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| On the abandoned tracks in the shade. A bit disheveled, scorching heat! |
Sometimes, when they say it's better not to make too many plans, it's true!
This morning, I had the idea of running to Moretta. For a while now, whenever I drove along the ring road of Saluzzo, I would gaze at the abandoned train tracks leading to Moretta in the distance. So, the idea of trying to walk along them came to mind. However, as soon as I reached them this morning, near the 'Foro Boario,' I immediately realized that they were completely impassable due to dense overgrown vegetation... To make matters worse, last night was quite sleepless for me as it's the season of class dinners in schools, and I had one with a middle school class yesterday evening. I don't think I digested the pizza well, which prevented my usual wake-up time at 5:00 AM and pushed it until 8:00 AM! No problem, I quickly got ready with the fixed idea of going to Moretta, backpack on my shoulders, and off I went from Madonna delle Grazie in Envie towards Saluzzo. It's been a while since I could no longer take the most direct route to the city, which is crossing the ford in the bed of the Po river, as it's now filled with water (fortunately!). So, I had to add a few kilometers by reaching the Po Bridge on the main road, which I walked for about a kilometer. Then, I continued on country roads to enter Saluzzo from the side of the athletics field. Some zig-zags through city streets followed. Given that it was market day, many people greeted me from the cars I crossed, which always brings me great pleasure.
As usual, my mind was wandering, and I missed the fountain. I arrived at the entrance to the tracks near the Foro Boario (on the Savigliano street side) feeling quite overheated. I walked on the tracks for a few tens of meters, but then I had to return to the road as I couldn't make any progress due to the dense vegetation. So, I continued on asphalt for at least a kilometer and then I tried again to enter near the ring road towards Moretta, but to no avail, the tracks were even worse than before!
So, I took it easy and had a quick snack while sitting in the shade before heading back home. This time, however, I didn't forget the fountain, as the heat was simply unbearable! You can definitely feel that summer is approaching...
The return journey was slow, let's say I didn't have a specific goal in mind, and since I'm a very instinctive person, when enthusiasm wanes, everything slows down in a chain reaction. No problem, I'll plan some other adventures, and since I usually also do bike rides in the summer, there will certainly be opportunities to combine the two activities.
It would be fantastic if that old railway were converted into a cycling path to complete that major connection between 'Via della Pietra' and Moretta, all the way to Airasca. A large loop that would easily allow us to reach cities like Pinerolo and Turin on foot or by bike, starting from our Saluzzo area. Some time ago, I tried to pitch the idea to a friend who is part of the Municipality of Saluzzo, and I'm certain that sooner or later, something will happen!
Attached is the GPS route on WikiLoc:
https://it.wikiloc.com/percorsi-escursionismo/da-madonna-delle-grazie-a-ferrovia-abbandonata-saluzzo-verso-moretta-137969666
As always, the journey was prepared using the technique described in the: http://www.bertinettobartolomeodavide.it/ultratrail/index.html
Below is the detail of the reference links related to my ultratrail and trail
articles:
Very long distances |
Routes |
Competitions |
Solo adventures |
Publications |
Training strategy |
UltraTrail eBook
