Jeanne's Next Chapter: Up on the Roof

"On the roof, it's peaceful as can be

And there the world below can't bother me..."

From a church roof on Mt San Salvatore overlooking Lake Lugano in Switzerland

I like to think of the part of Italy where I live as the roof of Italy; there are so many mountain trails that lead to viewpoints overlooking the lakes and hills below. It is a reward on a beautiful day to emerge from the woods and see a breathtaking view into Switzerland or of distant coastal mountains to the south of us.

A cable car, then a ski lift ride for a view of Lake Maggiore

There is a classic trekking route that leads from the town of Brunate, just above Como, to Bellagio 33 kilometers (20 miles) away. The trail follows the crest of the ridge between the two legs of Lake Como. Several people had mentioned it to me but no one we knew had actually hiked the route. I bought a detailed map and hiking book and asked my friend Kim to help me call the rifugio to reserve two beds for us. (Better Italian than mine is required for that phone call.) I checked the weather and then and only then, told Dave that I had planned a little hike for us that weekend.

We left right after breakfast on Saturday and took a bus up to Brunate where the trail starts. We were treated to beautiful views the entire day as we walked along the "Dorsale Triangolare Lariano" sentiero (trail). We generally had the trail to ourselves but did see mountain bikers and a few other hikers doing shorter sections. We got lost a few times when the trail signs were confusing which resulted in some backtracking and scrambling up a hillside, but the distinctive geography of the area allowed us to always have a general sense of where we were. With our detours and a lunch stop, we reached our Saturday night rifugio destination in about six hours.

The Rifugio Riella is an old, rustic no-frills lodge just below the peak of Monte Palanzone. We had a delicious dinner of what we now consider "mountain food", polenta and goulash. There wasn't much going on in the place that night so we went to bed early. Luckily we were the only ones in our room with six bunks so we were able to use all six blankets to keep warm in the unheated space.

We were up early and on the trail Sunday morning at 8 AM and we enjoyed the morning sunshine and warmth. We met an elderly shepherd checking on his flock of sheep and donkeys. We walked by fields filled with wildflowers and enjoyed hearing the sound of cowbells wafting over the hills like wind chimes. As we passed Monte San Primo, the highest peak on the route, we could see the point of Bellagio in the distance so it seemed like we were just about done. It was just an illusion however, because it was another two and a half hours of downhill hiking on tired knees and feet before we walked into the glitzy tourist area of Bellagio at 3:30. We bought our ticket for the hydrofoil boat back to Como and had time to sit down and enjoy pizza and pasta. The best part of the weekend was looking back up at the mountains as we cruised by in the boat and seeing them from a new perspective.