- Location: 42 33' 18.33" N 1 34' 15.15" E
- Starts at :1971 m Assent 770 m
- Distance: 6.5km (takes about 3.5 hours)
Casamanya is a prominent mountain, visible from most places in Andorra. Since you can see it from almost everywhere, you can see almost everything when you're on it. I have hiked up it many times, and today I must confess, I did not go all the way to the top because there is still a lot of snow on the trail. This hike starts at the same place as yesterdays, but is on the other side of the road. The walk goes along the ridge line that happens to be the Parish boarder dividing Ordino and Canillo. The first part of the walk is wooded, with limited views. This is the first time up it this year, and I was surprised to find so many trees had fallen on the trail (and everywhere else). There was also a fair amount of snow at the lower part of the walk. After about 1km, the wooded part of the walk ends, and there are brilliant views on all sides. When you reach a big rock, that is a bit past the trees, just before the pitch gets steeper, you are about half way to the top (as a measure of time). The mountain is kind of cruel in that you get the sense that you are getting close to the top, but it goes up in 3 steps. Once you pass the third step, you will see the marker for the peak. Enjoy the most amazing views of Andorra. There used to be a log book in the foundation marker for the peak, but it has not been there for a couple of years now.
I marked this trail as "Difficult". The terrain on the lower part is fine, when you start going up higher, it gets pretty steep, and there is a lot of loose shale to deal with. If you have vertigo, you should bring sticks (not a bad idea anyway). This trail is very popular in the summer. Lots of locals like to run it, including a man perhaps 15 years my senior that we saw on the top looking for his daughter. He had walked ahead of her, and she decided to stay lower down, relax and watch the clouds. He ran up and down several times while we went down, but he didn't seem to see fit to go to the place where he had gone ahead of her. He did eventually find her.
The start of the trail, Pancho is about to make sure every other dog knows he was here!
The trail had a lot of fallen trees on it. In this case 3 trees in 10 meters.
The first break in the trees. Not long until the trees end.
Brook enjoying the view of Canillo. Too bad the pictures do the view no justice.
Almost at the half way point.
Half way! That's it for today.
This picture is from May 18th last year.
Brook was with me that time as well (and so was Pancho).
