Downhill from Turo de l'home - North-side

So you made it to the top of Turo de l'home on your mountain bike. Now what?
Well, if you don't want to head back the way you came, then there are really only a couple of options, none of them for the faint-hearted.
This one takes you down the north face of the mountain, past the Santa Fe Reservoir, to the town of Gualba and finally to Sant Esteve de Palautordera, and can be loosely divided in 4 downhill chapters plus a longish asphalt-ride from Gualba to Palautordera.
1: The first 2.5km is very technical, steep and rocky. Varied terrain, but with constant challenges. Some sections let you build up speed, but take care, some of these sections end in sudden drops over outcropping roots and rock.
2: After that, things mellow out for 3 km or so, and you weave through forest, mostly picking out your own trail between the well spaced trees, (keep a look out for the rocky sections), with a couple of short distances over asphalt. This takes you as far as the reservoir, where you might want to stop for a while to take in the view.
3: From the reservoir there's about 5km of varied trail, sometimes in the forest, sometimes more open. The ground varies a lot, sometimes muddy and loose where the trail crosses the stream, sometimes firm dirt with some rocks and roots, sometimes gravel, sometimes very rocky. This section lets you build up some good speed, as long as you keep an eye out for loose (and not so loose) rocks. Enjoy the flow while you can, because the next section will slow you down to a crawl.
4: The next 2km feel more like 10. This is extremely technical "trail", crawling down over extremely inclined rock-slabs, rock-gardens, deep ruts, root-mayhem, loose stones, grabby branches and every kind of evil the mountain can throw at you. Many places have multiple line-choices, but most of them are between "extremely hard" and "borderline impossible".
Enjoy!
5: You made it down. Congratulations :) If you're going to Gualba, then you've basically arrived. If, like me, you're going to Sant Esteve de Palautordera, then you have a longish but comfortable ride on wide trail and mostly asphalt still to go.