Comments on: Around Madrid: La Pedriza – Wilderness Close at Hand http://www.notesfrommadrid.com/2007/12/05/around-madrid-la-pedriza/ A new look at the city of Madrid. Photos, news, podcasts, Madrid secrets, videos, bars - a real insider's guide. Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:08:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Summer must in Madrid « España Profunda http://www.notesfrommadrid.com/2007/12/05/around-madrid-la-pedriza/comment-page-1/#comment-835 Summer must in Madrid « España Profunda Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:47:04 +0000 http://www.notesfrommadrid.com/2007/12/05/around-madrid-la-pedriza/#comment-835 [...] Summer must in Madrid Published Wednesday, 25 June, 2008 Madrid , hiking Tags: city, La Pedriza, river, summer, swim [Swim in the Río Manzanares in La Pedriza.] [...] [...] Summer must in Madrid Published Wednesday, 25 June, 2008 Madrid , hiking Tags: city, La Pedriza, river, summer, swim [Swim in the Río Manzanares in La Pedriza.] [...]

]]> By: graeme http://www.notesfrommadrid.com/2007/12/05/around-madrid-la-pedriza/comment-page-1/#comment-450 graeme Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:52:02 +0000 http://www.notesfrommadrid.com/2007/12/05/around-madrid-la-pedriza/#comment-450 The really great thing about La Pedriza is that it offers routes of all types ranging from the very easy to the tough. Most people coming from the Manzanares side are only seeing the front part of La Pedriza, but there is a rear part that ascends up to the rest of the Sierra and which can be truly spectacular. For the excessively energetic (and fit) there is a route which does the full Pedriza circuit, but you need a whole (summer) day to be able to do it. A word of caution - it is a very bad idea to stray from the marked paths in the rockier parts of La Pedriza. You might think that you can scramble over a big boulder, but there is no guarantee either that you will be able to do the same with the bigger one behind it, or that you will find it easy to return the way you came. The paths themselves sometimes involve some scrambling, but they pass where they do for good reasons. Also, in wet or icy conditions those rocks are a very easy place to have an accident. Go suitably equipped for the route you plan to do, sports shoes and a sweatshirt might be fine for the lower routes in the woods or by the river, but the higher part of La Pedriza can experience the same severe weather conditions you can get elsewhere in the mountains. The really great thing about La Pedriza is that it offers routes of all types ranging from the very easy to the tough. Most people coming from the Manzanares side are only seeing the front part of La Pedriza, but there is a rear part that ascends up to the rest of the Sierra and which can be truly spectacular. For the excessively energetic (and fit) there is a route which does the full Pedriza circuit, but you need a whole (summer) day to be able to do it.

A word of caution – it is a very bad idea to stray from the marked paths in the rockier parts of La Pedriza. You might think that you can scramble over a big boulder, but there is no guarantee either that you will be able to do the same with the bigger one behind it, or that you will find it easy to return the way you came. The paths themselves sometimes involve some scrambling, but they pass where they do for good reasons. Also, in wet or icy conditions those rocks are a very easy place to have an accident. Go suitably equipped for the route you plan to do, sports shoes and a sweatshirt might be fine for the lower routes in the woods or by the river, but the higher part of La Pedriza can experience the same severe weather conditions you can get elsewhere in the mountains.

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