The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Hikes and Flowers of the Val d’Aosta, Italy

Last month when I arrived at my AirBnb accommodation in La Salle, just down the Val d’Aosta from the famous resort town of Courmayeur, I didn’t know what to expect for the next four weeks.   I vaguely remembered Courmayeur from three years ago when I completed the somewhat grueling Ultimate Tour du Mont Blanc, hiking ten straight days while averaging 4300 ft of ascent (and descent!) each day.  (See the Slideshow page for some photos from that trek). At the time I thought a major shortcoming of the organized trek was the lack of a rest day on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. Alas, that was not in the itinerary and so I vowed to return when I had more time to explore the “sunny side” of the Alps.  This I have now done.

The first thing I discovered is that there are more than enough hikes for a lifetime in the numerous valleys and ridges radiating off the Val d’Aosta. The valleys, such as Val Ferret and Val Veny, near Mont Blanc (or Monte Bianco as they say in Italy) are more popular with tourists, including copious Tour du Mont Blanc trekkers. Further away the valleys and surrounding mountains are no less impressive but generally quieter.  The Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso (PNGP for short) consists of several valleys and ridges covering more than 170,000 acres and was the focus of several of the hikes I took. Italy’s first national park, PNGP started as the king’s private hunting reserve and was thus protected for the most part from the depredations of hunters (other than royal ones anyway) and has since provided endangered ibex for reintroduction in many other areas of the Alps. Two Cicerone guides, Mont Blanc Walks and Walking and Trekking in the Gran Paradiso, purchased for my Kindle, were invaluable.  I augmented these descriptions with two 1:25000 IGC maps, #102 and #107. These Italian maps, while very helpful with the major geographic features, were sometimes lacking in accuracy with regard to the trails.

The second thing I discovered is that this time of year is ideal for observing the flora of the region. Adapted to the harsh alpine environment and very short growing seasons, many of the flowers have been at their peak this past month.  Fully two thirds of the following photos feature the botany of the region.  With much help from the Cicerone guide Alpine Flowers and a website on Alpine flowers I managed to identify almost seventy species that I saw on my hikes (and failed to identify several more).  A link to a downloadable pdf is included at the end of this post for those who find the blog photos simply insufficient. (The power point show may also be found in the Slideshow tab above).

I hope these photos give you an idea of the beauty and diversity of the Val d’Aosta!

Rosebay Willowherb with view down to Val Grisenche, West of PNGP, on my way up to the Col du Mont
Bladder Gentians, one of several species of Gentian I saw in bloom this past month.
Black Vanilla Orchid. Its smell was more like cocoa.
Vallone di San Grato, seen on the way up to the Col du Mont on the border with France.
View back into Italy (E) from Col du Mont (2639m). Micro-spikes would have helped me here!
Clusius’s (trumpet) Gentian
Granny’s Nightcap (Aquilegia Vulgaris)
Flowered view traversing towards Col des Chavannes (2603m), above its eponymous valley. Val Veny, below Mont Blanc, is on the other side of this col.  I saw several chamois above the col, but was unable to get a good photo.
Alpine Mouse-ear growing in a crack near the Col des Chavannes.
View back down Val Savaranche towards Brueil, PNGP. Val Savaranche is one of the major valleys bisecting the park, and this hike utilized in part the old King’s Road, built to help protect the endangered ibex from hunters (other than the Royal Personage, of course).
A chamois stretching before running away, reflected in a pond high on Plan Borgnoz (2700m), PNGP. Unfortunately, I never did see any ibex.
Very distinctive Cobweb House-leeks
A Martagon Lily, one of the most beautiful flowers I saw
Mont Blanc (4810 m or 15,778 ft, the highest point in Europe outside of the Caucasus) from Punta Helbronner, 3466m. Punta Helbronner is the high station on the recently completed Monte Bianco Skyway from Courmayeur. Note the Aiguilles Noire and Blanche de Peuterey to the left. The main summit is the obvious high point toward the right side here. While in France, the high point in Italy is the summit Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (4765m), just to the left of the main summit in this photo.
Black-veined White butterfly on a primula at the Giardino Botanico Alpino Saussurea, Pavillon du Mont Frety, the intermediate stop on the Monte Bianco Skyway
Apollo butterfly on a thistle, Saussurea Botanic Garden
Goats at home in Planaval, above La Salle
Verticillate Lousewort and view looking up Val Planaval
Alpine Blues on Val Planaval. The most spectacular floral (and lepidoptera) displays were only a 15 minute drive up the side valley near my apartment.
A cool looking caterpillar, Val Planaval
Horned Rampion detail
Alpine Moon Daisy, Val Planaval
St. Bruno’s Lily, Val Planaval
Rifugio Bertone above Courmayeur on Monte della Saxe. The network of refugi can make hiking and trekking in the Alps seem most civilized. Monte della Saxe is a 3 km long whale-back ridge facing the Grandes Jorasses to the north across the Val Ferret.
Panorama of Mont Blanc from Monte della Saxe, stitched together from 8 photos. The cylindrical projection distorts the near view and Val Ferret below, and compresses everything horizontally, but a panorama is the only way to capture the whole of the massif in one photo.  The summit is the obvious high point on the left here, below which the still-mighty Brenva Glacier debouches. The Grandes Jorasses encompass the right side of the massif in this view.
Scorzonera-leaved Rampion with butterflies on Monte della Saxe
Alpine Asters and fritillaries
A flowered landscape below Col Sapin (Monte Della Saxe is off the photo to the right) with Courmayeur in the valley far below
Slender Broomrape, below Col Sapin
Meadow Clary, descending to Val Sapin
View down into Val Sapin during my hike down from the Col Sapin. Mont Blanc is seen on the right here.
The path above Rhemes Saint Georges, Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso. I never climbed Mont Blanc, but this hike was up the “little” Mont Blanc, all of 2205m (!)
A string of harebells. I took numerous photos of bellflowers, but few ever focused properly.
Two pollinators on a Woolly Thistle
Well-named Hairy Bellflowers
View down to Val Grisenche on my final hike, up to Bivacco Testafochi.
An orchid, possibly Broad Leaved Marsh. An infrequently seen beauty.
Rhaetian Alpine Poppy. Not as common as one might imagine, I only saw them on my final hike.
A bunch of Edelweiss. The rare and strictly protected iconic Alpine flower, I only saw Edelweiss on my final hike above Val Grisenche.
Maison Forte view above Val Grisenche on the way up to Bivacco Testafochi. Some of these fortifications date from the late 18th century when the locals built them to repel Napoleon’s forces.
Alpine Asters and view towards Val Grisenche, taken from near Maison Forte
Mountain Avens
Bladder Campions. I saw them everywhere and finally got a decent photo.
Panorama from Bivacco Testafochi (2695m). Val Grisenche and Lake Beauregard are about 1300 meters (4200 ft) below.  This amazing wildflower hike was on a ridge between Parco Nationale Gran Paradiso to the East and the French border to the West.
Out of order, but a good final photo: Maggie and I at Punta Helbronner with Mont Blanc behind. I was just trying to balance, but apparently having ones arms extended is reminiscent of a scene in the movie Titanic.

Here is the downloadable pdf I made of the alpine flora.

My Calendar has been updated through mid January 2019.

On Friday I leave for a one week trip to the High Peaks of the Balkans, which includes summitting the high points of three countries.  Returning to Italy, this will immediately be followed by one week climbing Via Ferratas in the Western (Brenta) Dolomites before settling down to three further weeks in the central Dolomites.  Sometime in there I hope to complete another couple blog posts on those experiences. . .

In the mean time, keep hiking – I will!

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking Romania’s Carpathian Mountains

Having less than one week to hike Romania’s Carpathian Mountains is quite a challenge.  The endless choices make selecting a few hikes seem an impossible task.  We surmounted that obstacle by choosing only local hikes within a few minutes walk or drive of our AirBnB cottage above the town of Bran.  Two major mountain ranges border the town: Piatra Criaului to the West and Becegi to the East.  The photos that I chose below were taken on during the day hikes we made this past week, with one of Bran Castle thrown in for good measure.  The spring wildflowers were in full bloom. Enjoy!

View towards the village of Simon from the ridge behind our cottage above Bran
Viola from high on the ridge behind our Bran Cottage, converted from a shepherd’s hut
Zarnesti Gorge, Piatra Craiului Park
Maggie in Zarnesti gorge. Numerous placards explained the geology and botany as well as detailing some climbing routes on the limestone cliffs.
A Yellow Wagtail in Zarnesti Gorge. It was tough to get this little guy in focus.
Bark beetle trails in pine, Zarnesti Gorge
Bran Castle, a 15 minute walk from our cottage. Perhaps the inspiration for Dracula’s castle in Bram Stoker’s novel.
Simon creek, south of Bran. A pleasant walk to the start of the climb into the Bucegi Mountains.
Alpine Meadow wildflowers, including butter cups and forget me nots, Bucegi Mountains
We emerged from a long climb through the woods into this lovely meadow in the Bucegi Mountains above Simon Valley.
Giant Chickweed, Bucegi Mountains
Spring gentian (?), Bucegi Mountains
Another Bucegi Mountains vista
Cascada Maura Dracului, Bucegi Mountains
European Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) at Cascada Maura Dracului
Another view of one of the cliffs in the Bucegi Mountains, near Cascada Maura Dracului

We are now enjoying some relaxing days in the Danube Delta, the largest wetlands in Europe, bird watching and enjoying the laid back ambience of Sulina, Romania. Next week it will be on to Peru, for an extended trek in the Cordillera Huayhuash.

Happy trails,

The Vagabond Hiker

 

 

 

 

Cornwall Circular Walks

The South coast of Cornwall has a reputation of being less rugged than the north coast, and certainly compared to the section from Westward Ho! to Padstow (see my last post), this was true.  The walks, though, were no less interesting for their more gentle character.  From my cottage near Truro in Cornwall these past two weeks I’ve done several loop walks of lengths varying from five to twelve miles or so. Other than a short walk on Bodmin Moor, all my hikes involved sections of the South West Coast Path followed by an inland return to the start point. The inland portions of the walks were generally pleasant in themselves, by streams, through woods, across meadows, and along quiet country lanes.  The Ordnance Survey (OS) Pathfinder Guide “Cornwall: Outstanding Circular Walks” was invaluable in route-finding for several of the walks.  (At 1:25,000 scale, OS maps cover the entire country with detail similar to USGS Quads). It still amazes me that Public Footpaths and Bridleways crisscross the patchwork of private lands, giving right of way to walkers throughout rural Britain.

As walking options abound within a half hour or shorter drive, I never did get further afield to more well-known spots such as Land’s End or Lizard Point.  In any event, the nearby coast of Roseland Peninsula is indistinguishable from these more famous landmarks, apart from having far fewer tourists. I chose the photos below to capture some of the variety of Cornwall’s landscapes. Enjoy!

Detail of an Early Marsh Orchid, taken near Hartland Quay on Cornwall’s north coast. I should have included this with my last post, but only now got around to identifying it…
The Hurlers, late neolithic or early bronze age stone circles, Bodmin Moor. Bodmin Moor includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall.
Granite boulders and tree, Bodmin Moor. I loved this wind-blown tree. It reminds me of Tierra del Fuego or Slope Point, the southernmost point on New Zealand’s South Island.
The Vagabond Hiker and the Cheesewring, Bodmin Moor. One of the most amazing rock formations I’ve ever encountered.  Erosion has exposed these stacked granite slabs over the millennia. I got this shot on the first attempt with my timer!
Houseman’s engine house, Bodmin Moor. After farming, mines were the largest employers in this area during the 19th century when this structure was built.
Carne Beach, a few miles south of my Airbnb cottage in Tregony. Red Campion was ubiquitous this past month in both Cornwall and North Devon.
The 19th century John Nash-designed Caerhays Castle and grounds, near Carne Beach
Picturesque Portloe from the South West Coast Path, Roseland Peninsula
Low tide view from near St Mawes looking across the Carrick Roads to Falmouth, the third deepest natural harbor in the world.
Gorgeous wild Gladiolus along the coast path near Boswinger on the Roseland Peninsula
Vault Beach at low tide, looking to Dodman Point, the highest headland on the south Cornwall coast, at 374 ft.
Foxgloves and gorse at Dodman Point.
Chapel Point and (private) beach.  This is one of the most amazing private estates in Cornwall, with 270 degree water views.
A profusion of wildflowers and a classic sailing boat along the coast path near Chapel Point
View from the hamlet of St Anthony across the Percuil River to St Mawes
The wonderfully overgrown St Anthony’s graveyard and church
St Anthony light and sailing boat in the haze (zoom). Definitely not good conditions for photography, but this vista captures what I always thought Cornwall looked like.
View from St Catherine’s Point to Fowey (left)
Flowers making their home in the ruins of St Catherine’s Castle, built by Henry VIII in 1540
The Saints’ Way at its southern end near Fowey, with some Rhododendrons still in bloom. To avoid Lands End, religious pilgrims from Ireland would walk across mid Cornwall from Padstow south to Fowey, before re-embarking.
An impressive beech along the Saints’ Way in the Covington Woods, Fowey

On Monday Maggie and I are off to Bucharest. We will spend two weeks there, divided between the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania and the Danube Delta, with one day in the capital city of Romania.  Until next post, keep hiking and enjoying nature!

The Vagabond Hiker

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