Monte San Primo

Monte San Primo is the highest peak in the Triangolo Lariano, the triangle-shaped peninsula that divides the two southern arms of Lake Como. The hike to its summit is possible all year round, but fall and winter offer the best views. On a Saturday morning in mid-November, we drove our rental car to the upper trailhead at Colma di Sormano. We started our hike under the inquisitive stare of a cow grazing in the pasture above the parking area.

Our route partially overlapped with the Dorsale Triangolo Lariano, literally the "Lake Como Triangle Backbone," i.e., the trail that runs the entire length of the Triangle connecting famous Bellagio to its once-famous step-sister Brunate.

In the southeastern corner of the Triangle there's a mountain called Corni di Canzo ("Canzo Horns") that reminds me of a joker's hat.

Due east, across from the southeast arm of Lake Como, lie the famous mountains Grignone and Grignetta.

Next summer, Dad plans to visit those two peaks to determine whether there exists a dachshund-friendly (as well as mom-friendly) route. I asked the sheep we met, but they have never been there.

Monte San Primo offers an incredible view of Lake Como, which looks like a downward "Y".

It is a point of pride for me to have posed next to the official survey marker from the Istituto Geografico Militare, roughly the Italian equivalent of the USGS (United States Geological Survey).

I am also proud to have posed in my Dachshund Delights CoverUp coat with Monte Rosa, Monte Generoso, and Sasso Gordona in the background.

I even got to scamper off leash...

...and pose with Italian summit signage.

I would have loved to also explore the side valleys,

but this is Italy, and my parents expected me to pose.

On the way down, Dad took us on a quick detour to a little jewel of a lake. Dear Istituto Geografico Militare, would you please name it Lago della Bassottina ("Lake of the Little Female Dachshund")?

Back at Colma di Sormano, Mom and Dad popped into Ristorante La Colma, a cute roadside bistro, for torte and cappuccino. Inside, Mom freaked at this reminder:

"Perhaps, you will never encounter a viper. But... will he?!"
Will "he"?! As a "she" who has encountered a viper (on a different hike), I find this Italian male pronoun usage patronizing. Che cavolo!