Day 2: Breathe, you're in Trentino

Wed, 5 Oct 2022

Short leg leading into the beating heart of the Cima d'Asta group, below the formidable South Face of the main peak, a grandiose rampart that plunges all the way down to the dark surface of the famous, eponymous alpine lake. And this is a world of granite similar, at least as a type of environment, to that of the Lagorai, but very different from the nearby Dolomites. One feature that immediately stands out is the high presence of water on the surface due to the impermeability of the rock substrate. Wetlands, stony areas, dense forests, and long valley furrows, these are the wonders of a corner of Trentino that still preserves a high degree of wilderness and relatively low human occupancy, affected only near the Rifugio Brentari, the best-known and busiest support point in this mountain area.

After a buffet breakfast with alpine yogurt and homemade jams, we say goodbye to the mountain hut keeper (who also doesn't bill us for yesterday's shower time) and set off on the last section of the trail which is geographically in the Lagorai area. After a couple of alpine pastures, we arrive at Cinque Croci pass where we find the first fork in the road and the first choice: do we go up and take a look at the small open museum dedicated to the traces of the Great War or do we go straight¹?

The Great War

Four years of work have made it possible to restore some remains of the First World War, which also touched the Lagorai. The Cima Socéde is one of those places where the passage is clearly visible: there are some wooden trenches and a couple of military shelters that are encountered along the Sentiero della Memoria (Path of Remembrance).

Nothing like what you can visit in the Pasubio areas, but it is valuable to have been able to recover these vestiges as well. It is too bad they are not visited much because in this area you are really on your own. We don't deny that we feared a bit to leave our backpacks at a shepherd's shelter to make the detour, but no humans showed up.

Modern addictions

As we walked through these seemingly pristine areas where water is ubiquitous in the tiny, widespread bodies of water known as aurai, we found ourselves reflecting on the addictions of the modern age. What are they? How many are there? How do we recognize them? Not all of them are harmful, on the contrary: without the mechanism underlying every addiction, regulated by dopamine, we would not get off the couch even to eat. However, the Internet, social media, and who knows what other modern inventions have addicted us in two ways at least²:

1. They made us forget about deferred pleasure, whose reward must be worked for, making us more and more demanding about the amount of pleasure we expect.

2. They greatly reduced our pain threshold, or rather the discomfort we are willing to endure. More and more emotions, situations, and relationships with other people result unbearable to us too quickly.

The Brentari hut

Trying not to lose track of the trail – always well-marked, but sometimes not exactly visible – we arrive at the Forcella Magna.

A strange smell of fish greets us at the fork. Before heading on, we decide to regain some energy and eat something. We see the route immediately climbing up steeply, but after a few switchbacks, the trail becomes more bearable again. We arrive at another fork and know we have to take the trail n. 326. A few steps and the trail literally plunges into the so-called boalon (gully) of Cima d'Asta, and we lose altitude quickly and even ruinously for one of us (just a small cut on the shin). We are now on trail n. 327 in the direction of the Brentari refuge. We already see the flags waving, and even the pylons of the cable car indicate that the hut is near. As we walk, we already begin to fantasize about what we will eat upon arrival. At last, the magnificent lake of Cima d'Asta³ unfolds before us, and a few steps beyond, even the refuge appears in its entirety.

Mountains of fire

At the hut, we meet three geologists who are out for collecting samples. Not on vacation, but no doubt their “office” is far better than mine. They briefly tell us that the nearby Dolomites, generated in part from coral reefs – What? Was there a sea here? Yep, there was – are young babies compared to the granite group of Cima d'Asta, whose rocks are definitely of volcanic origin (technically they are called ignimbrite). It's crazy to think – and it also reminds us of our insignificance as human beings – that a few hundred million years ago here one could have witnessed (so to speak) vast and powerful volcanic eruptions whose products, solidified slowly and deeply, gave rise to the material of which Cima d'Asta is made. All this in a time that far exceeds our two hundred thousand years of existence (as Homo Sapiens).

After a few minutes of contemplation, with no more backpacks on our shoulders, we sat down to enjoy two plates of tagliatelle with venison sauce. Shortly after, off we went with just our hiking sticks to climb the highest peak we will approach on this long Trentino traverse. The sky is a bit overcast - on a clear day you should be able to see the Adriatic Sea and the Apennines - but there was room for a couple of decent photos.

Without further ado, we walk back along the path of ascent and return to the base within an hour, wondering several times what it would be like to see the sunrise from up there. We will try to imagine it with some typical schnapps after dinner, socializing a bit with the other lodgers – and praying that none of the roommates snore too much!

What's up for tomorrow?

Another not too long leg (about 13 km) but mostly all downhill: from the 2475 meters of the Brentari hut to the 854 of the village of Caorìa (accent on the “i”). Perhaps it will also be the most technically difficult stage: rated EE (Italian abbreviation for “expert hikers”), we will walk a short piece of the G. Negrelli equipped trail – technically not a via ferrata, but somewhat similar – which passes under a ridge with the comforting name: Cresta delle Streghe (Witches' ridge).

#hiking #sentiero Italia