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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World



Joined: 12 Aug 2018
Posts: 255 | TRs | Pics
Location: Spain
walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World
PostSat Mar 07, 2020 3:00 am 
In this hike report of Cinque Terre we got from the town Moneglia to Levanto in Italy. Watch the full video here:
That day we woke up really early at 5am. As we did promised to ourselves to try the new schedule in order to escape the extreme heat hours. We didn't even had any breakfast - just ate some nuts and one peach. It isn’t what we like to do to start the day on an empty stomach but this was the sacrifice we had to do. The night was very quiet, we just heard some wild boar noises from a far but they didn't came close to us. The plain wood helped a lot to even out the surface and we slept really well. So when we wrapped everything up which still took around 1 hour we were finally out on the trail. It was good not having the direct sunlight and walk in a cooler temperature at least for a little while. It wasn't for very long unfortunately and after an hour or so we started to feel the heat again and started to sweat again. All the first part of the trail getting down to Deiva Marina was quite easy and enjoyable without any exciting views but going through quite dense forests. When we got there we decided to cheat a little bit and go around the first mountain in order to be able to do the next one where we saw more viewpoints and potentially good views. So we went through the village Colle taking very easy flat route along the river. We still faced the uphill at the end of it and it was inevitable in order to get to the town Framura that was at the coast. But this uphill was lower and easier than the one we skipped. There was a sign telling us the direction we needed to take but we didn't believe it at first because the trail seemed to be neglected and nobody was hiking it really. There were quite a lot of fallen trees, spiky plants growing on the trail, branches, spider webs and we even saw a snake there. But as we progressed further into the forest the trail started to become wider and in a better state. It was going through heavily shadowed forest and we even noticed some old bricks on the path that were forming the old route probably. The hunger began to take over us and all we were thinking of at that point was finding a place to eat our breakfast. We were hesitating still whether this style of early hiking suits us or not as we knew how important for us was having the meal first thing in the morning and we simply weren't used to it. When we got out to the village Framura a very unusual view opened to our eyes. The village was situated on a different levels on a very hard terrain with lots of colorful little houses and the people were working on their little vineyard fields probably taking advantage of the fresh morning. The sea was looking very dark from above with a big dark cloud laying over it. We got through lots of footsteps in order to get to the local food shop where we bought some fruit, ice cream and focaccia in a style of pizza Margarita. Then we got down a little more to the seaside where we decided to stop on the rocks. There were quite a lot of boats parked on the land and it was probably a popular starting point for sailing. We ate our leftovers of cous cous from the last night together with this pizza Margarita focaccia bread. And the bread seemed to us very oily, the oil was almost dropping down from it. The cheese and tomato sauce was nice but the fat base was ruining it all. It seemed like it was cooked on a frying pan with a butter but that was a secret of this particular shop. We noticed that overall in the small shops we didn't like the local food as it was too fatty to our taste. But in the supermarkets surprisingly it was tasting better. So we rested there for an hour or so and got out to continue hiking. We saw a lot of bicycles parked at this place and then there was a renting spot as well. On the information board we learnt that there was passing a cycling route going through several villages that was open to the pedestrians as well. But it was stated that it was going through the tunnel for the mist part just getting out on some viewpoints. So it wasn't really of a much interest to us even though it was definitely much easier and quicker to do this way. But we like to be outside all the time and don't enjoy being in the tunnels at all. So we chose another trail to take instead that was going to be more challenging but potentially more interesting as well. We went up first on the car road and then got out on the little rocky path. It was quite nice as it was going mostly through the shadowed forest and quite close to the seaside so we got to enjoy a fresh sea breeze on our faces. It was a first time when we had at least a bit of wind cooling the body. Sometimes the path was giving the beautiful views over the rocky cliffs and turquoise sea waters. There was quite a bit of uphill still to get over but overall it wasn't difficult at all. The dark clouds started to appear at the sky and we heard a bit of a far away thunder and a few drops of rain came down at us. But it was still not very probable that it would rain heavily. We learnt it by spending several days here that the dark clouds doesn't mean it's going to rain at all. So this way at around 14pm we got to the town Bonassola where we planned to get initially but looking around for the potential camp spot we could really see anything. Everywhere were just the houses, different private property etc. As well as the terrain continued to be very steep and mountainous. So considering all of that we made our mind to move to the neighbor village Levanto where we saw there were some campsites to stay. They were still quite expensive but at least we could rest a bit there as well as take a shower and wash the clothes as we felt extremely sticky and dirty after 2 crazy hot days. We knew there was a train going from village to village along the coast so we took advantage of it. After just 5 minutes we were at the town Levanto as it was just one stop of the train. We went straight to the supermarket and then to the beach in hope to have a swim in the sea. The town was very similar to the previous one with lots of colorful houses on the hills and seemed very touristic with plenty shops on the streets and many foreign languages that we heard around. So we got to the beach and had our snack there. Then we wanted to take a swim but couldn't really find any cold showers to rinse the salty sea water. There wasn't any around and we saw that most of the beach area was occupied by changing cabins and chaise lounges that were circled by the gates and were obviously for pay. We were not happy about it at all and compared to Spain where most if not all the beaches were public - that was a very disappointing fact. But maybe that was all because of how popular these places are, we hoped that not every beach would be like that. So we quit the idea of taking a swim and headed straight to the campsite. We knew that it’s going to cost around 26 euros per night checking it by Internet but of course we didn't know how crowded it will be. They gave us a a tiny pitch at the gate close to the road and face to face with other people on a rocky ground and we definitely rejected it. Because we knew that we won’t get any good sleep there. So we continued through the town to the further away campsite, fortunately there was one, and it was somewhat better. But for us the most important thing was the location - it was closer to the forest, more spacious and with less people. With that we already were satisfied. There we finally had the very long shower, washed our dirty things and were out to rest. We didn't have much time already as we lost some at the other campsite and we got there only at 18 pm but still tried to rest as much as possible. So we were getting ready for another long and hot day at Cinque Terre. Have you ever hiked the Italian seacoast? What trail did you take?

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World



Joined: 12 Aug 2018
Posts: 255 | TRs | Pics
Location: Spain
walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World
PostSat Mar 14, 2020 5:55 am 
Are these Dolomites rocks real? - Magnificent Vajolet Towers in South Tyrol, Italy This day we did the circuit hike around Vajolet Towers starting in the village Pera di Fassa in Italian Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy. Watch the full video here:
The morning was very fresh and cool and we were really cold. It felt much colder than in Val Venosta where we were hiking before. But then the sun came out and started to heat up everything. We woke up at the campsite Sojal in the village Pera di Fassa and that night we didn’t sleep very well. Unfortunately the campsite was located close to quite fast car road that was noisy even at night. So we had to deal with the sleepy mood all that day. We had our breakfast and at 9am were ready to start the hike. We were taking advantage of going lightweight that day leaving our tent with the camping gear in the campsite. We had a plan of doing 20kms starting from the village Pera di Fassa situated at 1300m and hiking up to 2500m to do a circle around Vajolet Towers and come back to the village. From the very beginning, the trail started to climb first more gentle then becoming steeper and steeper uphill. We walked by the cable car Vajolet 1 that could take us all the way to refugee Vajolet and save us 600m of elevation but we decided to do it all by feet. Yesterday when we were travelling to this region by bus we saw many fallen trees on both sides of the road and on every mountain plain and hill. After we researched the web about it and it turned out that it happened because of the hurricane in October 2018 one year ago when the wind was so strong that it destroyed lots of the trees and overall made a lot of damages in the region. Most of the trees had not only broken trunks but the roots were lifted up also. And it was absolutely scary to imagine how strong the wind was and how powerful our mother nature can be. We can do very little in front of her. So we just hoped that the storm won’t repeat any time soon. The longer we were hiking up the better and warmer was becoming the weather. On the forecast it was said that it could be rainy or thunder storming later in the day which was the usual weather pattern for mountains and we already knew it from the Tour de Mont Blanc. But at that moment it was all nice and sunny and we got really hot while climbing up that uphill. In the end the uphill got quite steep and even with little weight we were carrying that day it was hard to conquer. So it took us full 2 hours to complete and to get to the Campedie cable station. Then the trail became flatter and even though was still climbing up but it was quite gentle compared to the previous one. The route was quite wide and rocky almost all the way up. According to GPS we had another 600m to conquer. We have noticed that there were quite a lot more people on the trail probably because the trail was easier and also the cable car helped a lot too. The landscapes around were very surreal and at first it was hard to believe they are true. Those rocks are sublime and incredibly high standing up like natural rock walls impossible to conquer. The dimensions of them were just incomprehensible and very hard to transmit through any device. But it is always better to see with your own eyes. The light on the rocks were constantly changing too giving them a completely different appearance depending on the angle of sun and amount of clouds. It looked like they were alive, living their own life and it was incredible to witness. When we were on the way up still the rain suddenly started and we had to take out our raincoats. The weather got really unstable and it changed several times like this so we had to leave them on till the end. Up at the crossroads close to the refugee house Vajolet we confused the directions we needed to take, also the GPS on the mobile phone refused to work properly and didn’t help us at all. First we intended to hike up through the mountain pass but it turned out to be the Via Ferrata section which is quite challenging and ideally you have to be well prepared and equipped for it. And it wasn’t our way. Then we turned right to the path that was going lower along these huge rocks and there we met a lot of rock falls that were hard to get through and decided to turn back. Finally we discovered the right path that was going even lower and we didn’t need to hike all the way to the refugee to get on it. But there we saw a warning board saying that part of this trail was closed because of the rock falls cause by hurricane and it still wasn’t adapted for hiking. So a bit disappointed we had to come back down using the same trail while hiking up. Later we learnt that many of the trails were affected or destroyed by the hurricane in this region but the people were working on them and probably in next years it will be all fine and ready for hiking. So on the way back we decided to take another dirt road just because it was quicker and also for the interest of taking another path and not doing the same trail again. It turned out to be a quiet easy route with no people or cars on it so we could enjoy it quite a lot. Coming to the end of our day we were a bit tired but very impressed by the landscapes and the massive rocks that we saw all around us. Of course the damages of the hurricane were terrifying and it stayed in our eyes for a long time after this hike. Also we understood that Via Ferratas are not for us at least for now when we faced it up close. We realized that it is not a joke, they are really steep and going there with heavy backpacks is strictly forbidden. And we were not up for this challenge that time anyway. So following this peaceful route we came back to our campsite to eat, rest and to sleep. And the next day we planned to move to the Val di Gardena and explore more hiking trails there… Have you ever done the iron way Via Ferrata? How was your experience?

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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nordique
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PostSat Mar 14, 2020 9:06 am 
We've done a lot of via ferrata routes--when we were younger--but we only hiked in the Vajolet. It was a long way from where we were staying in the Sella. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nordique/collections/72157594587284616/

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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World



Joined: 12 Aug 2018
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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World
PostSun Mar 15, 2020 5:22 am 
nordique wrote:
We've done a lot of via ferrata routes--when we were younger--but we only hiked in the Vajolet. It was a long way from where we were staying in the Sella. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nordique/collections/72157594587284616/
That really looks like a one in a kind experience, you've done so many of them! Which one would you recommend for starting out? Also do you think any kind of special training or preparation is required before doing Via Ferrata?

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World



Joined: 12 Aug 2018
Posts: 255 | TRs | Pics
Location: Spain
walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World
PostSat Mar 21, 2020 7:13 am 
You can watch the full video here:
In this video we are going to show you our favorite gear items that we can't live without and won't hike without from now on and some of the gear failures that we plan not taking with us anymore. We are going to talk about electronics, camping stuff and food as well. These conclusions were made after being hiking for 4 months doing TMB hike, Via Francigena, Cinque Terre and Dolomites hiking. So we have quite a lot a gear to show you. Hope you find it helpful. What is some of your favorite gear to carry in your backpack?

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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the1mitch
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PostThu Mar 26, 2020 7:22 pm 
I love my GSR tea kettle. It nests with my titanium pot and so I have a dedicated water pot for drinks and cleanup that never gets funky or has to be washed! Also I have a Sawyer mini filter that has saved me a pound of weight from my old pump filter. My bowl has been replaced by an instant noodle bowl and my cup by a gourmet ice cream container. These items were "free" and if they crack, who cares? Backpacking kits should be evaluated after every trip. The best piece of gear however is a merino wool hoody. I bought it 2 sizes too big and use it as pajamas, anti bug gear, extra outer layer for warmth, or baggy base layer under puffy gear.

illegitimi non carborundum!
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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World



Joined: 12 Aug 2018
Posts: 255 | TRs | Pics
Location: Spain
walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World
PostFri Mar 27, 2020 3:50 am 
the1mitch wrote:
I love my GSR tea kettle. It nests with my titanium pot and so I have a dedicated water pot for drinks and cleanup that never gets funky or has to be washed! Also I have a Sawyer mini filter that has saved me a pound of weight from my old pump filter. My bowl has been replaced by an instant noodle bowl and my cup by a gourmet ice cream container. These items were "free" and if they crack, who cares? Backpacking kits should be evaluated after every trip. The best piece of gear however is a merino wool hoody. I bought it 2 sizes too big and use it as pajamas, anti bug gear, extra outer layer for warmth, or baggy base layer under puffy gear.
Thanks for sharing your best gear items, we may have a look at some of them as we are in the search of a new pot for cooking and cooking stuff in general so it is really useful for us. What kind of pot are you using? We love our sawyer mini too because it doesn't take much space at all even though we haven't used it much last year. We have heard good things about the Merino wool but never get a chance to try it, it sounds like a universal piece.

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World



Joined: 12 Aug 2018
Posts: 255 | TRs | Pics
Location: Spain
walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World
PostSat Mar 28, 2020 9:38 am 
In this hike report of Cinque Terre we hiked through the towns Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia and Manarola in Italy. Watch the full video here:
So that big day came when we finally were going to hike the official Cinque Terre trail along the coast from Monterosso to Riomaggiore. The trail was consisting of several parts few kilometers each going from one small coastal village to the other and is believed to be one of the most beautiful and unusual coastal walks to take. We tried to wake up as early as possible and started the day with taking the train from Levanto to Monterosso. As we knew that it would take us the whole day to hike there and the trail was quite challenging, we had to go over the mountain. We wanted to get some seaside views and new shots. The evening before we learnt that actually the Cinque Terre hiking trail and entrance to the National Park is not free and it costs 7.50 euros per person for one day. So we really wanted to do this trail and find out whether it was worth it or not and of course sharing it with our readers and audience. So we got from Levanto to Monterosso by train which was only 7 minutes and were out to discover the trail. Monterosso was a fairly small village hidden between the steep mountain cliffs from both sides. The houses were colorful and bright as in all of the villages in the area and from every corner there were signs of pizzeria and gelaterias. So we took advantage of it and bought a vegetarian pizza to take away in one of those little bakers. They were actually two small pizzas and they tasted more like a focaccia bread that we ate before because of the thick and oily dough base. So we learnt that in Italy word pizza doesn't necessarily mean a classical version of what we used to call it. There are many varieties of it. The beach in this village was quite small and what we noticed about the beaches in the area is that they were almost entirely occupied by chaise-lounges, umbrellas and lockers to store your things in. These are all paid services of course. There weren't enough space left for the free beach. Only a small piece of land often with no cold showers to rinse the salty water. It was a real disappointment as we had something to compare it with, for example the beaches in Spain were all (maybe with little exception) free and always had the cold showers. Also all the public toilets we met were paid as well. On the beaches, railway stations etc. These were just our little observations after spending some time in Italy. After enjoying our tasty meal we were finally ready to start hiking. It was still quite early in the morning around 8am when we passed through the first checkpoint and there wasn't anybody to sell the ticket. So we were sure that some people were taking advantage of the early mornings to do at least part of the trail as it was perfectly possible. Also out of the season from November to mid-March it is open and free for the hikers. The trail started going uphill with plenty of stairs to go through and it was quite hard. We found that the stairs were always killing the muscles the most probably because of the same pressure on the same muscle groups over and over again. But the cloudy weather and fresh cool breeze from the sea helped us quite a lot to walk. We were passing by many vineyards on the sides of the hills and sometimes the trail opened up for the great seaside views. But mostly the trail was going through the dense forests and tree tunnels. There were quite a lot of little river creeks as well coming down from the mountains and we remembered that we met the most amount of snakes in these few days than ever hiking. So probably it was a great habitat for them. We even spotted a little scorpion hiding in the rocks that was very scary. But soon we learnt that it is not actually that dangerous to the human as some others more exotic ones and it's venom is not mortal. Then after few kilometers the steps started to go downhill and we were approaching the new village Vernazza. It was quite picturesque located right on the cliff that was stretching along the seacoast and surrounded by many vineyards. On the way we even saw the little railway going through the vineyard fields. And by accident we heard the information from a guided group we were passing by that they were actually still in use by farmers to transport the grapes and any necessary things to the fields. As the terrain was quite difficult it is really useful. Even people can occasionally travel on it but it reminds very much a roller coaster. It was an interesting fact to learn and we even felt the desire to have a ride on it probably it would be a lot of fun. We passed through the village quite quickly as we knew, we had another long stretch ahead of us. This 3 km part was pretty similar to the previous one with less steps and more gentle uphills and downhills. On the way we met a couple of people playing on the accordion and guitar collecting money right on the trail and that was another proof of how touristic were the places. Soon the other village Corniglia opened up to our eyes and it was a similar cute fishing village at the edge of the cliff. When we were leaving the trail at the checkpoint, we asked whether it was possible to do the next half of the way and they said no that it's closed and the only alternative was hiking higher in the mountains. That was another disappointment of ours to know that the trail is not entirely open. So we ended up paying just for the half of it. We already did some hiking in the mountains and we knew it's going to be similar so we decided to hop on the train and get to the next village with the help of it. Fortunately, the train connection is quite good between the villages so you will not have any problems with that. So we got to Manarola like in 5 minutes and were really tempted to still check whether this part of the trail was really closed and why. Unfortunately, it was true and the gate at the entrance was obviously telling about that. Our guess was that there was some kind of rock fall that ruined part of the trail and that is why it was closed but at the same time we saw that some gates and constructions were already rusty and between the tiles on the ground there were quite a lot of grass growing through. Overall, the area was looking neglected so we made a conclusion that it has been closed for several years straight already. So to our dissatisfaction we had to finish our trail at this point. In our opinion, it wasn't worth the money we paid for it. Even though the area is quite picturesque and the villages are nice we didn't feel anything special about the trail itself. We did several hikes along the seacoast and they were all the same - beautiful and free of course. They just not as popular but it doesn't mean that they're worse by any means. And also they are not as crowded which is another plus. We feel like in every country there are just several popular places everybody's visiting and many others great ones that get neglected. Our Great Mediterranean Hike that we did last year was a proof to that. Not a lot of people know about it but it’s very well worth the visit. We highly recommend checking out our video series of this hike and discovering this beautiful part of the coast for yourself. We feel that is one of our goals together with showcasing well known places let people discover some hidden gems trails and places that not a lot of people aware of. But if you're still willing to visit these places our advice would be going out of season here when it's all open and it's not that hot which is a bonus. Or doing parts of trail in early morning which can be another option as well. Also be aware that the ticket you buy is only valid for one day and it gives you access to the trail itself, guided excursions that you have to check the schedule in advance, some entrance to the museum and free public toilet services. That we feel also quite unfair that you have to pay for extra services even if you don't need them. Well after spending some time in Manarola we decided to not go to the last village Riomaggiore as we felt it's going to be similar and go all the way to Spezia by train instead. We felt like we needed a rest for several days after having 3 full hot days of hiking. And we found that the majority of campsites were in the Spezia region closer to the coast. So without further hesitation we hoped on the train and headed further along the coast. Then we planned to continue hiking Via Francigena in Tuscany and hoped for more beautiful discoveries to come... Have you ever been to Cinque Terre? What was your experience?

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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Cyclopath
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PostSun Mar 29, 2020 7:41 pm 
walkingnatureworld wrote:
What is some of your favorite gear to carry in your backpack?
Warm jacket, especially down. Feels like heaven when you need it. Water filter. It saves so much weight! GPS watch. Doesn't go in my pack, but it's a piece of my favorite gear. Does electrolyte mix count? It's what plants crave! 😁 I feel more thirsty drinking just water, it helps me feel more satisfied.

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walkingnatureworld
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walkingnatureworld
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PostMon Mar 30, 2020 6:31 am 
Cyclopath wrote:
walkingnatureworld wrote:
What is some of your favorite gear to carry in your backpack?
Warm jacket, especially down. Feels like heaven when you need it. Water filter. It saves so much weight! GPS watch. Doesn't go in my pack, but it's a piece of my favorite gear. Does electrolyte mix count? It's what plants crave! 😁 I feel more thirsty drinking just water, it helps me feel more satisfied.
Agree on the warm jacket, it is a life saver sometimes. What kind of GPS watch you are using? We've been looking recently into some GPS trackers to always stay on track and also record our trails. Electrolyte mix sounds interesting, is it really that good? We can see that there are a lot of them on market.

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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Cyclopath
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PostMon Mar 30, 2020 11:30 am 
I'm using a Garmin Fenix 6X. Love it. I don't use it much for navigation (except on the bike), it's mostly for recording, for fitness, and it tells me things like how far I've hiked so far or where I am in terms of uphill on a hike - helps me pace my effort. Electrolytes are good if you sweat a lot and especially if your sweat is salty. Some people need them, but not everybody. They help me.

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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World



Joined: 12 Aug 2018
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Location: Spain
walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World
PostTue Mar 31, 2020 2:21 am 
Cyclopath wrote:
I'm using a Garmin Fenix 6X. Love it. I don't use it much for navigation (except on the bike), it's mostly for recording, for fitness, and it tells me things like how far I've hiked so far or where I am in terms of uphill on a hike - helps me pace my effort. Electrolytes are good if you sweat a lot and especially if your sweat is salty. Some people need them, but not everybody. They help me.
Yeah, they look good, we've been looking for the universal piece of equipment to use as a navigation and track recorder as well. That's interesting information about electrolytes, have to research it more.

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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Brushbuffalo
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PostFri Apr 03, 2020 1:12 pm 
walkingnatureworld wrote:
Have you ever been to Cinque Terre? What was your experience?
We walked the main trail north and back one day when we were in staying in Vernazza in September 2000. I remember much of what you describe, including clusters of ripe tomatoes on shriveled, leafless vines, olive trees that looked to be centuries old, ancient but still fruitful vineyards, the sea with gorgeous color and warm temp for swimming, houses clinging to cliffs, a restaurant right on the edge of a seacliff such that a person could drop a pebble from their chair next to the railing and have the rock hit the water 80 feet straight down, and best of all, very friendly local people. The trail could be walked at no charge back then. Thanks for the memories!

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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walkingnatureworld
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walkingnatureworld
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PostSat Apr 04, 2020 3:01 am 
Brushbuffalo wrote:
walkingnatureworld wrote:
Have you ever been to Cinque Terre? What was your experience?
We walked the main trail north and back one day when we were in staying in Vernazza in September 2000. I remember much of what you describe, including clusters of ripe tomatoes on shriveled, leafless vines, olive trees that looked to be centuries old, ancient but still fruitful vineyards, the sea with gorgeous color and warm temp for swimming, houses clinging to cliffs, a restaurant right on the edge of a seacliff such that a person could drop a pebble from their chair next to the railing and have the rock hit the water 80 feet straight down, and best of all, very friendly local people. The trail could be walked at no charge back then. Thanks for the memories!
Thank you for the comment, we can relate to everything you say, this is a truly wonderful and unique area to visit. That's interesting that it was free of charge to hike back in 2000. And was it open entirely all the way from Monterosso to Riomaggiore back then?

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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walkingnatureworld
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walkingnatureworld
Walking Nature World
PostSat Apr 04, 2020 5:44 am 
That day we did one of our most favourite day hikes in Dolomites starting from Passo Gardena, getting through refugio Puez to the village Selva di Val Gardena. This is the perfect 16km hike to do if you have little time to spend in Dolomites but want to see all their beauty. And we would recommend it to everybody because of the variety of landscapes and so many wonderful and magnificent nature scenes. Watch the full video here:
We woke up in the campsite Marmolada in the town Canazei quite early, had our breakfast and leaving our tent and camping equipment there were ready to go for a new hike. We wanted to explore the Val Gardena region and decided to do a one-day hike making a loop starting from Passo Gardena and finishing in the village Selva di Val Gardena. So we hoped on the bus, travelled through the most breathtaking high mountain road and after around 40 minutes we were at the place. The bus came quite a bit late and so we did not have much time to waste as we had our bus back to Canazei at 5pm, which was only in 6 hours. We were starting from the mountain plain Passo Gardena, which had a cable car station, several refuge houses and a restaurant. We had to search for the right path a bit because there were so many different trails spreading in different directions. Then we finally found the right trail number 2 that we were going to follow all the way until the downhill starts. So we began to conquer a 600m uphill which was moderately steep and difficult because the snaky route helped to make it less vertical. While hiking up we saw several cable cars working on the surrounding mountain summits and thought that it would be nice to explore the high mountain paths without actually doing a challenging uphill. We learnt that there are many cable cars available in the region and you can buy a pass that allows you to enter them all for the limited amount of time. That is really nice but just can be a bit pricey. In the meantime, we were admiring the wonderful views down the valley and on the high mountain rocks opposite to us and in the distance. They looked so cool and scary at the same time especially the dark rocks. Their massiveness was astonishing. On the way, we saw several groups of people climbing the rocks and even though we did not know how to climb, we were very tempted to try it for the first time there. Because this terrain was perfect for rock climbing with so many possibilities to choose from. We are sure that for the climber lovers it is an absolute paradise. The rocks were everywhere and we were hypnotized by the variety of their forms and shapes. We passed through the rocky gorge which was one of the most unique places we have ever been to because of the amount of massive rocks that were very close and it felt like we were in the place where they formed. And this feeling of how tiny we are in comparison to these giants we will remember for a long time. We could spend a lot more time there just admiring the views but unfortunately had to leave because it was just the start of the hike and we did not have much time to spare. Although the dominating feature of the landscape were the small and big rocks we could spot several very beautiful plants and flowers growing right from the rocky ground. They looked beautiful but were quite sturdy and low to survive the harsh wind and difficult weather patterns on the altitude. Then we came to one of the first viewpoints from where was seen the rocky reddish canyon and it reminded us a bit of a mini version of a Grand Canyon. We have never been at this place but it looked a bit similar to us in color and form. Then after doing a small downhill, we faced quite a lot of steps going uphill again to the other beautiful viewpoint. The weather was very nice that day, partly cloudy, partly sunny which was a perfect combination for hiking. We just hoped it to be the same all day long. Then the trail started to go quite flat with just small gentle hills. It was the easiest part of the trail. Rocky landscapes continued and we felt like we are wandering in the rocky kingdom with rocky buildings, castles and inhabitants. Sometimes we could not believe our eyes looking at some of the formations because they seemed out of this planet brought here from the other worlds. So deserted they looked. We were in awe most of the time and if we had not to hurry, we could probably stay here for hours staring at the views and admiring every angle of view. So all day long, we felt sorry we did not have more time to do this trail slower. So the advice would be to start early in the morning and give yourself a lot of time for this trail then you will get the most out of it. In addition, the thing we have noticed about the trails marking in the region is that they are all in the same red and white colors and only the numbers differentiate them. So it’s important to pay attention to the numbers in order to stay on the right track. So we came to the middle point of our trail to the place where we were doing a loop turning back to the valley. Our legs were grateful for a flatter route we had until now as from this point it was starting to go slightly down. We have noticed that most of the people on the trails in this area carry either small or lightweight backpacks so most of them are doing just the day hikes. But we also spotted several people with really big backpacks and we wondering whether they are doing any long distance multiple day hiking and are carrying all the camping equipment with them. As we knew that the wild camping is strictly prohibited in the South Tyrol area and also we ourselves did find it quite a difficult terrain to pitch up a tent. If we were to wild camp one day, we wanted to know whether it was possible and experience of these people would be really helpful. On the mountains lawns we started to see lots of white and black sheep pasturing all around the slopes. The sheep were of a very particular kind with long hair and curvy horns and some of them even reminded us of lamas from Peru, Latin America. They looked very cute and sweet and behaved very quiet. We wondered whether people use their hair to knit the sweaters or some kind of souvenirs or they breed them for some other reason. Talking about animals in these several days of hiking in South Tyrol, we still have not spotted any marmots or mountain goats and it was a bit unusual for the mountains. Therefore, we were thinking maybe it’s because of the very rocky terrain or high altitudes the variety of wildlife wasn’t that big. However, we wanted to learn more about it and possibly find some wild animals in the next days. Also we found that there weren’t many water sources or drinking water on the trails that we’ve done so far. We met just a one or two and it is a bit weird for the mountains where we are used to have more water around. But here even the rivers were the rare case. So it is just something to keep in mind especially when planning to do a long distance hike. Then after enjoying this easy stretch of flat path we faced the downhill and started to follow the trail number 16 that was going down into the valley to Selva di Val Gardena. So we had an 800m downhill in front of us. This downhill appeared to be much longer and harder than we expected. It was quite steep with lots of steps at first and then just getting down through the rocky paths. It was very hard on knees. Until we hit the flat ground at least two hours have passed and at this moment, our legs were super shaky and tired. We ourselves did not have any rest in between and did not have any snack so we were quite exhausted and hungry then. So following this crazy fast pace we were back on a flat ground again and had only 5 kms left till the village and an hour and a half to our bus. So we still had to move forward without any break. The weather got cloudy and it started to rain, we were grateful that it happened only at the end of the day. It has been the same weather pattern with an evening rain for five days now. We passed through the cows pastures down in the valley, got through the village dirt roads and were out in the town Selva di Val Gardena where we took our bus back to Canazei. It was an amazing day of hiking for us. The scenery we got to enjoy was very diverse and beautiful. We think it was the first classic Dolomite style hiking trail for us. The places we went through were the absolute paradise for any creative person with a camera, we could make lots of great shots there. And if we could spend more time there with the different light and different angles we would have had even more beautiful work. We hoped that the next trail wouldn’t be less impressive as we were about to hike to the famous Seceda mountain and we were excited to see what it brings to us… What was the most memorable hike you have done so far?

We are a young couple who loves hiking, nature walking and camping. We choose walking over driving and other types of transportation whenever we can. Also we have a Youtube channel where we're showcasing all our hikes.
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