black spots, an indication they may be gorging themselves on your blood. Remove the creature carefully using tweezers – avoid the temptation to employ a twisting motion, and be sure to get the head out – and disinfect the skin. Recommended precautionary measures include wearing long light-coloured trousers, tucked into socks, and spraying boots, clothing and hat (but not skin!) with an insect repellant containing Permethrin. More information is available at www.lymeneteurope.org. Doctors consulted will usually prescribe a course of antibiotics as a precautionary measure. Another line is to keep an eye on the affected skin for a week or so and seek medical advice if any swelling or unusual irritation/itching appears.
Plants and flowers
The plant life in the Apennines is essentially Mediterranean in nature. Generally speaking the southern domains are characterised by Turkey oak and evergreen lentisks with spreads of scrubby maquis, gradually replaced by woodlands of beech, pine and chestnut the further north you go. Beech is predominant from the 900m mark and can be seen growing as high as 1700m. This is a guarantee of memorable colours both in spring with a delicate fresh lime green, then a continuum of vivid reds, oranges and yellows in autumn. A brilliant contrast is provided by the darker plantations of evergreens, silver fir and spruce. The most memorable forests are to be found in the Casentino (Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi), long exploited for shipbuilding: over the 16th to 19th centuries trunks with a minimum girth of 6m and a height of 28m were dragged by teams of oxen to the River Arno and floated via Florence to Pisa to become masts for the navy. In the 1300s timber was also used as scaffolding for Florence’s monumental duomo. Lower down, starting at 400m, are spreading chestnut woods, long cultivated as the mainstay of many an Apennine community for both timber and fruit, once dried and ground into nutritious flour.
Clockwise from top left: orange lily, lady orchid, broom, blue gentians, houseleeks
In the wake of the ice ages the northernmost regions of the Apennines were ‘invaded’ by alpine plant types in search of warmer conditions, the spruce and alpenrose being typical examples. Walkers will be surprised at the elevated number of alpine flowers on high altitude meadows and grassy ridges. Burgundy-coloured martagon or orange lilies vie for attention with an amazing range of gentians, from the tiny star-shaped variety through to the fat bulbous exemplar and even the more unusual purple gentian, a rich ruby hue. Clumps of pale pink thrift adorn stony ridges. A rarer sight are glorious rich red peonies, while longer-lasting light-blue columbines are another treat on stonier terrain.
Flower buffs will appreciate the delicate endemic rose-pink primrose, which grows on sandstone cliffs in the northern Apennines, and hopefully the less showy but equally rare Apennine globularia, a creeping plant with pale-blue flowers. Spring walkers will enjoy the colourful spreads of delicate corydalis blooms, wood anemones, perfect posies of primroses, meadows of violets and the unruly-headed tassel hyacinth. Soon afterwards the predominant bloom is scented broom that covers hillsides with bright splashes of yellow. An unusual prostrate version is Spanish broom, with denser and pricklier growth. May to June is usually the best time for orchid lovers, though it will depend on altitude. There’s the relatively common helleborine and early-purple varieties, then the sizeable lady orchid with outspread spotted pink petals resembling a human form, and if you’re in luck the exquisite ophrys insect orchids.
Bare twigs of mezereon or daphne burst into strongly scented flower in spring, though these morph into bright red poisonous berries at a later stage. Damp marshy zones often feature fluffy cotton grass alongside pretty butterwort, its Latin name pinguicula a derivation of ‘greasy, fatty’ due to the viscosity of its leaves which act as insect traps. Victims are digested over two days, unwittingly supplying the plant with the nitrogen and phosphorous essential for its growth, and which are hard to find in the boggy ambience where it takes root.
Oten, the way will be strewn with aromatic herbs – oregano, thyme and wild mint inadvertently crushed by boots scent the air deliciously with pure Mediterranean essences. Grasslands above the tree line are associated with a well-anchored carpet of woody shrubs, notably juniper and bilberry, which spreads to amazing extensions, to the delight of amateur pickers who use them for topping fruit tarts or flavouring grappa.
Chestnuts litter the ground in autumn
Getting there
The handiest international airports for the trek start are at Ancona, Pescara, Pisa and Rome, each with ongoing buses and trains. Genoa and Bologna, on the other hand, are closer to the trek conclusion.
The road pass Bocca Trabaria, where the trek begins, can be reached by bus from either side of the mountainous Apennine ridge thanks to the Baschetti run between Sansepolcro and Pesaro. Otherwise a taxi can come in handy. Pesaro is located on the main Adriatic coast Trenitalia railway line, while Sansepolcro can be reached from Rome via Orte and Perugia thanks to the FCU trains, not to mention Etruria Mobilità bus from Arezzo, which in turn is on the main Florence–Rome railway line.
The trek’s conclusion is Passo Due Santi. The closest bus stop is 5km away at the village of Patigno, pick-up point for the ATN bus to the railway station at Pontremoli from where it is easy to travel on to Bologna, Florence or Rome.
See Appendix B for more information and contact details.
Monte Giovo is reflected in the waters of Lago Santo Modenese (Stage 16)
Local transport
Since time immemorial the Apennines have been criss-crossed by tracks and roads of all sorts linking the Adriatic coast to the Tyrrhenian, and the trek encounters a multitude of road passes and settlements served by public transport. This makes it especially versatile for fitting in with plans for shorter holidays or readjustments on account of unfavourable weather. The capillary bus and train network is reliable and very reasonably priced. Details are given at relevant points during the walk description and timetables are on display at bus stops and railway stations. Bus tickets should usually be purchased beforehand – at a café, newspaper kiosk or tobacconist in the vicinity of the bus stop – and stamped on board. Where this is not possible just get on and ask the driver, though you may have to pay a small surcharge. The transport company websites are listed in Appendix C and can be consulted for timetables. As regards trains, unless you have a booked seat – in which case your ticket will show a date and time – stamp your ticket in one of the machines on the platform before boarding. Failure to do so can result in a fine.
Useful travel and timetable terminology can be found in Appendix B.
When to go
Although the climate in the Apennines is classified as continental, it is subject to the warming influence of the Mediterranean. Summers are generally hot and winters freezing cold. Abundant snowfalls can be expected from December through to March. Thereafter it turns into rain, heavier on the Tyrrhenian side than the Adriatic on account of the moisture-laden winds which blow straight in from the nearby sea.
The GEA was originally designed as a summer itinerary: July–August is the perfect time to go with stable conditions and all accommodation and transport operating. That said, it is important to add that – with an eye on hotel/refuge availability – any time from April through to October is both possible and highly recommended. Early springtime can be divine with fresh, crisp air, well ahead of summer’s mugginess. It’s also a great time to go wildlife watching as the lack of foliage facilitates viewing. Disadvantages at this time of year may include snow cover above the 1500m mark if winter falls have come late, and even the odd flurry,
