🏞️ Third Ascent - Turin Gran Paradiso National Park Road Trip 🚗
🚩 Turin Gran Paradiso National Park On a whim, we rented a blue 5-seater electric car from Noleggiare at Porta Nova two days ago, planning to drive my friends to the Gran Paradiso National Park for a hike. Unfortunately, one friend had to drop out due to health reasons 🥲. Luckily, we got a skilled driver, Master C, to join us, ensuring a safe return for all five of us. We arrived at Porta Nova to pick up the car around 8:00 AM and waited about an hour. Upon inquiry, we found that the electric car's range was less than 200 km, so we switched to a gasoline car. Fortunately, the price difference was minimal (around 5 euros, the staff said the electric car was suitable for city driving). We bought full insurance, rented for one day, with a 100-euro deposit (had to be paid with a credit card), and the total rental cost was around 120 euros. Highly recommend Noleggiare! It's extremely friendly to friends under 25, waiving the young driver's fee. After completing the procedures, the staff gave us a key and a parking voucher to pick up the car in the Esselunga underground parking lot. We planned to drive straight to the mountaintop. The total travel time from Porta Nova to the summit was 2.5 hours. The last half hour on the mountain road was indeed challenging, with continuous U-turns, increasing gradients, and a one-way road with cliffs on the left and mountains on the right, occasionally encountering oncoming buses 😅. Thankful for Master C's driving and the encouragement from Fanfan, Yingjie, and Haixing, we finally completed the bumpy road trip. On the way up, we encountered three scenic spots (a small church, a double lake view, and a large lake before the summit). At the last scenic spot, we got a warning of low tire pressure in the left front tire. We tried to seek help from Baidu and borrow an air pump but found no network and no equipment 😅. We just didn't care anymore, ready to rough it out for a night if necessary. While making sandwiches by the lake, a rescue helicopter descended from the sky, causing dust that not only blinded us but also severely polluted my lunch. Later, we found out someone was stranded halfway up the mountain (the helicopter's mobility is really strong! It feels like it can stop and go as it pleases). After lunch, Master C stayed put while the four of us continued up the mountain. As soon as we stepped onto the grass, grasshoppers splashed around like they were in a hot oil pan (bug-phobic people crying 🥲). We encountered many marmots along the way, some digging holes, some fighting, and some contemplating life on the tips of rocks (very much in line with the contemporary mental state). Marmots really do scream like the memes!!! The higher we climbed, the more uncomfortable we felt, panting every few steps. The power of the 2700m altitude reaction is just like this; it feels like doing a few push-ups is no big deal. As the scenery became more and more open, the snow and ice melted into babbling brooks, and sedimentary rocks quietly peeked out from the greenery. Life is a wilderness. #Turin #Hiking #RoadTrip #LifeIsAWildernessNotATrack
