The best dog-friendly hikes and walks in Area Wilderness Croseraz-Val Bona

Together with Pian Cansiglio and Cornesega, Valmenera is one of the three depressions that make up the central part of the Cansiglio Plateau. The largest in terms of area. This evocative basin is particularly known for its cold microclimate, where record thermal inversions are recorded with temperatures that, in the winter months, can drop to extreme levels. A historical peak was reached in March 2005, when ARPA Veneto analyses recorded a temperature of -35.4°C. Located in the municipal territory of Tambre (BL), it has a wide and flat bottom, called Piano di Valmenera. It represents a typical polje, whose slopes are largely covered by arboreal vegetation; the western slopes, on the other hand, are characterized by meadows, with rather degraded herbaceous vegetation, due to exploitation in the form of mowing and grazing. The dairy farm of the same name, which today operates as a farm stay, is in fact surrounded by 74 hectares of meadows used for grazing its own livestock. Up to here, through the Campon valley, came a tongue of the ancient and vast Piave Glacier. The Piano di Valmenera and part of the basin are part of the "Pian di Landro-Baldassarre" Oriented Nature Reserve.

The Cansiglio plain is always fascinating in its winter garb.

The Casera Ceresera bivouac, 1347 metres, is an excellent base and rest point in the Cansiglio forest.

Hangar Cansiglio is a former NATO missile base dating back to the Cold War. The Pian del Cansiglio area was home to the Bianchin Barracks, an air force base with a surface-to-air defense system. It was equipped with American Nike Hercules missiles, which could also carry nuclear warheads. The former bunker, abandoned since 1979, was handed over to Veneto Agricoltura in 2008, the Veneto Region's agency for research and innovation in the primary sector. The idea of converting it into the current environmental and ecological education center was born from the then head of the forestry sector, Paola Berto, and the tenacity of Veneto Agricoltura's sole director, Corrado Callegari. The restoration project, which cost over €600,000, was funded by two regional grants. Seven boilers, containing small asbestos discs, were remediated, and 20 tanks, previously used for diesel and heavy fuel oil, were removed to ensure energy independence in the event of a power outage. Due to current building regulations and the availability of financial resources, approximately 50% of the existing building volume was demolished. This demolition spared the hangars and a bunker, as well as a large warehouse, now used to store Veneto Agricoltura vehicles, which are required for the management of the Forestry Center. The resulting inert material was used to build a parking lot and a camper area a short distance downstream. Hangar Cansiglio, inaugurated on November 9, 2018, was furnished with native Cansiglio beech wood. Its current purpose is dual: a conference center and a small museum on the history of the area, particularly the Cold War. The inscription “Any carelessness can be fatal” served as a permanent warning to the military who guarded the nuclear arsenal.

Not very visible, but the table is there

You can see it very well when going up

In Valmenera the enormous damage caused by Storm Vaia is still very evident. My photos want to tell what happened between 27 and 30 October 2018 in this splendid valley and the hard work, still in progress, of the forestry and lumberjacks, who have freed the valley from the broken and uprooted trunks by the fury of the wind. In the images you can see the enormous open wounds in the empty plain, without the hundreds of centuries-old pine trees. https://www.geopop.it/la-devastante-tempesta-vaia-del-2018-i-danni-dellestremo-evento-meteorologico/

When I passed by everything was closed, but the houses are nice and reading the history of the place on the signs was interesting.