MICROTRIP #9 PDC

A few hours after dawn, Barcelona is already behind us. We reach Collada Fonda, where the route begins in an unexpected way: descending rather than climbing.

The first section moves through narrow paths, alternating between open ground and shaded forest. The terrain shifts constantly. Sun, shadow, grass, trees. The sound of water is already present, following us from somewhere below in the valley.

Gradually, the forest starts to thin. The direction becomes clearer. Light increases, and space opens.

By midday, the mountain changes character.

The upper valley of the River Tec reveals itself. Wide grassy slopes replace the forest. Small streams cross the route. Patches of lingering snow and ice remain in sheltered corners. Stone shepherd huts appear across the valley: a reminder that these mountains have been travelled long before they became a destination.

A short pause beside a waterfall. Cold water, melting snow, clear skies above. From there, the route continues upward. Grass gives way to scattered rock. The summit remains visible ahead, slowly drawing closer until the final slope connects everything into a single line.

At the top, the landscape fully reveals itself. The Canigó massif dominates one side of the horizon. The ridges of Ripollès stretch across the other. Far beyond, the Mediterranean appears as a thin blue line. 

The descent follows a different character. Steeper at first, then gradually easing into broad mountain pastures. Cattle grazing across the slopes. Percheron horses moving slowly through the grass. Open terrain stretching out in all directions.

Nothing dramatic defines the day. Not a single moment, but the way everything connects together: the shaded forest, the sound of running water, the lingering traces of snow, the open slopes leading to the summit. One landscape gradually unfolding into another.

Costabona, from valley to summit.