My plan was to
return to Sassalbo and take a footpath that connects a series of villages right
under the crest of the Apennines. But when I got to a high point along the road
I could see that Tuscany was covered by
a thick layer of cloud which was oozing through the various mountain
passes.
Passo Praderena seemed to be clear, so I changed direction
and destination. At a few kilometres from
the pass, the road was closed due to a landslide. So I had to turn back towards Ligonchio.
Plan three: Val Ozola
near Ligonchio,RE.
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| Val Ozola,Ligonchio,RE |
A long narrow road
leads up to a hydroelectric plant built in the 1920’s called Presa Alta. Val
Ozola is a very steep sided valley and the road is for long stretches almost on
a cliff face with hardly any protection, one must just keep looking ahead.
The footpath from
here leads gently up the valley along a forest road, the day was still nice and
the play of light on the bare beech trees was fascinating.
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| Beech trees Val Ozola, Ligonchi,RE |
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| Beech trees Val Ozola, Ligonchi,RE |
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| Beech trees Val Ozola, Ligonchi,RE |
At a certain point the path up to Rifugio
Battisti leaves the road and one faces a stiff climb up to Lama Lite.
Just when I got
near to the top the weather changed and the valley was filled with cloud. After
a damp lunch at the closed refuge I turned back taking the path to Rifugio
Bargetana and the new “Sentiere Glenda”, a path nice to go downwards, but very
steep to climb, down to the start of the forest road.
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| Beech trees Val Ozola, Ligonchi,RE |
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| Val Ozola, Ligonchi,RE |
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| Val Ozola, Ligonchi,RE |
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| Val Ozola, Ligonchi,RE |
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| Val Ozola, Ligonchi,RE |
It was just one of
those days in the mountains when everything goes wrong, I even managed to get
cramps in my legs.
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