25. August, Elva – Colle San Michele 1935 – Castiglione 1469 – unnamed pass 1942 – Ussolo 1337, 6 h 30
Today we were once again looking at an extensive tour between roughly 1400 and 1950 m in altitude. We set off from Elva Serre along a road down the valley to Chiosso which had to be crossed before we could start the climb to Colle Michelle. Soon we reached – as on the previous days – partially abandoned farms on a paved road, but then climbed a steep mountain path through larch forest up to a grassy plateau. We were rewarded after this ascent with a magnificent view, and after another hour we eventually reached the “pass summit,” the highlight of today’s climb. On the other side of the valley, we passed through “villages,” partly ruined farmsteads, but also but also quite picturesque, well-kept farms with small vegetable gardens, where all kinds of vegetables are grown such as: beans, peas, carrots, chard, leeks, onions, lettuce, and herbs, and of course flowers. One small village surprised us with a massive bell tower. Another (unnamed) pass above P.Albeno had to be traversed before the final descent to the villages of Vallone and Ussolo not far above the Valley Maira floor. At one point we had to manoeuvre around a group of white cows, with one black one among them (so not everything was as uninhabited as the first impression suggested). It had been a long day, and we were hungry: there was chicken à l’Ussolo, after the obligatory antipasti.