Monte Etra, redeeming one's own "ego"

It takes constancy, tenacity, firmness and above all having clear ideas... which nowadays isn't always easy.

If I can't become a good mountaineer, at least I'll show that I can keep in good health, I'll be a good hiker and above all I won't let indolence and laziness be the ones to rule me.
After the “lights and shadows” I saw racing over the Gran Sasso, fleeting, cunning hares... I've decided I don't want to waste time; for two mornings in a row I catapult myself out of bed, spring and the early-rising sun help me get out of the house. I'm on the road at first light.
I run two days in a row.  For too long I let my life be dominated by the world... for too long I let myself be carried by the wind. Now I am the wind...

On the third day I'm on the road with Alessandro, the Oracle... I promised him a walk in the woods, little height gain, a not too demanding walk. A hike that is a pretext for training, for putting a few kilometres into our legs.

The goal is a much-maligned summit: Monte Etra (1818 m), a peak that doesn't even reach 2000 metres. I had spotted this particular mountain on an earlier hike with my wife, Valeria, and with Massimo N.; I had promised myself I would come back.

Only Alessandro seems to give me credit for these minor peaks; he always bets on little-known valleys, villages, peaks and copses. He prefers the shabby, humble bar of a small village. And as usual, going up towards Ovindoli, we stop at the little bar in San Potito. Why should I have breakfast in Ovindoli when I can stop at San Potito to help a small shopkeeper... It's a drop in the ocean... we realise that, but it's simply our way of living the places we visit. We usually also try to have a chat with the locals; we learnt that from Maurizio Casalini, who in this respect is our unrivalled master of the mountains.

We park at the fork of the gravel road that leads on one side to the Bocchetta di Prato Popolo and on the other to the Gole di Celano. The gravel road climbs gently to the Bocchetta di Prato Popolo; for almost four kilometres we are immersed in the woods of the Val d'Arano. The young leaves of the spring regrowth are an extraordinarily brilliant green. It is a very restful setting and we don't even have to make much effort to reach the foot of Monte Etra.
At Prato Popolo there are two wooden tables; you could comfortably have lunch there. From here the long ridge of Monte Etra stretches for a linear distance of about three kilometres.
You climb steeply straight away; in some stretches we instinctively find ourselves using hands and feet.
We follow the path with the red-and-white waymarks. The waymarks on the rocks have been painted recently.
The path that climbs from the Bocchetta di Prato Popolo to the summit of Monte Etra is perfectly waymarked and winds along the panoramic ridge of the mountain.

The view down into the Gole di Celano is sheer. Extraordinary, it lets us see the elegant northern ridge of the Serra di Celano. The walls are overhanging but the path is safe.

At times the path goes back into the wood, only to come out of it again and offer magnificent panoramic views over the gorge. I'm thrilled by the beauty and variety of the route. A mountain anonymous for its modest height but extraordinary for its elegance and simplicity.

The wood allows walks even in summer, offering great moments of relief from the blazing sun. A hike we could easily recommend for children. Only a stretch on small limestone rocks hollowed out by water requires care. It is an exposed passage above the drop of the gorge. It would be essential to hold children by the hand, as they certainly don't have the ability to move safely on passages like these.

The last part of the route runs along the ridge, going up and down small height differences. The icy wind from a tramontana front has lashed us all morning. When we reach the summit the wind drops, the sun comes out for good and the mountains let us glimpse the distant summit of Monte Sirente.

At the summit we stop for a sandwich and a good drink. We manage to enjoy a good half hour's rest until the sweat begins to freeze on our skin again. A few clouds start covering the sun again... we decide to set off.

The descent is quick, without hesitation; on this midweek outing we have to get back to Rome before the traffic explodes on the roads. We would like to stay longer lounging about on the grass or in the undergrowth but our goals for the day have been achieved: training and getting to know the area.

I have kept faith with my spirit, my thoughts, my expectations... at last, from a reflection born at the foot of a dark Gran Sasso, I have drawn a lesson that is not an end in itself. Not thoughts without effect, but the ability to learn again (hurrah!!!) from the mistakes of the past.

Alessandro seems very satisfied; without him this day would have been a truly boring inner monologue.