The call of the mountains was just too strong this week.
Thursday was forecasted as being a nice day, so I decided work could wait for a day.
I decided to do an area of the Cento Laghi park next to
the Lagastrello Pass.
Leaving the car half way up the road that leads to Prato
Spilla(PR) I took the forest road that leads up to Lago Verdarolo . The lake
takes its name from the green colour caused by the reflection of the trees all
around the lake.
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| Lago Verdarolo, Prato Spilla, PR |
Next stop was Lago Scuro.
This lake dries up in the summer to reveal fossilised tree trucks on its bed.
When I got there, the lake was still full of water. This
small lake is a magical place. I stopped to watch the Crested Newts swimming
amongst the submerged grass.
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Scura, Prato Spilla, PR |
Now it was time to push onwards and upwards to the
“Crinale” . The poorly marked path rises very steeply from the lake 300 Metres
to Passo Sasseda and then to Monte Malpasso ( pass badly in
English).
All of a sudden one emerges from the forest to find
oneself on a narrow crest. The day was misty, but on a clear day the view must
be fantastic. The alpine flowers are now
in full bloom and this year’s grass in beginning to grow.
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| Monte Malpasso, Passo Lagastrello,MC |
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| Monte Malpasso, Passo Lagastrello,MC |
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| Monte Malpasso, Passo Lagastrello,MC |
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| Viola Calcarata, Monte Malpasso, Passo Lagastrello,MC |
After following the narrow crest I took the footpath along a crest leading to Lago
Palo. With lake Palo far below, how will the footpath down to the lake be i
thought. Then it became evident. A gap
in the crest
Revealed a footpath dropping down steeply down to the lake.
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| Lago Palo, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Down to Lago Palo, Prato Spilla, PR |
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| Lago Palo, Prato Spilla PR |
To close the circle I dropped down to Prato Spilla and
then back up a recently maintained footpath back up to lake Verdarolo and down
to the car.
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| Lago Palo, Prato Spilla PR |
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| Lago Palo, Prato Spilla PR |
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| Lago Palo, Prato Spilla PR |
The weather was not as good as I expected, but I had a
nice stress free day.
It was my first all day hike with my new camera system.
Especially on the climb up to Monte Malpasso the weight reduction of this new kit was appreciated. With the low
cost of “last years” 4/3 cameras it also
becomes feasible to have a body for each of the 3 lenses I carry, reducing the
risk of getting dust on the sensor whilst changing lenses on a windy mountain.
