The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

The High Peaks of the Balkans

This past week I took an amazing trekking journey through four Balkan countries: Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia, standing on the highest point of each.  Starting the week in Albania our KE group summited its tallest peak, Mount Korab (2764 m, 9068 ft), located on the border between Albania and Macedonia. Next we headed to Kosovo,  recently independent from Serbia, spending a night in the historic Ottoman trading center of Gjakova.  Starting a three-day trek the next morning, we climbed Mount Gjeravica (2656m), Kosovo’s highest peak and the second highest in the Dinaric Alps range, one of the most rugged and extensively mountainous areas of Europe.  After Kosovo we cross-border trekked between Albania and Montenegro through a remote and wild landscape before finishing our adventure by summiting the highest point in Montenegro, Zla Kolata (2534m), on the Albanian border. More alpine in aspect than the other peaks, it was also a bit of a scramble with a (mild) knife edge traverse to the summit.  Early the final morning we took a ferry along the length of Lake Koman in northern Albania, enjoying this amazing gorge before returning to our starting point in the capital of Tirana.  Truly a wonderful trip with some culture and a lot of history thrown in.

Vista of the lower portion of our ascent route on Mt Korab
Grass of Parnassus. I also saw this flower in the Val d’Aosta in Italy, but wasn’t able to get a good photo
Our guide, Dritan, on the Mt Korab ascent. Only 24 years old, it is his first year as a head guide.
Looking Southeast into Macedonia from the col before Mt Korab’s summit ridge
Atmospheric view Northeast into Macedonia from the summit of Mt Korab (2764m), the high point of both Albania and Macedonia
Our group summit photo on Mt Korab. Amazingly, we all made it to the top despite the heat and various individual issues
Detail of a Cobweb Houseleek. I know there was a photo of these in my last post, but I think they’re cool looking.
An interesting unidentified pink flower
Likely Willow Gentians
Mt Gjeravica, Kosovo’s high point (2656m) from near our trailhead, the start of a three day trek
The Vagabond Hiker on Mt Gjeravica’s summit with the Albanian flag.  Interetingly, the American flag was also there.
Aptly named Heart Lake, seen during the steep descent from Mt Gjeravica
An unidentified pink orchid
A few of the huts in the seasonal hamlet of Doberdol (1791m)
Our horsemen removing some of our luggage at the primitive Doberdol shepherd hut where we stayed one night
Some chill Doberdol sheep. One we named Bob Marley.
Likely a Greek Stream Frog, seen on our hike to the village of Ceremi
Mountain view on our trek to Ceremi, where we stayed in a basic guest house without electricity
Dianthus, possibly sylvestris (Wood Pinks)
Some of our group ascending Zla Kolata, the high point in Montenegro
Will and Geoff on Zla Kolata’s summit ridge
Zla Kolata summit vista. The day was cloudy but fortunately the rains held off until that evening after dinner in our camp.
A view down to the Valbona Valley, the final descent of our trek
A view of Lake Koman from our ferry

I am back in Italy now, preparing to head off tomorrow morning for five days climbing Via Ferratas and four nights enjoying rustic Italian cuisine in mountain rifugios. Until next post,

Happy Trails,

The Vagabond Hiker

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

Trekking and climbing in the Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru

How does one even begin to describe the wonderful two weeks we spent in the Cordillera Huayhuash?  My friend Bob organized a group of hiking and canyoneering friends from St George Utah for this trek with the company Peruvian Andes Adventures. Our group of nine clients was very ably supported by a head mountaineering guide, a fantastic cook, and two assistant cooks who also helped as porters.  Most of the group equipment and personal kit was carried on 23 donkeys, managed by four muleteers.

The trek was a roughly clockwise circuit of the Cordillara Huayhuash, several hours drive from the mountain town of Huaraz (itself a 7 hour bus journey from Lima).  After two days of acclimatization hikes near Huaraz, we headed up into the Huayhuash. In addition to 10 actual trek days, we had three rest days where we spent two consecutive nights at the same camp. Most of us went on short out and back hikes on our three rest days. Four of us also traversed Diablo Mudo on day 13, a relatively straightforward rock and snow climb with inclines of up to about 45 degrees.

The following photos try to convey some of the sublime grandeur and beauty of the Peruvian Andes. I tried to be very selective in choosing only the most interesting photos, but as you’ll soon realize, that was not an easy thing to do. They are in strict chronological order.

Mountain view from my hotel room in Huaraz. The usual starting point for trekking in the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash, it is easily the largest city in this part of Peru, with more than 100,000 inhabitants.
Lago and Nevada Churup, our second acclimatization hike in the Cordillera Blanca near Huaraz
Our lunch spot on day 1, en-route to Llamac, our trailhead where we would start trekking the following day.
Cantua buxifolia, a sacred flower to the Incas and the national flower of Peru
View in the mist, day 2, Llamac Valley
Day 3 vista from near Cacanan Punta, our first high pass
Misty view on the afternoon of day 3
Lupines in the mist, day 3
Two of our group, Marie and Jimmy, above a lake on day 3

 

Likely Gentianella hirculus
Day 3 view of Laguna Mitucocha from our camp
Day 3 view of Nevada Ninashanca from camp
A panorama I stitched together above Laguna Carhuacocha on day 4 with Yerupaja (c) and Siula Grande (l) of Touching the Void fame providing the backdrop
Morning light at our camp at Laguno Carhuacocha on day 5, the first “rest” day. Yerupaja is on the left here.
Three lakes view under Siula Grande and Yerupaja, giants of the Huayhuash, day 6. At 6,617 meters, Yerupaja is the 2nd highest mountain in Peru.
The Vagabond Hiker at Siula Punta (4830m)
Our campsite at Huayhuash
Some of our 23 donkeys on day 7. The pyramidal mountain is Nevada Cuyoc
In the thermal baths. After a week on trek they were much appreciated!
Gentiana sedifolia, day 8
Nevada Cuyoc
A mushroom rock formation, reminiscent of Utah
Hypochearis sessiliflora
View with yellow-flowered shrub and cactus
Local girls at Huanacpatay camp
Our Huanacpatay campsite
Our group at Santa Rosa pass (5030 m), day 9. This was our highest pass of the trek.
An Andean condor near Santa Rosa pass. Admittedly not a good picture of this magnificent and iconic bird. . .
Siula Grande and its namesake glacier, day 10. We were near the climbers’ base camp on the West side of the mountain (previous photos were from the East side) on this 2nd “rest” day.
Waterfall near Cutatambo camp
Red flowers, possibly Bomarea, near the waterfall
A Lupinus mutabilis (aka Andean lupine) forest, on the morning of day 11
Salvia striata
Orecocereus cactus flower
A rushing stream on day 11 as we headed down towards Huayllapa village.
Huayllapa village. Apart from Llamac at the start and finish, this was the low point and the only village we saw on the trek, at only 3,600 meters (10,800 ft)!
Calceolaria Integrifolio (aka baby booties)
Oxalis adenophylla (aka silver shamrock) detail, day 12
A thorny Chuquiragua shrub (“flower of the Andes”) and mountain backdrop
Climbing a high ridge on Diablo Mudo, day 13. We started at 3 AM and this photo was taken about 6:30 AM when we were still almost 2 1/2 hours from the summit.
Dawn view high on Diablo Mudo
Our rope team (minus our guide) on the summit of Diablo Mudo, 5350 meters (17,650 ft). Four of us made this optional climb, which was a 10 1/2 hour day.
Celebrating on the summit of Diablo Mudo with our guide Marco
A cushion plant (Asteraceae) seen on the descent from Diablo Mudo
Tephrocactus floccosus cactus in flower, day 14
A Polylepis tree with semi-parasitic pupa shrub flowers
A gnarled polylepis tree
Ferns in a cave by Laguna Jahuacocha on rest day 14
Laguna Jahuacocha view
The lower portion of a waterfall near our final camp
Our final camp, days 14 and 15
Sunset from my tent on day 14. On the following day we hiked back to Llamac, a relatively easy 8 miles.

Tonight I fly back to London from Lima, Peru for a few days of R&R before my trip to Italy next week where I’ll be hiking and (possibly) climbing in the Mont Blanc (or, as the Italians say, Monte Bianco) region.  Until my next blog post, happy trails!

The Vagabond Hiker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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