The itinerary begins at the church of Norcen, where there are some parking spaces and a picnic area. About twenty meters higher, you enter the mule track that, crossing a sparse forest, leads to the locality of Trugno (see itinerary 1 – Zinge for the detailed description).
From the intersection, the route continues uphill on a dirt road, taking advantage of some glimpses of the village of Lamen and the mountains that border it to the north. Along the way, there are buildings that retain some typical features of rural architecture, such as roofs made of stone slabs (laste). The Red Scaglia, a limestone rock extracted and used for constructions, emerges from the ground; in fact, the "squaring" of the wall reveals the existence, even in this place, of a small quarry.
Having passed a large beech tree, you enter a mule track in the locality of Grip; here, you can see dark boulders transported here by an ancient glacier. The path continues uphill with some bends, shortly after veering to the right, to tackle a steeper and gravelly stretch.
In the forest, the presence of beech trees becomes evident, accompanied by Norway spruce. Soon, we reach an important crossroads, from which it is possible to continue towards Salzena and the Paradis or towards the Valley of Lamen, following different itineraries. Ascending to the left, one observes a slope covered with lush ferns and soft mosses and a stump with roots exposed from the ground and colonized by shelf fungi.
In a few minutes, you reach the road that, descending, leads to a meadow with some rustic buildings and a majestic ash tree. From here, there is an excellent panorama: to the northwest on the Magheron and the grassy rectangle of the Camogne and to the east on the natural terrace of Lamen. On the opposite side of the valley, the shapes of erosion on fluvio-glacial deposits stand out, similar to the famous earth pyramids of Trentino.
Continuing the journey, you walk alongside a meadow with pollarded willows, elements of the agricultural landscape that are increasingly disappearing today: we are in the locality of Salchegn. The descent continues, in view of the wooded hill that overlooks Norcen, crossing the aqueduct channel. Shortly after, you leave the road to take the path that on the left descends into the forest and leads back to the Trugno crossroads; from here, following the path back taken at the beginning, you return to the church of Norcen.
INSIGHT INTO... Majestic and Elegant Trees
There are trees in the forest that stand out for their size, shape, or particular characteristics. Among the most majestic are the oaks, which are now rarely found in the forest environments of Valbelluna. Plants with countless uses, valuable for their wood, but also for the fruit, the acorn, which once fed pigs, and for the bark, from which tannin was extracted; even the leaves were collected and used as fodder and bedding. The local species, aspen, oak, and downy oak, are distributed in different habitats. The aspen, which prefers fertile and deep soils, acquires a robust and "weathered" appearance with age, due to its dark and fissured bark. The hornbeam, on the other hand, is distinguished by its elegant growth form, smooth light-colored bark, and ridged trunk, characterized by a sinuous succession of bulges and indentations. It is one of the most widespread tree species from the valley floor to the hilly environments of the foothills; spontaneous in the woods, it was also used in the past for making hedges and roccoli. In addition to being firewood, its wood is suitable for building parts of tools or equipment that require resistance to stress.
