From Netro to the Roccia delle Fate ('Fairy Rock')
Height difference: 650 m
Time of ascent: 2 hours
Difficulty: E
Signposts: B12, Pedoca
Suggested period: from April to October
Map: scale 1:20,000, Map of the Valle Dora Baltea Canavesana (Dora Baltea Canavesana Valley), ed. Mu
The "Pe' d'oca" Trail is the brainchild of the children and teachers of Netro Elementary School in the Biella region, with contributions from the municipality of the same name and the San Paolo Foundation. Discovered and described in 2009, in the Sentieri provati (Proven Trails) column of Piemonte Parks (www.piemonteparchi.it), by now a few years have passed, the children have grown up and the trail and signage in lack of maintenance deteriorated.
The teachers and children of that time, now boys, have not forgotten about that trail of theirs and took action to restore it with a successful fundraising effort to re-functionalize it. This is a beautiful, fully marked hike that tells us in eleven moments the legend of the "Pe' d'oca." Of course, we cannot reveal the ending, and to know how the legend ends, the only way is to tackle "pedibus calcantibus" the trail, taking advantage of the reading breaks to catch your breath. In all, it is 650 meters of elevation gain and two hours of walking to reach the scenic shelf where witches, but we prefer to believe they were fairies, are said to hold their nightly parties. The route is fully marked with the B12 red-and-white markings and the "Pe d'oca" logo.
Netro is the town of iron, which preserves much evidence of the craftsmanship of yesteryear that saw along the Ingagna Stream and its tributaries, countless hammers and forges. The former Rubino metallurgical workshops now house, within the old buildings, the headquarters of the main nucleus of the Elvo and Serra Valley Ecomuseum, an integral part of the regional ecomuseum system.
Access. From Biella and Occhieppo inferiore follow the signs for Netro and Donato
Itinerary. The route starts from Piazza Vittorio Veneto in Netro (604 m) where a large poster-map made by the children explains the course of the route. For a stretch you follow the paved road on the left, which you leave a little further on to continue again on the left, proceeding on a steep dirt road.
In addition to the posters and panels devoted to flora and fauna, there are also bird's nest houses and especially the "surprise box," which explains very convincingly how the trail itself can be maintained.
After two wide bends, the trail becomes steeper and straighter. It skirts a fenced pine forest and a deciduous forest, turns right and then left. Here the trail becomes narrower and joins an asphalt road, which you follow upward to the "Tracciolino" (final panel of the legend (1.20 hours).
You cross the road and continue upward along a very steep asphalt track. The forest soon gives way to pastures and the asphalt to the dirt road. A few hairpin bends bring us near the Roc, which is reached by following the path that climbs diagonally (forty minutes from the "Tracciolino"). On the rocks, at the edge of the grassy shelf, some cruciform rock carvings are clearly visible, which fit well with the magical aura of the place. It descends again along the same route.
Testo di Aldo Molino e Filippo Ceragioli
Foto Aldo Molino
In collaborazione con @piemonteparchi : http://www.piemonteparchi.it/cms/index.php/territorio/sentieri-provati/i...
