Mount Tesoro

Mr. Bentley

view along the path

There it goes another weekend as a single guy (R. went for a period to her homeland). Saturday it was a cloudy day, and i used it to make some shopping and some works in the house, which maybe i will tell you about in another post. Ah, and i also planned some other works for the day after.
Yesterday morning i woke up early enough and, as a first thing, i looked out of the window. It was still a little dark, but i could see the sky completely clear, in the crisp air. I decided for a change of program, and all of the sudden i called a family meeting.
"Pack mates, did you see what a beautiful day? What about a hike up to the mountains?" - Mr. Bentley started jumping enthusiastically left and right, and with his baritone voice: "Oh yes, Fajah..." (Mr. Bentley and Maddie call me "Fajah" because... Well, let's not start with digressions... maybe i will tell you about this story another time). "Oh yes, Fajah, let's go hiking, you and me, and leave home the stupid girls. We are boys and we always gotta stick together. Then we could also stop for a beer someplace..." (Mr. Bentley is a little male-chauvinist, actually...) Maddie instead doesn't take me seriously, and, irritatedly swinging her eyes goes: "You are really dumb, Mr. Bentley, Fajah is not serious... Majah is not here, and everybody knows you stupid boys give up soon for laziness and you stay all day with your butts on the couch and a beer can in your hands watching the soccer match." (Majah, obviously, is R.).

Maddie at the peak of the mountain

So i took the floor to clarify. "No, no, i am very serious" i reassured Maddie, who begun to wag her tail: "Fo... fo... for really?!?" "For really!" I tell her, and then, to Mr. Bentley: "we ALL go to make a hike... as for the beer, maybe we can speak about it later". Mr. Bentley, a little deluded, but still excited for the hike: "Mmmmh... mmmmh... stupid girls... okay, Fajah"

So, i decide to give up with the home works, backpack on my shoulders, full water bottle, hiking boots, hiking sticks, GPS and photo camera (Mr. Bentley and Maddie, who go much lighter, always look to me with curiosity in this preparatory stage), and go, for a short excursion, just ten minutes by car from home.

Olginate and Garlate lakes
(bulges of the Como lake, at south of Lecco)

With R. and Maddie (Mr. Bentley was not born yet!) i already made this excursion in a snowy day, following then for a much longer distance on a path that, from south, approaches the southern slope of mount Resegone. This time, with the pack, we were happy with the ascent till the little chapel at the top of Mount Tesoro. In my memory the path was longer, maybe the snow did make it much more difficult.
Walking in the snow is really very nice, and it gives a strong sense of silence and peace. In the fall, instead, colors are really touching, from deep green to yellow and red of the leaves, to the brown of the undergrowth, in contrast to the limpid blue of the sky. This path, following the ridge, has views both on the Adda river valley of Lecco, on one side, and Orobie Alps of Bergamo on the other.

It is impossible get lost. The car can be parked in a little lot next to the hairpin bend (shown on the map). The path to take is well marked with arrows to "Monte Tesoro". After a couple of hundreds yards there is a fork on a mule path. This is the only tricky point (in fact we took the wrong way, ending up at a private property). A left must be taken, but just after the fork there is the start point of the path, a little hidden, towards right. The path is partially in the woods, partially on the rocks, til a first peak, where there is the stick for a flag, then it goes down for few feet and then up again till a higher peak with the little chapel of the Alpine soldiers, the war memorial, a little cemetery and a little heliport for the alpine aids. Time for some photos and back at once by the same way.
At noon we were already back home, and in the afternoon i also managed to make all the works i planned. Efficient eh?

other views of the path

• Total time: 1:42 (about half an hour of walk uphill and twenty minutes downhill plus the rest break)
• Covered distance: 3.94km [2.45mi] (round trip)
• Difference of level: 115m [377feet] (214m [702feet] uphill, 99m [325feet] downhill)
• Altitude: from 1301m [4268feet] to 1416m [4646feet]

GPS track
A: parking at the hairpin bend; B: peack of Mount Tesoro; C: Olginate lake; D: Garlate lake