An alpe is a place in the mountains where shepherds bring their flocks during the summer. Each is a collection of stone buildings in a grassy clearing and is the base for grazing an extended area. The shepherd often makes cheese right on site. Most are now in ruins as it's not an economically viable to earn a living anymore. Many of the active alpes we've seen have been within an hour's walk of a jeep track if not right on a track. We pass at least a half dozen alpe ruins each day. We've seen about ten active sites so far.
The rain started today at about 2:30 and lasted for two hours. Fortunately we were very near an alpe when it started and one of the three remaining stone buildings still had an intact roof and was not locked up tight. So we had nice shelter and we stayed dry while the tormenta thundered away outside.
When the rain let up we hiked another 2 hours to reach an unstaffed rifugio, maintained by the Italian Alpine Club. 3 triple bunk beds, a stove with propane tank, a big table, and a solar powered light. We ate dinner and drank hot tea with a pair of Swiss ladies. Now we're snug in our little tent outside the building. We're in a beautiful little alpine valley with a dozen dilapidated alpe buildings. You should be able to see them in the satellite image.
All in all a great day. According to our guide book we gained 2220 meters today. That's a lot of gain. These mountains are not for sissies.
We're happy and healthy but wishing we didn't have to put on waterlogged shoes tomorrow morning.
