10agosto

Trek Alpi Marittime 2010

Last year we hiked the valleys to the West, this year we covered the valleys to the East in the Alpi Marritime

Day 1[ 2 August 2010]: Great weather
departing from San Giacomo Entrcque and
heading up, south toward theFrench border,
through the Vallone del Gesso della Barra.
This is the same trail that 600 Jews, from all
over Europe took in September 1943, but
heading north instead and trying to get to the
last little safe haven in Europe, which was in
Italy and not occupied by the Germans.
Unfortunately, the Germans took Cuneo that
same month and rounded up all the
foreigners in the area (more than half of the
original 600), some managed to escape
being found and were hidden by the local
farmers. The rest were captured and placed
in a make shift concentration camp nearby
until they could be taken to Auschwitz. Only
12, of the original 349, survived.

It only took us a few hours to arrive at Rifugio
Soria Elenna (1840 meters)

[Right: Rifugio Soria-Elena behind us]

Day 2 [3 August 2010]: Departing from Rif.
Soria-Elenna to San Giacomo Engraque and
then UP (again) to Rif. Pagari through the
valley parallel to the last one; Vallone di
Monte Colomb. There is a (shorter) route
between the two rifugi without having to go
all the way down but there is also an ice field
and we didn't have crampons and we don't
Zaven to be in unnecessarily risky situations,
so we decided the long way would be better.
It was 2 hours down to San Giacomo and
then another 6.5 hours and over 1000
meters UP to Rif. Pagari. No one gives a shit
about beautiful views after hiking for 8.5
hours. We were BEAT. We finally arrived
where a hippie like dude, who totally
smacked of my Uncle Kenny of
evading-the-draft-going-to-Canada fame -
long freaky beard, but handsome
underneath, was the proprietor of Rif.
Pagari. It was amazing, tucked between the
steep and barren peaks and surrounded by
majestic rock walls, very high at 2665
meters, very basic and very BIOlogical -
Uncle Kenny just could not stop talking (to
anyone who was listening) about how he has
a BIOLOGICAL farm and his wife slaves
away with the bio garden and then ports the
goods up to the rifugio - making us all feel
guilty with our synthetic non earth friendly
fibered mountain gear and not fair trade
friendly peanut and raisin trailmix. Zaven, our
amazing non complaining kid, immediately
laid down and went to sleep until our very
healthy, biological and tasty dinner was
served.

Day 3: Rifugio Pagari to San Giacomo - we saw tons of
stambecci (mountain goats - right and below - so cute but
not cuddly), marmots and a million types of Alpen
butterflies and wild flowers and it only took us 4 hours to
get down and back to our car...and eventually our house,
beds and normal toilet.

We left the Serole house keys with crazy cacklin' farmer
Rosanna and asked her to watch Baci - she took him out
for walks with her mean dog Leo, fed him and let him
back in the house so at night he could be comfortable
sleeping in our vacant beds while we were sleeping with
12 strangers in dormitory conditions. I tried to pay her
and she refused and said someday she might ask me a
favor...I was thinking of the mortician in The Godfather
and then she said, "I might ask you to feed my chickens."
I made her and Franco lunch and a cake and will be
indebted waiting for the "feed the chickens request"