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Hiking in Fuipiano Valle Imagna (Bergamo) - part II


Replenishing the carbs: fried teriyaki-ginger chicken wings, pancit (filipino noodles), brownie triangles with visciola (sour cherry) jam, and sweet Duroni cherries from Puglia.

This is what I consider a picnic snack — food portions that weigh light in my backpack but have greater appeal than Pringles, Gatorade and store-bought energy bars. And why the food image first? Because for non-hiking readers, the rest of this post won't make much sense at all so I figured that I'd take care of the essentials first. This loop trail follows in the opposite direction from where we had hiked above Fuipiano Valle Imagna a few days earlier, and to be honest, I felt absolutely cheated when the GPS stats revealed the actual dislivello completed (difference in height from top to bottom). It was about 487 meters...only 1598 feet! It took us a brief three ½ hours total - a piece of cake worth snacking on.


Again, the trail starts at the end of via Milano but upon reaching the 2nd fork, you take a right instead of a left. Trail 579a to Tre Faggi (FAH-jee) immediately leads into shady woods before opening out onto a pasture and watering hole for cows. Soon thereafter is where we ran into a bit of trouble when the red/white marker stones led away from the main road and up into the woods again. It was clear going in until a thick layer of fallen leaves made us lose sight of the path (that would be the red hiker below), forcing us to blindly go along until we heard voices from higher up. It was almost comedic because Maddie must've thought we were on an easter egg hunt or something - yap! yap! yap! - while Mr B was pulling hard at his leash, causing the MotH to lose his balance on the leafy incline. The doxie probably knew where to go but who's to say that he wasn't onto the scent of a fox or rabbit? Fortunately it was only a small section of woods, and upon meeting the above-mentioned hikers who knew the place like the back of their hand, we were pointed in the right direction.


The Tre Faggi or Tri Fò as they are called in bergamasc dialect, are 3 large beech trees that just beg to be part of some sort of ancient legend with the looks of their gnarled branches. From here, the loop trail changes direction and connects to 571, climbing to even greater heights above the treeline. The views at the top are incredible, and there is one tricky spot where the narrow path hugs close to the side of the mountain. Eventually it ends at the statuette of the Madonna dei Canti before finally pointing the way back down to Fuipiano.



Comments

K and S said…
man, that is up high in the mountains. those images of your snacks...onolicious!
foodhoe said…
gorgeous terrain, you definitely packed a fine looking snack to enjoy with the views!
Rowena said…
Kat - and you know what would have made the whole thing complete? Taiyaki!!!! ^-^

Foodhoe - the ultimate "snack" will be the day when we bring along oysters on ice and a bottle of champagne. I'm working on upping my backpack weight a little at a time.
RONW said…
you're insane, Rowena, insane. But the snacks are divine.
I feel tired just reading about your hike! The snacks look delicious, though.
Rowena said…
RONW - I'm tellin' you, it must be something in the water and the air. I've seen 60 to 70-year olds rambling up the mountain like no big deal, and there I am thankful for not having put too much stuff in my backpack. The getting lost part...that's another story.

Welshcakes - I know that if we had Sicily's temps, no way would we even contemplate getting out. A couple years ago we were in Castelbuono in August and wanted to hike, not really putting much thought into the conditions. Our friends from Palermo thought we were nuts!
Brad Farless said…
I haven't seen any pancit quite like that. We've been eating mostly the Lucky Me instant pancit, but we have had a few home made batches. The noodles were a much thinner variety and it contained mostly seafood. Not too many vegetables. That was in Singapore though so it might have been due to a lack of ingredients.

I should start looking around more to see if there are different types available here in the Philippines. I love the stuff!
Rowena said…
Brad - read this and weep. I really had no idea that there were so many! Back home in Hawaii, there is usually the dry version or wet version (more sauce), vermicelli (rice) noodles or wheat (like the one in my pic). I'm on a mission to try them all!
Brad Farless said…
That's interesting. I didn't realize that 'pancit' is a generic term for noodles. I guess that explains why there are so many varieties. I think the kind I'm used to having is a variation on the pancit bihon.

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