When in Italy, do as the Italians
Our outdoor recreation goal — during a five-week historical/cultural tour of Italy — was to hike the entire coastal trail between the five villages in Cinque Terre.
We were disappointed, not just by the hiking experience (or lack of) but the significant shortfalls in how the trail information system is managed by Il Parco delle Cinque Terre, aka the Cinque Terre National Park.
Using the website’s Trails and outdoor tab on the home page, we found a list of numerous trails, some of them with red circles on the left side but no explanation of what that meant. (Only later, we discovered that if you click on each trail name, there is a separate description of that trail and at the top of that page, a red circle indicating closed route.)
We went to the train station in Vernazza and learned that four of the five coastal trails we planned to hike were closed, but a one-day pass was still the standard 7.50 euros. So we took the train one-way to Corniglia and hiked the four kilometres back to Vernazza in the estimated time of 90 minutes.
However, the trail was so crowded (because it was the only coastal trail officially open) that at times, you had to wait at narrow sections for long lines of people to pass.
The trail had large and small stones closely packed into a relatively smooth trail although it was easy to trip if you didn’t watch your footing. Those well-worn, shiny rocks would be extremely slippery and dangerous in wet conditions. It was also not challenging to hike as evidenced by the large numbers of families and even grossly overweight people found there.
The halfway point had a packed cafe, but don’t believe the hand-written sign that says it’s four kilometres back to Corniglia and four kilometres to Vernazza. Just before you get to the cafe, there is a flat area on the Corniglia side equipped with picnic tables but no view. Instead, we stopped at a viewpoint and admired the panorama while standing and eating.
When we got back to Vernazza and wifi, the Sheriff emailed the national park office (Sept. 30) asking — in English — why the closed sections of this so-called Blue Path weren’t highlighted on the website home page since it is the easiest, the most famous and the most popular path in the entire Cinque Terre.
On Oct. 2, a national park representative emailed back simply with a webpage address, where every word was in Italian. Without assistance, we then found the correct page and according to its information, the Vernazza-Corniglia trail that we had just hiked was officially closed.
Puzzled by the lack of official information while we were there, we talked to hikers along the trail and in Vernazza. One couple got up early and before the trail police arrived at the Vernazza and Monterosso checkpoints, they hiked the entire coastal trail between those two villages and found no reason why it was closed.
Another couple walking this supposedlyclosed trail met an official national park guide accompanying two hikers. (The national park service offers guided tours and excursions for those with the Cinque Terre Card.)
Another couple decided to hike the upland trail between two villages; the wife said it was almost all in trees and quite strenuous while her husband noted there were in fact several viewpoints which he appreciated. A young hiker who tried the uphill trails described them as “gruelling” — not exactly an encouragement to try those trails.
According to the national park website, proceeds from the sale of Cinque Terre Cards are mainly used for upkeep and to restore the territory as well as to provide transportation services (buses) within the territory.
Yet, we were told the popular Via dell’Amore (Way of Love) between Manarola and Riomaggiore has been closed for the past five years and is not expected to open until 2019. The same timing was expected of other closed sections, information that has since disappeared from the website. A photo on the website does show a major landslide perhaps 10 metres across blocking the trail between Manarola and Corniglia.
When asked the timing to re-open the Vernazza-to-Monterosso section, a national park clerk told us it would depend on when the Monterosso mayor approved the expenditure of funds. Apparently he did.
*** After five weeks away, it was amazing to see all of the outdoors news that happens in such a short period of time. It truly proves the Okanagan is a four-seasons playground.
In major news, the campfire ban was lifted, eight regional parks closed since July 18 due to the threat of wildfires re-opened, a 127-hectare expansion to Black Mountain/sntskëilínt?n Regional Park was celebrated, and word that up to 17 kilometres of the 49-kilometre Okanagan Rail Trail could be completed this fall in Kelowna, Lake Country and Coldstream. Whew! Now for more news...
*** The Best of the Fest from the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival is returning to Kelowna Community Theatre at 7 p.m. on Oct. 21.
Organizer Dean Urness is again presenting the best mountain films from around the world, the thrill of adrenaline-packed outdoor adventure from skiing and mountain biking to big peak climbing and beautiful landscapes. Tickets are $20 at most outdoor shops and $25 cash only at the door.
And he has again found an exceptional keynote speaker in Sonnie Trotter. Born Nov. 15, 1979 in Toronto, Trotter began climbing in 1997 at the age of 16 and quickly became one of the world’s most accomplished rock climbers.
“He is a Canadian professional climber known for his strength in many rock-climbing disciplines, a man who has completed hundreds of first ascents around the world,” said Urness.
“For a teenage boy growing up in the flatlands of Southern Ontario, this is a remarkable feat. His first rock climbing breakthrough began on a camping trip to Colorado at the age of 17. With only 21 months of climbing experience, Sonnie repeated four 5.14s, a difficulty few people in the world ever climb.”
He went on from this to become the first Canadian to win a U.S. national climbing competition and then set his sights on traditional climbing — rock climbing on extremely hard routes that require the additional skill of placing your own protection as you climb up, said Urness.
“In this style, he climbed most of America’s hardest traditional climbs and in Europe, he has climbed a few routes which still rank as the hardest climbs in the world. Today, some of his signature routes are still unrepeated.”
Trotter has gained fame for his support of clean trad routes over bolted routes, and his first ascent of the Cobra Crack in Squamish. He also made Squamish history in 2006 when he and his climbing partner, Matt Segal, connected The Shadow 5.13b, The Grand Wall 5.13b and The Black Dyke 5.13b on the Stawamus Chief, all free, in a single 12-hour push.
Trotter has been featured in three awardwinning films. The Cobra Crack won best short film at the Banff International Mountain Film Festival in 2006. If You’re Not Falling won Best Short Film at BIMFF in 2008 and First Ascent is the winner of multiple awards. Trotter is also prominently featured in the opening scenes of the hit motion picture The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 being chased by Bella Swan while free soloing.
Urness is excited about what promises to be a humorous and deep felt multi-media presentation.
“It is such a wonderful opportunity to have the calibre and quality of fantastic mountain films that cover such a wide range of subject matter as well as have world-class presentations by people like Sonnie with amazing stories to tell.
“Sonnie will share not only stories from the past and present, but also dive into the moving and profound lessons that adventure has taught him over the years.”
*** Long-time reader Eva Durance enjoyed the recent column about kayaking around the Salmon Arm Nature Reserve, “a place I very much want to visit for some birding.
“It’s one of Dick Cannings’ top birding spots in B.C. in his book on that topic. Just a small correction: the white (or American) pelicans we get through B.C. breed in the Cariboo, not the Arctic, and the ones you saw are most likely from the flock that nests at Stum Lake.
“They are a remarkable bird, so clumsy on land, but so very graceful and adept on the water and in the air. They migrate through the South Okanagan and overnight at Vaseux Lake, if one is lucky enough to be there at the time they are there.”
*** Prof. Michael Russello is co-ordinating a study of Western rattlesnake population connectivity and dispersal in British Columbia in collaboration with the BC Ministry of the Environment and Thompson Rivers University.
“The goals are to inform the designation of management units in the province and to better understand the barriers to movement across the landscape,” said the associate head of the department of biology at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus at the beginning of September.
“We have dense sampling in the South Okanagan, in and around Vernon, and to the northwest, in the Thompson. However, we have a big gap in our sampling between Skaha Lake and Vernon.”
He was interested in the locations of dens in and around Kelowna and West Kelowna, but had only a short timeframe to collect location information since “egress will begin shortly and this will be our last sampling season for the current project.”
It was too late for the Sheriff to ask readers to send in rattlesnake den locations but from Italy, he did tell Russello about the response to a July 15 column about hiking/biking on the west side of Rose Valley Reservoir in West Kelowna.
“I have hiked this area quite a bit,” said local resident Jorgen Hansen. “Don’t forget to inform your readers re the high population of rattlesnakes in the area. There is a large nest about one-half kilometre up the slope with a pair of six-foot-plus snakes that breed each year.”
*** This fall, moms and caregivers with babies and little ones are welcome to join a popular and free weekly walking club.
Roll and Stroll is a great opportunity to meet other parents and spend time casually exploring Mission Creek Regional Park, Springfield and Durnin roads in Kelowna.
Each Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. until Nov. 30, participants meet at the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan (EECO) in Mission Creek Regional Park in Kelowna. They will have a leisurely 45-minute walk through the park before returning to the EECO for refreshments and some baby basics. Participants are encouraged to use strollers and baby carriers that are suitable for rough terrain.
The program is free, but registration is required by calling the EECO at 250-4696139 or emailing eeco@cord.bc.ca.
For more information about this or other regional park programs, go to the regional district website: regionaldistrict.com/parksevents or contact the EECO at 250-469-6140.
*** The free fall Tracks Walking Clubs, a beginner graduated walking program, is offering your choice of location on either side of Okanagan Lake.
Each Monday and Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. until Nov. 22, participants will walk along the Mission Creek Greenway and in Mission Creek Regional Park.
Each Tuesday and Thursday morning at 9 a.m. until Nov. 23, Westside participants will walk around the Gellatly Nut Farm Regional Park off Whitworth Road in West Kelowna.
There’s no cost to sign up and members will receive a walking journal, walking tips, seminars and motivational tips that keep them moving.
Those at a beginner fitness level are encouraged to take part, gradually increasing their health, stamina and walking duration to 60 minutes.
Tracks is offered in partnership with the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Walk and Talk program. To register, drop in to the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan in Mission Creek Regional Park at Springfield and Durnin roads, or email eeco@cord.bc.ca or phone 250-469-6139.
J.P. Squire is an outdoor enthusiast whose column appears in The Okanagan Weekend every Saturday.