Day 176: Wind Of Change

Passo del Lupo to Passo della Cisa

Distance: 35km

At precisely midnight, wind gusts started hitting my tent and the trees behind. Not that I was worried it might damage my tent but they robbed my precious sleep. Windy nights in a tent is never fun for me.

Anyway, also a sleepless night eventually is over and I set off into a damp, foggy and windy morning. It's the first day since the Black Forest that I have a wet hiking day. Crazy how lucky I have been so far on E1 weather wise! 

Inside the beech forest it's dark and my headlamp helps quite a bit. Still, navigating is tricky: the poor visibility makes the markers hard to spot, the leaves on the ground hiding the trail. It takes some effort not to get off track.

Eventually, I pass Zum Zeri, a mini ski field. Even though, it looks like a scene from a horror movie, it's a welcome change. From then on it's mostly along forestry tracks. I don't mind as it needs way less concentration. Still, parts of these tracks are in terrible shape and hard to walk. So not as easy as I initially thought. One short, airy ridge walk, which pops out of the blue, makes a nice exception. Shame there's zero visibility. Then it's back into the forest mostly all the way to Passo della Cisa, the wind staying with me all the way. Especially the last bit is zigzagging without a reason. Tiring, unnecessary after a long day.

As I approach the pass, I look for a place to pitch the tent. Not easy in the wind. Then I spot a little hut with the light on. It says "Capanna Twin" on it. There's a French girl there and I ask her if one can just stay here. Apparently one can, just leave a 20 Euro bill on the table. Electricity, a shower and... Sheltered from the nasty weather. A great deal.

It's only a short 2 minutes walk from the bus stop, where I will catch the bus to Pontremoli for two Zero Days. Firstly, I need to resupply, secondly my legs need a break and thirdly, with the unfavorable weather forecast for the next two days and the scenic stretch up ahead it would be shame to keep on pushing.