Jul 20 - five star campsite

From last night, we forgot to mention the best line of the trip. We opened the second bottle of wine, different variety than bottle #1. David the Swede is about to pour #2 into his glass.  Sibil the Swiss passes the water pitcher to David the Swede and says "do you want to rinse first?"  David replies "I'm a Swede, we don't rinse". Say no more. 

Up the requisite 1300 meters this morning, but the views were obscured by clouds, so not as good as it could have been. Then down to the trattoria in the village of San Lorenzo hoping for lunch. We never know what to expect. This time Simone the proprietor asks if we are spending the night at the posta tappa (a traveler's low-key. dorm type space). No, solo mangiare. Ok. She sets our places. 

What do you want to drink? 1 beer. 1 limonata. 

Are you vegan are vegetarian? "We eat everything."

No menu, no other questions. Just a steady stream of excellent food. After five dishes we declined to take the next offering as we were already stuffed. We did manage to add dessert and cappuccino however. The roasted peppers in some sauce was the best pepper dish I've ever eaten. And we learned that pasta packets stuffed with chicken or pig is called ravioli, but the thing we had was called something else because it was stuffed with cow. The seven old men at the table next to us were there for hours, wine flowing, and yacking like nobody's business. 

Simone told us that the church about two hours further down the GTA has a portico which makes a good campsite. Important to know because the slopes are so steep it's not always easy to find a spot. Well holy moly what a campsite. Covered and out of the rain; hundreds of meters above the valley floor with a 180 degree view of the opposing mountain face. In and out of the fog and clouds and rainbows. In an abandoned hamlet an hour's walk from the nearest road. 

We're happy and healthy, we'll-fed, dry, and eager to find out what surprises tomorrow will bring. 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=45.441750,7.373630(I+Am+Here+Thursday+July+20+2017+08:22+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Jul 19 - another great day

Today we passed through the village of Bosco. Thinking of my good brother Steve, a.k.a. Bosco Bruiser.

Up until mid-afternoon we had a typical day on the GTA. Up 1200 meters, over a col, down 1200. Mid morning we passed through the small town of Ronco where stopped at the patisserie and got pastries and yoghurt for breakfast. Then a quick stop for gelato before returning to the trail.

We met 3 parties on the trail: a solo German, 3 Italian men, and a young Swiss fellow with his parents. Mid afternoon as we descended from the col we passed a footbridge to a church on the opposite side of the creek. There was lots of youthful cheerful sounds emanating from the church yard, and we could see the three Swiss drinking beer on the church patio. It was starting to rain, and beer on the church patio looked pretty good, so we crossed over to join the Swiss.

Turns out that in addition to running a summer camp for energetic flirtatious joyful youth, the nuns run a posta tappa for GTA hikers. We drank beer and lemonade and chatted with the Swiss family while the rain came down, and ultimately decided to call it a day. Finishing the hiking day at 3:00 is not our norm, but the offer of dinner, a level lawn, and a dry place to chat with others was too good to ignore. We managed to stay dry through hours of intermittent rain.

We set up our tent in the church yard, ate a big dinner with the three Swiss and a pair of Swedish fellows. Excellent companions all of them.

And now as I type this at 9:56pm, ~50 kids are singing Italian camp songs. More delight and cheer than I've heard in the past twelve months combined. Nonetheless we hope it's almost bedtime for them.

We're happy and healthy and tired.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=45.453159,7.499985(I+Am+Here+Wednesday+July+19+2017+09:41+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Jul 18 - other hikers

Each day we see 1-3 other parties on the trail who are out for overnight trips. Nearly all are out for 1-2 weeks to hike a section of the GTA; many plan to do the whole route over multiple years.

We also meet overnight hikers at the accommodations: rifugio, locandas, albergos. We aren't quite sure how those 3 things differ, but we believe rifugios generally do not have road access and rarely offer private rooms. All three types offer evening meals which all reports indicate are consistently excellent. We've eaten the evening meal at these types of places only twice so far. Generally we eat whatever somebody will serve at the odd time we show up; today that meant ice cream and croissants for late breakfast and lasagne and vegetables for early supper.

We've met only two solo hikers who sleep in a tent. Everyone else follows the stages described in the guidebook and finishes the stage at some sort of indoor accommodations.

On weekends we meet dozens of Italian day hikers, but rarely any on weekdays. We've met only one Italian overnight hiker so far.

~75% of overnight hikers are either German or German-speaking Swiss. A couple parties each from France, the Netherlands, Belgium, French-speaking Swiss, or Italian-speaking Swiss. None from any English speaking countries.

Few Italians we've met speak much English. Amy is stumbling along making due with Spanish or French as the situation allows. Nearly all of the foreign overnight hikers speak at least some and often fluent English.

We're happy and healthy and camped behind a church on a flat patch of freshly mowed lawn.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=45.547422,7.577258(I+Am+Here+Tuesday+July+18+2017+08:19+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Jul 17 - stats

13 days of hiking.
Route km 280. 31% of total.
Gain, according to the book = 19020 meters. 33% of total.
Average daily distance = 21.5 km = 13.4 miles.
Average daily gain = 1463 meters = 4800 feet.
M gain per km = 68. And the same number of meters lost per km.
Feet gained per mile = 358

Lots of miles today on high quality mule tracks, as shown in the photo. Built to last for centuries. The red and white blaze on the tree is the standard European trail marking.

We're camped on a tent-sized level spot on an otherwise very steep hillside, between two buildings of an abandoned alpe. Great view of Po Valley. I'm glad I wasn't raising goats at this alpe a hundred years ago; that would have been a very tough deal as the slope is steep it's hard to keep my brain aligned vertically.

We're happy and healthy and wondering if we'll get cheesed out by the time we finish this hike.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=45.535118,7.725654(I+Am+Here+Monday+July+17+2017+07:52+PM)&iwloc=A&nz=11

Jul 16 - a perfect day

By 8:00am the fog bank in the Po Valley had roiled up to the crest of the ridge and hovered for hours. Our trail stayed on or near the crest all morning, peaking at 2430 meters. We had banks of fog on the left, and on the right we had huge views from Mont Blanc (we think) to Monte Rosa. From this side we could see the big glaciers that cover the top and north and west sides of Monte Rosa. Very beautiful. This was the most scenic stretch of trail so far.

Then we started a big descent which tomorrow will take us down to 290 meters. We stopped at 1400 meters mid afternoon for a fabulous late lunch. Just a few minutes after lunch we met Giovanni on the trail. We quickly established that he and Jim are of the same ilk. Sixty-something mechanical engineers. Giovanni specializes in heart related medical devices. He invited us for Grappa, and we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with him, his wife, and a couple of their friends. They bought an old farmhouse which they visit on weekends. The keys in the photo open the cheese making cottage, the cow barn, the pig room, and the chicken coop.

They have gone home because the have to go to work tomorrow, and we are now camping on their lawn. Great conversation with interesting, kind, and generous people.

We only walked 15 km today, which I believe is a record low mileage day for us. Tomorrow will be a long descent followed by a long ascent. Never level.

We're happy and healthy, well fed, clean, and very happy to have met these folks.

Jul 15 - téléphérique

Good weather. Good walking. Good ice cream. Through Oropa. Up the téléphérique (officially part of the GTA route). Camped with a grand view of the Po Valley. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacro_Monte_di_Oropa

We're happy and healthy, and tired yet again. 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=45.632569,7.946971(I+Am+Here+Saturday+July+15+2017+08:27+PM)&iwloc=A&z

Jul 14 - Bastille Day

Great day with perfect weather; not hot and no rain.

Unlike the past few days this time we climbed up into the alpine zone and stayed high, instead of immediately descending. Fine alpine lakes, 3 easy cols.

Picnic lunch was at a beautiful abandoned alpe next to two high lakes.

Great early dinner at a refuge (frittata, salad, bread, wine). We would have stayed later for the multi course sit-down meal, but it was on such a steep hillside that there was no place there to pitch our tent. So we ate what the kitchen could quickly throw together and then walked 15 more minutes to a beautiful campsite.

We visited with a party of 5 young to middle aged Germans (1 man with his harem). And we spent a couple hours over the course of the day with 3 interesting 70-ish year old Swiss. They are in the photo at the top of one of the passes at ~2350m, where we enjoyed views of 4000-4500 meter distant peaks, covered in glaciers, fog and clouds gently swirling.

We're happy and healthy, well fed, and happy for mosquito netting as there are few of those wicked creatures outside the tent.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=45.714851,7.935376(I+Am+Here+Friday+July+14+2017+08:07+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11

Jul 13 -

Good weather and nice walking all day.

Up 1000 meters and over Colle del Termo at 2354m.

Down 1000 meters to primarily empty but well-maintained handsome Walser village of Rima. Met 89 year old Octavio Festo on the way down from the pass. He bought a home in Rima 60 years ago. He used to climb the 1000 meters to the Colle every week, but he can't make it to the top anymore. He is Jim's new hero and role model.

Rima had the second unlocked church of the trip. 20 year-round residents; more in the warm seasons. No shop, one cafe where we ate a late breakfast of tea, croissants, ice cream.

Up another 1000 meters and over Colle di Mud (pronounced mood).

Back down another 1000 meters to another Walser town: Alagna Valsesia. This one is a ski resort town and has a fully developed tourism infrastructure.

Alimentari for groceries - 5 nectarines plus the basics (cheese, salami, bread sticks, cookies, yoghurt, chocolate). ATM for much needed cash. Ate 3 nectarines and they were so good we went back for 5 more.

Use booking.com to find a cheap hotel room at a place with coin-op laundry. We think we are the only guests in this quiet season. Showers and clean clothes - woo hoo! Walk 10 minutes back to town square for pizzas, beer and wine.

Which is a lot of words to say we had a very long day. Jim is already snoring as I type.

We're happy and healthy, clean, well-fed, and ready to sleep

Jul 12 - American hikers

I forgot to mention in yesterday's report that the lady who served us dinner lives ~30 minutes walk from a road. But she does have a big metal basket on a cable with an electric motor that pulls goods to the house, so she doesn't have to carry everything. She had a very nice home and I'm sure it took many trips with the basket to haul dining room table, fridge, stove, toilet and tiles, etc. These hills are very steep and we've seen many cable systems. The only other place we've seen this was in the very steep tea-growing region of northeast Turkey. 

We're now in Walser region:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walser

The depopulated hamlets and village in last nights gorge is Rimella, mentioned in that wiki article. Our guidebook says Rimella and surrounding hamlets were settled in 1256, peaked in 1831 with 1381 inhabitants. In 2012 the population was only 136. This explains the abandoned alpes and ruined hamlets. 

I can't remember meeting any American hikers on our other European hiking trips. Jim has a better memory and he may contradict that, but he's out scouting these steep hillsides for a viable campsite. This morning while descending to a valley floor we passed an old fellow walking uphill. He only speaks Italian. But he was cheerful and spoke slowly and simply enough that I could understand him, because enough of his words are similar to either French or Spanish. He has lived on that hillside his whole life, and he has never met an American hiker there. We are primo for him and he was pretty excited about it. 

So what's with American hikers? Why are they obsessed with the AT, CDT, PCT, JMT? We kind of hope that with DoingMiles.com we can motivate a couple of Americans to take a hike in Europe. 

All in all an excellent day. Up and down and up and down, as we've come to expect. Nice visit with German hikers, good cheese, a little afternoon vino, 2 chocolate-on-

chocolate ice cream bars per person, and no rain. Unfortunately the mountains were cloudy when we crossed the pass so we didn't get the view of the Monte Rosa massive that we had hoped for. 

We're happy and healthy, and now going to sleep to the sound of goat and cowbells. 

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Jul 11 - life is good

The final descent of the day was into a five star gorge. Some of the alpes on the way down were still in use, but most of the series of hamlets near the bottom are completely or primarily depopulated. Extraordinarily scenic setting, but hard to imagine any way for people to sustain a living here and it makes sense that these hill towns have been abandoned.

Early evening after walking through many ghost or near-ghost hamlets we arrived at one where we expected to find a refugio. Instead we find something more like a b&b. The only maintained building in the final hour. We ring the bell. A grandma answers.

Parli l'inglese? Non.
Español? Non.
Francais? Un peux.
Bien, nous parlons Francais.

Nous voulons manger, mais nous preferons dormir dans notre tente. C'est possible?

Oui.

She walks us 15 meters to a piece of the dilapidated stone hamlet that has a modern wooden floor and a good roof. This is the place for the tent. Tres bien.

We rarely get a menu, and we find out after the fact what a meal cost when we go to pay. The village where we expected an ATM didn't have one, so we are nervous about spending cash until we refill the larder. We had a meal in Switzerland a couple days back that cost twice what we expected, so this time we ask in advance. Thirty euros for two people. That's fine, thank you, see you at 7:00.

She proceeds to serve us NINE dishes. Melon, tasty sausage, creamy squash soup, spinach frittata, Seminola and cheese tart, vegetable stew, endive with anchovies, and a wild game mammal of unidentifiable species that was juicy and flavorful. And great apple cake for dessert.

Plus beer, wine, tea, and an after dinner liquor.

I gave her a fifty euro note. She gives me twenty back. I tell her I need to pay extra for the beer and wine. No no no, that's included.

It's not just that we paid 150% of the price of two burritos at our favorite taqueria and ate a nine course home cooked fabulous meal. It's not just that we are camped in a fascinating ruin of an Italian hill town. It's not just that her beautiful and charming 8 year old granddaughter kept us company. It's not just that the views out the windows are stunning.

It's the random luck of finishing the day here and taking whatever comes at us. Today we hit the jackpot. Life is good.

We'll see what treasure tomorrow brings.

We're happy and healthy and very well fed.

Photo is James setting up the tent in our ruined hamlet structure.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=45.910710,8.174699(I+Am+Here+Tuesday+July+11+2017+09:14+PM)&iwloc=A&z=11