September 1, 2024

September 1, 2024

This morning we were awakened by a local rooster. He crowed all day yesterday. Fortunately he sleeps at night. We started our hiking adventure today. Our driver picked us up at our hotel at 8:30 am and delivered us to the cable car on the south side of Ortisei in Sudtirol, Italy. In a few minutes we are at Europe’s largest alpine meadow Alpe di Siusi (Italian) or Seiser Alm (German). Over three days we are going to circle it.

This morning starts out as an easy stroll across hilly green fields. We play leap-frog with three German men who keep us on the correct path. In the summer the area is full of bikers, but in the winter it is a vast ski-field. Along the way we stopped at an outdoor restaurant with a great view of a mountain cliff. Aimee had a cappuccino and I had a beer and we then got moving again.

It doesn’t take long before I realize instead of turning left, we are headed straight up the scenic mountain. It is a long slog uphill with no let up. In addition the high alpine altitude is a killer. We stopped a couple times along the way to rest and eat a snack lunch. It takes us 2.5 hours to reach the rocky summit.

Remarkably, Schlernhaus hotel sits isolated near the top. The Italians call these mountain hostels a Rifugio, the Germans a Hutte. All the supplies for this location come up from the valley far below by cable car.

We are chilled because of the altitude, the mountaintop breeze, and the sweat pouring off of us. We have one of the few private rooms. Unfortunately there is only one shower for the entire hut. Aimee and I wait in line for our three minute rinse. Warmed up, we sat outside and enjoyed the sun and spectacular scenery.

At 6 pm, we were fed a full dinner. It was too much food for us. At the end we had to tell them to only bring one dessert. There are about 100 hikers with us. We seem to be the only Americans and likely the oldest. That turns out to be a blessing for there are only three toilets. These youngsters sleep through the night leaving the bathroom all to us.