LUGANO
This is my second solo multi-day hiking trip - a shorter one though, 4 days 3 nights. Similar to the West Highland Way, I brought my own food. However, since camping isn't allowed along the trail, I had to stay in the mountain huts. While it was more expensive, the huts were cosy and my haversack became much lighter without the tent and the sleeping bag. This hike was much quieter - I had the whole trail to myself for the most part, and occassionally bumped into a few friendly local hikers. It was probably because I went in early June and it wasn't peak period yet. It was a nice escape from the huge crowd in cities.
The initial ascend and descend was much steeper than the slopes I encountered in the West Highland Way. The mountains in Lugano were also more closely packed and hence offered a very different view from that of the highlands in Scotland. I kept a journal for the hike and my day-to-day experiences can be found in the links in the table below.
Day 0 - Lugano City Center
Finally, the start of my ambitious early summer hikes before I conclude my exchange experience. What is Europe without visiting the Swiss Alps? A friend recommended the hike to me and there were plenty of resources available to prepare for the hike so TA DA~ I'm here. I took a flight to the city airport and had intended to take the train from the airport to the city center. However, there wasn't a manned ticketing station and the ticketing machine did not accept my debit card. I didn't have any small change with me either. So I panicked. Fortunately, a local saw me, figured out what was happening and bought me a train ticket. He also wished me well and told me to enjoy Lugano:) You have no idea how relieved and grateful I was.
Upon reaching the train station, I found my way to Hotel and Hostel Montarina and checked-in in the afternoon. I got a bed in a a mixed-dormitory. I didn't get to know the other people because I spent the rest of the day trying to get groceries. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday and the supermarkets were already closed for the day. I had to settle for the limited choices of food offered by the convenience store at the train station. I couldn't find gas for my camping stove either and had to settle for canned food...haizz hopefully things will stop going wrong when I start my hike tomorrow.
I also dropped by the tourist center to confirm the information I gathered from the internet. The lady at the counter was really helpful and helped me call up the mountain huts to check and confirm my bookings. I had previously booked a bed in the huts through the phone but because I didn't speak Italian and the hut owners weren't very fluent with English, I felt uneasy and had to check again. She was quite surprised that I'll be doing the trail alone and warned me about the weather - apparently it often rains in the afternoon during this period.
While scouting for food, I went for a short walk along the lake. The city is really surrounded by mountains and water - it was gorgeous. Can't wait for the view at the peak.
Day 1 - Capanna Pairolo
The lady at the tourist center said it would rain...and it did yesterday - a real heavy thunderstorm. It made me rethink my plans. What if I was caught in a storm in the middle of the hike? Being at the peak of the mountain during a thunderstorm is really dangerous and there is a higher chance of getting struck by lightning. Should I cancel the hike? Fortunately, I didn't and went ahead. It turned out that there was no storm but mere drizzles which lasted no more than 30min (that being said, I started paincking and running when I felt the raindrops - must have looked like a fool).
I started off real early today, left the hostel at 7:45am, took bus 2 from Stazione, and waited for an hour for the Funicular to Mont Bre. Guess I was too excited and anxious for the hike. The trail was pretty steep initially and I had to lug ~10kg of my haversack. It was quite tiring and I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. I didn't stop for long though for fear that there might be a storm in the afternoon. The climb up Mont Boglia was challenging but the view was awesome. The view at the peak wasn't good though cause it was covered by a thick cloud cover. Along the trail, past the tree cover, before hitting the clouds, the trail opened up to an awesome view overlooking the small towns that stood at the bases and terraces on the mountains. I could see the Lugano lake in its full glory.
a small town that I had to pass through to get to the trail
the view just before the peak of Mount Boglia
The walk along the ridge was pretty scary though. The clouds presented a white-out. I couldn't see the two sides, which simply vanished downwards. I could only see about 100m ahead. At this point, I tried to stay calm and told myself 'as long as I'm on the trail, I'll be fine' and thankfully I was. After that, the next 'scary' experience was losing the trail markers. The trail near Pairolo was covered with a thick layer of leaves. The GPS on my phone took forever to load, so I just followed my instinct and bashed my way through. I kind of got off the path but eventually managed to find my way to Pairolo.
the clouds came in
I lost the next trail marker
The trail was completely empty. After Mount Boglia, there was absolutely no one in sight. It was pleasant in a way - to be able to blow my nose as loud as I wanted and sing (I was out of breath for the most part so I sounded pretty off but who cares). It got a little scary though cause if anything were to happen to me, not a single soul would know until probably a few days after.
Surprisingly, my hunger didn't hit me until 45min before reaching Pairolo. So I pushed through the remaining part of the trail with a single museli bar and 165ml of water. Had the remainder of my lunch at the hut with a nice warm peppermint tea. The hut is nice and cosy, with proper toilets and showers (for 5chf, which was overpriced but I was all sweaty and cold so a shower was necessary). Anyway, I am the only hiker who would be spending the night in the hut so I have the WHOLE room for myself:)
had the whole room to myself!
So there, my first day - blessed with good weather; enjoyed by me, myself and I; walked alongside nature at its calmest and freshest.
Day 2 - Alpe Rompiago
Started the day early again today - 8:30am. Same as yesterday, I didn't meet anyone except at San Lucio, Monte Bar. There were also a few cyclists along the way. Met a really nice lady, probably in her 60s at Rompiago. Really hope I'll turn out to be as fit as her at her age and continue to climb mountains.
So about the trail: the path from Pairolo to San Lucio is really amazing. Throughout the 2-3hrs walk, the path opens to the left to an amazing top-down view of the other mountains in the distance. A few huts lined the mountain sides. There were people herding goats too. I had attempted the Gaizzola peak (a 2km peak) but stopped halfway cause the peak was covered by clouds which look really menacing. I didn't want to risk getting stuck up there by myself so I took the 'easier' trail from San Lucio to Monte Bar. This trail curved around the mountain side and got a little too narrow at times. Apart from that, it was a pretty chill walk with a nice view, which eventually got a little boring after about 3hrs of seeing the same thing from different angles. Anyhow, I got a little lazy - decided not to climb Monte Bar and took an easier route downhill. I am kind of regretting it now though...I actually have an extra day so I might just go up tomorrow morning to catch the view I missed. The lady did say that a thunderstorm might hit at around 2-4pm tomorrow and I might get caught in the storm halfway down.
see the herd of goats/cows in the distance
Rompiago is nice cosy house owned by a really nice guy who can really cook. It is alomst void of people and the shared room essentially becomes a private room. The house is very well made and there is small goat farm beside it so I spent about an hour staring at the goats as they munched on grass.
finally reached Rompiago
happy goats taking a chill pill
night view of lugano from the hut
Day 3 - Alpe Rompiago
I decided to take it slow and chill today. Apparently there is supposed to be a thunderstorm this afternoon and I hear the thunder rumbling in a distance. Before I go on about today, let me recall what happened last night.
I had a hearty talk with the other hiker last night about the mountains, family, etc. Her stories are really interesting and her family is one which I wish to have one day. Her children and grandchildren all love the mountains as much as she does and they would go on hut-to-hut tours. Haizz~ while Switzerland has mountains, Singapore has Bukit Timah Hill haha. I also ought to train my body up...I feel so weak compared to her and she's already in her 60s! I also had my fair share of Swiss cheese. She offered me her snack: goat and cow cheese and rye bread. The goat cheese is really good and it doesn't smell/taste as strong perhaps cause it's fresh.
Okay, now back to today - we parted our ways and I regretted not taking a photo with her or adding her on facebook or something. The climb to Monte Bar was amazing and I was so glad I did not forgo it. Before reaching the peak of Monte Bar, there was a manageable climb to the cross which was huge. It was a nice spot with a good view and I came bcak after finishing the route for lunch. After the cross, there is another mountain peak at 1700km that I had to pass. It was steep and I was so glad I had left my haversack at Rompiago. The view was awesome though - you could see the river that flows through the city center, the mountain ranges at the other side of the mountain, snow capped peaks disappearing into the distance. If not for the annoying buzzing of flies around me, I would have loved to stay at the peak a little longer.
the huge cross
a grazing goat near the first peak
reached the first peak
From that peak to Monte Bar, there was a short decline before ascending up to 1800km. The trail was full of loose rocks, which made me glad I had decided to take the 'easier' route yesterday. It would have been a pain having to take extra caution and place each footing with care. The view at Monte Bar was also great. The sun was unbearably hot though and I might get a sun burn today.
view on the way to Monte Bar
Day 4 - Tesserete
This morning, as I went to the dining table and sat down to have my miserable breakfast of cereal bars, the hut owner came and offered me a free breakfast. I had the happiest stomach that morning out of the past 3 days. There was all sorts of ham, cheese and bread, and a freshly brewed cup of coffee. With that I started my hike to Tesseret - the end of the trail.
There was a thunderstorm last night and it left a huge fog in the morning. The clouds were really low and it gave the mountains a very mystic feel. Staying for another night was the best decision I had made - I didn't miss the view at Monte Bar, I got a nice breakfast and the passed storm left an amazing view. It was a nice finale to the 4 day trial. I reached Tesserete at around 2pm and took a bus back to the hostel at Lugano.
the fog gave a very different feel as compared to the view I had yesterday
passed another farm with cows and horses
