Alpine lakes and the colors of the Fall...

[Herlock]

Hello there ! Went up for an hike on Saturday, wanted to enjoy some autumn colors before the long rainy weeks they were forecasting, starting already from this Sunday. It has been a fantastic October here , what we call in Italian an “Ottobrata”, kind of Indian Summer, with warm temperatures and very little rain.

I decided to walk up a quite popular trail, taking me to an area of artificial lakes at an altitude of 2000 mt. ca. Left the car in the village early morning and, after a good coffee , I started my climb softly, entering the well-marked trail taking me through the typical deciduous woods and pasture lands. Passed by a couple of shepherds sheds guarded by grumpy Bergamasco dogs , enjoying the crisp sound of dry leaves under my boots. Also took some times for some wannabe “artistic” shots of the brown, red and yellow leaves and tree branches. After almost three hours walking, the first lake was finally in sight. I kept walking the trail, coasting the shores and WOW, the scenery was really worth the walk . Spent one hour to explore a bit the surroundings, take more shots and finally stopped by the mountain hut facing the bigger lake (now closed for the season), sat on the wooden benches outside and got a quick lunch. A sprinkle of snow was present in the higher areas and those less exposed to the sun, offering a characteristic view . Walked around a bit more and it’s soon time to head back to the valley and home. Some pics, just to share .

 

[Herlock]

Some more pics . Knife with me the PF Mike One in rotation last week.

 

[mete]

Thanks Herlock ! We too have an ottobrata one of the best times of the year ! Normally due to a' West Virginia high 'a high pressure system , large and stable bringing clear dry weather, great color .Our color is due to a vary varied hardwood forest . A storm ended the color as it seemed that the storm took off all the brightly colored leaves , now only the subdued colors of late fall. A few deer have taken to 'chilling out' on my lawn in the evenings and they lay there for about an hour . Part of that may be due to the arriving mating season. Bears now are very busy , packing on as much weight as they can to store energy for the hibernation which will last them till early March. The bird migration is finishing as the cold will set in . And so it goes once again.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Beautiful photos
Sweet knife too
Thanks for sharing

 

[jmh33]

Once more Herlock.. Fine pics!! Thanks for sharing!! Sure do have some fine areas to hike!! NICE!!! John

 

[hunter55]

BRAVO! Beautiful shots! excellent pictures! thanks for sharing!

 

[John A. Larsen]

As always great photos of some beautiful country side. John

 

[lambertiana]

I wish I could be there!

My wife gets bored quickly with my mountain pictures, but she always likes yours.

 

[Herlock]

Hi!

mete : Thanks! “Ottobrate” haven’t been that typical here in the last years but this year it’s been really a beautiful October . Of course, being very dry, we had some problems with forest fires. Now the weather has changed quite much, T° dropped and rain set in. In one way is good, was needed. Our rivers and lakes waters levels were very low and growers and farmers also were affected. Let’s hope now the rain won’t come all in once, floods are always a problem here. Yes, I also like to observe the changing of the seasons, with their rhythms, colours, smells and tastes. This is also one reason why we decided to live a bit closer to the countryside. Yes, “and so it goes once again”, well said and even a bit “poetic” !

WILLIAM.M : Thanks William, glad you liked the post . Yes, this Mike One it’s really a knife I like very much. Together with the ZT 0909, lately, has become one of my go-to folders for outdoor activities.

jmh33 : Hi John! Thank-you for stopping by . Yes, “my” areas here are not the most popular ones and not so well known as e.g. our Italian Dolomites but they offer some really nice sceneries, a system of well maintained, interconnected trails, ranging from “family friendly” easy ones to rather challenging via ferrata. The good thing it’s trails are very rarely crowded and most places are very close to where I live, allowing for a one day hike even without big planning in advance. It’s maybe not the “deep wilderness” you have on your side of the pond, human presence is visible but it sorts of shape the landscape in an "harmonic" way .

H hunter55 : Thanks! Glad you appreciated the pics . My pleasure to share!

J John A. Larsen : Hi John! How are you doing? Thanks for appreciation , happy you like these!

L lambertiana : Thanks! You’re welcome to join! Don’t worry, you’re not alone ; my Wife doesn’t even look at my pictures anymore ! She only reminds me to print some family ones every year after vacations. Glad I have an opportunity to show something here! We have a say: “Nemo propheta in Patria” and, most of the times, it is very true .

Take care!

 

[mete]

Yes the migrating birds are about gone ,but then there are the others ! I got a short message from an eagle ! I didn't look for him but I figured a couple of places visible from the house . I just laughed at his " I'M STILL HERE ! "

 

[the possum]

Herlock,
Your pictures are so so beautiful they almost bring tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for sharing them.

 

[Herlock]

Hi!

mete : Nice ! We have discussed about eagles. Here in the mountains we only have the Aquila chrysaetos and, according to the last monitoring done by our Rangers, they have counted 11 couples in all the region. Not that many. It’s possible to see them, specially during the late morning hours or after lunch time (they mostly fly supported by the ascending thermal currents given by the heating of the rocks) but I cannot say it’s very common. I have some pics of several birds of prey I had the luck to spot during my walks in the woods, maybe one day I find some time to compile a decent post about them but I’m surely not a bird watcher . Ciao!

T the possum : Thank-you very much for your kind words, I feel a bit embarrassed . Photography for me it’s an hobby. I started rather early, when an uncle of mine gifted me with one of the first Polaroid available in Italy as a present for my First Holy Communion. 38 yrs. ago! Having always had an interest for Nature (I grew up with David Attenbrough and Fulco Pratesi documentaries on TV), I started to go around and take shots. I remember, at that time, the Polaroid film was rather costly for an 8 yrs. old kid and I was very conscious to shoot only when very sure about what I had in the viewfinder. Maybe I developed a kind of “Photographer’s Eye” because of this ! I was saving weekly some of the money Dad & Mum were giving to me to be able to buy those. Growing up, I took possession of a Praktica camera my Dad bought for small money in the former DDR, where he was sometimes traveling for work. With this, I started to play with photographic processing and, in the high school years, I annoyed a bit my Mum, having taken possession of the house laundry in the basement to set up my “lab” with acid containers and such . Then passion cooled down and military service, university, fiancée, friends and part time jobs were basically sucking up my whole spare time. Today I shoot with a P&S camera, a Canon GX9 equipped with a little tripod and many times just with a smartphone, now a I-Phone 7, this mainly because of... WhatsApp . My wife likes to be informed about my safety and well-being when I’m hiking alone and she likes to get some pictures of where I am and what I’m doing . Besides posting something here, I am also member of an Italian forum of mountain hikers, where I also occasionally post some images. Anyway my goal with pictures, if any, would be to bring a smile on some faces rather than tears in the eyes ! Thanks for stopping by and I wish you well .

Ciao!