31 Aug 2011

Sertig to Monstein Hike (12 km)

I was doing the math as we walked away.  Born in 1925 … carry over the one … add four right fingers … yep, makes him 86 years old.  Eighty-six years old and he’s out here on this 12 km hike, headed for Fanezfurgga Pass, intending (and no doubt ultimately achieving) a total elevation gain of 780 m (2560 ft).  During our brief conversation on the trail with this elderly Swiss man, Gina said to him “Impressive!”, to which he smiled and said “That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”  We’re glad she could make his day and frankly, he made ours.  Not only because he showed us, once more, what one can continue to do as one ages upon this Earth, but now he was also a person on the trail behind us and a Swiss one at that.  This was important because we had three cow-pod crossings in front of us and should anything go wrong, his Swiss upbringing (translation: maybe he knows how to handle an angry cow) could possibly come in handy.

This always happens to us on the wanderwegs of Switzerland – pods of cows hanging about (and often on) the trail ahead.  Gina’s belief is that all will be well if you don’t look them in the eye, a belief she repeats loudly before promptly putting me out on the trail in front of her.  Then, as I’m tip-toeing past, my belief being to tread lightly and carefully and quietly and all will be well, she’s fast on my heels telling me to hurry up, hurry up.  My final prayer as I’m passing through is that my shirt no longer smells like that McDonalds cheeseburger from the other day or this cow-crossing situation might turn ugly.

Safely beyond the third pod, the trail turned upward and so did our heart rates.  Holy cow, this is a steep climb but summit we finally did, mountains in every direction, forests and villages waiting below.  A fantastic day on the trail, once more compliments of Monique’s Mountain Mentions.