Italy - Day 7: Monte Cervati and dark clouds

Today was a short day, because there was a big thunderstorm very close on the afternoon and I was afraid it might pour down on me. Turned out, it passed after an hour and instead of hiking in the sun, I was laying in my slented tent on a pasture...

Otherwise, it was a very relaxed day. The night was warm but I woke up to "raindrops" falling on my tent. My motivation wasn't great! Turned out, it was just the fog again and so I managed to get out of my sleeping bag at sime point, when the sun came out.

I walked to Sanza this morning, which is village on a little hill. Since I didn't feel like people, I just passed the village and looked at it from the distance.

Then I had to walk up a lot, first through pastures, later through beautiful beech forest. It seems to be s popular trail, since there were areas with benches and information panels. The peak of the day was Monte Cervati at 1899 m. Instead of hiking the Sentiero Italia and following the big signs to the peak, I walked up the last bit on a rather rudimentary trail, due to all the rocks. Seems like I applied my mottos of "choosing the harder trail" and "why easy, when you can make it complicated". At least it didn't get boring this way ;)

Near the peak there is a refugio, a chapel and some cave, but the buildings were closed and there was too much snow on the way to the cave, so I continued und on my way.

On my way down, I passed a "snow-cave". Snow and ice stay there all year round, which was used in earlier times and, for example shipped to Napolis. I had a nice lunch spot in the sun, but dark clouds were already lingering around.

Afterwards the trail went down through a nice beech forest, but quickly I was back on pastures, where I could already hear bells. Surprisingly, the bells were hanging around the neck of horses - such a nice surprise! And snother nice surprise: I followed markings for s whole over cow paths, which I hadn't expected since my gpx track would have taken me on a road. Only the newly erected fence cutting the trail was annoying.

When I was on a big road, the thunderstorm started and I rushed up the hill to find a spot on the pasture before I might get wet. As you know, this never happened... but then it was too late to keep walking, since I am close to ghe village Piaggine and everything before and after looks like even more open pastures. So I am listening to the bells around me, sliding downhill and picking ticks from my legs again.

Sanza

On Monte Cervati (1899 m)

On my way to the snow cave

Looking back

The thunderstorm is forming....