Category: Italy

I have a magic keyword for cool hikes when high mountains aren’t an option: beech forest.

The Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo was created to protect the last bears, chamois, and wolves in the Apennine Mountains, but it also has the oldest beech trees in Europe.

Pescasseroli, in the heart of the park, is easily reachable by transit from Rome (train to Avezzano, then bus).

Mid-November was a bit late to catch autumn leaves on trees, but the floor was gold.

Something I love about beech trees is that different varieties have very different shapes. In Pescasseroli itself, the forest was different in each dell. And. Pure. Silence.

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I had a work meeting in Rome, so I stopped on the way in Val Susa for a last hike in the Alps this season and some autumn colors.

The train line between Lyon and Torino runs perfectly fine, and there’s indeed no need for a second one. No TAV!

Camping, even bivouac, seems pretty controlled in natural parks in Italy, so I had to day-hike and camp in town. Pra Vey in Oulx is  open year-round.

On Day 1, I found the golden larches in the Sauze d’Oulx ski resort actually more beautiful than the more famous Gran Bosco di Salbertrand. Hiking off-trail with more open views was fun, and the ski infrastructure was not too ugly.

On Day 2, I took a local bus at random, stopped in Cesana, and hiked back through a much wilder area with gorgeous views on the snowy Mont Chaberton.

Fun fact: Italians cut out the top of Mont Chaberton (3131 m) before World War I to install 8 canons pointing at France. The Paris Treaty of 1947 moved the border slightly to make sure it won’t happen again.

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