Tuesday, August 28, 2012

GR20 // day 1 // Monte Corona

Distance: 5km, altitude at start: 1570m, altitude at end: 1570m, highest point: 2144m.

After arriving at Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu I've got a lot of time at my disposal before dinner. Back home in Norway I’d planned to hike to the top of Monte Corona after finishing the first stage, not knowing if it was an ambitious plan or not. Standing ready to go, it wasn’t being tired that would make up most of the hindrance, but the weather.

Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu as seen from the way up towards Monte Corona. Still there are clouds hanging over the landscape.

Drifting up from the sea the clouds had come soaring and engulfed the cabin and the surrounding landscape. The top has disappeared beyond a grey veil. The possibility to see anything from the summit is looking kind of small. I have a lot of time to spare before dinner however. So, I decide to make a go for it. If not, just a little bit upwards to check out the conditions.

View to the south from Monte Corona. That will be the landscape that I will see the upcoming days.

I leave the cabin and makes my way through the birch woods above the cabin, by the side of me wisps of clouds is floating between the trees. The path winds back and forth up towards Bocca di Tartagine. Among the yellow leaves yellow markers points me in the right direction. Up by the ridge, the clouds has dissolved and the sun is now smiling again above. The view unfolds before me, backwards and downwards towards the cabin I’ve left and over to the ridge on the other side of the valley. Far down below I can see a road.

It’s an easy walk from the ridge and up to the top, from the top I can look out over the landscape in all directions from 2144 meters above. A small camera is mounted to a solar panel; I give the viewers in the other end a smile. Down in the valley I can see the cabin with all the tents like small dots around it. Calvi again in the distance, it will not be the last I see of the city.

View towards Calvi from Monte Corona, Ortu di u Piobbu lies below about in the middle of the picture.

But the greatest excitement lies to the south, and what I can expect in the following days. From where I stand tall spires reaches upwards one and one after each other, with some small ridges in between. It’s steep and magnificent. I can see Monte Cinto reaching to the sky, and hopefully I will be standing on top of it in a couple of days and can look back towards here. Monte Corona may not be as spectacular as other summits here, as it’s quite easy to summit, but it made the highlight of the first day.

Monte Corona. View towards the top from the Refuge d'Ortu di Piobbu.

<- Ortu di u PiobbuCarozzu ->

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