Quick breakfast and then the difficult decision. Am I taking the bus for the first bit or walking the whole stretch! Not feeling super energetic but I have all day and there are no steep downhills, that’s what generally slows me down. As I missed the bus by 10 minutes and they run on an hourly basis I decided to walk the whole stretch.
Beautiful downward path, a little by the road but quite pleasant to walk. Not feeling well after breakfast again, too much gluten and dairy. Came across some black elderberry shrubs and decided to have some of them, too many I guess. Felt so nauseous all day, it was only overruled by the adrenaline kicking in to get me up that steep hill somehow, way later. So for now I was feeling sick.
And it turned out to be an emotional day. Today lots of stuff seemed to be coming up, old believes and conditioning. Quite painful to feel and yet the only way to let this go. I am amazed of how again and again this comes up. While walking along the road I spotted all these little plants, just growing out of a stone wall. Always amazes me.
Then through Niedervintl/Vandoies, across the river Rienz, and I was officially in the Dolomite Mountains although I would only really see them at the end of the day.
First came a pretty exhausting uphill climb through forests of all kind, very steep at times and no end to it, 1000m in one stretch! The whole time I could not stop thinking about a popsicle we used to have as children. It was called “Dolomiti”, and I guess we did know it referred to some mountains. If I can get my hands on one of them I am for sure going to have it!!!!
Basically all the forests in Europe are managed forests where wood is harvested constantly. But unlike what we do in Canada there are no clear cuts. This makes for a homogenous view from the top but way more important is that these are healthy forests where medicinal plants can grow, berries, mushrooms, mosses,….. the ground floor doesn’t die but still accommodates all the other plants and trees of all ages are part of it. Time that Canada learns how to do this!
And today was definitely mushroom day! It was quite painful leaving them behind but I would have needed something to carry them in, haul them up the 1000m hill, and it would have taken me forever to pick them all. This here is just a few of my beautiful finds, I could have easily walked out with 6 pounds or more.
When I finally got up the hill there were some old farm buildings, a new Alm, lots of day trip people, beautiful alpine meadows, and even art.
Finally reached the very modern Starkenfeldhuette, had my own bunk room again with a super fancy bathroom,
Unfortunately they couldn’t run the sauna for me as they don’t have enough power when the sun goes down but their meeting space with the breathtaking view made so up for it.
They make their own cheese here and you can get a tour as well. And that’s what dinner consisted off mainly. Local cheese and 3 different kinds of dumplings with more cheese. All raw milk and no one has died yet! If you like cheese the Almen in the Alps is the place to be!
Always getting chilly after a long day outside and a long hike so I bundled up in one of those long chairs and watched the sun go down. And no reception, no wifi! Pure bliss!
Traumhaft! So lieben Dank fürs Teilen. ❤️
Your observations on them differences in forest management are interesting. What is wrong with us here?