Majada Baja Refuge, Moncayo Natural Park

The Moncayo Natural Park crossing is an itinerary for gravel bicycles of a particular design to link with the Santander Mediterráneo Natural Path in Ciria, looking for the best circular bikepacking route back to the city of Soria. The downloaded track is essential in this section, it is impossible to specify in these texts all the detours, intersections and details with the same precision that digital information offers. The mountain bike adventure begins at the Tarazona exit, at the sign for the GR-90 long-distance trail, although it then coincides in a few sections. It is important to carry provisions for the rest of the day and the next, it is not safe to find food in the towns along the way. The route follows a farm road to Grisel and then comes the first spike of the climb in the mountains where the Grisel Wind Farm is located. The hard slope is one kilometer long until you reach the mills, but the slope is steep and the loose stone surface requires extra effort. On the hill, the enormous Moncayo slope covered with pines, oaks and beech trees appears up close. And on top of that, the peaks of the massif are like unattainable islands above a sea of mysterious and impenetrable forests.The path crosses another steep slope of loose stone and begins a long climb up a hill marked with milestones of cycling and hiking routes until it crosses the Agramonte highway and connects with the paved track of the Moncayo Sanctuary. The route continues along the small mountain road, crosses the centuries-old beech forests of Fuente del Sacristán and at the Fuente de los Frailes hairpin it turns to the left to begin the final stretch of the ascent along the forest track of Collado Bellido. In the case of spending the night in the Majada Baja Refuge, where I propose, at the end of the climb, you have to carry water at the source, then there are mountain streams but depending on the season of the year they can be dry. Along the way there are several crossings and detours, generally it is always the uphill track that runs along the entire northern slope of the Moncayo massif to go to the southern face. The climb is long and constant, it leaves the forest and continues until it passes the detour to Collado Bellido, indicated with markers on the ditch of the forest track. The end of the ascent is shortly after, at the curve of the Valdealonso stream, at about 1,900 meters of altitude, the path changes slope and the descent begins. Two kilometers later is the Majada Baja Refuge, it is a natural park refuge, well maintained and available for mountaineers, cyclists, hunters, shepherds and users of the Moncayo environmental space. The place has extraordinary views and it is difficult to pass by at dusk and not stay the night.