june snow and hiking poles

Where we went for the long weekend is one of those places that is impossible to capture in a camera. It doesn't resonate, doesn't stretch into infinite space, doesn't quite have that sharp beauty that in life is impossible to take for granted. We went to the Dolomites in the North of Italy and they are stunning, daunting, and incredible. You can't feel it in photos but these will have to do.

By the time we were through with our hike we were at well over 6000 feet and we were above heights that had seemed impossibly high before. Yes, we'd come a long way. And yes, we couldn't feel our fingers anymore. Because despite it being June in most other areas of Italy, up in the Dolemites it was still winter - complete with snow falling and wind whipping.



Luckily we'd brought some warm clothing but would find out that it was simply not warm enough. We also found out that hiking poles are not a joke created by the Germans to make the rest of us feel inferior as hikers. Or a fashion accessory created by the Italians just to look a tad more stylish on hiking paths around the world. (Ok, maybe they are but...) They are a tool that could come in really handy when you are hiking through snow, straight up a mountain, and you would like to have just a little more contact with the earth as you go.



In the first three photos contained in this section you will notice a small red "X." This is the point at which we got to and gave up. Turned around. Caved in to the fear of the climate, the path, and what a few more hours of cold, steep climbing can do to a person who just wanted to do some hiking on the long weekend. As you'll notice, we got pretty far. We got really far. What had started as a peak in the panorama of our landscape, became a peak we nearly crested.



It was a good feeling to come that far. To feel the springy peat beneath our feet in the green beginning turn into cold hard snow as we got towards the end. It was scary too. It was scary to not know how much farther we could and should go, and scary to know that when you hear running water under ice you're standing on it's because the ice you're standing on is melting.

We ate some trail mix along the way but had to keep moving because it really was too cold to stop and eat. It was too cold to stop, period. So we kept moving. Kept climbing. Kept following the path up and away and into the distance.

We both wanted to make it to the top but we both knew we had to turn around. Because when it is that difficult to go up, it certainly will not be easy to come down. So we stopped. We turned around. And we saw how far we'd come.



It was beautiful. Stunning. And we were rewarded with visions of mountain goats and woodchucks for our troubles. But only after we made our way down and back to the small town where we were staying did we really think about how far away that place is - and how badly we both want a pair of hiking poles.