Assisi Diary - Day 43 - Mountain Views

Today was an ideal day for hiking on Subasio, crisp and cool early, with a gentle wind higher up when the sun started warming.  Visbility was excellent; I would guess about 100 miles looking at the distant Apennines.  One could see individual houses across the valley about ten miles away.  I kept a good pace and, starting at Porta Cappuccini, reached the summit in about two hours and fifteen minutes.  Along the way I encountered three horses "outside the fence", enjoying the gourmet growth along the side of the dirt road.  They each eyed me warily then, without prompting, quickly made their way back through a break in the fence, as if not wanting to be held responsible for being where they weren't supposed to be.
From the summit I made my way over to the largest sinkhole, Mortaro Grande, which can be seen here from a distance.

Here's a closer look at the inside.

From there I continued along high on the mountain, enjoying distant views.  Bettona is on the first rise across the valley; Assisi is just out of sight below to the right; Rome is just over the distant horizon.

Came across some fair areas of wildflowers.

Some quite colorful.

The trail down was the one I had ascended several years ago on my first Subasio climb.  Many hikes later it is no less wonderful and no less an adventure.  There is so much to explore on the mountain, both in natural beauty and historical sites, that one could spend a year wandering here and not tire of it. 

Ciao.