'Eyes on the road' at a great destiny deep in the heart of the Dolomites.
We suppose that's a 'medium five' from Jen. On the saddle, a little higher still to go.
Jenni commences the snow channel, part 1 of 3, very much steeper than captured by camera.
Should you be ending a trip to Italy, Europe in general, this hike provides a big finish. It wasn’t the longest,
not difficult but included thick snow causing the nature of the outing to change dramatically. To give
you an idea of the snow: Imagine the weather is warm and you are sweating but feeling comfortable.
Simultaneously, your toes, feet and ankles are so cold that you begin to worry about frostbite and complications.
Traipsing in the snow will do that, especially when the feet sink in deeply. At one stage, we almost sat down and
removed our boots and socks in order to allow the warmth of the sun to alleviate the pain. However, the thought
of our rear-ends sunken in snow wasn’t very attractive either. It was a first for us although Jenni says it happens
often in the normal course—not the snow, the cold feet.
It's rude to point but with your stature, you can get away with it.
Can't remember being so beauty-stunned in one place. Also, not trying to remember either.
So busy with mountain activity. Literally, takes the breath away.
Our time in Italy, more particularly, Cortina di Ampezzo has been outstanding. It will take an army to block
our return to this area. Living in Borca di Cadore, enjoying the local ways and of course, hiking in some of
the most exciting places we have visited, is hard to top. Our landlady, Nica, was most accommodating, adding
to the pleasure of staying in the region. She called some of the hikes we did: "Magic". We agree although we might
not understand this Italian word.
On the negative side, just to provide perspective, we thought we were back in South Africa when driving on
the roads. If nothing else, it certainly kept our eye in practice. Like our fellow South African brethren in
the old country particularly, the white line is one of those great hypothetical concepts. It is ignored.
Overtaking and then cutting in front of the car ahead causing the person to brake is normal. Speed limit postings add
to the scenery on the side of the road but have little practical value. Finally, the freeways are covered in
trucks, 18-wheelers. The drivers, it seems, don’t know that they are not operating Mini-Minors. Whereas we enjoyed
the driving experience and the flexibility it provided us, it was quite an undertaking. Next time, which we hope
is very soon, we might become bikers.
Jenni catches the stumble into 3 feet of snow. Shoots first then asks questions. (Are you okay?)
Closest we've come to fishing—using fish-eye lense
Back to the hike: When we reached a particular junction on the 'path', we noticed the trail number pointing
in a direction that made no sense. “Aha,” we said to the editor, “Someone has moved the directional arrow.”
We said that because it was pointing directly upwards, closer to the sky than the ground.
In addition, the trail was hidden somewhere under many feet of snow. “Should we proceed?” We foolishly asked
our editor. Up we went, wondering once again how we were going to make the return. A better question
surfaced: ‘Is this the right thing to be doing?' When we reached the first ledge, a second lay ahead and then
a third. We negotiated them all and found ourselves on a saddle overlooking the valleys and mountains. As we
had accumulated quite an elevation gain, the mountains that were formerly way above us, were more equal in
height. It could rank as being one of the finest places we have stood.
Jenni reaches a peak, so to speak—warm bodies and cold feet.
On the way home, the last slope to negotiate
We completed the trip, after having incredible experiences in Austria, Switzerland and now Italy. As we
mentioned at the time, perhaps the highlight was the Seefelder Spitze hike in Austria. Nevertheless, we are most
fortunate to have enjoyed situations, travel, experiences and an adventure that we believe exceeds previous ones.
We make such a statement knowing how much we enjoyed the other legs of hike-about.
And now? Which way to go? Always go up, son.
We now leave the Cortina area, drive to Milan, take a plane to London where we are excited at the prospect
of meeting Tarryn, our delightful niece and then onto to San Diego for a week in which we will see the grandchildren.
That’s the plan.
We thank those who traveled with us. You make an enormous difference. We received some wonderful encouragement,
interpretations of places and pictures that made us think again about them including an overwhelming feeling of joy
being able to communicate with such interesting and decent people, our friends and family. Thank you again.
The view towards the horizon.
A fascinating peak as we look down into the valley on the other side of the mountain.
One small guy amongst physical giants
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
A few more as we say goodbye until next time:
A remarkable place
Jenni on the way home complaining that my stride is too long for her to use the footprints. Guess where
her hiking pole rests.
Like being in another world, just the two us and a lot of mountains.
A favorite icon as we say 'arrivederci'.
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