Friday, October 10, 2014

September 1 Merced Lake to Yosemite Village

                                                              Current Day.                           Trip to Date

Distance walked- miles                                  14.6                                      61.7

Gross climb- feet.                                            500                                   13,100

Gross descent- feet.                                        3720                                  13,100

Net climb-feet.                                               -3220                                 -

Song of the day: When the man comes around, by Johnny Cash, quoting from the book of Matthew

So the last shall be first, and the first last

(by the way, The American Recordings series by Johnny Cash in the late 90's and early 2000's is just an outstanding group of albums that I strongly recommend!).

Today was a mirror image of the 2nd day's walk up to Merced Lake.  Exactly the same paths, although it is quite amazing how different something looks when you are going the other way!  Of course, it also helps that the path today was mostly downhill!

At breakfast today, there was much discussion about the hiker who cramped up on trail yesterday.  Apparently he had to spend the night out in the wilderness.  When we were leaving camp this morning, two guys who were part of the group of the cramped hiker (CH) passed us and said they were going to help the guy.  A couple of miles out, we ran into CH along with a couple of other people.  Linda and Corey spent some time talking to these guys, and apparently two doctors who were hiking came upon CH along the trail.  The Doctors offered CH some of their food and also a sleeping bag to rest in.  The Doctors ended up spending the night on the trail with CR!  Linda said that CR told her that the Doctor's truly saved his life!  Quite an inspiring story.  Later we passed a two coming up the trail on horses, and they also had an extra horse.  We think that this extra horse was going to be used to take CH back down the trail. 






About 3 miles into the hike, Rod caught up with us and walked down the rest of the way.  Along the way, we stopped at Nevada Falls and took our shoes and socks off to soak our feet in the cold stream.  Man did that feel good!  It was a great hike today, and took us about an hour less than the exact hike up to Merced Lake a few days earlier.  That's the difference between going uphill vs downhill...

We truly enjoyed this hike and we having early discussions about doing something similar again next year.  The Yosemite lottery submissions are due by November, so we will need to figure out dates, etc.

Post Script:  about a week after we finished this hike, fires broke out in Yosemite, in exactly the same place that we hiked into Merced Lake and back to the Valley this last day.  1000 people had to to be airlifted out of Yosemite.  We have kidded that it would have been a great way to get a free helicopter ride over Yosemite!

August 31 Voglesang to Merced Lake

                                                              Current Day.                           Trip to Date

Distance walked- miles                                    10.3                                     47.1

Gross climb- feet.                                            1100                                 12,600

Gross descent- feet.                                         4000                                   9,300

Net climb-feet.                                                -2900                                   3300

Song of the Day-  I'm going down by Springsteen

Down, down, down, down

I'm going down, down, down, down

Today we traveled back to Merced Lake from Vogelsang camp, except, on a different trail than yesterday.  After leaving Vogelsang camp, we climbed about 600 feet over Vogelsang pass at almost 11,000 feet. After that, it was mostly downhill, much of it through a beautiful wooded trail along Lewis Creek.   Along the way, we passed several spectacular mountain lakes.  Although it was warm again today, with temperatures in the high 80's, the shade made the hike today quite pleasant.  All in all, an excellent day for walking. 






We had a terrific breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage this morning.  The food at both camps has been quite good, particularly considering the limited facilities and high altitude.  I ended up sitting next to a guy who has worked for HP for 34 years and lives in Roseville, Ca.  Linda and I both worked and lived in Roseville back in the 80's.  

When we arrived back at the Merced Lake camp site, we were ready for a shower after two days.  The shower was terrific, but unfortunately, I knocked my iPhone on the concrete floor and cracked the glass on the face.  Bummer.  Last year,  I broke the glass on another iPhone, suspiciously also in a hotel bathroom in Australia!  Note to self: don't take your iPhone to the bathroom! 

When we arrived back in camp, we came across Rod, who had been our roommate the first night we stayed in the Merced Lake.  He has been staying at Merced Lake the past three days, taking day hikes out.  Tonight, we do not have a 4th person in our camp, so it is just the 3 of us.

As we were sitting down to dinner tonight, a group of 6 or 7 hikers came in.  Apparently, one member of their group experienced severe cramping on the trail and was down several miles from the camp.  The guy who runs the camp left to help tend to the downed hiker.  Funny enough, just two nights ago, this guy who runs the camp had given us a little talk about search and resue missions that they have to do,from time to time.  

Tonight was "Thanksgiving dinner" at the camp, with turkey and all the fixings.  Once again, an excellent meal.  

After dinner, there was a park ranger who gave a little talk about Yosemite.  A special guest speaker was the 89 year old Mother of the guy who runs the camp.  She talked about how she has been coming to Yosemite since she was a little girl and discussed many of the changes in the park over the last 60 or 70 years!  Quite a perspective, and she spoke for almost 45 minutes straight!  I believe she spends much of the summer at the camp.  While she still gets around reasonably well, she takes a horse up and back  to the camps.  

Tomorrow we head back down to the valley.  Linda and I will  then drive back to San Francisco and Corey back to Los Angeles.   



August 30 Merced Lake to Voglesang

                                                              Current Day.                           Trip to Date

Distance walked- miles                                    9.8                                      36.8

Gross climb- feet.                                           4150                                  11,500

Gross descent- feet.                                        1250                                    5,300

Net climb-feet.                                                2900                                    6,200

Song of the Day-  Visit to Mother Nature Land by the Rascals

Can you see the sun a shining there, on the waterfalls?

All the leaves and the flowers and the forest so so beautiful 

I would like to take you there

Our hike today took us from Merced Lake at an altitude of 7,200 feet to Voglesang Camp at 10,200 feet.  Linda mentioned that she had a slight headache from the altitude and Corey was short of breath on some of the steeper climbs.  

This morning, we started the day with a terrific breakfast at the Merced Camp.  Just as we were getting ready to leave the camp, the group who are traveling on horses left in front of us.  Damn, for the first several miles we had to eat the dust and smell the fresh poop of the their horses and the donkey train traveling with them!



On our walk today, a young man passed us with 3 large backpacks on his back and wearing no shoes!  Later we learned that this guy runs some sort of service that carries people's backpacks to the next stop.   Sitting across from us at dinner were two of the women who hired this guy to carry their packs at a cost of $200.   Yes, today was a challenging hike, but jeez, $200?!

Along the way, we stopped for lunch at a lake along the way.  The camps sell sandwiches for lunches and they were quite good.   

The walk today was quite difficult in places, with very rocky surfaces and steep climbs:




Vogelsang camp is smaller than Merced Lake, with something like 40 beds, compared to 64 at Merced.  Unfortunately, there are no showers at Voglesong, so we will have to wait until tomorrow night to clean up.  There is however a stream beside the camp and we cleaned our feet and legs in the ice cold stream.  

The horse people are with us in the Vogelsang camp tonight.  Once again at dinner, several of them were drinking wine that the donkey's brought for them!  The dinner this evening was great-  steak, potatoes, soup, salad, chocolate cake.  

Tonight we are sharing our 4 person tent with a 75 year old woman from Nashville named Evelyn.  She has entertained us with many tales of her adventures, including mountain climbing using ropes, climbing on ice, long hikes in the desert, etc.  She is hiking Yosemite by herself this week, then next week she is climbing mount Whitney (14,000 feet) next week with one of her sons!  Unfortunately, Evelyn was a very, very loud sleeper.  She snored, coughed, talked in her sleep and got up to go to the bathroom 4 or 5 times during the night, slamming the door to the tent each time.  One time, she banged her face on a shelf next to her bed and cried out in pain!  It was a terrible night's sleep. 

On Sunday,  we are heading back to Merced Lake.  We are taking a different route back- a little longer and over Vogelsang pass at an altitude of almost 11,000 feet.   But most of the hike will be downhill.  These first three days have been mostly uphill, with a total climb approaching 12,000 feet.   I think we can all feel it in our legs.



August 29 Yosemite Village to Merced Lake

                                                                   Current Day.                           Trip to Date

Distance walked- miles                                    14.6                                      27.0

Gross climb- feet.                                           3,720                                    7,370

Gross descent- feet.                                          500                                     4,150

Net climb-feet.                                              3,220                                     3,220

Song of the Day- Rehab by Amy Winehouse

They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, 'No, no, no.'

We woke up at 6 am this morning, ready to go.  But of course, then we had to go down to the little coffee shop and get our morning latte's.  And once you have a latte, you need yogurt and fruit to go with it.  Before you know it, it's almost 7:15 before you actually hit the trail.

Today was a strenuous walk of over 14 miles to Merced Lake, at an altitude of 7300 feet.  We had a total climb of 3700 feet.  Along the way, we passed several landmarks of Yosemite, including Nevada falls and half dome.   After passing Half Dome, we came upon an area called Little Yosemite, followed by several miles of very deep sand trails.  Although much of this section was relatively flat, it was very strenuous and tiring on the legs.  Plus it was about 90 degrees and hot.

Here is Linda at one of our stops along the way.


Linda and Corey going through a rocky area:


We had several donkey packs pass us on the way.  Yosemite uses donkeys to deliver food and provisions to the camps.  I understand that each camp is serviced about 4 days per week.  The camps have no electricity, other than a very small solar panel for one light.  



Around 4:00, we arrived at the Camp at Merced Lake.   This camp has 17 tents with 4 cots in each tent.  We have been assigned a 4th roommate for the night, a nice man from Merced named Rod.  The camp also has a shower and bathroom facility.  Our tent is perhaps 100 yards from the showers and bathrooms.  The shower was somewhat rustic, but refreshingand after a long hot day on the trail.  The camp tomorrow does not have a shower facility. 

This trip is a little bit like going to rehab.  No alcohol, no cell phones, no Internet!  We later learned that you can actually hire the donkeys to make deliveries to the camps at a cost of $5 per pound!  So, some of the people here have wine brought by the donkeys!  We are sticking to water and coffee for the next four days.

There is a group of about 12 people at the camp who are on a horse trip.   They travel from camp to camp on horses. And they have a pack of donkeys that takes their stuff.  It is quite a diverse group of people at the camp.  At dinner tonight we sat with a couple of guys from New Jersey, a husband and wife who just got out of medical school and a couple guys from the bay area.  All very nice people.  The female doctor was having problems with blisters on her feet and didn't know what to do.  Linds later went to their tent and helped the Dr.  fix her blisters!  How's that for a turn of events?! 

August 28 Yosemite Village

                                                                   Current Day.                           Trip to Date

Distance walked- miles                                   12.4.                                        12.4

Gross climb- feet.                                           3,650.                                     3,650

Gross descent- feet.                                       3,650                                      3,650

Net climb-feet.                                                       0.                                             0

Song of the Day- 

Spinning Wheel by Blood Sweat and Tears

What goes up, must come down
Spinnin' wheel, got ta go round

We arrived at Yosemite a little after 11 am this morning after driving 80 miles from Oakdale, Ca where we stayed last night.  Corey left LA at 5:30 this morning and arrived shortly after us.  We immediately  took off on a hike on "4 Mile Trail" (which ended up being more than a 10 mile hike- go figure!).  The hike was 3,600 feet of climb up from the valley floor to Glacier Point, and then of course 3,600 down on the way back.   This was a very challenging hike, with very little level ground.  This was a great warm-up hike for the next 4 days, and allowed us to acclimate to the altitude as well as stretch out the muscles.  By the way, it was indeed a "warm-up" as the temperature was in the low 90's when we finished our hike.

Here is Linda and Corey part way up the trail to Glacier point.


Linda walking up the trail with  Yosemite valley in the background.


Linda and I at Glacier Point.  You can see Half Dome right behind my head. Over the years, I have been accused of being a half brain, and here is the proof!


During the hike, we came across many, many foreigners, including groups from Germany, France, China and Japan.  I would guess that probably 75% of the people we met were foreigners.  

The National Park system is one of the great inventions of this country.  From my view as a quasi Libertarian, it is one of the few things that our federal government seems to do well!  And, as a 63 year old American, it is also one of the great (and few) perks that I receive from the government as I have the $10 lifetime pass to the National Parks!  

Tonight, we had a great meal at the Awahanee hotel.  The dining room at the Awahnee is one of the most beautiful rooms I have seen.  And, they serve a terrific meal.   We celebrated our hike with a very good bottle of Sonoma Pinot Noir. 


This evening, we stayed in the cabins at Curry Village.  

Tomorrow is going to be a very challenging 14 mile hike with a total climb of about 3700 feet or so.  We will be hiking to the tent cabins at Merced Lake. And it will be another warm day.  So, we will try to get out of here early in the morning.  

Yosemite Hike August 27-31

Song of the Day:  "Here in California"  Written by Kate Bush.  Performed by many, but my favorite versions are by Dave Alvin and Lucinda Williams.  As a side note, in spite of the drought conditions here in California, the grapes in our Sonoma vineyard look to be spectacular this year.

Here in California

The fruit hangs heavy on the vine

There's no gold, I thought I'd warn ya

And the hills turn brown in the summertime


In late August, Linda and I along with Linda's brother Corey from Los Angels, will take took a 4 day, approximately 50 mile hike in the high, back country of Yosemite National Park.  The Park Service establishes seasonal tent camp sites in 5 high country locations of Yosemite.  Each camp site has approximately 10-15  four person tents outfitted with cots and is open from late May to early September.  The park service provides breakfast and dinner at each location, and "take away" lunches are available for purchase.  Most of the camps have shower facilities, although the California drought may impact availability.  Each year, a lottery is held for the available slots and demand tends to far outstrip supply.  However, from time to time, winners will end up canceling their reservations, which is how we were able to score reservations at two of the locations- Merced Lake and Voglesang.   For more information on the camps, here is the wiki entry:   http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Sierra_Camps


This will be very challenging mountain hiking, certainly at the level of the Alps portion of our Italian hike.  Adding to the difficulty is the fact that we will be hiking at high altitude. We will come up a day early to hike the area around Yosemite Valley.  We are planning a 10 mile hike that with a climb of several thousand feet and stay at Curry Village.   The next day, we will hike more than 14 miles from Yosemite valley, at an altitude of approximately 4000 feet to  Merced Lake, at an altitude of 7200 feet.  The next day, we hike about 10 miles to Vogelsang at an altitude in excess of 10,000 feet.  We then hike back to Merced lake, and then the next day back to Yosemite Valley.

Over the past 5 years, we have visited Yosemite on many occasions and have greatly enjoyed its stunning beauty. However, we always stayed at lodges in the valley and only did day trips out.  This will be our first time in the high back country.

In the month since we got back from Italy, we have done several long city hikes in San Francisco and New York; however we have not done any mountain hikes.  Today we went out for our first hike in the mountains around Sonoma.  Jeez, we have fallen out of shape!  It is clear that we will need to do more work over the next few weeks to better prepare for Yosemite.  We are spending next weekend at Lake Tahoe at the home of our good friends Bill and Liz Klein and we hope to get some good hiking exercise (to offset the expected partying!).

Post script:  the above was written around August 10.  On August 24, the Napa region suffered a 6.1 earthquake.  Our Sonoma home is located only 4 miles or so from the epicenter of the quake.  By a quirk of fate, both of our kids were spending the weekend with us in Sonoma, the first time they have both been there in almost two years.  We were awoken at 3:20 am by a loud rumbling in the house.  The sound was so loud and violent,  I first though perhaps we had been hit by an airplane crash.   We suffered a fair amount of damage to household goods, including lamps, artwork, dishes, glasses, broken bottles of wine, etc.   A pipe to our pool broke and drained several feet of water into our vineyard and there is cracked plaster in the pool.   Truly a terrifying experience for all of us, but we are all alive and healthy!   A little money and time will repair the damage to the house.  A good hike in Yosemite will be a welcome relief at this point! 

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Italy/Switzerland 2014 Highlights and Memories

We are now safely ensconced at home in San Francisco.  There is an interesting cadence missing from our lives- wake up, have a cappuccino, hit the road for 6 hours, clean up, eat dinner, sleep, wake up, repeat cycle....

There were so many terrific things that happened  during our 50 days and 658 miles of hiking in Europe that it makes it hard to summarize down to a few items.  But, here goes:

1.  1220 hours straight with Linda- no question, this is the longest time Linda and I have been continuously together in our more than 32 years of marriage!  During most of those 32 years, I worked full time and traveled extensively.  We have joked that our marriage was built on being apart!  Last year's 42 day walk in Spain was a good warm up for the Via though and gave us confidence that we could do this.

Have you ever seen those contests where 10 people will start out with their hands on a car?  The person who can keep touching the car for the longest time wins it.  Generally, the contest ends after 4 or 5 days as each of the contestants drop out.   Well, I guess I have now kept my hands on Linda for 50 straight days, so I get to keep her!

In addition to all of her other skills, Linda is simply an outstanding travel partner.  Linda's language skills, another set of eyes on the trail markings and the hundred daily details that she managed allowed the whole process to work flawlessly.  More importantly was her emotional support and "ballast", particularly when we were dealing with difficult situations.

We have heard stories about marriages that went bad from the stress of these types of trips.  Ours only got better.  Makes me confident about the next 32 years....

2. Italian people- for us, the real stars of this trip were the Italian people.   Everywhere we went, we met kind, interesting and helpful Italians.  The restaurant and hotel proprietors, the people on the streets, the Italian guys we walked with, the people who constantly stopped us and wished us a good journey, Adrea the yogurt guy who asked us to send him a card from Rome, the guy who ran the Pavia tourist center, the farmers who helped us when we were lost,  the people at the Parma visitors center, Massimo in Cinque Terre, the Italian family at the Agriturismo, Guiseppe who came to rescue us on a hot day!  Even the obnoxious lady on the bus bench who chugged a liter of water in Linda's face! I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, we love the Italians!  

3. Other (non-Italians) people we met along the way- Massa the Japanese guy,  Christian the German guy, Heinz the Swiss guy, the  Irish ladies, Adria from Barcelona, the French guys we met at St Bernard, Germans everywhere.  We truly enjoyed spending time and getting to know these people. We have made many lifetime friends on this trip.  

4.  Italy- wow, what a country!  This country has it all- history, culture, outstanding sites, unbelievable geography, amazing food.  And most of all, fantastic people.  While it was great for us to revisit old favorites like Tuscany, Cinque Terre and Rome, we also discovered many new favorites such as the Appinine mountains, Parma, Valle d'aoste, southern Tuscany, Pietrasanta/Camaiore  and the multitude of villages along the way.  Although we covered a lot of ground in the 45 days we spent in Italy, we only saw a small portion of the country.  Which is why we will be back!  More about that later.

5. Alps- the walk over the Alps met my very high expectations.  This was a beautiful and challenging four days.  Hiking at its very best.  We will definitely revisit the Alps in the future.  

6.  World Cup- we have been in Europe on several occasions during the World Cup, and it never ceases to amaze us how popular soccer is.  Based on what I read on the Internet, it sounds like the World Cup is also more popular in the USA this year, but nothing beats the intensity of the Europeans when it comes to soccer. 

7.  The "walk"-  I saved this one for last.  It's a big subject.  At one level, there is the physical walk, covering the ground that we traveled from Lausaunne to Rome.  So many fantastic places- mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, farmland, cities, you name it.  And of course, when you are walking, you get to experience nature all around you.  Italy and Switzerland are two of the most beautiful physical places in the world.  And make no mistake, this was a challenging walk, particularly due to the mountains that we climbed, the sometimes poor trail markings causing us to get lost, and having to dodge cars because the walk was occasionally along highways.   

One of the things that we have come to truly enjoy is the sort of "life in slow motion" aspect of long hikes.  We get to watch things happen up close, not from a car driving by.  And that enables one of the best parts about walks, which is human interaction.  This was an excellent walk from the human standpoint, particularly with the local Italians.  Did I say we love the Italians?  I guess so!

Much of the walk is very individual. Having  to get up everyday and walk 15 miles, often in crappy weather, can be physically challenging and mentally taxing. At the same time, the opportunity to have time away from the interruptions and pressures of day to day living (no phone, Internet only at night, etc), gives one a lot of time to think about things that otherwise get lost in the clutter of everyday life.  A sort of mind "cleansing" seems to happen.  Even though Linda and I walked together everyday, much of the time was us walking separately, lost in our own thoughts.  I'm not trying go all Henry David Theroux on you here, but these walks do make one very reflective.  In both of our long hikes, I have come back refreshed and recharged to take on new challenges.  And we are both in much better physical shape as a result of these long walks. (Although I'm not sure if we lost a lot of weight on this one- we ate a lot of good food, which offset the extensive exercise!). 

I hope I haven't sounded too gushy about all this.  Our daughter Allison told me that I sounded like a 13 year old girl writing a diary when I talked about seeing Bruce Springsteen in New Orleans in one of my earlier posts!      

What's next?

Someone wrote us to say this was the trip of a lifetime.  No question, this was an outstanding trip, one of the best we have taken.  But we still have a long life to live, and I would hate to cede the "x of a lifetime" title to anything at this point!

We enjoyed Italy so much, we would like to come back for another long visit.  Between prior visits and this long walk, we have covered a lot of Italy.  However, there are still several places we would like to see such as Sicily, the Dolomites and Alps near Austria, some other parts of Southern Italy, etc.  And, we would like to revisit several of the places we saw this time such as the Appinine mountains, Parma, and the Valle d'Aosta.  Additionally there are a couple of multi day walks that look interesting, such as the St Francis walk (only about 100 miles!) and a walk in Sicily.  

You may recall that I quoted Bill Veeck, who famously said there are two seasons in America- baseball and winter.  My friend Rick Rommel from Minneapolis wrote to say that Linda and I seems to have two seasons in our lives- planning for big trips and taking big trips!  So, we now enter the planning season for our next big trip....

We are thinking that we will go to Italy for two months next year.  This time, we will likely rent farmhouses or apartments for extended periods of time- say 3 or 4 weeks in each place.  From there, we will take day hikes and other outings.  We have rented  farmhouses in Italy on several occasions, and enjoyed it.  We may do one multi day hike, such as the St Francis walk for 7-9 days, but probably not a multi week hike for next year.  

Some of you may want to come over and visit us for portions of this holiday!  We are thinking that it might be in the May/June timeframe again, which tends to work out well for my work schedule.  

Well, that's it for this trip.  See you next year!


Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Roppolo to Milan July 1

                                                                              Current Day.                      Trip to Date

Distance walked - miles                                             16.5                                 654.9            

Gross climb- feet.                                                       650.                               54,394

Song of the Day:  Truckin by Grateful Dead

Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me; Other times I can barely see.

Lately it occurres to me What a long, strange trip it's been.

Truckin', I'm a goin' home. Whoa whoa baby, back where I belong,

Back home, sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin' on.

Hey now get back truckin' home.


I think it's only fitting that we end with one of the all time great travel songs.  A long, strange wonderful trip indeed!  

We had a great breakfast with Lorretta from Roppollo before setting off on our last hike.  Lorretta sent us a couple of photos from the day before, and told us that what happens in Roppollo stays in Roppollo!  Sorry about that Loretta- I've already broadcast it to the world- we had a great time in Roppollo!


It was a very nice hike,  initially through hilly woods, then through flat farmland.  The area around Milan is the bread basket of Italy, with wheat, rice and corn being primary crops.  It's only fitting- We started this journey in Pavia, walking through cornfield and now we end the same way!  

Here is Linda walking through the wooded portion.  Note that Linda wore a skort yesterday, as well as earrings!  Our friend Dewey in San Diego had been complaining that Linda wears the same damn thing everyday, so Linda wanted to mix it up on our last day of hiking.  As you can see, she is also wearing a sexy knee brace!


When I was growing up in Iowa, we had a saying "knee high by the 4th" which basically meant that corn should be about knee high by the 4th of July.  I know there have been a lot of advances in crop science over the past decades, but the Italian corn is truly impressive:


After walking for about 11 miles, we came to Santhia, where we caught a train to Milan.  Our hotel last night was very near the central train station.  This morning, we will take a train back to the airport to fly home.  We have said it before, but the Italian train system is terrific.   The US is really a disaster when it comes to mass transportation, other than a few systems around major cities lik NYC, Chicago, etc.  

After arriving in Milan, we toured around and saw the major sites including the Duomo.  The Milan Duomo is massive- other than St Peter's Basilica in Rome, probably the biggest we have seen.  While in the Duomo, I was taking a few photos and a guard came up to me and said I couldn't take photos unless I bought a special wrist band!  Yet another business model innovation!  Of course, I managed to get a few photos, so I will show a couple of "smuggled" photos from the Duomo!



Last night, we went out for a good, but very slow, final dinner in Italy.  We then set out in search of a bar showing the soccer games.  When we were in Italy two weeks ago, World Cup fever was high.  However, since Italy got beat and is no longer in the tournament, it seems nobody cares.  We finally found a little place near our hotel and found two Americans there also watching the game.  The game lasted well past midnight, as the USA ultimately lost the game in an overtime.  So, we were definitely out too late last night.

This morning as we prepared for our trip home, and we both decided to leave our shoes behind.  Including the break in we did in California, they have over 700 miles wear and tear, under harsh conditions. They  served us well, but have seen better days, and it's time to say good bye.  Linda also left behind her hiking pants that she has used the past two years.


Fittingly, it was raining this morning as we approached the train station for the airport:


Well, this is the end of our journey.  I am working on a trip overview of trip highlights, as well as our future plans, which I will post when we get back in San Francisco (here's a hint- this was a great trip, we loved Italy and we are working on plans for a two month trip to Italy next year!).  Thanks to all of you for sticking with us.  This is my 51st posting, and as Edward Murrow used to say on the nightly news- "good night and good luck"!


Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Ivrea to Roppolo June 30

                                                                              Current Day.                      Trip to Date

Distance walked - miles.                                          14.4.                                  638.4

Gross climb- feet.                                                    780.                                  53,734

Song of the day: Loretta by Townes Van Zandt:

Oh Loretta she's a barroom girl
Wears them sevens on her sleeve 
Dances like a diamond shines 
Tell me lies I love to believe 

This ended up being a very good hiking day.  After a terrific breakfast at the Spazio Bianco hotel, we set off for Roppollo.  After a few blocks, we passed the local PIlgrim's association office.  A man came running out to meet us.  A very nice guy.  He asked us all kinds of questions about our walk, wanted our feedback on the trail, etc. He  told us how the Italians have aspirations to make the Via Francigena to the level of the Camino in Spain.  We continued on our walk out of town, along the way passing several groups of elderly women who wished us "Bon giornando" or good journey.  We have met many people along the way who provide us this kind of feedback.  

An hour later, as we were walking along the trail, we came upon a few people working on the trail.  One of the guys greeted us and said he had been expecting us!  Apparently the man at the Pilgrim's office had called ahead.  He told how they were working hard to improve the quality of the trail and the experience. We spent about 20 minutes talking to him and told him how much we appreciated what he was doing.   It really is inspiring to see how committed these people are.  I will also say that the trail markings today were probably the best we have seen on the trip and undoubtedly it's because of volunteers like these people.  Here I am talking to the man:

The walk today was quite pleasant, much of it through wooded paths.  There was a lot of water along the paths from the rains of yesterday, and in several areas, we encountered Mosquitos.


I've wanted to comment on the bulletin boards that we encounter in all the small towns in Italy.  They are usually placed at the entrance to a town as well as the town square and play the role of a small town newspaper.  We passed this board today and it is a great example.  The lower two rows are obituaries of people who have recently died.  In the upper right hand corner is an advertisement for a band that will be playing.  There are also a few municipal announcements as well.  


Another interesting item from today was the "Palatium Aqua" in the village of Pallazzo Canavese. Basically, this is a water dispensing machine.  For 5 cents per liter, you can buy water (frizzante- with bubbles, or naturale- regular)!  Linda and I filled up ( frizzante for me, naturale for Linda) and said it was the best 10 cents we have spent on this trip!

We also walked past Lake Viverone today, which made for a pleasant distraction in the warm afternoon sun.


In one of the small towns, we stopped for lunch at a bar and had an ok, but not great cheeseburger. 


We arrived at our hotel Villa Emilia in the village of Roppollo.  This is a very small B&B with 3 rooms, run by an eccentric and entertaining woman named Loretta.  When we came in, Loretta greeted us with a big hug and talked about how excited she was to have Americans staying at her place!  She mentioned that since it was Monday, the one other restaurant in town was closed, and would we join her for dinner?  Well of course we said yes!  She said that today was the 5th anniversary of her owning the hotel, and she wanted to celebrate!

The B&B was very nice, with many interesting collectibles.  Linda was able to use Loretta's washing machine, so we have clean clothes for the remainder of the trip. 

Last night, we had a terrific Italian dinner prepared by Loretta, and the two other guests- Francesco and Guiseppe joined us as well.  Apparently Francesco and Guiseppe work in the area running a car parts factory, and stay at Lorretta's place from Monday to Friday in two of the rooms.  The meal was great, and of course, much alcohol was consumed in the process!  Loretta was quite something, entertaining us with stories about her life when she lived in Pakistan and Egypt.   Guiseppe skyped his wife on his phone in Germany, and so we were able have her join us remotely!


This morning when we checked out, there was no charge on the bill for dinner or drinks.  Loretta insisted that it was her treat to celebrate her 5th anniversary, but we gave her 50 euros to help defray some of costs.

All in all, a great way to wind down our walk on the Via.  Today, we walk about 10 miles to Santhia and catch a one hour tain ride back to Milan (where this incredible journey began 7 weeks ago!).  We will stay in Milan tonight and then fly back to the USA on Wed afternoon.  We hope to do a little touring in Milan.  Milan is not our favorite Italian city, but it does have a few things worth visiting.  

Here are some photos of Loretta, Franceso and Guiseppe from last night:




Monday, June 30, 2014

Bard to Ivrea   June 29

                                                                              Current Day.                      Trip to Date

Distance walked - miles                                            8.5.                                   624.0

Gross climb- feet.                                                     640.                                 52,954

Song of the Day: Birthday by the Beatles

They say it's your birthday

We're gonna have a good time

I'm glad it's your birthday

Happy birthday to you

First, a big Happy Birthday to Linda! I'm sure she didn't anticipate celebrating her birthday on day 47 of a 650 mile across Switzerland and Italy!  More later about how we celebrated.

When we woke up this morning, it was raining.   We went to breakfast (possibly the best breakfast on the trip- ham, eggs, etc).  An hour later it was still raining.  We had decided that of it was raining today, we were not going to walk (who wants to walk in the rain on their birthday?!).  We waited around for another 45 minutes, and it stopped raining. So, we took off toward Ivrea, our destination.  After about 75 minutes of walking, it began to rain again, with a stiff wind.  Fortunately, we were fairly close to a train station and were able to catch a train to Ivrea.  The Italian train system is quite good.

A couple of shots from the walk today.  First is a train going through a tunnel.  No big deal with that except the tunnel is underneath the Fort that we toured yesterday.  


The walk south of Bard included an ancient Roman road.  Here is Linda in front of an arch on the road.


We then arrived at our destination in Ivrea.  Ivrea is a town of about 25,000 people that looks like it has seen better days.  Ivrea was the Corp headquarters for Olivetti, the typewriter company.  However, in the early 90's, Olivetti fell on hard times, due to competitors such as HP and others and significantly downsized.  Today, there is only a skeleton crew at Olivetti.  It sounds very similar to the issues that Rochester, NY faced due to Kodak.  

Our hotel for today  is another designer boutique hotel called Spazio Bianco.  Literally translated, this is "white space" or blank slate.  The hotel features art showings from local artists, that are made available for sale to the guests.  They had some very nice art.  Our room was spectacular, with windows on 3 sides of the room.   This past week, we have stayed in some of the best hotels of this trip, and definitely on a class with the best we have stayed anywhere.   

I had arranged with Brunella, the proprietor of the hotel to have a cake and bottle of wine available in the room for Linda's birthday.  She did a terrific job, and included a special Nebbiola reserve wine from the local region:


We later went out for a lunch of Pizza and Lasagne (what's not to like about that?!).  It was still raining hard at that point.   Later, the sun came out, and we were able to visit the Duomo and other points of interest.  In the evening, we went out for a lite dinner and enjoyed watching all the locals go by.  All in all, a fun day.  Happy Birthday Linda!



Sunday, June 29, 2014

Montjovet to Bard June 28

                                                                              Current Day.                      Trip to Date

Distance walked - miles.                                           12.6.                                615.5

Gross climb- feet                                                       790.                               52,314

Song of the Day: Thousands are Sailing by the Pogues

goodnight to broadway 
Giving it our best regards 
Tipped our hats to mister Cohen 
Dear old times square's favorite bard 

A very nice walk today.  Once again, the weather gods were looking down on us.  When we left the hotel at 7:45, it was threatening to rain.  But, it held off until about an hour after we arrived at Bard!  Man, this is getting to be a repeating story!  Weather forecast for tomorrow is rain, I'm hopeful we can beat it again.  

Did I say that we:  got lost (check), had to dodge cars on busy highways (check) and were barked at by many dogs (check)!   Did I also say the scenery in this part of the world is gorgeous (check)!   Once again, we are walking through an extremely narrow valley, where there is a river, a couple of busy highways, a railroad, and many other things going on. Somehow they manage to shove all this in, and make it look good too.  Here is a shot down on the town of Bard and the valley from the Fort in Bard (more about that later). 


Much of the walk today was along the river.


A fishing shot for our friend Curt Nelson in Austin!


No day is complete without one animal photo.  Here are some chickens and rabbits sharing a space:


We are staying at another very nice boutique hotel in Bard.  The owner told us how they recently filmed part of the movie Avengers 2 in Bard.  He said their hotel was booked for two months for the filming.  Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olson and James Spader all stayed at this hotel.  This hotel has a spa area, with a jacuzzi, steam bath and sauna.  We took advantage of this yesterday afternoon. Wow, did that feel good!  We also had a terrific meal in their restaurant last night.  One of the best meals we have had on this trip.  Here is a photo of the jacuzzi, which is built into a sort of underground cave:


Yesterday afternoon, we visited Fort Bard.  Fort Bard is an ancient castle that was originally built in the 5th century, then updated and expanded in the 10 century.  In 1800, Napolean conquered the area and demanded that the castle be destroyed.  The castle was then completely rebuilt in 1830.  It is a huge complex, high on a mountain, requiring a series of trams and elevators to get to.  Today, it is a sort of entertainment complex, with several art museums, a museum of the Alps, a children's museum and other attractions.  We spent several hours there yesterday afternoon, visiting the special Picasso exhibit, the Alps museum and a couple of other art exhibits.  All in all, a very fun way to spend a late afternoon.  Here is a shot looking up at the castle from the trail:


Here is a shot of Linda from the castle:


Did I say the forecast for Sunday is for rain? (check)!