Auberge U Vallone to Hotel Castel di Vergio
Gentle forest paths and alpine-style pastures quickly lead back up to the rocky mountains before making a U-turn at the top and heading back downhill for the rest of the day, with the Mediterranean Sea on the right.
Today would be easier than yesterday, as I filled myself up with a breakfast of hot chocolate, and bread-n-butter. I was able to move quite fast today as we left the Auberge. The trail went along a rocky trail as it curved its way through the trees around us, and provided lots of lookout points for us to enjoy the large expansive forested valley below. Several trees littered the ground, as we crossed over small rivers fed by waterfalls.
| Distance | 9.72 mi |
|---|---|
| Elevation gain | 3,071 ft |
| Elevation loss | 3,098 ft |
| Time | 6 h 8 m |
About 30 minutes later the trail turned from dirt to rock and began ascending up the steep mountainside as I took more frequent breaks on the way up. Luckily my knees were still doing great, but one of the knee pads' velcro was starting to fail.
About halfway up we stopped at a large waterfall and filled up our bottles, and soaked our hats in the ice-cold water. Such a refreshing feeling!
We made it to the top of the col, and finished the hardest part of the trail today by 9:00 am. Amazingly the Mediterranean Sea is still visible from these high-up points. There is a refuge up here called Refuge Miori and we stopped there to take a break. I had my first Orangina sugary drink, like a Fanta they say, but on steroids. Regardless, it was delicious and gave me a nice boost of energy.
The trail coming down from Refuge Miori was relatively easy. It was mostly dirt, and had a nice easing slope to it. We passed a pair of cows chilling in the bushes as we made our way down. Near the bottom I paused and looked back, wow, such an amazing sight seeing how far we'd come in just 60 minutes.
Up ahead were a series of cascading waterfalls, and one of these cascading areas had a large flat rocky entrance, which we decided to take full advantage of and stripped down to our underwear and went swimming in. Oh man was it cold, but such a refreshing feeling!
As we continued on our way a herd of goats led by their owners started coming down a steep mountainside and onto the trail. We were delayed for a short while and had to move slowly as the goats made their way, and their owners tried to herd them away.
After passing the goats we crossed a bridge and about 10 minutes later came to a small food stand that was selling cheese-filled pancakes and lasagna. We grabbed a table in the shade and treated ourselves to some of those cheese-filled pancakes, and they were delicious!
We continued on through lush green forests and I ended up speeding through parts of the trail. Once at the hotel we settled in and busted out a deck of cards to pass the time.
I bought some flip flops at the hiker shop for wearing around camp. The ones I had brought with me weighed nothing and were super thin, which was great for keeping my pack weight down, but they were too thin for walking around on this rough terrain at the campsites.
This was the biggest and most delicious dinner of the trip so far. Steak with fries and egg salad, and dessert!
Tomorrow promises to be the easiest day so far, but we'll see...