This morning was a near repeat of yesterday, as we got up at 6:15 am and quietly snuck out of our room in the hostel, trying not to wake our roommates. In the lobby, we found the staff at the hostel had put together a sack breakfast for us when they learned we would be leaving early. Once in the car with all our belongings (we checked out of the hostel), we drove back to the Compatsch area. Here we put into play the devious plan we had devised the day before. To get a head start on the hike, you can pay €6 to ride a chairlift. This saves about 3/4 of a mile of walking and about 800 vertical feet. But, in talking with people yesterday, we learned that you can drive to the top of the lift before 9:00 am if you are staying at a hotel up there. We did not see any method for reviewing which cars had occupants of hotels on board and we saw no enforcement method or signs saying we couldn't drive up. To save strength, time and money, we drove to the top of the lift, deposited my pack and Sally, then I drove back down to the free lot, parked the car and hiked pack free the distance, about 1.75 miles from this lower lot, back to our new starting point. I arrived back at the top of the lift about 8:15 am, used the bathroom in the lodge, shouldered our pack full of food, two lightweight sleeping bags, clothing and a few other things and we headed up the trail.
The trail starts by going slightly down across this massive alpine meadow so verdantly green and dotted with yellow wild flowers before ascending gently up to the base of a towering ridge. Here the trail is very steep as it ascends switchbacks to the ridge top. We slowly worked our way up the switchbacks. Until we crested the ridge at 8,200’. The weather was perfect. Sunny, blue sky, a slight breeze. We stopped at the ridge top, nestled ourselves into a wind sheltered sunny nook and had lunch.
This trail is very popular. We saw well over 100 people on the trail as we climbed the switchbacks. At the pass at the ridge crest 25-30 people were enjoying the view before walking down the other side the 1/4 mile to the “hut”. From that “hut”, it is about two hours to the next “hut”, then about two hours back to where I had parked the car. Many people make this loop. Our plans were simply to go to the “hut”, spend the night, then rise early Monday morning and return on the trail we came in on, arriving at the car about 10:00 am to make our drive to Venice.
After a half an hour enjoying lunch, we packed up and headed for the “hut”. As we rounded the corner and the “hut” came into view we found it was a full sized hotel complete with a massive outdoor deck. There were 100 people on the deck being served drinks and food from the restaurant inside.
We found a table and sat down. Sally went in to get a beer and returned to enjoy it on the deck. After 15 minutes, Sally headed inside to see about our bunk for the night. The woman proprietor said we were in room 211 and we could pay around dinner time. To get to our room, we needed to head up stairs from the entrance foyer adjacent to the restaurant dinning room. We were instructed to remove our hiking boots before going up the stairs, we assumed to protect the flooring from the abrasive action of dirty boots on their floor. Even though I was only wearing sandals and Sally tennis shoes, we removed our foot ware and headed up.
We found an exquisite wood paneled second floor, all done in beautifully sanded pine. The floors were pine also. Everything looked brand new, spotlessly clean. We ascended another flight of stairs and the simple elegance continued. We found room 211 and opened the door. Inside was a pine room with four pine double decker bunks, two were single beds and two were double beds. One of the lower double bunks had some sleeping gear on it and packs leaning up against it, the other lower double bunk was empty. This one we threw ourselves upon. Sally took a half hour nap, I blogged. Outside, the direct sun was punishingly hot. In our room the air was cool and very comfortable.
After an hour, we ventured back outside to day hike towards the next hut, hours down the ridge. We started out, following the trail downhill, anticipating a slight climb up into the ridge at the end of this long downhill traverse. The trail was pleasant and we enjoyed the walking. When we rounded the corner of the ridge, the anticipated uphill part of trail revealed itself. It was steep, long and uninviting. Instant decision. Lets stay on the grassy crest of this ridge and enjoy the view before hiking back to the “hut”. We watched people coming down the trail we had chosen not to climb, for a while, then started back toward our bunk for the night.
Along the way we struck up a conversation with a couple about our age, Martin and Gertrude, that lived just a little ways outside Bolzano. They were accompanied by a male friend. As we talked, their sense of humor showed through in spite of the language barrier. Their primary language was German. Somehow our discussions always come around to Trump. When his name comes up, we quickly claim to be Canadian. This brings a laugh. As we all lamented how such a despicable person could become leader of the free world, two women in their early to mid thirties walked up and joined our mid-trail conversation. In their broken English they laughingly asked us to bring him here and they would push him off the cliffs bordering the trail. After a few more minutes of laughter at Trumps’s expense we started back up the trail, the two 30 something girls with the friend, I with Martin and Sally with Gertrude.
We reached the “hut” in about 10 minutes and walked to the deck. There we found the friend flirting with the two girls. We sat down with the group, now numbering seven, including us and Sally had them all laughing and having an uproarious time. We got a chance to visit one on one with each. One of the girls taught home making and cooking at a local public school that was open to all ages. The other girl was a civil engineer who designed water systems for snow making at ski resorts in Austria.
We were staying the night, but the other five were not. They were loath to leave and as 5:00 pm came and went they were still hanging around with us talking. They invited Sally into the dining room for a shot of Schnaps. Everyone lined up at the bar and the bartender set out 7 shot glasses. I flipped mine upside down to indicate I was not participating. Everyone expressed disbelief that someone actually didn't drink. The friend insisted I drink some of his, but I politely declined.
Finally, about 5:30 pm, they pulled the plug and began their goodbyes, but not until we got names and addresses exchanged in electronic address books. They put on their packs and headed out. It was suddenly really quiet at the “hut”. Sally and I realized our group was creating all the racket at the restaurant. Looking around, we saw that pretty much everyone had left. Only the 12 or so, the ones spending the night, were left.
We went up to our room and retrieved dinner, a one gallon ziplock bag of salad, dressing and five tomatoes. We enjoyed our dinner nearly alone on the deck outside, now falling into shadow as the sun neared the horizon. We sat in the sun to soak in a little warmth as the mountain day cooled into night.
After we finished our gallon of salad we took a little walk, then returned to the deck and ordered a piece of chocolate cake and two cups of hot tea. Finishing up, we headed up to our bunk even though it was only 8:00pm.
We cuddled into our double bunk, inside the light weight summer bags I had carried up. I dozed off a few times while writing and Sally read. About ten o'clock Francis and Cindy entered the room. They climbed into the bunk next to ours. Soon, we were engaged in the hiking equivalent of pillow talk, discussing trips and adventures we had participated in and were planning. We soon learned this couple had a three year old daughter and were planning to come to California to see Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings and other parks in California. We instantly jumped into our tour guide and trip advisor mode and were showing pictures of sights to see. We got their email address and promised to send them an itinerary of hikes they could participate in. About 11:00 pm we agreed it was time to sleep and turned off lights and electronic devices.
Wow!! Another stellar day.
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