About the Gardetta plateau towards Provence

From Valle Maira, my route led over Col d'Esischie to an absolute scenic highlight - the Gardetta plateau, through which an old, somewhat bumpy military road meandered. Although I was famously on the other end of Italy, I suddenly felt catapulted into the heart of the Dolomites. In addition to other impressive peaks, the Monte Viso also finally appeared on the horizon. With such magnificent views of the valleys and the distance in the best mountain weather, I soaked up the impressions until I arrived at the wonderfully located Rifugio Gardetta in the afternoon. The last pass of the day at Monte Oserot then led past the last bunker ruins to the paths that were no longer used for military purposes. Smoothly, I surfed downhill until I found an acceptable camping spot.

Acceptable because once again all the surrounding alpine pastures were used for agriculture, and there were also no streams in sight. Therefore, it was not so easy to find an untouched piece of land near a water source. I ended up on a grassy hill without cows or cow dung, with direct access to a watering hole for livestock. In times of need, you take what you can get. Nevertheless, I had a great balcony view of the border area between Piedmont and the Provençal Alps.

Until this point, I had postponed the decision about my further route. The Provence was definitely planned, which I wanted to cross along the Trans Verdon, a well-known bikepacking route. But the ongoing increase in Covid-19 cases in the region increasingly worried me. The travel warning from Germany is less of a problem, but rather the developments in Italy and France. Could there be a lockdown in the regions where I am currently traveling? Could Italy introduce a quarantine when I want to return to Liguria? Such things could seriously jeopardize my further travel plans.

The next morning, after a nice trail descent into the valley, I checked the current developments again - no new bad news, and the numbers for France also decreased. There was also little infection in the region around Barcelonnette. I decided to continue as planned. I cycled over Col du Loup into the Ubay Valley and further to Barcelonnette. Although it was the weekend, I was still surprised by the incredible number of motorcycles on the road. I had never experienced it that bad before, the constant revving of engines and the permanent overtaking maneuvers were really unbearable. I was glad whenever I could escape to small side roads and forest paths.

When I arrived in Barcelonnette, the solution to the riddle became clear to me - there was a large three-day biker festival taking place, and the otherwise picturesque town was bursting at the seams. For the first time on my tour, the campsites were full and had no space left for me. I was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. My sympathies for motorized two-wheelers generally are quite limited, and if they also take away my sleeping place, it does not necessarily contribute to improving our relationship. But at least I had reached my next major milestone, and in the end, I managed to secure a free spot in a camping site a few kilometers outside the town, albeit surrounded by leather-wearing Easy Riders.