Broadly speaking, this was a ridge walk. I. Detail, the route regularly swapped sides and sometimes crested the apex of the ridge while the direction remained fairly straight.

I found myself walking with a very young solo Czech girl. She was very pleasant and seed contented to travel with somebody. My pack was heavier than usual, possibly 20kg. This slowed me down considerably, especially on climbs. Worse, water was difficult to find.

Then the refuge came into view after a sharp climb. This was a hot day too. The refuge guardiene was very friendly, I checked in and he pointed out the shop. That container was a cornucopia. I bought cheese.

Usciolo is a refuge nestling between rocks and the tent clearings were widely scattered between large boulders. I got myself a decent patch and set up. Buying a meal in the Bergerie would be a bad idea because I needed to eat some of the heavier food from my pack. Whole preparing it, I got chatting to a woman from a small party who were heading north. She too was Czech (as were her companions). Her husband had worked in the Lake District and his English was also very good. I sat with them to eat which was very pleasant.

Hit a problem. I felt I’ll in the night as though something I’d neaten or drank. That’s the polite was of saying repeated visits to the toilets. If it doesn’t last long, it’s something eaten. If it persisted, I’ll camp at Col de Verdi. If it clears, them go on another couple of hours to Refuge de Prati.

Col de Verdi is at the end of a forest descent stage. The route passed through forest, then a hotter clearing with an appealing fromage Bergerie and a river bridge over swimmable water. Signs of civilization appeared with day walkers and a car-park (with useful signposts). Soon I was at the refuge only to find the German couple Ellie and David drinking coffee. They were in good spirits and set off before me.

After tanking up at the spring by the road, the forest climb was very steep. Notice a pattern? An hour or two up to a lovely col (Boccu d’Oro) and soon – Prati in cooler air that somehow reminded me of UK hiking. The cloud was building on the west side of the ridge (as it often does). Though dense in parts, it wasn’t in a story mood. Soon, Prati was in easy sight

When I got there, I found Roland, the ESA guy and lots of ruined tents. He had a dorm booked. Some tents were occupied which must have been sheltered by low shrubs. It is quite a scattered refuge with a few toilet blocks way downhill. In the main building, I found a nice friendly Berger who I paid for the camping and bought some food. I elected to have pizza for supper but didn’t need any breakfast.

Last Quarter 🌗

Start in the bunkhouse at Vizz’. The Germans asked if I slept well, I smirked saying “somebody slept well”. There was a middle-aged guy who snored right from the start, all night. I normally sleep well in the first half of the night, then lightly later. This guy changed all that. To be honest, I normally sleep better in my tent. Anyway, I waited for a late start while the last of the rain ran out. There was another storm overnight, and we saw and heard it. But sheltered, we felt safe.

I set off at 10am and climbed up through the forest. Ok, so I missed a turn and had to return but it wasn’t far. I was ‘told’ by a young French woman (they do this quite readily). I thanked them.

Eventually, I got out of the trees and saw Roland. He’s a guy who works for ESA, the European Space Agency making chips for satellites. He’s an interesting guy who seed quite quiet at first but was very cheerful after a few days. He was sitting at a spring so I sat with him for a while as I drank the most delicious water.

Briefly, I heard English voices, a couple were making their way up to the Bocca. We chatted for a bit, they were from London.

The Bocca was a lovely place with suit stones that forms a nice armchair. I must have sat there for well over an hour, fixing my sandwiches and drawing. Lovely. It wasn’t a long day and not too hot so I could afford to.

I could see the med and a harbour (that would be visible for the next few days). A lovely, peaceful, contemplative time.

The last part of the trail.leading up to Capanelle was fiercely steep but at least I had and easy approach leaving enough energy for it.

The refuge was an independent site associated with a ski resort. I felt a but deflated by it to be honest. It didn’t have the vibe of the others being more like Asco. It was cheaper though (€8 for camping) and I got a decent pizza for supper. The French couple were there doing the same thing. The Germans didn’t turn up until late, they’d need advised to hold on for the bad weather to finish. There was no need really.

This day saw the biggest climb and the biggest thrills.

Before I reached the col, those heading north were enthusing about how beautiful it is. The long long climb was about to end there and the vista that lay before sent shivers. I don’t mind admitting how much I was moved by this. I stayed over an hour eating cheese sandwiches and taking it in. Down below echoes of voices rose up. You can just see tiny people between the two lakes. They’ve walked up the Restonica valley (about 2 hours below). There is a route up here, (take note for future trips).