Refuge de l'Onda to Vizzavona
One of the best mornings on the GR20. The hike up from l'Onda is slow going at first, but the views from the ridge were among the best on the hike, especially with the amazing cloud inversion, before toppling over to the other side of the mountains, and the halfway point.
It was still dark out when I awoke. Last night the clouds had started to creep in towards the camping area, and as we slept they left condensation on everything. Good thing I'm going to a hotel today. The way up and out of the refuge was rough as we headed for the top of the nearby mountain. It was very steep, with a fog slowly rolling in and obscuring the trail but it was worth it for the views at the top.
| Distance | 7.68 mi |
|---|---|
| Elevation gain | 2,471 ft |
| Elevation loss | 4,008 ft |
| Time | 4 h 49 m |
The clouds were in abundance, and from this high vantage point I watched as they rolled over the ridge I had just come from, and the sun shone behind them, creating the best cloud inversion I had ever seen. I lingered for a good amount of time, staring, and watching.
The rest of the way up the trail to todays high point wasn't too bad, but the descent on the other side was another story. The descent was really steep, and it felt like my ankles were being twisted this way and that. I had to traverse extremely smooth rock for a while, before then jumping from large boulder to large boulder when the trail reached a point where it turned downwards. It went on like this for quite a while, but luckily the descent eventually flattened out and the rest of the way was through forests.
This was the easiest walk so far. After the descent was done the forested part was so easy, and everntually the trail merged with a forest preserve, which had nice wide and luxurious gravel trails. It was so easy in fact that I arrived at 10:45 am, and I had to wait three hours before the room would be ready. I went to a local bar in town (which was really just a grouping of 5 or so buildings and a train station) for drinks and snacks. Everything is very expensive in this tiny town, even more expensive than when at a mountain refuge.
Finally, time to do some real laundry. I laid out my gear in the hotel room so that it could air out. I took a nice long shower, and then napped. It rained while I was falling asleep, loved it! Dinner was soon, which was good because I was starving. The dinner itself was alright, nothing too fancy, but I was honestlyexpecting more from this hotel. And they have breakfast at 7:00 am so it'll be a late start to the trail for me, but that's ok because it's only 5 hours tomorrow.