gets pretty losing. Goes down slowly,
not tending left, in order to leave
at right a small hill over the Casa
del Coll and get back to the cliffside.
We may find signals in the trees which
could help orient ourselves. Few minutes
after arriving to the cliffside we leave
a path at right (goes to Casa del Coll).
From this point we must walk always
by the ridge, looking for the easiest
way. After 3 min we find another path
at right (1200 m) which most likely
goes down to La selva d'Aubenç.
We continue going down, and from time
to time we may enjoy marvelous views
of the cliffs and crags of la Selva.
But we must walk very carefully since
the ground is very scrubby and the path
is practically non existant. After 40
min we arrive to a pass (900 m) with
some cultivated fields under the barrack
of La Maçana.
La Maçana. 6:55 h; 920 m.
The path continues up by the side of
the barrack, which we leave at our left.
It takes us close to the edge to a small
pass. We follow by the sunny slope of
a hill (922 m) which we leave at our
left, till we get to the ruins of a
barrack and a couple fields, in another
small pass. We continue ridging, in
descent, till we arrive to the base
of the Tossal de Sant Miquel (827 m)
which we turn around leaving it at our
right without any clear path. We walk
then towards a shrine and a house which
we see under us (NE).
Note: In the last edition of the ICC
map there is an old trail which goes
round the hill by the other side. I
have not had the opportunity to check
it, so would thank any information on
this respect.
Sant Miquel de les Masies. 7:25 h. 720
m. We arrive to the shrine
of Sant Miquel de les Masies, nice romanesque
construction. There is also a house.
Once passed the shrine we leave a trail
at left (NE) and take another one at
right (SE) which in 20 min leads us
to Coll de Bura, in the main road from
Oliana to Coll de Nargó (point
154,2 km)
Coll de Bura. 7:45; 580 m.
End of the journey. |
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Date
of the hike It
was done on May 24th, 2001 with the help of
my friends RR and XL. It was repeated later
with people of the CMSC but on that occasion
we had to go all the way down from the Coscollet
following the main trail, because of the snow. |
Useful
maps
There
is no detailed map of the area. As an
orientation I have used the 1/50.000
map of the ICC. |
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