Simon Collison in Another Week in Edale perfectly captures why I enjoy hiking in bad weather, something those in my proximity consider borderline reckless: A calm day is always welcome, but there’s a perverse pleasure in struggling against violent gusts, or enjoying the steady rhythmic crackle of rain on a waterproof hood. Sometimes, bad weather can feel like a gift, exactly what’s needed to stir the senses and awaken the brain. ...
From Corezzo, a short hiking loop along the park’s oldest mule tracks. The Serra Pass mule track is one of the most fascinating in the entire Casentino territory, if only for the tangible memory of the millions of feet that have trodden, traveled, and worn it down over the centuries. It connected – and still connects – the upper Savio valley with that of Corsalone, branching off from the Romagna valley floor near the Gualchiere (about 2 km south of Bagno di Romagna) and climbing up the Nasseto ridge to reach the summit ridge at a pass that isn’t exactly low (1,150 m), but evidently “convenient” for other reasons, given that its use is documented as early as prehistoric times and experienced an intense period with medieval pilgrimages directed to Rome and later to La Verna. ...
I went hiking in my beloved Foreste Casentinesi National Park a few weeks ago. This trip has been on my radar for a long time, a circular tour of incomparable beauty among wild environments like very few others in the area. Among the many ways to reach the La Lama, it is undoubtedly the best way to visit the ancient forests surrounding the beautiful, partly marshy plateau between rocky crags. The initial detour to Mount Penna is motivated by the rare panoramic view, perhaps the most beautiful in the entire park, as if from a wide-open balcony overlooking the sea of forests below. ...
I’ve been slacking a little lately, shocked mainly by what is happening worldwide. I’ve also been busy at work and, unfortunately, am taking my old man to way too many medical checkups. A short recap of notable facts might be in order. FatturaElettronica for .NET 3.6 has been released. It adds support for the upcoming technical specifications v1.9 that are coming into effect on April 1, 2025 (not a joke.) The changelog is here. I did some maintenance work on Eve. The CI workflow has been switched to ubuntu-latest from 20.04, as the latter is about to be sunsetted by GitHub. I also merged two pull requests (#1541 and #1547), one of which was long-standing. There isn’t enough material for a release, although the guys who submitted the PRs might think otherwise (if that’s the case, let me know.) I ran two DevRomagna meetups. The first one was on OpenTelemetry and was kept by Alessandro Mengoli, of whom I’m very proud (I’ve been encouraging him to start speaking for a long time.) The second was on Linux Containers but before Docker. The speaker was Gabriele Santomaggio, my go-to buddy regarding low-level networking stuff. I found both events to be quite successful and enjoyable. I hope the other attendants agree. I finally deactivated my Twitter/X account. I abandoned the platform a while ago and did not miss it. I maintain a presence on Mastodon and Bluesky, mainly to propagate whatever content I post on my website, but don’t count on me following or reading you there (same with LinkedIn.) I’m not active on social media and don’t see myself getting back into them. I’m not interested anymore (and the content there is mostly trash.) I went on a nice hike a couple of weeks ago. It was cold and overcast, and that’s why, I suspect, I did not meet a single person the whole day. Speaking of hiking, I finally got myself a Garmin inReach Mini 2 device. It’s meant to be used in case of emergency. It allows me to call for help and send sms messages even when no cell signal is available (it uses the Iridium satellite network.) I resisted getting it so far because of the high cost, not so much of the device itself, but the mandatory subscription. Only recently, I found that one can buy Garmin data plans from other vendors, and ProteGear has a nice option to suspend the subscription when not in use. So, I bought the device from Garmin, activated it, and subscribed to ProteGear. It’s looking good so far, and sending sms messages (and emails!) when there’s no cell signal feels like black magic. I’ve been reading good books, and I’m grateful for them. Well, my dad is not doing well. He’s okay now, but he’s been going through a lot, and more is expected soon. That’s life, I know. I am having difficulty making peace with what is happening in the world right now. American friends, I cannot understand how you could re-elect Donald Trump for a second term. It beats me. I am in shock and worried about the geopolitical consequences. I hope time will prove me wrong, but the future looks grim.
I took a daily hike in my beloved Apennine Mountains a few weeks ago. One of my favourite motorcycling routes is the narrow, engaging, panoramic road that unites Corniolo in the Bidente Valley with Marradi and the Mugello area via the Braccina Pass. I always wanted to return and hike through it; the moment had come. It was an excellent circular tour that, to the merits of moderation-it is not too long, nor too strenuous, the ascent is always gradual, etc. - also combines the variety of the environment, shading from mixed mid-altitude broadleaf forests (hornbeams, oaks, ash, cherry, maple) to coniferous reforestations that in this case, with increasing age and size, have taken on a certain dignity. ...
I left home at 5 AM on my Triumph Bonneville, arrived in Palafavera at about 9 AM, and left on foot half an hour later. I was eager to see the Civetta’s northwest face again, and it was as I remembered it: giant, looming, impressive, intimidating, outstanding. As I crossed the valley below, I thought about Marco Anghilleri, who completed the first winter repeat of the Solleder route on that wall, and just then, I came across a plaque, just below the summit’s vertical, announcing his passing on the Central Freney Pylon in 2014. He fell while attempting the first winter solo of a challenging route there. ...
When I’m out hiking on my weekend hike I often spend much of the experience in contemplation. My thoughts are usually tickling at Warp 10, going everywhere possible at once, but then I ramp it back a bit and I just think about an assortment of topics at any given moment. Out in nature is really a good place for me to get things back into perspective, and I usually feel the better for it when I get back home. ...
I went on a motorcycle and hiking trip yesterday. It was a glorious day, albeit windy, which helped keep the temperature chill. Mixing hiking with motorcycling is something I love, as it combines two of my hobbies. However, it requires some careful planning. I still want to wear full safety gear on the bike but not take any of that with me as I walk in the wilderness, where I’ll be in hiking gear instead. ...
Yesterday I went for a walk in the mountains. This tour starts from Bocconi (on the road to Muraglione Pass) and the nice humpback bridge that is just below the village (I think it’s called “della Brusia”). Ponte della Brusia, Bocconi (FC) It is a nice hike, with the ascent that becomes quite challenging in the final part, towards the ridge tops, which, once reached, you’ll follow for a long time, partially on a forest road, before plunging back downhill, initially following a lovely descending ridge da makes most of the descent quite pleasant. During the ascent, several detours were necessary to get around the landslides that originated during the infamous May floods (there are still several traffic lights on the roadway leading up from Forlì, all due to the restoration works following the flood). Hats off to the volunteers who maintain the trail: they have had to work hard this year. At some point, they had to ‘dug out’ complete new sections to get around the more enormous landslides. ...
Yesterday, I went on a hiking trip to Monte Tiravento. This majestic loop tour is uncommon compared to the classic woody image of the Parco Nazionale del Foreste Casentinesi, as it takes place mainly on aerial and partly even barren ridges, resulting in magnificent views. Compared to other variants I did in the past, this one starts at a high altitude, offering lower elevation differences. It is inadvisable on the hottest summer days when the nearby forests offer more cover from the scorching sun, but it is a real treat throughout the rest of the year. ...