La Pedriza under the spell of the full moon

A brilliant white sphere begins to glimpse in the evening sky, like a huge spotlight that illuminates the natural spectacle that opens before our eyes: in the background the entire snowy

ridge , with the peaks of

, the

,

and

; in front of the towers of the Pedriza Towers, which separate or unite -depending on how you look- the north of the Cuerda Larga Pedriza circus (also known as the Hueco de Los Pollos), and in the foreground the immense back of granite where the rounded belly of El Yelmo stands out.

January 15 was the first night (almost) of a full moon in 2022, a phenomenon that Andrés Matías and his company Rutas por Montaña take advantage of to make night itineraries in the Sierra de Guadarrama such as this circular march in La Pedriza: the return to the

.

We meet Andrés and Noel, the other guide, at 4:00 p.m. at the access barrier to

. It seems strange to me to stay at this time, marching against the early hikers who are now returning home after a day in the mountains. Andrés tells us the plan: we will ascend to the viewpoint of the Torreta de Los Porrones, the mountain range that joins La Pedriza with La Maliciosa, which has a privileged view over the

and the entire southeast area of ​​this area of ​​Guadarrama, but before We will

make an incursion through the forests of

and on the way back, at night, we will enjoy the magical night atmosphere under the lunar focus surrounding the

.

We leave along the normal path towards

, but after 500 meters we turn right along a much lesser-known path, which enters between

and

to reach the first viewpoint: La Camorza, with incredible views of Manzanares el Real and the Santillana reservoir. The sun has not yet completely hidden in the west, and we enjoy the presence of both stars, one coloring the granite masses reddish, and its antagonist beginning to paint the forest blue.

Taking the required photos, we continue around the hill of La Camorza to reach the

and go up to the

, another obligatory stop. It is getting dark on the way up to the Torreta de los Porrones, and we have to use the headlamps to go safely along the path. We walked observing the yellow lights of the towns in the mountains and the city in the distance. We finally reached La Torreta, just before there is a window in the stone where the only via ferrata in the Community of Madrid ended, Andrés tells us.

At the

we make another stop, bundled up on this winter night, to have a snack and a warm broth brought by the guides. And we return, surrounding the Cerro de Campuzano, to reach a point where there is a stone cross on the ground. Andrés tells us the story around this site. In the 19th century, bandits hid in this stone labyrinth, and here the henchmen of Luis Candelas murdered El Mirlo, a shepherd, for a non-existent reward. If you want to know the complete story, you will have to sign up for a route!

A little further down, we make another stop to gaze at the stars and attend an astronomical class by Andrés, who tells us about the origin of Peña Sirio: the Kindelán brothers, pioneers of La Pedriza, named it because it was the rock that was just below of this star.

And before finishing, Andrés asks us to turn off the headlights to walk alone with the full moon in an exercise of mindfulness or immersion in the environment and in ourselves.

And so, lost in our thoughts and under the mysterious light of the full moon, we return to reality... until the next full moon.

Data sheet

Distance:

12.7km

Positive slope:

595 m

Negative slope:

595 m

With whom:

Rutaspormontaña.es

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