Rubber Slippers In Italy

Whatever special quality it is about Ornica - the remote location, the mountain backdrop, the rustic chalets dotting the hillside or a combination of everything - but everytime we've gone there I look forward to a return even before we leave. Just 50 km north of Bergamo, the area maintains a quiet charm that embraces life at a slower pace, an existence entirely in rhythm with the seasons. We did this hike 2 weeks ago during a period of great fall weather. The most direct route from Ornica to Val d'Inferno is a steep climb (trail 106) following along the stream that runs down the mountain. The easier option is the agricultural access road (vehicles of residents/farmers only) - it's longer, but the views open up wide as you go on. In the trail map above, the thicker line is the access road from the village. Parking available in a small lot after the chapel. There are a couple of tree-lined shortcuts from the parking, the first one being just after the water fountain ...

As the main focus of this site is to promote the beauty of the northern italian lake areas, the following article and images comes from Chiara who manages the blog Italy Lakes.net. Welcome to Lake Como Lake Como is one of largest and the most well-known of northern Italy's lakes. Thanks to its beauty, the diversity of its landscapes and its mild summers and winters, the Como area is a favorite destination for tourists from all over Northern Europe. Among the most famous of Lake Como's localities is undoubtedly Cernobbio. A popular holiday resort at the foot of Mount Bisbino, Cernobbio is also well-known for its numerous elegant and luxurious villas, the most famous of which is Villa d'Este. As well as Villa d'Este, must-visits in the area around Cernobbio include Villa Erba, Villa Pizzo, Villa Fontanelle, and Villa Bernasconi. Then there are the Buco della Volpe – Fox Hole – and Zocca d’Ass caves. Last but not least, there is the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary...

Long hikes at what is probably the best time of year are sadly lacking as we busy ourselves with preparing the garden for winter, but sometimes the actual reason is that weekends are often entirely rained out. In current weather events, the peninsula has been hit with heavy rainfall, bringing much difficulty and terribly tragic circumstances in certain areas around the country. So far we've had no problems or warnings in the chestnut forest, and it's insane to think that just a week ago we were hiking under serene italian skies on our first fall outing. From Alpe Giumello (Casargo, LC): this is a relatively easy 2.5 hour loop trail that rambles around the base of Monte Muggio. There are a few tracts that need to be scrambled up or down carefully so I wouldn't suggest attempting this in winter or early spring when ice or snowmelt makes the trail extremely dangerous. We've gone sledding here in winter when everything was covered in deep snow, but now that we've s...

A hunk of bread, a wedge of aged sheep's cheese, a couple canteens of water and some fruit. I regret not being able to share a more thorough and detailed trail description but this was more for practice and not for the lofty views. Ever since the movie The Way , we both had to know what one 20 kilometer day (12+ miles) would feel like if we were to embark on, at most, the 40-day 800 kilometer Camino de Santiago in Spain. That's a lot of walking. I think I would get real skinny if I missed a meal. Lecco's mountains are covered in so many up-and-down trails that all you need do is get to any village above the lake. We started at an altitude of 670 meters and walked up another 762 to the top of Monte Tesoro in Valcava. That's a height difference of 2500 feet, 8 kilometers and 2.5 hours at a steady pace with Maddie and Mr B in tow. From there we made a loop trip back down, stopping often to munch on vittles and to take a look around. Altogether a total of 23 kilom...

Why do weekends with perfect weather always have to be so short? This past Saturday and Sunday was the one that anybody with a pulse has been wanting for a long time, the weekend with ZERO rain, no snowfall and nothing but blue skies all around. We had the intention of hiking around the base of Monte Muggio, a 3-hour loop trail that begins from the parking area at località Alpe Giumello, but ice on the trail made it a dangerous gamble. If we had been able to get to the very top of Monte Muggio it would have afforded us a spectacular panorama with Bellagio jutting out in the middle of the lake. Even if a good, long hike was out of the question, there was plenty of wide open space to go for a stroll. We walked the dogs out on the flat plains on the eastern side of Giumello, all of which were covered in a thick layer of packed snow. In less than 30 minutes time we had built up enough of an appetite for a quick lunch at Ristoro Genio, a cozy little bar and restaurant serving hot meal...

It's just a little thing really, but when a staff member from a periodical for Italy's Alpini requested permission to reprint one of my blog entries, I had no idea how surprised, and I have to admit, a little bit sheepish I'd feel after seeing my Tasi e Tira article taking up half the space on page 12. I just received my copy in the mail. The entry was posted over a year ago but through the vast reaches of the internet it goes to show what nice things can happen when you try to immerse yourself in a culture not your own. Perhaps the word "immerse" is rather modest as I like to jump right into the middle of things and get up close and personal. What tickles me the most is that this blog started off as a way of amusing myself (and expanding my knowledge of the country's cuisine), but getting published...whoa! It's like icing on the cake! Click to view large

We really couldn't have asked for more on this particular outing. The trail in Val Vertova is full of beautiful scenes like this, where you have the option of taking it easy all the way to the end or stopping in an idyllic spot to soak up the sun. I've never seen perfectly tanned boobs in full display until this hike, but with such an inviting environment, why the heck not? View larger map To get to the starting point: from Vertova, follow Via Cinque Martini until località Lacni. Instead of following the right bend in the road, take the left for about 300 meters until the parking lot (B). If it's full, space is available at the headquarters of Gruppo Alpinistico Vertovese (GAV) a hundred meters going back and across the stream (A), but only if the gates are open. It takes about an hour to reach the end of the trail. For a challenge, head up the n.527 that climbs the left just before reaching the end. It quickly leads back down to the river then continues into drier...

Val Viola offers a long but gentle ascent that leads toward the Swiss border. Situated in the upper reaches of the province of Sondrio, the half pavement/half dirt road running along the length of the valley is popular with people of all ages and fitness levels. We hiked here about a week and a half ago when it was still peak season, and there were mountain bikers pedaling up the path as well. An alpine rifugio /mountain hut (C) awaits hungry appetites at the very end (you can barely make it out in the image above), but we cut the 8km distance down to a little over 7 as soon as we reached the lake. Alternatively you can also avoid walking the whole 8km and hitch a jeep ride from the starting point for 2€ in one direction. It'll drop you off halfway (B) when the service is available, which might be a good idea for tenderfoots. View larger map Starting in Arnoga (A) at the sharp bend fronting Hotel Li Arnoga, follow the pavement into the woods. The trail is pretty obvious, c...

Monte San Primo. Agile hikers aren't the only ones to climb up here in summer because the tell-tale aroma of ovine and caprine droppings invaded our nostrils long before reaching the top. Our intent was to go up then return on the mainly forested trail (right side of photo) that commences behind Rifugio Martina, but the ascent is so steep (average 14% grade) that I wasn't too keen on going back down through the bug-infested environment again. The top photo was taken looking back at S. Primo as we descended to connect with sentiero 1 and continue on a loop trail to the starting point. For those who may have ended up here for trails near Bellagio, take a look at this site to see what the fuss is all about and tell me that ain't gorgeous (scroll to bottom). Unfortunately, it was a hazy experience for us this past Sunday and thus the wait continues until a clear weekend comes along. In the meantime I've set our hiking goals to explore more of the area that is just ...

Pizzino (24 miles north of Bergamo) to Fraggio (light blue line) This to be more of a stroll because all it involves is less than 30 minutes of putting one foot in front of the other. The trail begins from Agriturismo Il Pavone in Pizzino that continues on a dirt path passing their farm, and the point of interest here is an ancient (15th century?) church - Chiesetta San Lorenzo - which sits amidst rural surroundings. So rural, in fact, that after I took the photo below and walked around the church, I returned to see a cow in the exact same spot where I had been only minutes before. Getting to Pizzino is a pleasure in itself as the road through Val Taleggio follows along a deep gorge that has no shortage of cascading water during spring. There is "the Rock fountain" in particular that sits on the side of the road as a sort of ambassador to the valley. To find it via gps coordinates: 45.887303, 9.604591 Google maps

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,...