Climbing in Montserrat: Elephant rock

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My 7th mission on the Catalunya Challenge was probably the most scary.

Montserrat, translated sawed mountain because of its shape, is truly a masterpiece of Mother Nature. To get there I had to drive up a winding road all the way to the top where my jaw just dropped because of the sheer beauty in front of me.

Now for my mission I had to 'Find the Elephant and scratch his head'. They were clearly referring to Elephant rock which you can hike to. That's what I thought I'd be doing, hiking. Now the thing is that the hiking trail to get to the top of Elephant Rock at some point just stops. The only way to get there is to go up the steep stone rock! You have to use hands and legs to kinda crawl up.

I have to be honest and tell you that I got struck by fear right there and then. This raw feeling just takes over and makes it very hard to see things clear. I didn't want to give up though, not this close to the top so I pushed through and made my way to the very top.

The sensation of conquering your fear really is incredible. Standing on top of this massive rock I was filled with a mix of emotions. I'll never forget this moment.

I want to thank Ricard Fernandez Molinet, my guide for staying by my side and calmly advising me the entire time. Such a beautiful person! I'm happy to have shared this experience with him. You can book him via Guies de Muntanya de Montserrat if you ever want to go for a hike in Montserrat with him as well.

Today I really had to push through a wall of fear. What started out as a normal day where I would go on a hike in the #Montserrat nature park turned out to be a day of facing fear. My mission was to find an elephant and scratch it's head. Turned out this referred to the Elephant hike which goes to a massive rock in the shape of an Elephant. Now I thought we could just hike there. Hell, that's what Ricard my guide and I were doing for most of the afternoon until we almost got to the foot of Elephant rock. Then things started to dawn on me. At some point we couldn't hike anymore. Let me show you what happened in the following pictures. #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @catalunyaexperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 1:58 PDT

The hike started with a beautiful view over the #Montserrat mountain. Did you know the name basically means 'sawed mountain' since it looks like the peaks are shaped by a massive saw. #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 1:59 PDT

Here you see the #Montserrat monestary tucked into the mountain. I can tell you that the drive up here alone is totally worth it. My jaw dropped to the floor when I finally arrived to the monestary. #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:02 PDT

Meanwhile we were getting closer to the Elephant rock. Clouds started to ominously collect over it's head... 😮 #Montserrat #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:04 PDT

A heremit outpost all the way up here. Can you imagine the effort it took to come up here and live just from nature and survive all kinds of climate conditions... Bad-Ass! #Montserrat #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:06 PDT

This rock formation is called the pregnant woman. Do you see why? #Montserrat #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:07 PDT

But ok. Back to my story... So this is where the hike trail stopped and where we had to conquer the rock ahead of us. It's not vertical vertical but close enough. At least for me 😂 The top is the head of the elephant! If you zoom in you can actually see people 'climbing' up. I can tell you that I was super nervous to get up there. #Montserrat #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:09 PDT

Here I'm almost at the top but I still needed to climb a narrow crack in the rock to get to the top. I can tell you that you're looking into the face of fear. Not a big fan of tight spaces, especially not at this hight. This is the moment where I almost turned back... Luckily my guide told me to take a break, breath and have some water. I digged deep into myself to find the courage and managed to push through, all the way to the top. #Montserrat #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:10 PDT

Here I am right on the top of the elephant rock in #Montserrat smiling and all but I can tell you that it sure wasn't easy to get there. At least not for me. #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:14 PDT

Here I'm smiling after I climbed down that crack. It may not look like much but for me it was a big deal getting up there. #Montserrat #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:15 PDT

The rest of the journey down was pure joy. Stairs and epic views. #Montserrat truly is a very special place. #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:16 PDT

There's the monestary again. Almost 'home' #Montserrat #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:17 PDT

To celebrate I tried some #Mató. A local treat. Goat cheese with honey. Very refreshing! #Montserrat #CatalunyaChallenge #DestinationChallenges with @CatalunyaExperience #CatalunyaExperience

Een bericht gedeeld door Bjorn Troch (@thesocialtraveler) op 14 Mei 2017 om 2:18 PDT

More Catalunya Challenge stories here...