A Photographic Treasure Hunt

Photo Treasure Hunt in Val Campelle

On Saturday, May 24, 2025, we decided to go hiking once again in the beautiful Val Campelle. The day started beautifully, with clear skies and only some remaining snow cover on the north-facing slopes at higher altitudes. To make the trip more exciting, I organized a Photo Treasure Hunt!

Game Rules and Challenges

Each participant received a list of items to photograph. In addition to the main photo list, there were opportunities to earn extra points:

• Each participant was given a secret word in Morse code to decode and photograph something related to it.
• Three short learning moments were planned, each under 5 minutes, followed by a quiz question (1 extra point for correct answers):
• Geography: Understanding where we are, cardinal directions, and the relative position of nearby locations.
• Botany: How to identify three tree species:
  • Larch (Larix decidua)
  • Silver fir (Abies alba)
  • Norway spruce (Picea abies)
• History: A brief talk about World War I and the remains of the military trenches in the area.

Hike Itinerary

We began our hike from Conseria Bridge (Ponte di Conseria), with the goal of reaching Passo Cinque Croci. Unfortunately, the shorter trail was closed due to forestry work, so we took a longer route passing by Malga Valsorda and then Malga Conseria. After about 15 minutes, we reached Passo Cinque Croci, where we stopped for lunch with a sandwich.

From the pass, we continued towards Cima Socede, about 30 minutes away. There, we explored a historical military path with trenches and machine gun posts from the First World War. On the summit, we also found an orientation table to identify the surrounding peaks.

Unfortunately, the weather became unstable, so we quickly descended towards Malga Socede. From there, we turned left to complete a loop and returned to our starting point at Ponte di Conseria.