Start: Hotel Etoile du Berger/End: Rifugio Coda, 7.8KM, +1098, -268
I wake up to another clear and sunny day. Retracing my steps down into the trail, it runs in the forest for a while before, you guessed it, it starts climbing. The climb takes me above the forest line into the Alpine meadows.
Cows are everywhere in the alps. The age-old tradition of taking them to the mountain meadows ("Alpage") for the summer continues still. They are mostly harmless, although they do poop everywhere, and are the reason why you shouldn't drink the water where they herd. Of course, if you, like me, are afraid of cows, then they are not harmless but evil creatures ready to strike at any time.
The more real potential danger is from the "Patou" - Pyrenees Mountain dogs that are kept as livestock guardians in the Alps, and are known to be very aggressive if they perceive you as threat to their herd. You might even see warning signs in some places, explaining what to do if you encounter one. Luckily the dogs I hear and see are not of this breed, and are busy and keep their distance.
Barks and shouts continue to accompany me for a while, fading away as I reach Col Giassit, my first mountain pass, and just a small one at 2054 meters. I hear, and then see people on the ridge above me, and my heart skips a beat. People! While I hate it when there are too many people on (my) trail, it's a strange comfort to see other hikers, having been completely on my own today and yesterday. But sadly, they take a turn to a different trail and soon disappear
As I reach Colle della Lace (2121) the path turns into a knife's edge trail, as the ridge straddles two Italian provinces - the mountains of Aosta on the one side, the flat valley of Piemonte on the other. Fog rises from the Piemonte side, and I'm not sure what to do: should I turn around? should I stay put and wait for the fog to disappear? Fog is up there in my list of "things in the Alps that can kill me if i'm not careful" (just above the cows).
A few minutes pass and I realise the fog keeps coming up from the valley, but it doesn't cover the trail. It's the strangest thing - the fog rises and crashes in waves into the ridge. On the Aosta side, it's clear blue skies. As I head down the trail, it's a strange phenomena - I feel as if i'm about to be swallowed by the fog, I keep waiting for it to take over me like in a bad sci-fi from the 50's, but it doesn't. Of course, i'm so nervous it doesn't even occur to me to film a video of this, so all I have is some stills,
The "view" down into the Piemonte side
And i'm still the only person on the trail. As I continue on the path, the sound of the cow bells and the shepards disappear and it's oh so quiet.
Quickly the trail, which is already very narrow, turns into a series of ladders, rungs and what looks to be newly installed blue ropes. I manage to bang my head against one of the rails, and together with the fog and the alone-ness, I feel that i'm about to cry. Will I ever see any other human beings? Will this ever become easy? should I just quit and be a quitter, knowing that i've tried and failed? what would I tell people back home? I start scripting these conversations in my head, feeding them responses that are more and more condescending. So clearly, the only option is to press on..
The fog on my right gets thicker, and visibility is reduced to nothing, and the trail itself becomes more difficult to navigate, with overgrown shrubs obscuring the path, and every step is hesitant.
It's supposed to be a short day - 3 hours or so. And when I planned, I know it will take me longer. But the gap between my capabilities and the strand just overwhelms me with frustration and hurt. I feel betrayed by my body. It's not as if I didn't know it was weak, but it feels as if everything I do, nothing matters. It just keeps being this untermensch body, one that is more suitable for intellectual pursuit than mountains.
I finally see the hut. But of course there's still a way to go. Why are they always at the top?
As the fog closes in, Rifugio Coda is small and welcoming (there's even hot water for a shower). I get a tiny room for two all to myself. Together with me are two couples - Italian and German, and a Scandinavian family. I don't know what impresses me more - the fact that their children hiked all the way up here, or that they have 4 of them.
The hut was conceived and built by a father of a young partisan who was executed by the Germans. His photo and the photos of those who built the hut decorate the dinning room, including, of course, a benediction ceremony, and it adds to the mellow yet welcoming atmosphere. This is a classic no-nonsense mountain hut.
Dinner is good, and soon we all retire to our rooms. I fall asleep only to be woken by the opening of the gates of hell in the form of an Alpine storm. Heavy wind, thunder and lightning are the soundtrack as toss and turn and finally fall asleep.
The next day the sky's clear.
View from the bathroom window in Rifugio Coda
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