Piemonte / Ticino 2014: Day 10
This is a short run not too far from Locarno. Wroth doing to mix it up a little bit, but probably the least favorite of our runs (other than the section on the Maggia we did). It was super cloudy the day we ran it, and I have been told that the scenery is part of the reason to go… so perhaps on a clear day my impressions would have been different.
The whitewater was a bit brown from the previous night's rain, the rock jagged as the elevation was significantly lower than all the other rivers we ran. But that rapids those rock and that water formed was still quite nice. Steep rapids with a few nice boofs, a few nice holes, and some fun boogie formed. But the nature is fairly continuous and as such, the 1.4 miles went by in 20 minutes or so. Rather than do a second lap, we packed back up and spent the afternoon at the Verzasca.
However, during the drive we saw what looked to be a nice little town called Bellinzona which also had a very nice looking Gelatoria (ince cream store). That even we decided to go back and get ice cream and dinner. The ice cream was amazing. The dinner options were actually sparse. Most that we came across were closed… it was Wednesday, who knows why. Others were very expensive (as is everything in Switzerland). We ended up eating meh pizza that really didn't quench any of our appetites. While we were wondering though we came upon a castle in town that as it turns out was free to walk around in. Such a cool castle that as it turns out is 2,000 years old (or at least parts are) and has been conquered by seemingly every group that has stepped foot in Europe. Really worth the half hour if you have some time to kill off of the river.
But… be careful where you park. We parked at a place that was marked with a sign that we thought meant “no parking: 19:30 to 24:00” and from the cars parked there, we thought we were safe to park as well, especially being as it was only 6:00 pm(18:00). When we return at 7 pm (19:00) we are surprised to find tickets on both cars telling us that we have 48 hours to go to the Police station to pay the fine, though indication on the fine amount was not given. The next morning prior to heading out of town to return to Italy, we stopped by the Police station and are told that there is no parking in yellow lines, regardless of the sign. Seems like a tourist trap to me. They agreed to waive one of our fines and only charge us 1 ticket… at 120 Frans (~$140)! For a freaking parking ticket!?!?! So… be careful where you park.
Mi 0:
- Put-in (IV). Just below put-in starts a long rapid that we ran down the left moving all the way right.
- Crux (IV). The biggest rapid of the run came after a straight away just as the river started to bend right. A few small ledges led to a pinch in the middle that turned out to be a ramp. I was nervous off the front that it may be a big pour over, I was glad it wasn't!
- Dam (III). Run the dam in the middle.
- Rock in the Landing (IV-). A fun rapid some of ran down the left, but we had to scramble to boof away from a rock in the landing of the final ledge. The cleaner line is down the right the whole way. This rapid comes just after a right bend. From there to take out it was mellower class III read and run.
Directions: Use the GPS locations to get yourself to put-in and take-out… below is just the extra little info you may need
Take-out: There are several bridges over the river. We used one in Fiumegia. The bridge is actually ona side road the the road was a little wooded which hid it a bit. But the take-out is a dirt lot that has river access marked.
Put-in: Continue up river to another bridge on a side road, this one has a paved lot just off the main road.
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