Located a stone's throw from Lecco, in the town of Galbiate, Monte Barro rises just above 900 metres and belongs to the Lombard Prealps. The area is totally unknown to a Lucano like me, still getting used to exploring northern Italy. After having walked and lived it, I want to dedicate a place to it in this diary of mine so that it stays somehow etched in my memory: while exploring I felt so at ease that I decided to spend up there my first night solo, with my faithful Haven Tent.
After the excursion in Valsesia, visited during the survival course held with Coach and Instructor Micheal Bolognini, the trip to Monte Barro is the fruit of an impulse, an irrepressible urge to be in nature, that suddenly popped up on a Friday morning in May (2021).
I'm in Milano, Lambrate area, I have the car meaning I have a way to move, I'm in Northern Italy, so there is a vast choice of mountains to visit up north but (there is always a but) I have zero clue where to head. So I ask my friend Marta for help, met on a cycling trip in the middle of Parco delle Groane, a forest that stretches from Milano to Como. Ever the ally of life in nature, Marta quickly gives me a couple of options and the choice falls on Monte Barro, which was pretty easy to reach from Milano by car, about 50 minutes (no traffic). I decide to leave by 12.00 but, between emails to close and indecision about what to bring, I set off at 14.00. Acceptable delay for an Italian, come on.
I bring along my Haven Tent, a shelter and a portable bed born from the genius of a nature lover, Derek Tillotson, who after years of tests, studies and various prototypes invented this piece of art. The set-up is similar to the traditional hammock, you mount it by tying the two ends of the supporting frame to two trees about 4 metres apart. The shell looks like the silkworm's cocoon, but the game-changing innovation compared to the traditional hammock is the position it lets you rest in: it's not curved, it stays straight, letting the guest rest as if on a memory-foam bed. Try it to believe it, ladies and gentlemen.
Around 15, 15.30, I reach the starting point, choosing to leave the car in the San Michele area, Galbiate (LC). The area is pretty nice, there is a church with a few rides for the kids and a few parking spots. Since it's a Friday afternoon, they're almost all for me (an advantage for the lucky few).
I don't know the area and I have no idea where to camp for the night, but I decide to bring the tent and follow instinct: if a place along the way inspires me, I'll take advantage and christen the tent (and myself) on our first solo overnight adventure.
After the first metres of ascent you already glimpse, behind a small group of trees that look like Scots pines to me, Lago di Garlate and part of the city of Lecco. This is the north-east side of Monte Barro.
Below I leave some links that describe in detail the Parco del Monte Barro in terms of routes, points of interest, flora and fauna.
Routes and panoramic points on Monte Barro: http://web.tiscali.it/parcomontebarro/018.htm
Flora and Fauna in the Parco del Monte Barro: https://www.parcomontebarro.it/il-parco-monte-barro/la-flora-del-parco
After a short stretch in fairly thick woodland you reach a small plateau, Pian Sciresa, and from there the route is a slightly steeper climb until you get to an "artificial" stairway, built by using rocks and setting wooden logs, that leads to a small statue of the Madonna. It seems to be placed there in honour of alpini who died in the war.
The trail continues towards a spot which on Komoot is called "Sasso della Vecchia". There are several medium-large boulders that in fact remind of shapes like an old woman, or, reading online, other things too. I'm already on the western side of Monte Barro, and the path climbs more steeply, forcing me to use my hands to get past a rocky stretch.
The landscape in exchange is stunning: heading south, climbing towards the summit, on my right, so to the west of the mountain, you can clearly see the three lakes, Lago di Annone, Lago di Pusiano and Lago di Alserio.
Continuing up, the view now also opens to the east, offering me a sight of Lecco and the mountains stretching behind it.
Along the way I try to look around carefully, trying to spot an area that could work as "home garden" for the night. So far only the spot between Sasso del Vecchio and the small Madonna feels more or less ideal, though it doesn't fully convince me because of the lack of privacy from the main trail.
I stay focused on the first objective, the summit, which I reach around 17.30.
I take some time to enjoy the view, exchanging a few words with other hikers of various ages and friendliness. I have a small snack and I get back to searching for a good bivouac area. It's my first night in a tent, in nature, alone, without company. I'm pretty calm though while looking, confident that this will be the right time to spend a night solo.
At the height of a nice flower that catches my attention, thanks to a friendly four-legged friend sniffing at it while its owner calls him back, I notice a small variant to the main trail, between 50 and 100 metres below the summit.
It seems less used and less visible, maybe because it's dirtier with branches and stones. The spot isn't flat and would not be at all suitable if I had a traditional tent with me. However it seems perfectly tucked away from the main path but not too far from it either. It's exposed to the east side of Monte Barro and it points towards Monte Cornizzolo. It's sheltered by tall trees that look like young beeches to me.
Done. The spot gives me a feeling of safety and calm: I don't think about it twice and I set up my Haven Tent right there.
On top of that, about 3 minutes on foot in the direction of the summit, I find a fantastic viewpoint that I turn into my "dining room".
Here is the GPX track showing the hiking route to the top of Monte Barro. Point B is exactly the spot where I set up my Haven Tent. In fact, on mountains like this, marked by very steep gradients, it's not at all easy to find a flat spot, tucked away but not too far from the main trail, to put a traditional tent. Falling back on the hammock in these areas is the perfect solution: once you find two trees at the right distance, in a safe spot suitable for bivouacking, even if the ground is steep, the night can pass in peaceful sleep, especially if the hammock in question lets you sleep fully stretched out horizontally and not curled up.
It's the second time that, sleeping in the mountains, I feel calm and safe. Every time the mind gets on the "who's there" mode because of a noise nearby, I quiet it down thinking that I am serene, I am satisfied with the day, and happy with this adventure.
The night passes, quiet, though with a good bit of wind. On waking I get up happy and calm, in fact eager to keep exploring Monte Barro today too, but on the south-west side.
I open the tent to let it breathe and dry but it's not humid at all. I didn't suffer from cold, I was sheltered enough and the temperatures were mild. The sleeping bag kept me warm. I use the Decathlon TREK 500, 0°C. I don't love the "mummy" shape and I think soon I'll get a simpler one to use in these mild-weather conditions, to give me more freedom to stretch and move at night and not feel caged in. Another huge advantage of the hammock is the full insulation from the ground. Not being in contact with the terrain, but at least 50 cm above it, the humidity effect from the ground is practically zeroed out.
It was a fantastic experience which, just remembering it, reactivates the wish to come back soon.
The next day I decided to explore Monte Barro on the western side and I'll tell in a separate post about the equally exciting day.
In the end, these experiences teach me that every place deserves to be lived in length and breadth before one can speak about it. Living in Milano has always seemed to me against my "ideals" of a healthy, quiet life, because of the smog, the tall grey walls and the stress that a big city holds. Thanks though to the will to do sport and outdoor hikes, thanks also to people like Marta and other hikers from the area that I got to know, it turned out instead to be a unique chance to visit a lovely, vast territory.
In short, one needs to give oneself the chance to live a place without prejudice, going maybe a little beyond what at first glance you see or perceive, to learn that every city, region or town holds new landscapes, new points of view, new people, new lessons.
