The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Flowers and Ferratas (and a few hikes) around Lago di Garda

Before you shake your head at another post from Northern Italy, this last month was the earliest in the season by far that I’d been hiking and climbing there. The wildflowers were stupendous and featured many I hadn’t seen before, at least in Italy. Add in some ferratas that I hadn’t done from my last visit to Lago di Garda in 2019 and I definitely thought it was worthy of another blog post. I hope you agree.

Torrente Barbarano, seen during my approach to Via Ferrata (VF) Spigola della Bandiera. This rather short and boring ferrata was the one I climbed while I was located on the southwest side of Lago di Garda for 2 days waiting for my Arco-area apartment to be ready. (The southern 2/3rds of the lake is in Lombardy and has completely different geology from the northern third, in Trentino. Definitely stay in the north if you’re visiting the area).
The Rifugio Pirlo allo Spino above VF Spigola della Bandiera. No decent photos of the ferrata were possible as it was highly vegetated. I was the only one here as the main access road was closed much of that day due to the Giro d’Italia bike race passing through.
Torrente Toscolano, Valle delle Cartiere, near my hotel. Paper mills from this valley flourished in the 15th and 16th centuries as the major supplier of paper to Venice.
Dark Columbine (Aquilegia atrata). Absolutely stunning.
Castello d’Arco. With some friends from St George, I visited the castle as part of a day of nearby ferratas and scrambles.
Poppy field, Castello d’Arco
Burning-bush (Dictamnus albus)
The amazing “Garda View” apartment in Gavazzo (Tenno), where I stayed for 5 weeks. The upper left balcony on the near house was mine.
Riva and Lago di Garda from my balcony in the morning light
Goats on Monte Misone. The hike to the summit of this nearby peak was one of four I did as warm ups for Mount Toubkal (see my previous post).
Coral peony (Paeonia mascula)
Trumpet gentian (Gentiana acaulus). One of my faves. I’ve shared photos of this species before.
Cave Alte, Troiana. A nearby marble quarry that supplied much statuary marble. It fascinated me how they dug out these galleries from which they hauled the marble down to the valley near Arco.
Cima d’Oro, Lago di Ledro vista. Another Toubkal warmup.
World War I trench on Cima d’Oro
Alpine pasque flower (Pulsitilla alpina). I finally saw the flower! Later in the season all I ever saw were the distinctive seed pods.
Early purple orchid (Orchis mascula). First of four orchids you’ll see in this post. . .
Balm-leaved archangel (Lamium orvale). I’ve seen another species of archangel in Hastings, England.
View to the north from Croce (cross) di Ceniga, taken on another hike nearby Arco, to the summit of Monte Colt.
Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis). Aptly named.
Monte Stivo summit view towards the Brenta Dolomites, with globe flowers and buttercups. Monte Stivo, northeast of Lago Garda, is a very popular hike. Even on a weekday I saw many people on my descent.
Cima di Rocca. This ferrata I did was an extended version of one my my favorites, Cima Capi, documented in my 2019 Lago di Garda post.
Part of an extensive WWI tunnel complex in Cima Rocca
Chiese di San Giovanni, on the descent from Cima Rocca. I’m not sure this church holds many services anymore.
Dane’s Blood bell-flower (Campanula glomerata). I saw many species of bell-flower this past month, but I’ve posted photos of most before, but not I think this one.
Cascata di Ballino, at the start of VF Signora delle Acque. This ferrata essentially climbs the waterfall. How cool is that?
Looking down the Cascata di Ballino, VF Signora delle Acque. Yes, I am attached to ferrata cables!
Giro di tre Cime, Monte Bondone. The three peaks are all visible here; right to left: Cornetto, dos Abramos, and Verde. The wildflowers were amazing on this hike, which started at a much higher elevation (about 1500m) than most, a wise choice on this hot day.
Fragrant orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea)
Orange lily (Lilium bulbiferum)
Paradise lily (Paradisea liliastrum). I also saw Bruno’s and St. Bernard’s lilies this past month, but they all look similar so I’m posting only this one.
Monte Cornetto on the Giro di tre Cime hike. Cornetto is Italian for croissant. I also saw signs saying “Cornet,” which is French for horn. It resembles neither a croissant nor a horn to me.
Velvetbells (Bartsia alpina)
Dos Abramos, seen from the col between that peak and Cima Verde. It transpired that to reach the summit and descend the other side required following a path with cables (i.e., a Via Ferrata). I had no gear with me, but fortunately those two short sections were not too difficult or exposed.
Globe orchid (Traunsteinera globosa). Another aptly-named orchid.
Monte Casale at dawn, from the Pietramurata parking lot where I started the VF Che Guevara. While only technically moderate, this ferrata is very long and gains about 1400m in elevation. The dawn start was essential to beat the heat as the wall faces southeast.
A view northeast towards Lago Toblino on the ascent of VF Che Guevara. I mentioned in a previous post that around Lago Toblino are found the northern-most olive trees in the world.
Monte Casale summit plateau, end point of VF Che Guevara. The vertical world I’s spent the last four hours in suddenly changed to an alpine meadow!
Cima Tosa (3,136m) and the Brenta Dolomites from Monte Casale summit plateau. I previously posted on a ferrata trip I took in the Brenta Group in 2018. This fantastic day in the mountains was a fitting culmination to my month in Italy.

Although I’m back in Windsor, England, settled into my cozy (read: small) casita, tomorrow I depart for the Causasus for three weeks, split about equally between Armenia and Georgia. One piece of luggage still hasn’t arrived from Italy, so yesterday I spent about $700 buying replacement gear. Oh, well, the price of traveling. In a month or so I’ll post some photos from hikes and treks in those two countries, long on my bucket list.

Enjoy your summer!

The Vagabond Hiker

European town & country walks (and a few hikes)

In reviewing my photos from this past summer, I realized there were quite a few that had been excluded from the limited blog topics chosen. This miscellaneous blog post is meant to remedy that shortcoming, and highlights some of the wonderful cities’ Old Towns as well as a few interesting hikes that had slipped between the cracks.

The Town Walks

There is no better way to see the Old Town of nearly any European city than simply to walk around it. Rarely have I found that a morning perambulating has not yielded great rewards. . .

Sofia, Bulgaria City Garden, near the Grand Hotel Sofia where I stayed for 3 nights waiting for my luggage. . .
Church of St. George, Sofia, the oldest building in the city, began in the 4th century as Roman baths.
The iconic St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia
My favorite building in Sofia, the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker
Krakow main square panorama from my breakfast table. Normally jammed, the square was nearly empty at 7:30 Sunday morning. Staying on the main square was wonderful – and quiet – since my hotel room was in the back.
Night view of St. Mary’s Basilica, Krakow, Poland
Vltava River view, Prague, with the cathedral and castle. Two mornings spent walking around Prague were very enjoyable, and being mid-week it was not as crowded as I had feared.
Astronomical clock, Prague, the oldest Astronomical clock in the world still functioning
Modern stained glass in the St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague
View from the upper part of Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.
Town hall square, Tallinn. The city seemed almost empty.
Old town wall, Tallinn
Helsinki Cathedral, Finland. I took the 2 1/2 hour ferry from Tallinn across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki. As the city was built in the 19th century from a fishing village, the town center is far more modern than most European cities.
Havis Amanda fountain, Helsinki

The Country Walks

My three days in southern Finland was for the most part spent away from Helsinki and makes a great starting point for the country walks. . .

Hotel Hanaholmen view from my window. About an hour walk from Helsinki center, but a world away.
Sculptures and the Baltic Sea, Porkkala Peninsula. I went on a guided walk in this nature reserve about 45 minutes west of Helsinki. This was part of a temporary mixed-media art exhibition.
Liesjärvi Lake, Liesjärvi National Park. Inland about 90 minutes from Helsinki I went on a second guided walk where we foraged for mushrooms.
Reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina), Liesjärvi
Dutchman’s pipe (Monotropa hypopitys), Liesjärvi

In July, I took a weekend road trip from my Val d’Aosta base across the Col du Grand St Bernard to Switzerland to watch the men play tennis in Gstaad. I of course had some time for walking.

Chateau d’Oex, Switzerland. I stayed here rather than pricey, touristy Gstaad where the men’s tennis tournament was held.
Near Chateau d’Oex, a pedestrian bridge across La Sarine River
Another view of bucolic Chateau d’Oex, from my hike ascending to Pra-Perron

More Northern Italian Hikes

Apart from the Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso (PNGP) hikes (already described in an earlier blog) I returned twice to Italy between my other trekking and traveling adventures and managed to squeeze in a few more. . .

Derelict house on the south slopes of Monte Faie, near Lago Maggiore. I stayed near the southern end of the lake for 5 days between two trips.
View of Lago Maggiore from Monte Faie summit
Ragged (Seguier’s) Pink (Dianthus seguieri), seen on Monte Faie
View of Cima Sasso (1916m) view on the descent of Monte Faie
An Ibex above the Col du Grand St Bernard. While spending a week in Aosta in early September, I did a spectacular hike: 8 miles, 6 lakes, 4 passes, and 2 countries!
A zoom photo of this old male Ibex (Capra ibex)
View towards Mt Dolent (3823m, center-left and just free of clouds) from the Col des Chevaux. The tri-point border of France, Switzerland, and Italy is 100m NW of the summit.
The 3rd of the Lacs de Fenetre near the Col du Grand St Bernard
Lago Chamole, seen on the ascent of the Punta della Valletta.
View from Cresta Nera towards Mt Blanc (in clouds). My traverse of the Punta della Valletta near Aosta was another spectacular hike in early September. This point was a short diversion on the way to the summit.
View of La Grivola from Cresta Nera. The Punta Rossa della Grivola which I climbed (see earlier post) is the left-most visible peak here.
The village of Cogne from Punta della Valletta (3090m). Amazingly, from this point I could also see the city of Aosta in the main valley.
Selfie of The Vagabond Hiker on Punta della Valletta summit
View of the knife edge traverse of Punta della Valletta
A backward look at an assisted traverse, Punta della Valletta. Despite some initial misgivings, I did this without protection.

With this blog I finally conclude my Europe 2022 adventures! Planning for the summer of 2023 when I once again will return to Europe and perhaps even Central Asia has already begun. For now, though, I am busy preparing for a two week, three country trip to the Guianas on the northern coast of South America, leaving Tuesday. That last minute trip will be the focus of my next blog post.

The Vagabond Hiker

Sardinia Walking Week

Before you say – “oh, another post from Italy”, I should make it clear that Sardi consider themselves apart from “mainland Italians,” with their distinct culture, traditions, and language. While many tourists come to Sardinia to bask on sun-drenched beaches or to emulate the sybaritic lifestyles of the glitterati on the Costa Smeralda, there exists a completely different aspect to this island. As well as helping to preserve the traditional lifestyles of the locals, the dramatic mountains and gorges of central Sardinia make for some fantastic walking, and my KE Adventures trip highlighted some of the best easier day hikes on the island.

Our group of fourteen diverse clients included eight Americans, by far the most on any of the nearly 20 KE trips on which I’ve been. In addition to four Brits, our group also had a Belgian and a Pole to give it a bit of international flavor. This was a center-based holiday where we stayed at a charming, locally-owned hotel outside the town of Dorgali, located in the center of the island, between the east coast and the Supramonte mountains. One website’s summary I think accurately describes the latter:

The Supramonte is a vast limestone plateau that extends in the province of Nuoro within the towns of Orgosolo, Dorgali, Urzulei and Baunei. It is an immense rugged and wild massif, made up of caves, forests, canyons. . . one of the wildest areas of the island. Over 500 sq km of rocks and mountains that form vertical walls, sinkholes, caves, [and] underground rivers.

https://www.perfectsardinia.com/destination/central-sardinia/supramonte/

Below are some photos I took last month. Decide for yourself whether the central Sardinia coast and mountains live up to their billing!

View of the Laniattu Valley on the Day 1 ascent where we traversed Monte Tiscale, a rather modest peak.
A gnarled juniper
The Nuragic complex of Sa Sedda e Sos Carros, a bronze age village high in the mountains. Their ancient culture was interesting, but lacking a written language means much of our knowledge of them is simply speculation.
On Day 2 our walk went from our hotel in Dorgali to Cala Ganone on the coast. Here is a view west towards Monte Corrasi (left), which would be our objective for the final day.
View of Cala Ganone and the Mediterranean Sea on Day 2.
An Autumn Crocus (Colchicum lusitanum). It was too late in the season for many flowers, but I’ll share photos of a couple we saw.
One of our (innumerable) group photos. I often felt apart from them as not many were regular hikers, causing excessive stops each day due to a lack of fitness for about half of them.
A gorgeous old juniper (Juniperus phoenicia)
Red squill (Charybdis maritima), whose blooms signal the end of summer
Coastal view on Day 3, where we hiked from Cala Ganone south along the coast to Cala Luna.
An ammonite fossil. The limestone which predominates on this portion of the island is fossil rich, though most are found away from the well-trod paths.
Spiaggia di Cala Fuili. Along with Cala Luna, access is only by either foot or boat. I won’t share any photos of Cala Luna. While beautiful, even mid week in September it was absolutely rammed with boat people. Perhaps 8 AM on a rainy December morning would be an ideal time to visit?
Monte Bardia from my hotel room balcony in Dorgali. This would be my objective on our mid-week off day.
View from the Parco del Carmelo towards Dorgali at the beginning of my ascent of Monte Bardia on Day 4.
Some of the numerous domestic goats we saw on the ascent. One other hiker joined me on this hike.
Another view of Dorgali from our ascent route
View from near Passo Ghenna di Silana on our Day 5 descent to the gorge known as Gola di Gorropu
Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) on our misty descent
With some of our group descending into the gorge
A view of Gola di Gorropu as the mist begins to clear
Entering Gola di Gorropu. There was a ticket booth as this gorge has been monetized for tourists. It provided some fun scrambling for those of us so inclined.
Day 6 was the culmination of our hiking week: the summit of Monte Corrasi, high point of the Supramonte. Here is a view of the town of Oliena on our ascent.
European yew (Taxus baccata), now a protected species in Sardinia
Monte Corrasi summit view east towards Dorgali and Monte Bardia (center)
The Vagabond Hiker on Monte Corrasi, view west
A summit pano from Monte Corrasi, also towards the west

I’ll leave the reader at our high point as the rest of the trip was literally and figuratively down hill. I caught a rather bad cold from a client that persisted for nearly two weeks and from which I am only now recovered back in St George Utah.

I do have some “odds and ends” photos from the Alps this past summer that are interesting enough (to me at least) that I will share them next month as a final blog post for 2022. Until then, enjoy the wonderful autumnal weather wherever you happen to be.

The Vagabond Hiker

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