Day 172: The Hills Are Calling

Near Monte Ronzone to Monte Telegrafo

Distance: 45km

A nice morning, an even better late afternoon. Everything in between is to forget. That sums up today pretty much.

The day starts with a bit of up and plenty of down. I leave E1, which is not really marked anyway, and follow the trail 203 to Vignole. Saves me a 4km roadwalk. No idea, why E1 is not taking this route.

Vignole is down in the valley, where I cross the Scrivia to Arquata Scrivia. Another depressing town but it's full of supermarkets. Being Saturday morning, they are crawling with people. Being Italy, people combine shopping with socializing in the aisles. It's a mess. Two hours and two supermarkets later, I am finally on my way again. With food for six days and six liters of water, my pack is painfully heavy. 

There's not much along the trail when it comes to food. When I run out of it, I have to go off trail for resupply. I consider six days worth of food as a good amount. Gives me some time away from the hustle and bustle and after six days I need to recharge my battery pack anyway. 

And for the water, well, I rather play it safe in the beginning. Running out of water with these temperatures is not that cool. 

Anyway, with a heavy pack I fight my way back up into the hills of the Apennin. Overall it's a pleasant hike through bushland and forest on nice, sandy trails. Only the markings are inconsistent and unreliable for most of the time. 

Some of the hill tops offer spectacular views. The best view is definitely from Monte Alpe. 

My plan is to set up camp around 18:30. However, as there are no spots I like too much, I keep on going and going and going. At 20:00 finally, I reach Monte Telegrafo. The sun has long gone, there's a nice flat grassy area and the views are beautiful. Only a mobile phone and some other antennas a couple of meters away are scaring me (well their waves do). But I am done. My body is aching. Physically, it's been the most challenging day so far. So I pitch my tent and eat my pasta while looking at a spectacular evening sky, looking forward to exploring more of the Apennin tomorrow.