Grande Escursione Appenninica (GEA) - a Review

For me, feeling good about something is often to do with the gap between what I was expecting and what happened.  The experience is better when your expectations are exceeded but worse when they are not.   Although it's just a few days since I got back from a 12 day, 200 kilometre walk along Italy's Grande Escursione Appenninica (GEA), I have to say disappointment with the walk is the dominant emotion.

12 days along the Grande Escursione Appenninica

Day 12 GEA Abetone

We had already decided that we were going to finish our trip at Abetone so today had that end of walk, anticlimactic feel to it.  I had originally hoped to get as far San Pellegrino (at least) but the struggle with accommodation and the time involved in completing some of the stages have left us a couple of days off plan.  Despite the fog we've been lucky with the weather but the forecast for the rest of the weak suggests that this luck is coming to an end.  Also it's easy to get down the mountain from Abetone so the plan for one more day's walking,  and then a trip to Lucca and a day's recuperation before flying home,  makes a lot of sense.

We had also been lucky with our stay at Cutigliano.  Catigliano is not as accessible as it looks on the map and if we hadn't managed to cadge a lift both ways it would either have been very expensive (taxis) or involved some tough additional walking.  Walking all the way to Abetone would probably have been a better option but that it would have been a long day and dependant on a early morning lift up to Orsigna from the owner of the Hotel Melini.

Big ones!

Day 11 GEA Cutigliano

If the weather had been just a bit better today would have been the perfect walk.

Reception area at the Hotel Melini

Day 10 GEA Pracchia

The autumn mist returned with a vengeance today and again we couldn't see a thing.

The first task was to get up to ridge and onto a route which would take us back to the GEA. We identified a spot and managed to persuade our host to give us a lift. Fortunately he agreed to take some money because it turned out to be a long way, very slow, and along a track impassible without a four wheel drive.

Another foggy

Day 9 GEA Migliana

I guess it's something to do with a military career but Chris does like to keep up appearances. A couple of things worth noting: firstly he doesn't like to hang washing from his rucksack when walking through towns; secondly he doesn't like hanging those waterproof map cases around his neck. Today I finally persuaded that ready access to the map would have a real impact on his navigational effectiveness and, despite offending his sense of decor, he agreed and took us almost directly to the intended destination.

Day 8 GEA Montepiano

Bit of a frustrating day today, the weather was poor, we got lost a couple of times, and to be honest I'm just starting to get a bit tired of all these trees, even with their semi-autumn colours.

We were scratching our heads last night about accommodation. The guide suggests that after Montepiano we hit a brick wall in terms of places being open this time of year. There were four Italian walkers in the hotel and one of them spoke perfect English. He soon put together an itinerary for us, corrected the book were it was wrong and found alternatives where there was a genuine problem. Really is nothing like local knowledge, the problem is getting hold of it if you don't speak Italian.

The fog was very thick in the morning and visibility was down to less than 10 metres. Everything was of course very wet and there was absolutely no chance of seeing any of the promised views.

Thick fog at Passo della Giogo

Day 7 GEA Passo del Giogo

Lack of accommodation at both Badia Moscheta and Passo della Futa meant for a short four hour walk to Passo del Giogo. Of course we did manage to make it a little longer.

After settling our biggest bill to date (yesterday's beer) we set off in the wrong direction from the lovely Locanda della Colla. Ten minutes later we were back saying our hellos and goodbyes to a party of German motorcyclists amused at our navigational excellence.

Day 6 GEA Colla di Casaglia.

We did toy with idea of walking back up from San Benedetto in Alp back up to the GEA but if I'm honest we didn't toy with it for long. We don't have a map for this section and wanted to keep things as simple as possible. It did mean we missed the waterfall that makes San Benedetto in Alp famous. Instead we made an early start and a little bus back up to Passo del Muraglione and had a coffee in the bar there.

The passes are very popular with motorcyclists, I guess they like the endless hairpin bends on the way to top. Understanding his customers the barman in the bar at Passo del Muraglione has festooned the place with the autographed photographs of many heroes of Italian motorcycling.

In the bar a fungi hunter mistook me for one of his own, I'm clearly starting to blend in.

In the woods near Passo del Muraglione

Day 5 GEA San Benedetto in Alpe

Today was supposed to be an easy walk but somehow we managed to fill all the available daylight time, a sort of Parkinson's law adjusted to walking.

Time filling started with a relatively late breakfast at the Agriturismo Poderone and it was after nine when we left and only after Chris had nearly bear hugged the life out of a clearly petrified landlady.

Crushing the landlady at the Agriturismo Poderone

Day 4 GEA Campigna

Last night I finally had to admit defeat and accept that tomorrow's planned walk was too long. Because we are staying about five kilometres north of the route today the return trip tomorrow made the day impossible, probably over 11 hours. We have had to find another stop over tomorrow and push all the other bookings back a day. It's hard work if you don't speak Italian. Incidentally I don't speak a word of Italian but Chris somehow speaks less, he seems to think I'm some sort of linguist.

Early morning in Badia Prataglia

Day 2 GEA Chuisi la Verna

I'm starting to think that my schedule for the walk might be just a bit too ambitious. Instead of the anticipated but still fairly massive 8 hours 30 minutes, today was another 10 hour slog. True we did treat ourselves to a beer stop, and true we lost the route afterwards, wasting thirty minutes, but somehow we seem to be off the pace. The timings on the route only add to the confusion. There is one route but it has separate signs for the pilgrims on the St Francis Way and the sinners on the GEA. The pilgrims, with God on their side, are expected to go a lot faster.

Saints & Sinners

Day 3 GEA Badia Pratagalia

Apart from the fact that I seem to have lost, for the time being at least, the ability to publish yesterday's blog, everything went well today. Chris is definitely speeding up and we managed to get to Badia Pratagalia when we expected to.

We left Chiusi La Verna at about 8, a lovely morning but with a touch of autumn chill in the air. 40 minutes later we were up at the La Verna Sanctuary, a place where St Francis stopped for more than just the odd night. Because I had shorts on Chris insisted that I stay outside while he went inside to take a few pictures. The nuns were sparred my knees.

La Verna Sanctuary

GEA Day 1 Passo di Viamaggio

Good first day but a lot longer and tougher than I had anticipated and by the time we arrived at the hotel, at about 7.15, what little light there had been on a grey misty day had finally disappeared. I was knackered, Chris was shattered.

Another case of slightly dodgy planning. John Proud had left a comment on an early blog telling me that the buses don't run up from Sansepolcro to the start of the GEA on a Sunday but I didn't really check to see how long it would take to walk on the trail up to route. Well it takes about 4 hours, longer if, like us, you miss some of way marks. We didn't actually hit the GEA until 1.30 with the sign helpfully telling us we still had 5 hours 30 minutes to walk. Instead of the anticipated 7 hour trip we were walking for nearly 10.

Bad news - still 5 hours 45