The first part of this hike, from forca di Presta to Pizzo di Diavolo has alway been one of my favorites. The views are incredible and the people are sparse. I have written before about choosing your hikes in the Sibillinis, and for those of you who want to check off the tallest peak in Le Marche, you can start from either this trail's beginning or its end. Obviously if you do the latter, you will do this hike in reverse and end up doing 8 summits over 2,000 meters and you are tougher than me, probably.
We started this hike at 0835 from forca di Presta above Arquata del Tronto to the southeast and Castelluccio to the northwest. At 1600 meters rounded off, you have only 800 meters of altitude gain to reach these summits (not counting the saddle descents and re-ascents of the subsequent peaks which are not difficult). Head on up to the little rifugio Zilioli and take a left.
Heading up, sometimes seems like straight up, from forca di Presta to Prato Pulito, that point on just to the right of center photo.
A puppy left at the refuge or escaped from one of the local shepherds was thirsty and hungry, so he got a bit of Bacco's ration of water and dog biscuits.
The top of Prato Pulito on the left and Cima del Lago distant right
This picture from my hiking buddy, Sven and his panoramic capable iphone shows Prato Pulito to the right, Cima del Lago to the left and then continuing right from Cima, Redentore and Pizzo di Diavolo which are your next stops. For us, it was 1 hour and 15 minutes to the refuge from forca di Presta, and to include pizzo di Diavolo and a return to Redentore (it's a dead end) figure another hour and a half.
One of the best things about this hike are the views of lago di Pilato below, which you can't see from Vettore unless you add a leg to that hike.
You can also see the marvelous Piano Grande of Castelluccio from all along the crest
Looking back from Mt. Redentore, you see my friend Sven walking on the edge
The 20 or so roundtrip hike from Redentore to Pizzo di Diavolo is one of the few "hairy" hikes I have done in the Sibillini mountains. It gets pretty narrow along here with a steep drop on both sides, but is well worth it for the views from this mountain "peninsula"
Looking towards Mt. Sibilla from Pizzo
The view of the Sella (saddle) delle Ciaule where you see the trail leading down from the flank of Vettore to either the scenic overlook of Lago di Pilato or the descent to the lake. In the distance you see all the way to Gran Sasso, tallest mountain in southern Italy
This photo shows the last 2 named peaks Bacco and I had not done over 2,000 meters.... but, we are on our way!
Love this panorama with Bacco and I atop Pizzo di Diavolo, Vettore just slightly to its right then far right you see Cima del Lago
Mt. Osservatorio, you just walk along this crest down from Redentore to forca Viola and you finish up all those hidden, unknown 2,000 meter peaks
Bacco along the crest looking towards Mt. Sibilla
Bacco atop Quarto San Lorenzo
Finishing the last supra-2,000 meter peak in Le Marche. Bacco and I, as far as we know, have now done them all.
This is the last un named mountain (Mt. Bacco?) over 2,000 meters looking down into the valley where you find the town of Foce and lots of scouts camping right now.
No trail down from Mt. Bacco (haha), just a steep descent.
Looking back at where we have been with Mt Bacco, Quarto San Lorenzo, Osservatorio, Redentore all visible from the last part of this trail which involves a 3 km walk along a road to return to Castelluccio where we left the 2nd car.
You can still see some blooming in the valley even on 2 agosto.
The total hike with Pizzo thrown in took 5 hours and 5 minutes for the 3 of us, who move along pretty steadily (quickly) and it clocks in at probably around 14 km or just about 8.5 miles. If you have just one car, I would do the hike out to Pizzo and return, it is one of my favorites!
I will leave you with a photo of Castelluccio from our descent, always a very photogenic spot from any angle.
