69 - What goes up... - Mt D'Oro

Saturday, May 11

I woke up to the sunlight as it rose over the mountains facing my room in Bastelica.  Since I'd settle the check last night, I simply packed my things and left the key in the door's interior lock.  My original plan had been to grab a packed lunch from a bakery enroute to today's hike but I had to adjust to accommodate my bag breaking/ripping yesterday.  So instead of a 45 minute drive to the hiking spot (Mount D'Oro), I had a 30 minute drive into Ajaccio first.  

The hotel manager had mentioned last night that there were no sporting good stores in the area and a google search confirmed that the closest was a Decathlon store on the edge of Ajaccio.  Nestled in a retail village, this Decathlon had basically everything someone coming to the island might need to do stuff outdoors.  From skiing to fishing they seemed to have it all: floaty wings, grippy boots, camp stoves, basketballs, etc.  Despite having a good idea of what I wanted, I came out of the store 30 minutes later with two bags 🤦‍♂️ But I'm pleased with my purchases; they're different bags and have different uses.  One is a plain 10L bag (for €6) and the other a 25L waterproof backpack that folds up into almost nothing.  Between the two, I think I have a lot of situations covered.  

I'd seriously considered one of these but it overlapped with the backpacks I have in the closet in Jersey City

It seems that the ride from Ajaccio to Mount D'Oro is only 30 minutes thanks to it being a straight shot along the isle's main through way (or as close to a straight shot as windy mountain pass roads go).  On the way, I stopped to procure a sandwich, two apples, and some sort of tart filled with a mystery filling (the filling itself was known to somebody but I didn't ask the cashier).  A short bathroom/coffee stop at the Hotel D'Oro and I was on my way!

The bakery was just off the highway and was getting a good amount of people coming in

The place I got the apples from does rotisserie chicken on weekends; the pile of potatoes at the bottom caught my attention.  Sounds pretty tempting.

This might be my most ambitious hike thus far.  Per All Trails, the Mt. D'Oro loop is 10 miles and 4,700 feet of elevation.  It makes use of the GR20 route that wraps around the mountain's base as it uses the passes to the NW and SE faces of the mountain.   My route would start at the southern base of the mountain, then follow the GR20 north and west until I would proceed east up to the peak, descend along the eastern face of the mountain, and return to my starting point following the GR20 south and west.  

The route from the road to the trail featured a wire/rope course and picnic areas.

And to go up, we first have to go down: the first attraction was a river carving it's way down from the mountain snowmelt.  This river forms Les Cascades des Anglais (the English Waterfalls) and featured some nice pools.  I'm sure people bathe here in the summer but I only saw 1 guy disrobe and take a splash and he looked like someone who'd followed the GR20 10 miles that day.  

If the water wasn't freezing and I wasn't just starting my hike, that pool would be very tempting.

I'm not sure why they're called the English Falls but I think this is them.

Someone busting out a drone to get a birds-eye view; I'll be getting my view the old-fashioned way

I took my lesson from yesterday's hike to heart and made more frequent stops to check the view rather than pushing on with the thought that the view just a little higher up would be better.  It's a good thing too because this hike just kept going up and up and up.  There was a distinct change in the trail as the trees became fewer and fewer.  Eventually, I was using stepping stones up a minor waterfall; not that water was rushing over everything but that the entire trail had about an inch of water flowing between large stones making up the path.  Fortunately, the trail was super well marked with the red and white rectangle blazes of the GR20.  

I'm still not sure what seasoning was used for the tart but it made for a tasty snack break.  I want to say the filling was eggplant based.

Oh, I'm coming for you, mountain.

Spotted while crossing this little stream feeding to the main river; the wavy plant in the water caught my attention since I hadn't seen it before on the island.  

The water sure has a long trajectory from the peak and the slope seems to vary.  This section here seemed perfect for a water slide into the pool below!

The point of crossing over the river to start working my way up the side of the valley instead of along it.  

As I climbed higher and higher, vegetation became a few spindly shrubs, the occasional wildflower, and plenty of lichen on the rocks.  And with a bit of effort, plenty of water, and breaks, I eventually reached the point at which my trail diverged from the GR20.  The GR20 continued off to my left as it wound itself to and over the ridge; my new trail followed a yellow blaze as it turned right and worked its way along the wall and up.  There was just a bit of snow on the trail but I didn't think anything of it at this point, a little bit of snow would be like a bit of mud and since the mountain peak didn't show any snow I figured there wouldn't be much snow to deal with.  

The new folding backpack was great!  I could fit my layers, my food, sunblock, and two water bottles.  All it was missing was an AC system to cool my back but wearing it forward periodically also did the job.  

From below, I didn't realize how jagged and solid these mountain ridges were.

Don't worry, it's not all sweat 😂.  I took advantage of a cool stream to splash myself and give my shirt a quick soak for the climb.  

This is where the fun begins: climbing up the stones as the water comes down between them.

Do you continue north along the GR20 or turn to climb Mont D' Oro?  

Hmm that yellow blaze isn't the most obvious marking in the world, hopefully the trail is obvious enough.

A view of the valley I just came up from; not too shabby

It's been a couple hours but I'm still in good spirits; I mean, I'm practically to the top already! 

Ok, I wasn't expecting the trail to have snow but this looks to be a manageable stretch and the footsteps of others make the path clear.  Thinking back on this, I can clearly see how much snow was on the other mountain peak behind me but it didn't click.

I was still hopeful that I'd gotten through the last of the snow; after climbing up the 5 feet wall the trail had come to, conditions drastically improved.  While the trail wasn't super well marked (yellow circles for markers on rocks that host yellow lichen blotches), people had built up cairns to show what looked like the trail.  But this section was bone dry, seemed to have switchbacks, and was already delivering great views of the valley I'd just come from.  

That jaunt in the snow brought me to this wall; a little scramble up and I was on dry rock again!

Following this section up eventually brought me to a ridge line and I got my first peak to the northern side of the mountain!  It reinvigorated me and I could clearly see that the summit, while still a ways away, was a heck of a lot closer now.  I could see some snow pooling down below me but my path from this angle to the summit looked to be simply rocky.  

Ah, so that's what the northern half of the island looks like 😆; it's a pretty sharp ridge, I wonder what the GR20 route looks like as it winds its way to the next area.  

This is the moment I spotted trails in the snow winding their way up to the peak on the other side of the valley; maybe with snowshoes that could be interesting but it seems fairly steep...

Per Peak Advisor: the high point is Pointe Migliarello measuring in at 2252m.  Per me: Nah, I'd win.

Working my way up the rocky slope; at this point I was following cairns because the yellow blaze was like a game of Where's Waldo.

Looking out the NE and to the sea; I think I can see a land mass off in the water.  The question is which island: Elba, Pianosa, or Monte Cristo?  

I've got a ways to go but I'm still feeling good about this; things are rocky and steep here but should be manageable so long as the cairns are obvious!

Looking north along the ridge; I took a good water break here to enjoy the view and the coolness of the air.  My shirt had mostly dried from the river soak; despite the light crisp breeze I was comfortable to slightly sweaty in my t-shirt between the climb and the sun.  

And rocky it was, very quickly the route went from dry rocky dirt to hopping boulders.  And then this is where I felt like the trail markers were particularly lacking: a section felt like it was up to me as to how to get to the next cairn but all I could see was scree.  I think I was on the trail but I guess it's impossible to know if I was just causing unnecessary erosion or not.  A bit more scrambling through the scree and I reached a small stone nest to catch my breath and have lunch.  

These big boulders along the ridge must have rested up here for a very long time; they're just covered in yellow lichen.  Hopefully my foot steps on them won't disrupt the lichen from its long work.  

It makes sense the north face of the ridge would have a lot of snow and the little glacial pool at the bottom looked fun.  I could have really used a LoZ Breath of the Wild / TotK glider; I'm not sure I'd trust myself shield surfing down the slope versus destroying my shoulder sockets with a huge kite. 

Sitting pretty in my stone nest.  I really needed a snack at this point; I don't want to jump to any conclusions here, but I think its possible for long hikes to make me feel tired. 

Here, I spotted a person up on the summit; it took a while to be sure it wasn't just my eyes playing tricks on me but the little figure was definitely walking to the south end of the summit plateau to begin their descent.  At this point, I'd hiked about 3 hours and was starting to feel the exertion; but seeing someone else hardened my resolve.  With my backpack lighter (less water and sandwich weight), I think I had it in me to make it up there.   

I might be getting tired, but look at that; it's just a bit further to go!  The camera couldn't capture it, but there was a person moving on the summit; I waved but I couldn't see them wave back. 

From my stone nest, the trail was up and down the stony ridgeline until it dipped down to cut up the south face of the mountain and I started to have my doubts that I'd be completing my goal: another huge slog and climb through the snow.  There were a few rocks to try minimizing my route in the wet snow but ultimately I'd have to follow in the footsteps the previous people had left behind.  

It was at this moment that I actually said, "Ughhhh, this suckssssss..."  I briefly thought of a quote from a former Nintendo NA executive, "If it's not fun, why bother?" but banished it as I resolved to get through this.  

Turns out my hiking boots aren't waterproof but my wool socks were still keeping my toes warm; my fingies on the other hand were getting chilly from being stuck into the snow to support my balance.  Most steps supported my weight or had pressed through the snow to rock below but I'd periodically find myself sinking a few surprise inches - hence the cold fingers.  I'd take breaks to dry my hands and give them a chance to warm up.  

Once I managed to get through snow, I was greeted with more steep, loose rock and a game of find the trail marker but I persisted.  I'd been checking my position on All Trails and could see I was getting really close to the point that I could attack the last spur to the summit and then descend completing the loop; and I reached a nice flat spot that seemed to correlate to that spot.  But I couldn't deny it any longer: I was tired, I'd started the hike late, my snacks were all done, and going any further up would risk finishing my trek back with the sun hidden behind the mountains.  So alas, I was so close but had to concede to Mount D'Oro: I wouldn't be making it to the summit despite only being maybe a few hundred feet of elevation away.  

A close up of a section I basically crawled up.  The stone was breaking up into slivers that reminded me of wood mulch but I don't think that counts as petrified wood 

"Foul Tarnished, put these foolish ambitions to rest".  

It was really quiet up here and I really lucked out with the weather and visibility conditions.  But I was reaching the point of fatigue where the I was appreciating the views less and that would be a shame.    

The question remained about how to descend: I could stick with the devil I knew and return the way I'd come or I could try completing the trail loop.  After walking a little distance further to see what the rest of the loop looked like (afterall, it's possible it could be the easier route), all I saw was about a mile's worth of footprints in snow and immediately turned around 😅.  Turns out, doubling back through my trail had the added benefit of having my foot-sized holes already put in the trail. 

It was a long trek back down the Mt. D' Oro Loop trail, my return trek through the snow was less delicate so I apologize to all future hikers that find my mangled trail before the snow melts.  I was so relieved to finally link up with the clearly marked GR20 that I forgot I still had miles to go 😅.  Thankfully, gravity did a good amount of the work so I moved downhill faster than I had climbed up this route.  

Descending means you have to look down, in this case there was quite a bit of "down" to see as I climbed over this section of the ridge back to my stone nest.   

Oof, I'm really feeling it now.  I'm trying not to let the thought about sunset push me into rushing.  

The shadows are lengthening but I've never been happier to see a red and white rectangle!  

Still, it proved to be a wise choice to turn back when I did, I finished back at the car as the valley was cast into shadow and I had enough energy to complete the two hour drive ahead of me.  I thought ahead and called the hotel, turns out the reception wouldn't have anybody after 9pm but he said my room was #40 and that the key would be left behind the counter since the reception room is always open.

You win this round, Mont D' Oro!  

My detour to take a more direct trail to the parking lot brought me right past the ruins of this stone building; I just wanted to get back to the car so I barely spared a thought for this building.  It looked old, stony, and maybe a bit abandoned?  

 

As I drove down to Ajaccio and then turned to follow the coast, I had a lovely sunset to accentuate the curves along the cliffs.  I made it to the hotel at 9:05 and grabbed my key from behind the counter.  After dropping my stuff, I took a look around and chose a place that looked open to visit for dinner.  I managed to get the last dregs of sunlight as they faded while I ate my fish dinner.  I'll be sticking to the coast for the rest of my trip; there's only a couple days to get up close to the clear blue.  

The view of Porto from my hotel; that restaurant at the base of the tower is looking pretty festive

I'm happy with my hikes in the mountains; they offered amazing vistas and I feel I challenged myself.  Mt D'Oro in May might've been too much for me but I'm glad I tried; for the most part it was just me and the mountain.  I'm thankful everything went mostly to plan when I was up there; in the moment, the isolation was liberating but I guess if I'd misstepped or rolled an ankle then it would've been a very unfun trip back.  There was a brief moment just before my turn around that I wondered if I was going to make it all the way back, good thing that thought got banished quickly after a short breather.  

Given conditions and my performance on Mt D'Oro, it's a good thing I didn't attempt Monte Cento, the tallest mountain on the island 😂 

My phone was running out of battery as I navigated the drive; it had the decency to hold on just till I parked in front of the hotel.  After letting the phone charge during dinner, I was finally able to review the stats that All Trails' battery draw had been able to record.  

Apparently I was up high enough to let the water bottle buckle under an atmosphere of pressure.