Cardeto Hike - Giro dei Laghi

Overview ~ Notes ~ Flora ~ Photos

  
Left: Lago di Mezza di Cardeto - Alta Val Seriana.
Center: A horse grazing above Gromo - Alta Val Seriana.
Right: Trail 233 in Alta Val Seriana - heading down into Gromo.

Overview

Length: 14.1 km
Duration: 6.5 hours (includes a leisurely lunch)
Elevation gain: 881 m
Location: Italy, Bergamo, Alta Val Seriana, Gromo

Notes

Just like our last hike to Alpe Dosdè, a call comes from friends with a hike offer. We said yes, and we went. It’s good to have friends!

This time to Alta Val Seriana, above Gromo to visit the Cardeto Lakes (Laghi di Cardeto).

The name Cardeto most likely comes from the Italian word cardo — meaning thistle — with the suffix -eto, which indicates a place characterized by or abundant in something. So Cardeto can be interpreted as “place of thistles” or “thistle field,” a toponymic nod to the vegetation that once grew (or still grows) in that high alpine basin.

The trails that we followed were Sentiero 233: Gromo - Passo Portula and Sentiero 233A: Cardeto - Giro dei Laghi. We stopped at Baita alta di Cardeto but did not go up to Passo Portula. We had a wonderful lunch at Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari. The brasato con polenta had tender chunks of beef that melted in your mouth.

On our clockwise tour of the lakes we visited:

• Lago Basso (1708 m)
• Lago di Mezzo (1798 m)
• Lago Alto (1862 m) - and then we dove in for a quick swim.

Flora 

[Asteraceae] Carlina acaulis


[Caryophyllaceae] Silene dioica


[Ericaceae] Erica carnea


[Hypericaceae] Hypericum maculatum


[Juncaceae] Juncus sp.


[Melanthiaceae] Veratrum album

This plant is poisonous to humans and livestock. Humans should avoid touching it. If you touch it, wash your hands afterward.  V. album is generally avoided by cattle, but if there is nothing else available may graze it. Farmers pasturing their animals in alpine pastures consider this plant a "problem plant", "underuse indicator", and "space thief". It spreads easily and needs to be maintained. 

[Rosaceae] Sanguisorba dodecandra

Sanguisorba is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The common name is burnet. This species is unique to the Bergamasque Alps.


[Rosaceae] Sorbus aucuparia

We usually don't talk about trees that much on Travelmarx, but the rowan trees we saw today were numerous and made for beautiful photos against the mountain backdrops. Rowans are mostly small deciduous trees 10–20 meters (33–66 ft) tall in the Rosaceae family. They are flashy in the spring with their flowers and again in late summer with the clusters of orange fruit, looking like a cluster of berries though they are not true berries. 

Rowan berries have a natural preservative called sorbic acid, but when they’re raw they also pack a bit of parasorbic acid (around 0.4%–0.7% in the European variety). Parasorbic acid can upset your stomach and even mess with your kidneys if you eat a lot. Luckily, cooking, drying, or even freezing them breaks it down into harmless sorbic acid. They're far too mouth-puckering to enjoy straight off the tree.

Photos

  

Left: Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari - brasato con polenta.

Center: Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari - pasta con verdure.
Right: Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari - tagliere.

  

Left: Baita Cardeto Flavio Rodigari.

Center: A horse grazing along trail 233 in Alta Val Seriana.

Right: Monte Calvera in Alta Val Seriana.

  

Left: Lago Alto di Cardeto - Alta Val Seriana.
Center: Lago Basso di Cardeto - Alta Val Seriana.

Right: The Bergamasque Alps - view east from Laghetti di Cardeto.

  

Left: Trail 233 - walking from Baita Cardeto toward Gromo.

Right: View of Alta Val Seriana from Trail 233 above Gromo.

  

Left: Trail 233 starts out among Rowan trees.
Center: Trail marking for 233.
Right: Tracks of Laghetti di Cardeto hike.