A family hike to an Alpine pond and Sunday lunch in a packed mountain hut...

Herlock

Herlock

Joined
May 13, 2015
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841
Hi! Finally I managed to convince the family and we have been out together for an easy hike last Sunday :). They kind of made me this anticipated Christmas present, it was hard to get them out from the cosiness of home :D ! Just left the little one with grandparents over the weekend since, anyway, it would have been a bit too tough for him. Weather was, in fact, cloudy and freezing cold when we left the car in the village on early morning. Wife and kids insisted for a cup of hot chocolate and croissants, so we had a nice breakfast in a coffee shop in the village. Once ready, we hit the trail full of energy :)! Temperatures were sub-zero (-5°C) but no snow, just frost, which created some nice natural ice “sculptures” near a water fall we passed by just entering the marked trail :cool:. For the first part of the climb we basically walked in the fog in the woods, but, climbing up and trespassing the tree-line, the clouds thinned out and, by the time we reached the small alpine pond (1857 m. – the destination of our hike), the sky opened up, gifting us with a great scenery under a bright cold sun :thumbup:. We took a stroll around the pond and accidentally woke up an Alpine ibex (steinbock) who was taking really looking like was taking a nap, completely careless about the icy cold wind :D. We sat for a while, just contemplating the crystal clear mountain waters and the surrounding scenery. The crystal clear waters of the pond somehow inspired kids’ Christmas wishes; I can share it, not so bad after all :): might our hearts be pure, our thoughts clear and deep, our intentions and deeds transparent, like mountain waters. The stop has been short, the cold was “biting” and wife and kids are more “summer hikers” types :D.

On the way back, we decided to stop by a mountain hut for lunch. The weather soon changed again and a drizzling rain started. We made it to the hut just before getting too wet. It was packed with hikers :eek: ! No reservations and no table bookings here but, according to the best mountain tradition, no one is ever rejected in these places :). The managers just add some more chairs around the long tables and people just squeeze a bit more on the benches. Sure no option to choose from the menu what to eat, everyone gets the dishes of the day but rarely you go wrong! Great ham and cheeses and a mountain woods black truffle risotto this time! Elbow to elbow with strangers, one makes friend after sharing a warm meal, a couple of glasses of wine, jokes and a few mountain songs everyone sings!

Some pics just to share :). Knife with me the BM Mini Rukus (in rotation this week); it didn’t see lot of action really.

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Merry Christmas :) !
 
Another awesome post with great pictures Herlock. That mountain pond looks amazing! It's hard to find water around here with visibility of more than a few feet. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
 
Interesting ! You have some ponds that are very green . Are they contaminated with copper ?
Nice Ibex .In a previous post I asked about those slate roofs. I really was interested in the random one on todays post.
Nice meal there , risotto with truffles? Looks like the hike was worth the effort . Best regards for the holidays !
 
Super pics once more!! Thanks for sharing!! And have Merry Christmas!!! John
 
Beautiful pics! My wife and I would like to check out Italy one of these days. Your pics make it that much more tempting..
 
Again beautiful photos of some rugged countryside. I liked the part about the mountain inn for eating (and drying out!) brought back good memories. Cross country skiing at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont, long climb to a log cabin, staffed by young college girls (added bonus!) with 7-bean soup, home made bread for the sandwiches, and a warm fire, made the long climb worth while. Best to you and your family for the Christmas Holidays and the Coming New Year. John
 
The food looks great; probably made the hike worthwhile for the family. As always, I like your pictures of the mountains and scenery.
 
One second reading ! Too bad we can't get Herlock to speak Italian instead of German ! Ibex = steinbock= stambecco ! At one time their range was huge even in North Africa.
Unfortunately it's become all too common to refer to all Italian rice dishes as "risotto" . But try it with venison broth for a real treat.
 
Beautiful post as always Herlock, I always get hung up for a while in your threads. As usual, most of the shots would make awesome desktops or calendar scenes.
 
Hi!

@ Cf1969: Thanks! Glad you liked those! :)

@ Pokerchip: Thank-you for stopping by! :) Yes, here most of Alpine ponds and lakes are very transparent and visibility is very good. They normally aren’t very deep anyway (max depth around 30 m). This pond it’s around 2-3 m deep (by my visual assessment).

@ Mete: Hi! Thanks! The different colours depend on the quantity and quality of the suspended particles or molecules dissolved in the waters. The lower the concentration, the greater the transparency of the water, the colour of which will be bluish, because this wavelength penetrates to greater depths and is dispersed by the same water molecules. Conversely, with high concentrations of particles or molecules different from the water, the transparency is lower and the colours will be different. Where there is a high concentration of inorganic material in suspension and there’s a high dispersion of light rays, the water takes a turquoise colour, as is often observed in alpine lakes. In other cases, the abundant presence of organic molecules gives colours ranging from yellow to orange/red, or from green to brown. For example, in lakes that host a high density of algae, the green is dominant, due to the presence of chlorophyll. The algal organisms often contain coloured or accessory pigments, such as carotenoids, which can give to lakes a pinkish colour or even red. Pretty weird! The brown colouring of the water (similar to that of black tea), is, instead, usually caused by the presence of organic molecules, resulting from the decomposition of aquatic or terrestrial higher plants. Scientific essay over :D:p.

About slate stones roofs, as said, the most common building technique involves the use of metal hooks. This is a pretty old technique, but even older was the use of lime. The laying lime is a traditional method of coverage, less rapid and more expensive that includes the nailing of each stone slab to the roof wooden structures and the use of lime as a binder mortar, also interposed between the plates.

@ Bugs57: Thank-you! Glad you liked the post. :)

@ Jmh33: Thanks a lot! My pleasure! :)

@ Supertac916: Thank-you! You’re welcome in Italy :thumbup:! These places here are definitely out of the main touristic routes, so to say, but they are surely worth a visit if someone has the possibility. Bergamo is a very nice town, really picturesque and its mountains offer some great hiking possibility, from easy trails to challenging Alpine climbing. For us it’s just one hour driving from home so it’s quite easy :)!

@ Dynamicmoves: Thanks! Happy you liked those! :)

@ John A. Larsen: Hi! Thanks! Happy the post brought you back some good memories. Nice story and I also like Nordic skiing even more than Alpine one! :)

@ Flipe8: Thank-you! Happy you like the pics! :)

@ 22-rimfire: Hi! Thanks! Yes, these mountain huts are surely far from starred restaurants, both in terms of food style and atmosphere :D but food and customers are more genuine and authentic! It’s generally very simple, traditional food and they just cook on/two dish of the day for everyone, coming with a fixed price (normally cheap, around 15 EUR/person this time). Tables are common, people come and go and you normally sit where there’s some space. Environment is very laid back and informal, people sing, joke and it’s rather “loud” but very warm and friendly :).

@ Mistwalker: Hi! Thank-you for appreciation! Glad you like the post. Yeah, I can take shots but it’s really Nature making amazing desktops and calendar scenes ;):)!

@Lambertiana: Hi! Thanks! Happy you enjoyed the post! :)

@ Willythekid: Thank-you for stopping by and leave a comment! :)

Thank-you all again and Merry Christmas!
 
Herlock said:
@ Mistwalker: Hi! Thank-you for appreciation! Glad you like the post. Yeah, I can take shots but it’s really Nature making amazing desktops and calendar scenes ;):)!
Click to expand...

Well of course. Nature is ever making them, but not everyone has the eye to capture them well and you have a great eye for it. Merry Christmas!!
 
Brown coloring in water during the fall and winter in a deciduous forest is usually the result of tannic acid from the decomposition of the fallen leaves. The "most brown" natural streams/rivers I have ever seen were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (UP). The discharge from paper mills is also brown and acidic when untreated.

In limestone areas, fresh water tends to be very blue at depth; hence the common name for a big pool "blue hole".

I would certainly enjoy wandering around in your hiking areas.
 
What a beautiful countryside--as always, I love your posts. Merry Christmas, and thanks for taking the time to share.
 
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