Points
of Interest
| The
"Serra de Madres" separates
the Capcir from the Conflent, and only
the most eastern foothills could be
included in the Fenolleda. We have anyhow
choosen its highest peak as 'Regional
peak' because of its singularity and
because it's worth a visit amongst the
regional peaks. We have taken this liberty
because the Fenolleda, eventhough the
"Enciclopèdia Catalana"
considers it a Catalan region, was only
a short time part of the Catalunya Princedom,
since it was transferred to the French
King by the Corbeil Treaty (1258). This
name often calls our attention. Etimologically
comes from "mater", in its
sense of water source, as compared to
matrix, origin. It's a name found in
other places and related with Madrona,
like the hill of 'Puig Madrona' that
we have close to Sant Cugat. |
|
How
to get there
| From
Barcelona take the road C-16, and Cadi
tunnel, till Puigcerdà. We cross
the french-spanish border by La Guingueta
(Bourg-Madame) and continue on N-116
till the entrance of Mont-Louis. There
we take N-118 to Quillan and Formigueres.
In this village we take D-4g to Vilanova.
Right after crossing the bridge at the
entry of this village, we take a left
turn towards Real. After 1 km. there
is a track at right with a small sign
"Coll de Sansa" (french writing
for coll de Censà). We follow
it some 6 km till the pass, where we
find a good plain and an importat trailcrossing.
The track is suitable for cars. |
|
Technical
data
|
|
Time:
5:00 hours. |
|
|
Slope:
800 meters. |
|
|
Distance:
17 km. |
|
|
Difficulty:
No special difficulties except a pass
at the 'Roc Negre' where some attention
is required. |
|
Recomendations
| Did
not find any drinkable water along the
route. A clear day is very convenient
not only to enjoy the views, but because
the route from the peak of Madres to
the peak of La Pelada is difficult to
follow if there is no good visibility. |
|
Description
of the route
| |
| Coll
de Censà - serrat de l'Ós
(Ours) - coll dels Gavatxos -
pic de Madres - Roc Negre - refugi
de Noedes - pic de la Pelada -
coll de Censà. |
|
| |
| Coll
de Censà. 0:00 h; 1.775 m. We
leave it on a track going North, then
turns East and finally NW and NE.Deviation
to Serra de l'Ós. 0:17 h; 1.860
m. At a curve in a hollow we leave the
track and go up at right (E) on a path
without any signal. We go up through
the woods till the ridge, just after
the 'Puig de l'esquena d'Ase' (16 min,
1995 m). Here we turn left (NNE) on
a blurred path, following the mountain
edge. In a small plain (2100 m), just
under the 'Serrat de l'Ós', we
may either follow on the ridge or walk
by its left side to smooth somewhat
the ascension. Then we have to turn
east to take the ridge again. Coll dels
Gavatxos. 1:38 h; 2.359 m. It's right
over the 'Estany de l'Ós'. From
here we just have to follow the mountain
edge, practically east, till the peak
which we already see in front of us.Pic
de Madres. 2:00 h; 2.469 m. There is
a small stone shack, useful in bad weather.
There is a round view but the most attractive
panorama is S and W, where the Pyrennees
are seen. Highlits are Canigó,
Puigmal, Carlit, Peric, Roc Blanc de
Laurentis. If it's one of the few mistfree
days, the whole plain of the Rosselló
may be contemplated. We continue eastwards,
following the edge. In less than 5 min
we arrive to a pass in the ridge of
the Roc Negre, which is slightly delicate.
Soon we are at the peak which is only
10 meters lower than the Madres. To
the south , it's significant the peak
of La Pelada, where we go. We descend
slightly left in order to meet again
the path that goes to the shelter of
'Noedes'. A bit farther down at our
left we may see the lake of Noedes or
'Gorg Estelat', as well as the small
Black Lake. Not long before arriving
to the shelter there is the fountain
of la Perdiu (Perdrix), but we did not
look for it. We have left at our left
side a modern shepherd shelter, all
white.Refugi de Noedes. 2:45 h; 2.300
m. It's not confortable but might be
useful in case of need. It offers a
magnificent view of the lake d'Evol.
We continue S, always in the mountain
edge, without a clear path, through
an area with caracteristic vegetation
called 'Pla dels Gorgs' may be because
is slightly swampy.We go up to a small
hill and descend to a pass. Leave another
hill at left and arrive to another pass.Coll
de Passaduc. 3:20 h; 2.284 m. We see
the peak 'La Pelada' in front of us.
We might go up going south following
the ridge but is easier to follow a
small path, SW, and then turn E once
you are at the mountain edge.Pic de
la Pelada. 3:35 h; 2.370 m. The view
towards the Canigó is much better
but what is really interesting is to
see most of the route we just followed.
We go back to the Coll de Passaduc and
descend by a hollow at our left (E),
grassy and pretty steep. When we arrive
to an area with some trees the slope
becomes smoother, then we arrive to
a plain and finally to a track.Pista.
4:15 h; 1.891 m. We follow it to the
right. After a couple bends it crosses
the torrent of the 'Coma de Pontells'.
At a curve we leave at left the picnic
area of 'Estanyols' and pretty soon
we are back at our starting point.Coll
de Censà. 5:00 h. End of the
journey. |
|
| Date
of the path October
2, 2004. With the CMSC. |
Useful
maps
Font
Romeu. Capcir. IGN. TOP 25, 2249
ET. París, 1997.
Cerdagne-Capcir. Rando editions-IGN.
Carte de Randonnées, Pyrénées,
n. 8. Tarbes, 1991. |
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