Monthly Archives: May 2021

next hike (2/2 of the weekend)

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Saturday, 23rd May 2021:

Rapallo

Since the sea water is still a bit chilly, shall we wait a couple more weeks before having a hike&swim? For Sunday, I suggest trying the two new trails that lead to Mt Manico del Lume: I think they always existed, but they were restored and made hikeable only in the past couple of months.

The plan is to take the trail across the woods to reach the peak and go down along the panoramic path. I think we’ll avoid the famous trail with chains this time, as it would make the path considerably longer.

As for the peak, I suppose it needs little presentation, as the awe inspiring mountain with the curious moniker of “Candle Handle” is traditionally our end-of-the-year goal: it’s an extremely panoramic mountain, located at an altitude of 800mt. Overall, hike is rated as E (medium), with 800 metres elevation gain.

You may read more about the new trail leading to Mt Manico del Lume on:

How to get to Rapallo, and how to come back alive:

Suggested trains are:

  • for those travelling eastwards *

REG 12345 – 10:05 Genova Brignole – Rapallo 10:53

  • for those travelling westwards *

REG 3262 – La Spezia 09:50 Rapallo 10:40

  • for those travelling southwards *

IC 1533 – 08:13 Milano Lambrate – Rapallo 10:19
or
REG3015 – 07:32 Milano Lambrate – Rapallo 10:06

We’ll then catch the 11:12 bus from Rapallo to S.Pietro di Novella, which we’ll reach at 11:26

https://www.amt.genova.it/amt/trasporto-multimodale/linee-bus-provinciali/tigullio-occidentale/rapallo/

Return will be from Rapallo, after 6:00pm.

Should there be considerable delays with the train, we could probably do Rapallo/S.Maria-Monte Bello-Ruta as backup hike

http://web.infinito.it/utenti/s/sercas/cdl/mare/rapallo.htm (trail 505)

If the train delays are legendary, a second backup hike would be the one to the ghost town of Rapallo:

https://portofinotrek.com/it/da-rapallo/75-s-agostino-gravero.html

As usual, if you have doubts, questions, Hamlet-like dilemmas… feel free to write me (at vidlothianATgmailDOTcom) or call me (at +39 329 7203364)

next hike (1/2 of the weekend)

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Saturday, 22nd May 2021:

Genova Nervi

The weather this weekend still looks a bit uncertain, but should be kind enough: according to the latest forecast, Sunday should be the sunnier day, but Saturday afternoon also appears to be decent. How about having a light hike on Saturday and a more demanding one on Sunday?

The idea for Saturday is to explore the Nervi lakes, formed by the Nervi and Garega brooks within a canyon-like environment, that’s just a stone’s throw away from civilization. More specifically, we’ll start from Nervi station, walk up to the church of San Rocco and then try to reach both the famous Lake of the Geese and the heart-shaped lake that’s beyond it.

Given that the morning will be damp, let’s meet at 3:02pm at Nervi station.

Recommended trains are:

  • if you travel eastwards

14:29 Genova Piazza Principe – Genova Nervi 14:53
(there’s also 14:45 Genova Brignole – Genova Nervi 14:57)

——–

  • if you travel westwards

13:50 La Spezia Centrale – 15:02 Genova Nervi

Hike is rated as T/E (easy/medium) until the lake of the Geese, E (medium) afterwards, takes 2 hours with 200 metres of elevation gain and is well described on:

Return will be from Nervi, probably after 5:30pm (or later, if you wish to swim).

As usual, if you have doubts, questions, Hamlet-like dilemmas… feel free to write me (at vidlothianATgmailDOTcom) or call me (at +39 329 7203364)

next hike (#2 of the weekend)

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Sunday, 9th May 2021:

Camogli

Given that the weather forecast is exceptionally promising this weekend, with plenty of sunshine (fingers crossed!), let’s throw in a second hike. Since that the Framura hike on Saturday requires quite a bit of stamina, the Sunday hike will be lighter.

The idea is to walk in Parco di Portofino and test the Batterie-Semaforo Nuovo path, that was recently opened. This will be particularly interesting, both because we’ll manage to visit all military installations with one trail and we’ll be able to see how it intersects the aqueduct trail known as Via dei Tubi (this might give us new options for future hikes!). The route will be similar to https://portofinotrek.com/it/da-portofino-vetta/76-portofino-vetta-semaforo-nuovo-batterie-san-rocco-di-camogli-portofino-vetta.html , but we’ll walk anti-clockwise and make the loop shorter by heading down from Toca to Mortola.

Hike should be easy/medium (T/E) and slightly less than 3 hours long, with 450 metres of elevation gain.

You may read more about the history of the WWII base on:

Click to access le__batterie_2017_web.pdf

Return will be from Camogli, after 4pm… once again, the sea water will be chilly, but if you’re motivated you can have plenty of time for a dive in Camogli.

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How to get to Camogli, and how to come back alive:

On Sunday, 9th May, let’s meet at Camogli train station 1 minute after midday. Remember to bring food with you, as we’ll start hiking towards Batterie and not towards town.

Recommended trains are:
* if you travel eastwards

REG 12363 – 11:10 Genova Piazza Principe (11:20 Genova Brignole) 12:01 Camogli-S. Fruttuoso
——–
* if you travel westwards
Reg #3262 + Reg #12372 09:50 La Spezia Centrale – 12:01 Camogli-S. Fruttuoso
or
IC #666 10:35 La Spezia Centrale – 11:47 Camogli-S. Fruttuoso

* If you travel southwards
Reg #3099 – 08:33 Milano Lambrate – 10:55 Camogli-S. Fruttuoso

Unlike Saturday, it seems like the trains need to be booked, so don’t wait for Sunday morning to get the tickets!
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As usual, if you have doubts, questions, Hamlet-like dilemmas… feel free to write me (at vidlothianATgmailDOTcom) or call me (at +39 329 7203364)

next hike

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Saturday, 8th May 2021:

Framura

Now that we’re back to yellow, shall we celebrate by pursuing the mystical yellow flowers of S.Agata north of Framura? (and perhaps also throwing a shorter hike on Sunday)

Finding the yellow irises is not exactly easy: until 6 years ago, we thought they didn’t exist as we always took the wrong path in the maze of the Framura woods. Now that we know it, there’s a good chance that we might succeed again (or maybe not, who knows?).

The idea for Saturday is to walk along the traditional path from coast to Costa (i.e. the 4th of 5 hamlets that make up Framura), before moving on to Castagnola (hamlet #5). From there, we’ll venture in the woods of S.Agata, which bear traces of ancient civilizations and are famous for their wetlands, where it’s possible to witness the blooming of yellow irises in the month of May. If everything works out well, we’ll make a loop around S.Agata (as well as conquer its panoramic peak, of course!). If we run out of time, we’ll leave the quest for another time and walk back along the trail of Acquafredda.

Hike is labelled as easy (T/E) but is 4,5 hours long and with 600 metres of elevation gain: it takes around one hour and half, to walk across the 5 hamlets of Framura, plus an extra 70 minutes to get to Case Mogge/S.Agata. It would be nice to catch a bus to come back, but they are rare and tiny, so I wouldn’t count too much on them ( https://www.amt.genova.it/amt/trasporto-multimodale/linee-bus-provinciali/tigullio-orientale/framura/ ).

You may read more about the hike on:
http://siti.provincia.sp.it:8086/spturismo/it/download/riviera (page 25)
Return will be from Framura around 6 or 6:30pm… the sea water will be chilly, so it might be better to wait for the 2nd half of May to kick off the hike&swim season.

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How to get to Framura, and how to come back alive:

On Saturday, 8th May, let’s meet at Framura train station at 12:00. Remember to bring food with you: Framura has no bakeries (and it’s also better to hike right away: the late meeting time is for avoiding the crowded morning trains from Milano)

Recommended trains are:

* if you travel eastwards
REG 12353 – 10:11 Genova Piazza Principe (10:20 Genova Brignole) 11:28 Sestri Levante
+
REG 12225 – 11:41 Sestri Levante – Framura 12:00
——–
* if you travel westwards
Reg #12224 – 11:15 La Spezia – 11:53 Framura

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As usual, if you have doubts, questions, Hamlet-like dilemmas… feel free to write me (at vidlothianATgmailDOTcom) or call me (at +39 329 7203364)

Next hike

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A bet hike

Weather forecast are sybilline, but it seems on Sunday it could  be slightly sunny and not wet.

So while waiting for better conditions for the first Andy’s hike and swim of season why not to explore and discover an hidden valley with surprising secluded alpine lakes and waterfalls not far from the sea.

The plan is to reach the village of Fiorino and from there starting the Val Cerusa ring.

The hike is rated E with a length of 7 km and a vertical of 200 m.

Here you can find a description and a video of the hike.

Il Laghetti dell’Alta Val Cerusa

How to get there and come back alive.

On Sunday the 2nd of May let’s meet in front of Genova Brignole train station at 11:20.

We will take the Fast Regional train RV 3368 departing from Brignole at 11:35 (11:41 from Genova Principe) heading to Voltri and from there the AMT bus n. 97 to Fiorino where we start our hike.

You just need the AMT integrated ticket.

Return it will be at 6:00 pm.

If you have doubts, you can contact me at +393337756854