Resegone Adventure Trekking

RESEGONE

The search for adventure behind the house taken literally. I don’t know where I’ll go but I’ll leave home, that’s for sure. I’m not sure why, but I think of Resegone and then I begin to find out about the paths that could connect my points of departure and arrival. The planning part is one of the most delicate because if you do not know all the paths you risk oversizing the stages and making too much effort on the journey or even not respecting the schedule with the consequent renunciation of the final objective since it was cut out precise in 3 empty days, but a quarter could not be occupied. I begin to write a draft and then propose the itinerary to some friends. All refuse because they find it too demanding. From my estimate it was 40 km, 4000 m of elevation gain and the same number of negative, divided into 3 days and therefore two nights out, in tents.

Dani is the friend who will become my traveling companion, he is trained, although he will always say no. He participated and closed the GTO last year and we are talking about 70km with 4200+ in 16 and a half hours. Here, however, something changes, and not a little. The backpacks are big and heavy. We reason better and together on the stages, we evaluate in which areas we camp and we try to get an idea of ​​how many hours of walking we will have to face for each day, taking into account the time of the year, November, which grants not too many hours of light. The weather is not clement and twice we are forced to postpone seeing the large storms.

Domanica November 11 it rains, but little, and we leave. Load backpack that does not weigh, knowing that I cannot give up anything I had. Dani lives in a thing like 100 steps from my house and so here the meeting and from my house away to San Rocco, the little church of Ranica where we will take the first path, the one that will take us to the Colle di Ranica. At one point that path bifurcates and we ideally should have taken the shorter road that would have reunited us at the end of the concrete road, just below the puddle of the hill. Instead Dani proposes a “tribute” to Ranica, our country, and so we decide to go up to the cross. The path is steep and slippery under the light but incessant light rain, the backpacks are heavy but the spirit is high for the adventure that we are beginning. We did not go out to confront the CAI times or to make races but in the end a watchful eye always escapes us and we note with pleasure that despite the heavy backpacks we have saved a few minutes on the times declared at the departure from the CAI cartel. From here a little rest for the legs and we proceed at high altitude for a long time, towards Canto Alto. We reach the cross of the dead and from there we follow again on the paved road that then will become a mule track at the Ca ‘del lacc’. Here the path matches the Marian way “Alta Via delle Grazie”. The rain continues, increases, stops, starts again but Dani with his cape proceeds at a constant pace and I try to support him that, as Dani says, under the cloak there is an excellent microclimate when you walk. Half a jam sandwich each, just before the final climb to the Canto Alto and away, in 3 hours from Ranica we arrived. We take refuge under the terrace to eat a sandwich on the fly and, without getting too cold, we dress and leave again. The thermometer marks 8 degrees and the rain increases the humidity type over 9000. Getting back the wet t-shirt to restart is not one of the best sensations but 15 minutes and some slippage in the mud we are warm again, we also know that we do it for a good bigger, or have a dry shirt waiting for us in the evening and at night.

We go down towards Cler di Sedrina, passing through the Prati Parini which, inexplicably, we miss and we find ourselves on a dirt road that we follow until we find ourselves practically in Sedrina. We cross the Brembo bridge and walk to Ubiale Clanezzo. Now we have to go to Ca ‘Bonorè and from there look for the path to Corna Marcia. We ask for a couple of indications since we like to get by rather than always looking at the map and a very kind gentleman shows us the way. About fifty steps and we remember that we have to refuel, so go back, look for a fountain and leave. We arrive with more effort than expected at Ca ‘Bonorè which from the map seemed immediately there and instead already gains a few meters in altitude. Here we meet a lady all proud of having just picked up her persimmons to which we ask information for the path to the Corna Marcia. We thus find ourselves lengthening our path again because we would have had to take a path on the ridge that before reaching Corna Marcia would have had to cut north to take the ridges between Val Imagna and Val Brembilla. Instead we take for the Corna Marcia, it’s about 4 pm and the lady tells us, in the local dialect: “you are mad, you make your mothers worry, what are you doing now that it is getting dark?” But we could not do otherwise, the road to the Resegone is long and we must walk. We find a sign indicating the Resegone. Darkness begins to fall and in the woods the trail signs are no longer so visible, so much so that we take to Mount Ubione where, once again, we stretch our way. We arrive on the ridge that is now dark, it’s 18 and we are tired, at least I am. And a lot. We decide to give up the Corna Marcia for today, it will be the first goal of tomorrow. We set up the tent, put on dry clothes and cook a fantastic pasta without salt that we forgot, we eat it in a moment and divide a sandwich with jam and a sandwich with raw ham, kept aside wisely for lunch. We light a small fire to dry today’s wet clothes a little and we share a small bottle of wine that allows us to find the spirit after the fatigue of the leg.

Wake up at 7 am, breakfast with biscuits, hot tea and jam. We dismantle the tent, we prepare the backpacks, we put back our clothes still a little wet from the day before and we leave again. 15 minutes we are already at the Corna Marcia, satisfied to have recovered the “delay” of yesterday. We proceed straight ahead looking for a path that cuts to the right, we take it and at some point we find ourselves in the woods without any trail markers. The leaves, a couple of fallen trees, those who say that the hunters hide the traces, we find the orientation and we face a challenging stretch on the ridge without a path, slippery descent between mud, leaves and pebbles until we can rejoin the traced path. Briefly we arrive at Berbenno where we fill our water bottles and share a sandwich with Salami and a beer. We leave for San Pietro, in the direction of Tre Faggi, before arriving at I Canti and ideally a little further, where, at the bottom of Val Imagna, we see those grassy ridges. Until the Tre Faggi climb without rest, much more demanding than we had planned, it no longer rains but there is still a lot of humidity. We stop for a quick lunch of dehydrated rice to warm up just after the sign indicating 40 minutes for the Three Beeches. A cigarette, a total 20 minute break and we’re leaving. Last tear and we are at the Tre Faggi, a very suggestive place, not only for the three beech trees, but also for the present construction. Much journey, a lot of effort and little time to take photographs. The research on this journey was perhaps more personal and physical than photographic. We continue to I Canti and dodge them staying just below to head towards the grassy hills that will host us for the night. We set up the tent, we cook another pasta without salt because at Berbenno we figured if we remembered to buy it and so on trying to light a fire. Everything is so damp, the soil, the wood, that it takes us almost 2 hours but in the end it was worth the pain, fire and field at sight Resegone, our ultimate goal, ready to be conquered tomorrow. We pull almost midnight divided between the chill of the wind on the back and the warmth of the fire on the face, often without even talking, just enjoying our adventure to the full. Alarm clock set for 6.30.

Breakfast, dismantle the tent, close the backpack, change and go, Resegone always in sight in front of us, up and down the hills, steeper than they seemed from the satellite. The old path runs alongside it while the new one follows the ridge, we feel romantic and with the anti wind we continue on the ridge until we reach the sign that reads “Resegone 50 minutes”. 50 decidedly demanding minutes, a climb that does not give up, with accumulated fatigue and a still heavy backpack. But 50 minutes still go by fast when you’re used to walking for 8 hours a day. So here we are, first at the shelter and immediately at the top enjoying the 360 ​​degree view that the beautiful weather, after the previous two days of rain and clouds, allows us. Strong and cold wind, still no one to keep us company. We go down to the shelter to cook something and here we meet the first people in our adventure. The wind is strong and really cold and now perhaps the toughest part awaits us, the descent. Beer destination in Lecco. From 1875m s.l.m. of the Resegone to the 214 of Lecco, without a plain stroke. We follow the normal route and calmly, very calmly, we reach the long lake of Lecco, in the center, around 4.40pm. Birretta and a bit of relaxation, we turn on the antennas back to the world (read mobile phones) and we have two laughs on the phone with friends who thought we wouldn’t have made it. Now it’s time to take back the backpacks for the last effort, reach the station and take the train to Bergamo. From there we can expect nothing more than a hot shower, to take away the humidity of the previous nights and to impress on our hearts and minds the little adventure we have brought to completion.