Via Alpina
Crossing the Alps!

(The original version of this article was published on November 14th, 2020; translated by Çağla Süslüay and Gökçe Laçin Bilgin)

Serkan:
So I've come across something quite interesting, how about that?
http://www.via-alpina.org/en/page/237/the-red-trail

Sertan:
Wow, that seems really cool! But looks like a lot of work! :-)

Serkan:
A runner, or so I've heard, says he will complete the trail in just 40 days!

Date: December 31, 2014. 6 years ago, just before New Years'. Subject: Our very first and very short message chat on Via Alpina. It was a very busy year, to say the least. That year, not only did we manage to introduce such a pioneering organization as the Cappadocia Ulltra Trail (CUT), which later became one of the most prominent trail running events in Turkey and recognized internationally as part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour®, but also it was the first time we ran the Tor des Geants (TOR), the mythical race around the Aosta Valley of Italy covering a distance of about 350 km, with a total elevation gain of more than 24,000 meters. (check out the report here; in Turkish). Probably from there on, the next thing in mind was meant to be a greater challenge with even longer distances for us, the route that covers and passes the Alps, but apparently, we never continued with this conversation here.

Two years later, we saw that the bar was raised a bit more in the events we participated in. In 2016, we first ran the 160 km long Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) around the Mont Blanc massif at the end of August for the third (and last) time. As widely known, it is one of the most notable trail races in the world, if not the foremost. Just a week later, we ran the 4K, which follows the same route as Tor des Geants but turns the valley in the opposite direction starting from the town of Cogne. At that time, there were only a few people who ran the UTMB and Tor des Geants in a row before. The 4K was organized by the autonomous local government of Valle d'Aosta, which had a dispute with the association organizing Tor des Geants regarding security and similar issues. We attended 4K because the Tor des Geants draw didn't result in a "green" pass for both of us. It was a successful organization in general, except for some critical points about marking but again, it was everything but normal to have two almost consecutive events on the same route. 4K was not held in the following years and took its place in history as a unique, private run. On October 20, 2016, Serkan sent a new message, which must have gotten lost somewhere in time:

Serkan:
What about diving into something like this?
http://www.cipra.org/en/news/on-foot-through-the-alps

Sertan:
Why not! Doesn't that exist though, such a route?

Serkan:
Not quite sure. But surely it must be :) I'll check it out!

Sertan:
You got yourself a deal brother! I couldn't look it up, was a busy day. I'll check it out tonight.

Serkan:
http://www.via-alpina.org/

So history repeats itself. Again, we never had the chance to chat more on this. At the end of the same year, Serkan had to have surgery on his severed left knee ligaments without further delay to keep it from getting worse, as he continued to run at that state for a relatively long time then. Since he was still recovering at that time, he could not run at any event in 2017, but he continued to support Sertan in the races he participated in as much as possible, including Tor des Geants. One of these was the Royal Ultra Sky Marathon, held every two years (alternating with the famous Trofeo Kima) and to that, we have been participating since 2011. Since we couldn't really act on time to find a place to stay, we decided to stay at Rifugio Le Fonti Minerali, a hut with a pizzeria on the outskirts of Ceresole Reale. The small signboard right in front of it said that the hut was one of the stage points of the Via Alpina Blue Trail, and seeing it showed the route of Via Alpina passing through the Alps, it was quite tempting. It could have turned out to be a great project! By now you probably got an idea of how this will work... September 28, 2017:

Serkan:
http://www.via-alpina.org/en/page/237/the-red-trail

Sertan:
Wow, awesome! I guess it shows the nearby mountain huts, right? Seems like it will take a lot of time, though. What if we section the hike one segment at a time?

Serkan:
Okay, gotta admit its quite a "long run"! Let's go into details a bit. There are other routes on the Via Alpina website.

Déjàvu! So as you may very well guess, our chat again ends here, but this time in just a month's time on October 22, we kind of re-open this subject to discussion as we begin to talk about possible races we could enter in 2018 on Hangouts.

…

Sertan: We could try Scenic in early June. The alternative is Dolomiti Extreme.

Serkan: If these two have relatively late registration deadlines, I guess we could check them out later. And oh, what about we try Via Alpina this year? What do you say?

Sertan: Sure, we could pass a segment or two. We shouldn't be too packed and tight in our schedule with the races then.

Serkan: Totally. Could be more effective.

Sertan: Eiger registration dates are due late October, we've got time.

Serkan: Yeah, time to see new places.

Sertan: Now all we have to do is to make up our minds for Lavaredo and Mont Blanc.

…

The sparkle is there, at least the whole thing starts to come together now! Five days later, precisely on October 27, 2017, Serkan (as you may very well see he's been contemplating on the idea for a while now) sent a message titled "Via Alpina":

Serkan:
Hey brother, so I've been thinking... I have some ideas for the Via Alpina:

- We need a website first, like a project page.

- It should be dedicated to the project. We can talk about the project and describe the Via Alpina.

- It's better if we could plan the schedule to be fit for a couple of years (ideally 2 years) considering it's going to be quite a long run.

- We can write how we plan to run. (With 20 L backpacks and self-sufficient)

- Maybe we can add a "Would you like to run with us?" for those who meet certain conditions (e.g. those who can go for 40 km per day on the trails) so that they may join us in whichever sections of of the route they want. The organisation is entirely on their part.

- For "Support Us", we could use PayPal. Since we don't want to draw too much attention to the "finance us" idea, we could be more subtle and put icons instead, such as "Beverages", "Meals", "Accommodation / Sleep". Those who want to support us, could show their support by paying for an icon of "sleep", a "meal" or a "beer". We can add counters with the icons to visually indicate how much of our "sleep" and our "meals" are supported. That sounds quite nice actually. By doing so, finance matters won't be in the limelight.

What do you say?

Sertan:
Let's talk this through on the weekend. This whole thing could be nice, but do we really need that kind of support? We could do it on our own.

Serkan:
Sure we can. But it could be more enjoyable with the icons thing. Aight, so let's get back on that on the weekend.

And so having left behind three years since the first time we've heard of the name Via Alpina, our adventure began in the summer of 2018...

We have constructed this narrative in a slightly different manner than our previous ones (i.e. race reports in Turkish). The route(s) are quite long and as you will see later, there already exists a relatively comprehensive resource website, despite some shortcomings. Therefore, instead of a technical and detailed explanation, we tried to convey the points that we consider important and interesting for those who may want to cross the Via Alpina or similar routes in the future, in the form of questions/answers in the first chapter. In the second chapter, you can find the short diary of our journey along with memories and photographs that we consider to be valuable. We crossed them this year (2020) so the final part of the Blue Trail and the Green Trail is up to date, and that's why we gave more details about them. If you have something you can't figure out, something you want to ask, something we didn't talk sufficiently about, don't hesitate to contact us! We'll try to include the answers to the main text later on. We tried to take as many photos as we could while crossing the routes. The photos are organized day by day, you can see them at runningthealps.org.

We thank everyone who supported us and who sent us motivating messages, including Deniz İren and Banu Aysolmaz with whom we crossed some of the stages together in 2018, Ömür Birler who came to Royal Sky and replenished our food supplies in 2019, and last but not least, Ayhan Özel, on behalf of Ege Endüstri, who supported our activities!

Meet you on the mountains and trails! Hope you'll enjoy the read!

Why Crossing the Alps?

We had already gone to different places in the Alps for competition or training purposes via the events we participated in. Actually, you pass by really beautiful places at these events. Yet, you focus too much on the event itself, everything flows fast, and at the end, you only get to see the route and the immediate surroundings of the event. You turn left at the intersection, but where would the right turn lead you? You cross a pass, but you can see other passes before you, never-ending peaks extend in front of you, you can see their silhouettes. They mesmerize you but you continue to walk down. But how, you wonder, are those places like? Are they just like how you imagine them to be?

If you really love nature and mountains, you realize that, over time, you start asking yourself these types of questions more and more often. Usually, (mountaineering) clubs and associations organize expeditions or camping activities that involve hiking in a given region. These types of events satisfy your growing curiosity to a certain extent, but they remain relatively local, and thus as limited experiences. With a similar approach, we wanted to get to know the Alps a little bit better in a more relaxed environment without the pressure that competing and limited time put on us. How successful we are at this, of course, is open to debate. We have left more than 2000 kilometers behind us now, and essentially (and unfortunately), we have yet again followed a certain line. But at least we had the chance to explore a lot: From the seaside to the foothills of high peaks, we traveled close to fifteen different regions (and most of them for the first time) of the Alps, such as the Dolomites, and the Cottian and the Bernese Alps. These were very beautiful and special places, in line with our expectations!

What is The Via Alpina?

The Via Alpina is a network of hiking trails that extend across the Alpine mountain range from one end to the other. The main reason why it is called a network is because it consists not of a single trail, but of five different trails, each named after a different color. Its origins go back to the Alpine Convention, which was signed (or rather opened for signature) in 1991 by eight European countries (namely Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia and Switzerland). The objective of this convention was promoting sustainable development in the Alps. The hiking route Grande Traversée des Alpes (GTA) was created in the beginning of 1970s across the French city of Nice and Lake Geneva, which is situated on the French-Italian border. An association with the same name took charge of this route and in 2000, under the leadership of this association, public and private enterprises came together and thus the project saw the light of day, and received financial support from the European Union between 2001 and 2008. This project merged the already existing short or long trails (for recreational purposes or to link settlements), created interconnections and marked the trails with signs. That's how the Via Alpina was created as an integrated network of hiking trails.

The 2632 km-long Red Trail extends across Monaco and the town of Muggia, which lies on the Italian-Slovenian border, and is the longest of the five Via Alpina trails. The Red Trail crosses through all 8 Alpine countries by drawing an arc and you ascend and descend about 138,000 meters in total. The Purple Trail begins in northwestern Slovenia, extends through the Austrian Alps, and ends in Oberstdorf, Germany via Bavaria. The 794 km-long Yellow Trail begins in Muggia, the same place as the Red Trail, but instead of continuing into Slovenia, it veers west into the borders of Italy, skirts Austria (and its glaciers) via the Dolomites, reaching Oberstdorf. The Blue Trail, on the other hand, starts in Monaco, the other end of the Red Trail. It stretches north towards the French Alps, curves towards east, and leads you to the town of Reale, located near the Italian-Swiss border, via the Aosta Valley in northwestern Italy. The 287 km-long Green Trail is the shortest of all five trails and almost all of it is situated within the borders of Switzerland. Starting the journey from the town of Sücka, you cross the country from one end to the other and reach Liechtenstein.

The trails are usually divided into short stages, ranging in length from 15-25 km. The Red, Blue, Yellow and Green Trails have 161, 61, 40 and 14 stages, respectively. If you walk at a normal pace, you can complete one stage in one day while carrying your camping stuff. At the start and end points of the stages, there are residential units or huts, so accommodation is available. You can find brief information about the trails in the table below. You can also find detailed information on all the stages from Via Alpina's official website (via-alpina.org). In addition, you can create a guidebook by selecting a starting and a finishing stage on any of the trails, using the website's "roadbook" tool.

What is the route that you followed?

Crossing any of the Via Alpina trails in itself is difficult and highly intriguing at the same time. When we looked at the routes on the map, something caught our attention: Yellow, Green, and Blue Trails roughly followed the same course and even intersected with the Red Trail at times. We realized that by connecting these trails and using the Red Tail, we could see the Alps from one end to the other, and return to our starting point using a different route! This is actually the goal of our Running the Alps project.

The Red Trail is the longest of all five trails and it crosses the Alps continuously, that's why we decided to make it the final challenge of our project. Now, we had two starting point options to choose from: The Blue or the Yellow Trail. We chose the Yellow Trail because it passes through the Dolomites and through the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, where the Lavaredo Ultra Trail is organized. In this way, if we could arrange the timing and no problems arose, Sertan would be able to run the Lavaredo Ultra Trail with our dear friend Ömür halfway into our journey.

Obviously the Yellow Trail does not end in Bolzano, but we had to take a mandatory break from our journey because we had used all of our day offs, and we had to go back to work. Then we took a second vacation and we completed the remaining 268 km-long section between the German town of Oberstdorf and Bolzano, where you cross the Ötztal, Lechtal and Allgäu Alps, respectively, (which are all mostly located within the borders of Austria) between August 15 and 20, and thus we had managed to cross all of the Yellow Trail.

A year later, we were on the other end of the Alps. On July 10, 2019, at noon, we started crossing the Blue Trail from Monaco, a city-state by the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike the Yellow Trail, the elevation rises faster on the Blue Trail, and at the end of the first day you reach the hills, if not the mountains. The route stretches across Mercantour and along the Maritime Alps, then extends into northern France. After a somewhat unexpected cold snap for the season, we crossed the snow-covered trails and arrived at Mont Viso on July 16. Following in Hannibal's footsteps, the Cottian Alps led us first to Mont Cenis, and then to the Gran Paradiso. We were forced to stray from our original route and do something a little unexpected. We ended up climbing the 3538 m-high Mount Rocciamelone, which became the highest point of the entire crossing (normally, the Via Alpina's highest point is the Niederjoch Pass with an elevation of 3019 m, between Italy and Austria). We arrived in the town of Ceresole Reale on the afternoon of July 21. The timing was not random. The Royal Sky Marathon was taking place on that day, and Ömür was among the competitors. We tried to arrange the dates so as to meet her there. We can say that we kind of made it! Needless to say, it was great chatting with her, and we definitely enjoyed the food she brought us:-). Ömür left the same night, and we resumed our journey in the morning. After Gran Paradiso, the Blue Trail traverses the Aosta Valley, which we now know quite well, in the north south direction. We passed by familiar places, leaving the Walser region and Monte Rosa behind us. Then, taking into account the bad weather forecast, we ended this part of our journey at Santa Maria di Fobello on July 26 to continue on at a later time. As a matter of fact people lost their lives due to heavy rainfall and storms in the events which were organized that weekend. We were just west of Lago Maggiore and the Lake District, where Serkan lived at that time, but as you might imagine, it was not easy to get home (we were able to reach home only after hitchhiking, and taking the bus and the train...). This third stage of our project, which was 692 km long and included 55 thousand meters of climbing, lasted 17 days (effectively 16). Our GPS records show the distance as 730 km and the climb as 60 thousand meters (we state the reason in subsequent questions). The Via Alpina proved to be a very efficient method of training, and allowed us to complete challenging races such as the Petite Trotte à Léon (known in the abbreviated form as PTL: distance 300+ km, elevation gain 25,000 m+) and the Tor des Glaciers (distance 450+ km, elevation gain 32,000 m+) back to back, both with good rankings.

It’s probably fair to say that this year (2020) was a bit unusual for everyone because of Covid-19. Almost all of the running events were cancelled or postponed. And we weren't sure if we could keep crossing the Alps. Since we were bivouacking, the closure of the huts or other accommodations did not affect us, but restrictions and possible quarantine decisions in the countries we were planning to cross (Italy and Switzerland) were the determining factor. After the first wave, towards the end of the summer, the situation was relatively under control and the measures were no longer that strict. Hence, we met at Milan airport on August 18, 2020. After a train ride, a night walk and a minibus ride, we had reached Campello Monti in the morning and resumed our journey on the Blue Trail from where we had left off. It was logistically more difficult to get to Santa Maria di Fobello, but we got quite close. 4 days later, on the evening of August 22, we were at Riale, the ending point of the Blue Trail. The next morning, we followed the Red Trail into the Swiss town of Ulrichen in order to reach Lenk, the starting point of the Green Trail. From there, we went to Leukerbad by train and bus (transportation is easier in Switzerland) and in the afternoon we followed the Red Trail once again, and connected to the Green Trail. Amid a landscape of lofty mountains and glaciers, the trail extended across the Rätikon, Central Switzerland and the Bernese Alps, and took us to the foothills of the Eiger on August 25, and to Liechtenstein on the evening of August 28. The weather forecast warned of worsening weather conditions, so on the last day, we kept going at night. The rain eventually caught up with us towards the end, but there is something about reaching your destination that just makes you forget about getting drenched! This 444 km-long last section, which consisted of the remaining part of the Blue Trail and the Green Trail, took us 10 days to complete.

Yellow Trail

Muggia - Resiutta (17-21/06/2018), Cortina d’Ampezzo - Campiolo (24-27/06/2018), Cortina d’Ampezzo - Bolzano (28-30/06/2018), Bolzano - Oberstdorf (15-20/08/2018)

Italy, Austria, Germany (we briefly entered Slovania)

Blue Trail

Monaco - Santa Maria di Fobello (10-26/07/2019), Campello Monti - Riale (19-22/08/2020)

Monaco, France, Italy, Switzerland

Green Trail

Leukerbad - Vaduz (23-28/08/2020)

Switzerland, Liechtenstein

DOES IT MATTER WHICH DIRECTION YOU TAKE TO CROSS THE PATHS?

Perhaps you may also wonder whether it is harder to start the journey from the sea coast and climb from there on...

Both ends of the Red Trail are situated by the sea. That aside, it's true that, depending on the direction you choose, you may have to climb more (for example, you climb more if you start from Muggia on the Yellow Trail and from Monaco on the Blue Trail). But the elevation difference is between 800-1300 meters, so it doesn't actually have much of an impact when you think about the total ascent. Of course, the characteristics of mountain passes change depending on the direction you take (for example, you may have to make a steep ascent or a steep descent on rocky ground depending on your direction of approach). The main difference lies in your perception though. If you start your journey from Oberstdorf or Riale and head down to Muggia or Monaco, you can see the sea from afar while you approach the end of the trail, and you can jump into the sea when you complete your journey (in theory, I should say, we can't vouch for anything since we didn't do it). If you take the opposite direction (in general) every day the mountains around you get loftier and loftier and the landscape becomes more and more beautiful. When you come to the end of your journey, you find yourself amid majestic mountains.

WHAT EQUIPMENT DID YOU TAKE WITH YOU?

It might be better to tell you what materials we didn't take with us. When planning our Alpine journey, we took the example of the long trail runs we had participated in up to that time, and we wanted to be as light as possible in order to be able to move as quickly as we could. The fact that accommodation in the huts or in the town was available when we needed it allowed us to bivouac most of the time. Because that meant that we didn't need to carry a tent. We didn't bring a sleeping bag because the route did not involve crossing really high altitudes. Instead, we used down jackets. For the lower part of the body long tights, plus rain pants when it got cooler were enough to keep us warm. On the first part of the Yellow Trail, our bivi bag was pretty weak and inadequate (it wasn't actually a bivi, it was an emergency blanket). Later on, it leveled up to become a thicker and a more loaded emergency bag, and then evolved into Ferrino's Rider Pro bivi bag. Honestly, we can't really say it was warm at night. Yes, we shivered at times, but we weren't too cold. We didn't bring a camping stove or cooking supplies. This naturally means that we did not eat hot food except in rare cases. The menu becomes monotonous over time (mainly biscuits, nuts, tuna sandwich, dried meat, cheese or chocolate), but honestly, we can’t really complain, we were mostly fine with it. We usually tried to carry three days worth of food. They fitted into a 20 L backpack along with the remaining essentials (rain jacket and pants, long-sleeved thermal underwear, gloves, beanie, spare clothes, slippers, head torch, spare head torch batteries, charger and spare battery as well as a car sunshade (we used it like a mattress), first aid and personal hygiene products). A significant portion of the weight and volume consisted of food and water. In general, finding drinking water is not problematic, but we still had chlorine tablets with us just in case.

WHAT ARE THE LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES?

We can break down the logistics issue into three pillars: accommodation, shopping and transportation.

Accommodation

As we mentioned earlier, the stages (that involve a day's walk) on the Via Alpina trails generally end in towns or huts that are located in valleys. So if you are not planning on bivouacking or camping, you can stay at these places. Finding accommodation will not be a problem except for busy periods when a lot of people go on vacation (take August for example). Nonetheless, it may be a good idea to check if the places where you're planning on staying are open and make a reservation via a phone call. You can find their contact information on Via Alpina's website or by searching it on the internet. As a side note, refuges.info (in French) and other similar websites provide information about the huts. Daily accommodation fees in the huts are around €30-60. Half-board accommodation (breakfast and dinner are included in the price of your stay) costs more. If you are a member of the countries' mountain clubs or federations (for instance, CAF in France or CAI in Italy), you can enjoy a discounted stay (usually, you can leverage a 50% discount) in the huts belonging to these clubs or federations. This year (2020), some of the huts never opened or opened later than usual due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the huts took additional measures, such as going for a reduction in their accommodation capacity and asking you to use your own sleeping bag. Similar situations may occur in the coming years. In the towns, it's possible to find accommodation in guest houses, hotels, and in "Gite d'Etape" (in French) or "Posto tappa" (in Italian) - which are similar to hostels. Some of the hostels have bunk beds, like the huts. When it comes to larger towns, you can probably find accommodation via websites such as Airbnb or booking.com.

If you are going to stay in a tent, it is virtually always possible to find a suitable place to pitch camp. But you should keep in mind that it is usually forbidden to set up tents in the same place for more than one night, notably in nature or national parks. We use bivouacking and camping a little differently in Turkish. In Europe, the term "bivouacking" refers to setting up a tent just to sleep overnight, and "camping" for pitching camp in the day or with the intent of staying more than one day. Bivouacking in Turkish, however, means "bivouacking without a tent in the open air". This creates even more terminological confusion but there are unstaffed (small) cabins that are called "bivouacs" on the routes, although in small numbers. You can stay in these cabins free of charge. Some of them are actually quite comfortable. If you're planning on bivouacking in the open air, you may occasionally come across abandoned mountain houses or chapels. These don't always have intact walls and a ceiling, but they at least provide a cover in two or three directions. There are a lot of empty animal shelters, but they are not very hygienic. So we never stayed in them. Having said that, we were able to find a place to bivouac almost every night we slept. Not all of these places were very comfortable, but at least we can say that they were safe. We had nights when we didn't sleep, but it wasn't because we couldn't find a suitable place, it was because continuing at night was more advantageous in terms of crossing the next day's stages.

Shopping

Shopping is basically buying food and drink. It's true that we had a bit of a hard time on the Yellow and Blue Trails. Because you usually pass through small villages and towns on these trails. There are usually no grocery stores or bakeries. Even when there are, they are only open at certain times during the day (in the morning and afternoon). If you didn't (or couldn't) pass through the towns in time and missed the opening hours, you just take a glance at the food inside the stores, you sigh, and you carry on. If you find yourself in a very difficult situation, you can probably talk to the local people and get food from them, or maybe try to reach out to the grocery store (we never tried to do this). A small warning though, don't get your hopes up and think you'll find a grocery store when you see cafes, restaurants or accommodation in villages and towns. Finding one of these doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll find the others as well. But in small cities or touristic towns (in ski resorts, for example) it is possible to find all of them. At times of need, you can deviate a little from your route to stop by the towns that have grocery stores or markets, at the expense of walking more of course. This happened to us once or twice, and since there was no other alternative, we had to stray from our route to go into these towns and then return back to our route.

The Green Trail was a bit different. Since Switzerland is a mountainous country, there are relatively larger towns and cities in the valleys. So almost every day you pass through a place that has a market. Some products are expensive, but basic food stuff is sold at a reasonable price. Additionally, it is possible to have lunch and dinner in the huts if they are not too crowded (the price is around €10-20). Also, during the day, you can generally find hot coffee or other hot and cold beverages as well as sandwiches. We almost always used the food and drinks we had with us, except for a few times.

Transportation

Transportation is similar to shopping. Trails usually go across the passes that link parallel valleys. Therefore, direct transportation between successive points is limited or not probable. Small villages and towns either do not have public transportation or only one or two vehicles operate in a day (in the early morning and afternoon). Under normal conditions, you don't need to use public transportation. But if you need to stop your journey halfway for whatever reason, the first step you probably need to take is hitch-hiking to a larger town or to the nearest city (that's exactly what we did to catch the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, and also to return from Santa Maria di Fobello). The Green Trail and Switzerland are a little better when it comes to transportation. Yellow postbuses pass through the towns regularly and more frequently. In addition, train transportation is available in large towns and small cities. Except for Riale, you can use public transportation to reach the start and end points of Yellow, Blue and Green Trails, although not directly (for example, you can take the bus to Muggia from Trieste; you can go to Monaco from Nice by bus or train; you can go to Munich from Oberstdorf by train; you can take the bus between Vaduz and Sargans; also, as a side note, the currency of Liechtenstein is the Swiss franc).

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE?

Wake up to the morning sun or a little before sunrise, get some breakfast (you really miss a hot cup of coffee at first), trail, lunch break, trail, bivouac near sunset, or when the night sky begins to set (see. next question), personal hygiene routines, dinner (again, you really miss having a hot meal at first) and sleep. We did keep going at night, but rarely. The main reason for the latter is because we started out this project to see the Alps. Another reason was the herding dogs. We usually don't really notice them during the events (most of the time they are either on a leash or kept away) but at night, it is virtually impossible to pass by a drove. In the daytime, it is possible and easier to just get by if you follow the necessary steps when you encounter herding dogs (these are usually listed on guide signs as you go along the trail such as Stop, Wait, Go when the herding dog is calm and still, etc.) However, you can't do the same at night. Plus, there is no way you could pinpoint the dogs when it's dark.

WAS IT EASY TO BIVOUAC?

Overall, yes, it was easy. If you ask whether it was comfortable or not, then the answer is no. While crossing the Yellow, Blue and Green Trails, we stayed at a hostel for one night (Airbnb), a hotel for one night (we also stayed in the city of Udine once on our way back to Cortina d'Ampezzo), the bivouac cabins we talked about earlier for six nights, and relatively sheltered places with a ceiling on top for seven nights (take, abandoned houses). For the remaining 23 nights, we bivouacked outdoors, in the open air and in less sheltered places. The weather was mostly good, so we were very lucky in that sense. There was rain (or snow) for only a couple of days. The places we bivouacked were dry. Our main problems were the limited possibilities when it came to taking care of our personal hygiene (we used the nearby fountains when they were available, if there weren't any fountains we had to do with wet wipes), and the unavailability of electricity (that's why we had to be very careful about how we used our phones, and we usually used them in airplane mode). When you return home and lie down on the bed, you realize how heavenly comfortable it is :-)

WHAT ARE THE TRAILS LIKE? HAVE YOU EVER GOT LOST?

These are some good questions! Let's start with the second one then. No, we've never been lost but although rare, we had times where we had to search around carefully to find the right trail.

The Via Alpina trails were not built from scratch. Before the Via Alpina Project, there were already short or long trails within the borders of the participating countries, the project merged these already existing trails and created the Via Alpina. Their maintenance is carried out by local units (government agencies, voluntary associations, or organizations). In general, trail maintenance involves keeping it open and passable at all times (cutting back the overgrowth, clearing the blowdowns and other such obstacles) and marking the trail periodically to keep the signs up to date. The condition of the trails varies depending on the time of the year and their popularity. For example, when we passed the first stages of the Yellow Trail after Muggia, it was still early in the summer (mid-June) and part of the route was covered with dense vegetation. We could easily tell apart the maintained and the unmaintained parts of the track by the length of the brush. On more frequently-used trails, the ground hardens, which makes it more difficult for greenstuff to grow. At times, certain parts of the trails were closed due to more dire reasons than downed trees, take landslides for instance. If the trail is popular, then there is a warning sign informing you that it is closed (these signs also indicate alternative trails) but if it's a relatively less frequently-used trail, then it just depends on how lucky you are that day. Sometimes, people you encounter on the trail or in the hut inform you about the situation. Otherwise, you have to go all the way back or keep walking and bear the occasional hardships along the way. This happened to us several times (especially on the Blue Trail).

As for the technical characteristics of the trails, it is fair to say that they differ quite a bit, as can be seen from the photos. There are times when you walk on asphalt or wide dirt roads, other times, you cross rocky and steep terrains, occasionally there are ropes or fixed metal handles to help you climb. Depending on the season, the ground can be covered with grass, snow or mud. As the elevation rises, naturally, your chances of encountering more technical stages increase (which is a good thing, because increased elevation means prettier landscape) but the overall difficulty is at a reasonable level because you mostly just walk on hiking trails.

HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED ANYTHING UNEXPECTED?
(OR A BRIEF STORY OF OUR JOURNEY...)

A week later, on the morning of June 24, 2018, we set off with Banu and Deniz from the "Kertenkeler" team from the opposite direction from Cortina d'Ampezzo to Resiutta, where we took a break to catch the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, which Ömür and Sertan had run the day before. After spending a beautiful day on the trail, we arrived at the Rifugio Padova hut at 1300 meters around 8 p.m. About 5 km ahead was the Perugini bivouac. It wasn't dark yet, and the bivouac wasn't that far away. We would be able to sleep in a closed, sheltered environment if we reached there. To do that, we had to cross the Montanaia Pass that had an altitude of 2300 meters, but 2300 meters wasn't that high! What we didn't know was that the pass we had managed to reach after it got dark (thriller music starts playing in the background) was covered with hard snow... As you can imagine, the way to the bivouac was "eventful", to say the least. Banu wrote about the details (and how we crossed some sections of the trails together). If you're interested, you can read about it on their blog.

As we mentioned earlier, we did not travel at night in general. Friday of June 29 (and June 30) 2018, just before we completed the first part of the Yellow Trail, was one of the few stages we passed at night. In the evening, we had already arrived in the town of Fontanazzo. We slept for a while, and had a nice (hot) supper at the pizzeria, which was luckily still open. (if you are lucky enough like us to find a pizzeria, keep in mind that they only serve food at noon and evening, sometimes they turn off the oven in between). We were in a good mood, not so sleepy, felt great in general, so we decided to continue on and we arrived in Bolzano the next day. It is a relatively technical stage where you go through passes at over 2500 meters (the view there must have been incredible, can't lie, we still regret not having seen it later.).

At around 2:00 - 2:30 a.m, two faint lights appeared far in front of us towards the Molignon pass. From a slightly high point, they came down drawing zig zags. From their movements, it wasn't hard to assume that we were talking about a steep ground. In the dead of the night and in the mountains (i) you somehow don't expect to meet someone there on the move, even though you are doing the same thing at the same time, (ii) you hope not to go that way (and not climb that far). They turned out to be climbers on their way to the Dolomites. And yep, the pass was that way. To find out what happened then and later on, go ahead and read the second chapter of Banu's writing! The same afternoon, we arrived in Bolzano, having completed crossing the first part of the Yellow Trail.

A month and a half later, on August 15, 2018, we were back in Bolzano. We crossed the rest of the Yellow Trail and reached Oberstdorf, on the southernmost tip of Germany, on the border with Austria, on 20 August 2018. It was a generally uneventful crossing, except that we followed the Südtrol Ultra Skyrace route (which Sertan had run earlier) for a while at the beginning and that extended the road a little. The Austrian Alps are very beautiful. Unlike the first stage of the Yellow Trail, you pass by glaciers. Every now and then we encountered more people in the mountains than in towns.

The next summer on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, we headed off to the second part of the crossing, The Blue Trail, starting from Monaco. We didn't stay in the city for that long, but the palace with the Via Alpina Starting Point plate in the garden and the maritime museum are some sights to see, the steep slopes are crowned with houses, luxury cars in line on the roads looking straight out of a Hollywood movie. At night, when we began to overtop the hills and finally arrived in the town of Sospel, we were greeted in the town square by a rehearsal of a classical music concert! Oh boy, talkin' about a surprise! Outside in a sweet corner, 10.p.m., munching on our sandwiches and vibing to some sweet tunes in the background...It was unexpected but beautiful. When summertime is around, such cultural and social events are quite common, especially in villages and towns in Southern Europe. The posters we saw in the nearby villages on our way proved that those musicians were in fact conservatory students that were taking rehearsal. We found a sheltered place next to the train station in town to sleep after we feasted our ears on that sweet music.

Everything was going smoothly on the first day until we were woken up by a flashlight later in the night! Before us stood the gendarmes on duty. Barely awake, we had to wait for them to check our IDs for a while, but when we explained we were crossing the Via Alpina, they said good night and continued their patrol after the control was over. Security measures are tighter on this side, partly because of refugees coming from North Africa.

It was already noon when we had descended from the town of Auron into the town of Saint Etienne de Tinee. Then we crossed the Col d'Anelle (1753 meters) And Col de la Colombière (2237 meters) Passes and reached Bousieyas. Here on the Col des Fourches Pass (2264 meters) that you climb, you could see the remains of an old military camp and some trenches. In this region, at the heart of the Mercantour Nature Park, we first descended into the Granges de Salse Morène plateau, located at an altitude of about 2100 meters. Then to Lake Agnel (2343 meters) and climbed The Pas de la Cavale Pass, where mountain goats greeted us (2681 meters). Upon descent through the Pass, you cross the la Croix and Lauzanier Lakes. We'd arrived at the end of the valley before it got dark. An empty wooden cabin in the parking lot at the entrance of the Mercantour Nature Park was a great bivouacking spot!

Monday, July 15, was one of the rainiest days of our entire journey. The other day (which is also the anniversary of the Bastille raid, considered to be at the start of the French Revolution, celebrated as a national holiday), having left Mercantour and France behind us, we crossed the Colle del Sautron pass and entered Italy. And just then and there, it started raining in the evening. We bivouacked on the porch of one of the empty houses in a largely abandoned mountain village and we've managed to avoid getting all soaked. In the morning, it still continued to rain but it was nothing that would prevent us from going on. During the day, it practically rained cats and dogs. We've managed to reach the town of Maddalena in the afternoon. We've found camping there. Weather forecasts warned that it would continue to rain the rest of the day. It wouldn't be wise to continue like this, as we had to climb to Monte Viso later on. So we took shelter in the (warm) main building of the bivouac, which also serves as a bar and restaurant, and dried our wet clothes. Serkan had a chance to send corrections to a report they were working on, albeit with a little delay. (P.S. Don't ever take work to the mountain!). And at night, they let us sleep in the laundry room. It was cold, sleeping on the ground, but at least we had a roof over our heads and we were dry :-)

By the time we got up in the morning, there was no rain. Somewhat unexpectedly, the upper sides of the hills that we could see from the bivouac were covered with a little of the freshly fallen snow. Sometimes in the summer, you could experience heat waves. Heat waves were relevant at that time (ekşi sözlük), but on the contrary, a cold wave began to show itself in this region (increasingly encountering more extreme conditions are a side effect of global warming). Of course, we didn't know that the snow on the hilltops was a harbinger of what we would encounter during the day. We got back on the road after breakfast.

After it bends around the lake Lago di Castello, the trail heads north and leads to a valley. Following the river running through the valley, you begin to ascend Monte Viso and the Passo di Vallanta Tunnel on its west at an altitude of 2811 meters. The high peaks at the end of the valley were snowy but that's kinda normal, as the Monte Viso, at 3841 meters, is the highest point in the Cottian Alps. When we arrived at Grange del Rio at an altitude of about 2000 meters, we could still see green around us, but we could also see that the road ahead leading us to the pass was still covered in snow. As we approached the Refuge Vallanta hut (at an altitude of 2420 metres), the trail became muddy with snow. When we arrived at the hut at around 9, it was empty (or it seemed so) and attendants were cleaning the place. When we asked about the pass, they said it was still snowy but passable. Instead of that CAI card that Serkan had forgotten at home on the way, they checked the records and gave a signed and sealed paper. We thought it might be useful to have such a paper with us, but there was no need along the route.

After a short coffee break, we carried on. As we began to ascend, the coat of snow became thicker, and the paths and footprints gradually began to close. Wearing a raincoat / a vest together with arm sleeves, and shorts / short running tights, we began to move forward, and with every step we took, the astounding azure sky lighted our way with the bright white landscape ahead. It was breathtaking. Obviously, you can't really expect to be struck by such scenery in mid-July, but at the same time, it makes you feel lucky and special in some way.

The Vallanta Pass and the descent were quite a snowy road. After crossing the pass, you enter France again (the area is the Ristolas nature reserve), and the Refuge du Viso hut is located at the end of the descent. In contrast to the Vallanta hut, the Viso hut was packed. In general, hiking is more of a thing in France than in Italy, and we can say that we have seen more people on these trails. Our stay in France was quite brief, in the afternoon the snowy trail took us back to Italy again via the Colle Delle Traversette Pass at an altitude of 2950 meters. We didn't know two things were in store for us on the climb. The first thing was arguably a mountain goat with the longest horns we've ever seen (although we were quite close, it didn't pay much attention to us and continued to help itself to the grasses under the rocks), and the second was that we got to cross the border through a tunnel just below the pass instead. All around us things were covered in snow so it was not possible to predict exactly where the tunnel was leading, but after hearing some voices first and seeing a group of walkers showing up, we agreed that we had found our little shortcut!

The other side of the border is the Pian del Re Natural Reserve. The Po River, which flows into the Adriatic Sea near Venice, rises there. We passed by the river source. As the dark started to set, we arrived at Rifugio Barbara Lowrie's hut and spent the night bivouacking in the abandoned village nearby.

The next couple of days we passed by some pretty sights and overall it was quite uneventful. The trail was heading north, close to the border of France and Italy. On the morning of July 17, we climbed the Colle Manzol Pass (2667 meters). On the descent, we first passed from Rifugio Granero (2379 meters) followed by Rifugio W. Jervis (1741 meters) huts. We crossed the Col d'Urine Pass (2513 meters) and we entered France albeit for a short time. We descended the town of Le Roux and climbed the Col Saint Martin Pass (2684 meters) then we returned to Italy. We then arrived in the village of Pomieri and spent the night there.

The next day, a long side-passage to the town of Balsiglia was waiting for us. Then we climbed the Colle Albergian Pass (2695 meters) and descended to the Town of Usseaux via (Lago) Laux Lake. The town was quite extraordinary and beautiful in the sense that there were pictures veneering the house walls. We really wished that we could find at least one grocery store or an épicier but we knew it wouldn't happen. Yet another climb ahead. We crossed the Colle dell'Assietta Pass (2455 meters) and reached a half-abandoned village where the Rifugio Arlaud hut was. We bivouacked in a sheltered spot.

On Friday July 19, we followed in Hannibal's footsteps (in reverse) to the Col de Clapier (2491 meters), located between the Savoy regions in France and Piemonte in Italy. There, we crossed the Pass and reached the foothills of Mont Cenis. Carthaginian politician and general Hannibal led his army, which included elephants, to Italy across a high pass in the Alps in 218 BC (you can read the details on Wikipedia). Although the exact passing point remains a mystery, the Col de Clapier is a possibility. The Col de la Traversette, which we passed through the tunnel, is an even stronger possibility. After the path descends to the shore of Lake Mont Cenis, it brings you back to Italy again and this time, it is final. Our outdoor bivouac at night was just before the border.

On the morning of July 20, after we had crossed the border, we began doing a traverse pass, parallel to the valley floor, which was quite below us. We were supposed to continue that way. As we continued to approach the Rifugio Stellina hut, we encountered a drove. Because it was still early hours, the herd dogs wouldn't let us cross the narrow road with a steep wall on one side (apparently protocol isn't always the solution!). Fortunately, the herd wasn't far from the farm, and after a while of non-stop barking, the Shepherd came and dealt with the dogs, so we were able to continue. An old couple we encountered as we passed by the farm, whom we assume to be the owners, informed us that the road ahead was closed due to a landslide. They weren't exactly sure though, and they advised us to ask someone at the hut. Looking at the map, there was not much alternative to the traverse pass, so we took the path to the hut, hoping that the road would be open.

We arrived at the Rifugio Stellina hut before 10 a.m. and saw that there was a volunteer guard alone. Some of these small huts are built by local clubs and federations and run non-profit on a volunteer basis. Unfortunately, he confirmed that the road ahead was closed and said there was no one who could have come down that road yet. When we asked what we could do, he suggested two things: (i) go back and cross the valley, or (ii) climb the Rocciamelone and descend from there to the Rifugio Ca d'asti hut, where the Via Alpina route passes. The first option extended the road quite a lot, so we've found the second option to be more plausible, except for a tiny detail, as the trail passed through the 3538-meter-high summit of Rocciamelone! We are no strangers to climbing :-) It must also be from the recent snowfall and cold wave that the trail is partially covered with snow, but it was passable, or so we've heard. We chatted a bit and sipped the coffee he made for us and then we got on the road again. We continued our climb witnessing the most precious view along the Glacier de Rochemelone. Because it was a weekend, The Glacier de Rocciamelone peak (there is a chapel just down the summit) and the Rifugio Ca d'Asti hut (on your way down) were quite crowded…

After crossing another passage in the afternoon, we arrived at the town of Usseglio in the evening. It was a relatively large tourist settlement, and to our surprise, we found ourselves at a local fair. The great thing about fairs is that you find a wider range of food options. Grilled sausage sandwich (counts as a hot meal) and Nutella pancakes for dessert, yummm!

The next day (July 21), the Royal Ultra Sky Marathon, a highly technical race held in Ceresole Reale (Gran Paradiso) in rotation with Trofeo Kima every two years, was taking place. We have been regularly participating in the Royal Ultra since 2011. In 2013, we had a chance to run as a more crowded group with our friends from Ordos (you can read his story from Argün in his writings). And this time, Ömür was registered. The race starts early in the morning from the Lago di Teleccio dam above the valley where the Ceresole Reale is located. Therefore, you have to go to the starting point with the organization's shuttle buses or by yourself while it's still dark. The plan we had in mind was to arrive at Ceresole Reale the day before or late at night and wish (worst case scenario) Ömür good luck before the race. But things didn't go as planned (obviously we didn't expect any snow on our way) and we fell behind schedule. We were not that far away, but we had to cross three parallel mountain ranges between Usseglio and Ceresole Reale. To catch up with Ömür in the Finish Area, our only wise option was to go on at night as well. So we did.

Maybe it was because that day marked the 50th Anniversary of Mankind's Moon Landing but we swear the moon was shining bloodshot. Past midnight, we were at the Passo Pasciet Pass, and immediately upon our descent, we managed to find the cabin of Bivacco Gino Gandalfo Bivak. As you may very well assume, it was quite cozy and comfortable to sleep on a soft mattress, all warmed up in a blanket, even if it was just for a little while.

The stage after Reale seemed easy in theory. Basically, we would descend from the valley where the Ceresole Reale was located, and then turn north and climb towards the Aosta Valley. An asphalt road traversed the valley floor, but the trail didn't go through there, instead, it stretched across the northern shoulder of the valley. We were clean and full, our food supplies were replenished, and it was a sunny day. Couldn't have asked for anything more! Of course, a new surprise lay ahead of us.

The less a footpath is used, the greater the uncertainty about its condition. Initially comfortable and wide, the path then began to narrow and become steep. Then it disappeared into an old stream of water that came from above, the stream was surrounded by dense plants. We were able to pinpoint from which direction the trail came and towards which direction it was meant to go, but the parts in-between were missing! We may have strayed from the route and gone in the wrong direction but nevertheless, it took us quite a long time (relatively, of course, it definitely felt like a long time to us) to get through this seemingly short stage, which was very steep and resembled a virgin forest of some sort. And then we were back on the comfortable, wide trail. It was for sure very demotivating to think that there was a trail on the valley floor below that led to the same point and was much easier to cross. But at the end of the day, when we reached the Blessent bivouac cabin and slept in a warm environment, our motivation went back up :-)

The Blue Trail vertically traverses the Aosta Valley (in the south-north direction from our perspective). On the morning of July 24, we passed through the Mont Avic Nature Park, there were small lakes in this area. After we descended to the highway that traveled through the center of the Aosta Valley, we extended the trail a little bit and stopped by the nearby supermarket. It was so hot that day that we gulped down one liter of ice cream and fried chicken in the blink of an eye! We crossed the Col Dondeuil Pass (2344 m.) before it got dark, continued on at night for a while, and reached the town of Issime, where we spent the night.

The next day, we climbed the Colle di Valdobbia Pass (2480 m.) via the town of Gressoney Saint Jean, one of the life bases of Tor des Geants. There was a hut/chapel (which was closed at that time), which takes its name from Pastor Nicolao Sottile who pioneered its construction in 1823. When you reach the other side of the pass that leads to the region of Piemonte, you say your goodbyes to the Aosta Valley. We came across race course signs during our ascent. We wondered what race it was. We thought that it was perhaps the Monte Rosa Walser Trail, but we weren't quite sure. When we climbed further and came across the staff who were busy marking the signs, we found out that we had guessed right, and that the race was going to be organized that weekend (there were various distances of which the longest was 114 km.). The word "Walser'' in "Monte Rosa Walser" is actually the name given to the people who speak a dialect of German and started migrating to the region in the 12th and 13th centuries. They mostly live in Gressoney Saint Jean and the towns of Alagna, located on the other side of the pass.

As we continued into the Piemonte region, the weather conditions deteriorated. First the clouds covered the sky, and then it started to drizzle. Though it started pouring down on us relentlessly after we descended to the town of Riva Valdobbia. There, we waited out the rain for a while under a veranda. On the veranda, there were benches for us to sit or even lie down on, and some sweet tunes could be heard from the cafe next to us. We can say that it was a very pleasant break.

After the rain subsided, first we followed the asphalt road, and then reached the town of Alagna (which is also a very popular ski resort, so it is a relatively large and a touristic place), which usually serves as the starting point for Monte Rosa ascents (second highest Alpine summit after Mont Blanc with an elevation of 4634 m.). From there on, we passed by the Rifugio Santino Ferioli hut and climbed to the Colle di Mud Pass (2324 m.). Although the rain had subsided, the sky was still cloudy, so we didn't get to see Monte Rosa even though we traveled through its foothills (we had to wait for Tor des Glaciers to be able to see Monte Rosa; Serkan had already climbed three of its four summits with Sinan and Ayşegül). At night, we arrived in the town of Rima and bivouacked there.

Friday, July 26, was the last day of this leg of the Blue Trail crossing. Since a while ago, we had been checking the weather forecasts more often because of the increasingly deteriorating weather conditions. Weather forecasts continuously warned of heavy rainfall and storm for the weekend as well as the following days. We had approached Riale, the ending point of the Blue Trail. Under normal conditions, we would have probably reached it on Monday but with a storm, that seemed very unlikely. Bivouacking wasn't going to be easy either. We were going to have to wait out the storm in a convenient place. That’s why, instead of forcing our luck, calling it a ‘crossing’ and ending this leg of our journey seemed a better option, given that we were not far from the Lake District, where Serkan lived.

That day, we first crossed the Colle di Termo Pass (2351 m.) and then the Col d'Eugua Pass (2239 m.). As we climbed the Col d'Eugua Pass, we encountered a shepherd grazing his herd, he warned us about the coming bad weather too. At the end of the descent, we arrived in the town of Santa Maria di Fobello, and then ended this leg of the crossing to resume our journey at a later time. It had been 17 days since we had left Monaco. After continuing to walk on the road for a while, fortunately for us, a car stopped to take us, after that we took the bus and then the train and finally managed to reach Sesto Calende, albeit late at night. There, Yücel greeted us and that's how we reached home (at that time, Yücel was working as an intern at JRS, the company where Serkan worked) As expected, weather conditions were quite bad in the Italian Alps that weekend. There was a storm and heavy rainfall. A runner who was struck by lightning at the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace race had unfortunately passed away.

On August 18 2020, we met at Milan Malpensa airport to complete the remaining part of the Blue Trail and the Green Trail. Serkan had changed his job and he was now living in the Netherlands (in a very level terrain, far away from the mountains, he'll miss them). After his relocation, having stopped the crossing near his old place a year ago had slightly lost its meaning. The pandemic had deeply affected all of our lives, hence whether we could keep crossing the Alps remained unclear for a long time. Bivouacking provided us the advantage of flexibility but (northern) Italy was one of the most affected European countries by the first wave of the pandemic and cross-border transport was limited (but we had to go to Italy, and then cross the Swiss border to complete the Green Trail and to get back home at the end of our journey). Towards the end of the summer, life gradually returned to somewhat normal as conditions improved and the number of cases decreased. And so the crossing of the Alps became a possibility once again. We had a relatively eventless start this time round. The only adventurous thing we had to do was to walk at night to get to our starting point, Campello Monti, at an early hour (our planes had landed in the evening, so the last train only took us to Stresa, a town on the western shore of the Lago Maggiore lake while the minibus to Campello Monti left from the town of Omegna at the northern end of lake Lago d'Orta; there was no public transportation between the two towns during the night). Thus, we made up for the short stage between Santa Maria di Fobello and Campello Monti, which we had skipped due to logistical difficulties. Serkan was happy to be back on the trails again. Sertan, on the other hand, had spent June and July in Chamonix and it wouldn't be wrong to say that he was quite used to the trails by that time (You can watch the videos on Chamonix and the proximate routes, aka "The Chamonix Diaries (Chamonix Günlükleri in Turkish)" on our Youtube channel).

The first day, we crossed the Colle dell'Usciolo Pass (2037 m.) and the Colma Pass (1728 m.) and reached the town of Antronapiana. At night, we bivouacked in a parking lot with picnic tables on the opposite side of the river that flowed by the town. The wooden benches were better than the dirt floor, of course, but a short while after we lied down to sleep, families with children ‘flooded’ the parking lot even though the sun had set long ago, perhaps because there was not much to do in a small town. Although the noise was bothersome at first, we got used to it after a while and slept well.

In the morning we climbed the Rifugio Andolla hut via lake Lago Alpe del Cavalli (2067 m.). Although it was a weekday, there were a lot of people on the trail, especially between the lake and the hut. Above the hut was the pass of Passo di Andolla (2418 m.). The other side of the pass was located in Switzerland. Some of the hikers climb the pass and then turn back. We encountered perhaps the most original fountain we had ever seen in the hut. It was made of an ice axe and pitons! After a short coffee break, we made our way to the pass.

The trail remains within Swiss borders only for a short time. Following the ridge line that forms the border, you cross two passes and return back to Italy. Along the way, the trail passes through two lakes with fish in them. When we took a lunch break, they were wandering close to the shore. They may have been endemic or left by people from the nearby animal farms, because the lakes were in fact quite isolated. When predatory birds screamed, a bunch of small waves formed simultaneously on the surface of the lakes.

In the afternoon, we were in San Bernado, a popular recreation area. There were posters of the Vertical Km race, which was going to be organized over the weekend. First, we climbed to the Rifugio Gattascosa hut, the adjacent water trough was filled with bottles of beer probably in preparation for the weekend. After that, we crossed a pass through which a high-voltage line traveled, and thus we entered Switzerland for the second time on the same day. Steps were built into a steep trail that sloped down to the village of Zwischbergen through the forest. Compared to other countries we have crossed during our Alpine journey, Switzerland was more likely to have artificial aids, especially on steep and challenging parts of the trails. For example, where the trail would draw little zigzags or where there would be a fixed rope in Italy, you could encounter fairly long stairs in Switzerland. We saw llamas again on a farm above the village!

When we reached the Furggu Pass (1872 m.), the sun was about to set. Our goal was to get to either the town of Gabi, situated on the valley floor, or the town of Simplon Dorf just a little ahead to spend the night. Halfway into the descent, we came across a relatively sheltered small chapel that had intact walls on three sides and a terrace and decided to bivouac there. Since we didn't know what was ahead, when sunset was around, we had this rule where we usually just settled with a reasonable place to spend the night, even if it wasn't very comfortable.

We woke up at about 4 o'clock before sunrise when it got cold in the morning. After an early breakfast, we completed the rest of the descent and after an easy-going hiking trail began a slightly steep but very long climb towards the Simplon Pass. The trail traversed the highway at the beginning of the climb and extended through the town of Simplon Dorf. Everyone was still sound asleep, except for the bread baker. We enjoyed the exquisite smell of freshly baked bread from the bakery. The section of the trail up to the Simplon Pass serves also as parkour for the Gondo Marathon run. There were markings at several points.

As you approach the pass, you walk by a castle-like inn built in 1650 and named Altes Spittel. On the other hand, the 2005 m-high pass connects Switzerland to Italy and is the favorite spot of motorcycle enthusiasts under normal conditions. There were very few traces of people, except for a couple of parked motorcycles and cars, probably due to the fact that we had arrived around 8 o'clock, and it was windy that day. Another interesting point for us Turks was that the famous Orient Express train, which carried passengers from Europe to Istanbul, passed by the Simplon Pass (more precisely, through the Simplon tunnel underneath it) in the 1900s. As we sat on the benches in front of a closed small shop and quickly had our second breakfast, a (probably military) helicopter landed and thus came about the first surprising event of the day!

The second surprise of the day was the mesmerizing view of the Chaltwassergletscher glacier which we encountered while climbing the Maderlicka Pass at 2887 meters. When you take a look at the map it feels like an unnecessary ascent and descent that only serves to extend the route but after you see the view you count yourself lucky to have passed through there. We encountered a relatively high number of people during the climb but the descent was rocky and stony and that's probably the reason why we came across very few people.

We spent most of the afternoon traversing around the endless basin. You can see where you need to go, but it's not easy to get there. After arriving in the town of Rosswald, which is also a ski resort, the climb begins again. After crossing the Saflich Pass (2563 meters), we descended to the town of Binn and arrived before dark. We spent the night in a parking lot by the river.

Saturday, August 22, was our last day on the Blue Trail. Early in the morning, we skirted the shores of the calm and peaceful lake Geisspfadsee (2439 m.) and went back to Italy via the pass of Passo della Rossa just ahead. This was a nature park and the trail was quite rocky. It descended through the pass to the town of Alpe Devero. After completing the first part of the descent, we found ourselves on a rock embankment that sloped straight down. After climbing down with the chains, we came across a fixed ladder. A shortcut!

Unless you're searching for an accommodation, you don't need to go to the town of Alpe Devero. The trail veers into the adjacent valley before Alpe Devero. At first, we thought we'd stop by at the expense of extending the trail, thinking that maybe we could find a grocery store. But as we drew closer to the town, we encountered a hiker from the area who informed us that there were only restaurants in the town, so we changed our minds very quickly. Further down the valley is Lake Devero. The lake and the (tourist) village of Crampiolo, which can be reached by car before arriving at the lake, were quite crowded, probably because it was a weekend.

After crossing the lake where we had a lunch break, the number of people we encountered decreased once again. At around 2 p.m. in the afternoon, we climbed the Scatta Minoia Pass at 2599 m. The pass was quite windy but also overlooked some very nice landscapes, on the pass was also the Ettore Conti bivouac, painted in red and white stripes. We descended through the pass to lake Lago di Vannino, went around it and reached the Rifugio Eugenio Margaroli hut. As we approached the hut, we came across a group of young German hikers who were wearing warm raincoats, long pants and hiking shoes. We were definitely a sight to see because we only had a t-shirt and shorts on us and contrasted greatly with this fully equipped group.

In Riale, we bivouacked by a chapel, which was located on a small hill on the outskirts of the town. As the wind got stronger in the morning, we woke up early to reach the starting point of the Green Trail in a timely manner. To do that, we had to follow the Red Trail of the Via Alpina, which traversed Riale. After leaving the town, we wandered along the shore of the Lago di Morasco lake dam and climbed the Griespass Pass (2479 m), which is on the Swiss-Italian border. It was quite foggy when we approached the pass and afterwards. Here we met a Polish hiker who was crossing the Red Trail in segments as well as his friend who had been accompanying and supporting him. He had started from Muggia in the previous years and was continuing in the direction of Monaco. This time he had been on route for about two weeks.

As we began our descent on the Swiss side of the pass, we started to hear some periodic noises, which we could not quite make out. When the fog dissipated a little, we found out that they were coming from wind farms. Despite their gigantic size, you pass by and under them without even noticing because of the dense fog. Now cleared from the fog, we followed the valley down the open trail and arrived at the town of Ulrichen around 10:00. There was a somewhat large market in the town (we didn't really need to lengthen the road all the way to Valdo), we also found a train station.

It is quite a well-known fact that the trains in Switzerland, although a bit expensive, are almost always on time and there is a wide network connecting different parts of the country. That means from here we could reach the start of the Green Trail. The real question was to decide from which end to start. As we began to approach the end of the Blue Trail, we began to contemplate both of our options. Taking into account the current train and bus services in Ulrichen, the western end seemed more like it. Not only were we both closer to the western end - and so we would have a chance to start in the afternoon - but also we were hoping that the return from Liechtenstein would be logistically easier, as it is close to Germany.

In an hour, we were on a train to take us to the city of Leuk. From there, we took the bus to the town of Leukerbad, also a ski resort famous for its hot thermal pools. The town of Lenk, the starting point of the Green Trail, was located further north and we could not reach it from this side (from the south) by public transportation, as there were mountains lined in between. However, by following the Red Trail that passes through Leukerbad (similar to what we've experienced in the morning between Riale and Ulrichen), we would technically be able to connect to the Green Trail. A little extra walking doesn't seem a big deal when you're used to it.

Leukerbad is located at the end of a mountainous valley and is surrounded by high ridges. According to the map, the Red Trail was heading north from the center of the city, but you see only steep walls and a cable car line stretching to a point above them when you look at it. You probably think that it must be a mistake. What seems to be the picture is, of course, a little deceiving. Although naturally steep, a fairly comfortable and well-arranged trail (and crowded in the direction of the descent) curling up from the side of the walls awaits you.

At the end of the climb, we reached the Gemmi Pass where there was a cable car station and a large hut. This stage is not normally a part of the Green Trail, nonetheless, it was a unique and lovely experience. Inside the plateau surrounded by high peaks, is Lake Daubensee. To reach the town of Adelboden, first we crossed the Rote Chumme (2618 meters) and then the Chindbetti Pass (2623 meters) That way, you move from the canton of Valais to the canton of Bern. The trail between the two cantons seems almost designed to give you the feeling of stamping upon higher mountains-- desolate, rough and rugged.

Having completed the first part of the descent, we reached the Engstligenalp plateau at an altitude of about 2000 meters. There was a plain that appeared out of nowhere out of the fog, covering a vast space, it was indeed unexpected. Next, you pass the Engstligenfalle, one of the most impressive waterfalls in size in the western Swiss Alps. Now it was getting dark, and the waterfall was illuminated by spotlights from below. At night, we decided to bivouac at a higher point before reaching the town.

On the early morning of Monday, August 24, we were on the road again before daylight. The trail passes tangentially without entering the center of Adelboden town - similar to the Simplon Dorf, the town was not yet awake, all we did see was a cyclist. Before we could even tell where (sh)e came from, (s)he quickly passed us by and disappeared. By 8.30 a.m., we had climbed the Bunderschrinde Pass (2385 meters). We saw a mini-fridge filled with drinks (homemade alcoholic syrup) and food (yogurt and cheese) next to a hut we passed earlier on the trail. Basically, you help yourself to what you want and leave the sum in a box provided there. Although we didn’t really see anything like it in other countries, it is actually a relatively common sight to see in Switzerland. In the plateaus and small villages where the trails pass, local people can sell what they produce this way. It is indeed a lovely example of mutual trust.

Through the pass, we descended to the village of Kandersteg which was located in the Kander Valley next to us. It wasn't even noon yet, but when we found fresh bread and cheese in the market, we simply couldn't say no to having a nice and filling lunch with tuna and soda. Aaand some fruit yogurt for dessert! As we mentioned earlier, contrary to our expectations, shopping was not a problem on the Green Trail, generally, you can find grocery stores in the towns you pass.

After the town of Kandersteg, a long climbing stage began. First, we reached Lake Oeschinensee via a wide road. The turquoise-colored lake, surrounded by high walls, is an absolutely wonderful sight to see. Although it was Monday, the lake was swarming with people who came to watch the view. Hard to imagine what it looks like on the weekends. It is possible to kayak on the lake, and there are picnic areas on the shore. Especially at different points along the trail, we came across these barbecue spots with wood stacked nearby. Apparently, there were even apps for smartphones that were quite popular in Switzerland that showed their location and features. Not all of them are good shelters, but they may be suitable for bivouacking. We never had to use them, though.

After you pass the lake, you are back on the trail again and climb the Hohtürli Pass (2778 meters), accompanied by the blüemlisalpgletscher and Gamchiglatscher Glaciers. The Blümlisalphütte hut is a little high up above the pass. The trail continues further down, but being this close, we didn't want to pass it by. All that extra effort paid off though! We had the chance to capture the sharp ridge line that prevented the clouds passing from one side to the other in an immortal photo frame. The descending trail in a steep lane was paved with wooden steps extending for hundreds of meters. Tell us about that comfort à la Swiss! In the evening, we arrived at the village of Griesalp at the end of the valley and spent the night there.

Date: Tuesday, August 25. The first Pass of the day was the Sefinenfurgge (2612 meters). We left again early before the day lightened. Apparently, we weren't the only ones hitting the trail, we could see the faint lights of two headlamps behind us. In the final part of the climb, there were wooden stairs similar to those we saw at the Hohtürli Pass the day before, but much shorter. As we crossed the Pass, snowy mountains began to appear before us. The Green Trail is meant to lead us to the foothills of Mount Eiger today. As we descend from the valley to the town of Mürren (also a ski resort), The Jungfrau (4158 meters), Mönch (4110 meters) and Eiger (3967 meters) trio appeared ahead. Some of the touristic mountain towns in Switzerland are closed to vehicular traffic. The town of Mürren was apparently one of them. You can reach the town of Mürren by train or via cable car system from below. At the cable car station at the entrance to the town, we were able to both get ourselves cleaned and charge our phones.

The "Reichenbach" Falls may sound familiar if you've ever read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story titled "The Final Problem". At the end of the story, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty face off at The Reichenbach Falls. In the end, they both fall only to disappear into the deep waters. Just below the town of Zwirgi, is the very Reichenbach Falls. The next day in the early morning we had the chance to pass her by! The trail then descends to the town of Meiringen located on the valley floor. As you can imagine, you can feel the "Sherlock" in the air anywhere you go! We walked past the Sherlock Holmes Club and the Sherlock Holmes Park (a museum too), which holds clues from the adventures. If you are, by any chance, a 'culinary geek', you'll know this one for sure if you've noticed from the name "Meiringen", this place is also known as the birthplace of meringue tartlets and modern-day macaroons.

After the town of Meiringen, we had a lot of climbing to do. First, we followed the cable car line and climbed to Planplatten (2245 meters), then we traversed the valley below, following the ridge line through the narrow path. We walked around Tannensee and Engstlensee lakes at an altitude of about 1900 - 2000 meters and reached the Joch Pass (2222 meters.). This place is also the border of Canton of Bern. The snowy mountains throughout this stage indeed made a stunning view. From the Pass, we went down to Lake Triebsee, which had a ski resort next to it, and from there to the village of Engelberg below. After we replenished our supplies at the grocery store and had a quick snack, we headed off.

Once you leave the village resort of Engelberg, the trail continues for a while through the valley floor and bends towards the adjacent valley. From there you start to rise above in the valley. When we approached the Blackenalp plateau which stood at an altitude of 1773 meters, it was almost evening and the sky was filled with gray clouds. On the plateau there were two buildings, one of which was a hut, and a small chapel at the entrance. We were overjoyed to find a sheltered place next to the chapel before we got caught in the rain, but that didn't last long. Just as we were getting ready to bivouac for the night, a woman volunteer who came from the chapel to ring the bells (probably for the last time that day) politely explained to us that it was not appropriate for us to stay there overnight, instead, we could try the bivouacking cabin at the Surenen Pass (2291 meters) ahead. So we quickly packed our things and got on our way to the Pass. The night sky had set now, but luckily it wasn't raining.

A "smokin" cabin was waiting for us ahead at the Pass, guess that's the last shocker of the day! The two young hikers, who had arrived before us and were heading in the direction of Bern, were also staying in the cabin that night. After chatting for a bit (they told us about an app that showed the places you can barbecue; we also talked about the trail and bad weather for the weekend), we ate our late supper and fell asleep in no time, we believe it was all that heat and the smoke.

Around 5:00 a.m. in the morning on August 27, we left our bivouac quietly without waking our cabin-mates and set off. From the pass, you descend to the town of Altdorf, at close proximity to the Four Canton Lake. Since we weren't really short of anything, we skipped going to the town center and we followed the trail outside and arrived at the town of Bürglen. The name itself probably won't make any sense, but what if we say "child", "apple" and "arrow"? Any ideas? Apparently, Guillaume (Wilhelm) Tell, hero of the Swiss urban legend allegedly lived in this town in the 13th and early 14th centuries (we learned from the writing on his statue we passed, it was another curious surprise after Sherlock Holmes).

For the rest of the day until about late afternoon, we made a long valley climb that ended and gradually rose on a low slope at the Klausen Pass (1948 meters). You no longer see high mountains on this part of the trail, but you can pass through small villages and the green plateaus in between. While having a short convo with two hikers coming from the opposite direction crossing the Green Trail, we learned that there is a sign next to the tourism office in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, showing the starting point of Via Alpina. The perfect target point! Everyone knew about the bad weather forecasts for the weekend. The highway runs through Klausen Pass, so it's a popular spot for motorcyclists (we saw that too). After descending the pass, we followed the river that flows through the valley and reached the town of Linthal around 6 p.m.

We had our sandwiches for dinner and some juice we bought earlier at the grocery store (luckily, it was open) and as we were eating our supper, we also had to decide on our next move. We were pretty close to the end of the Green Trail, but we still had to go a 1.5 - 2 day-long distance. Weather forecasts indicated that heavy rain in the region would begin in the afternoon on Friday (the next day). So this terrible weather was now expected sooner than we thought. If we continued normally (spending the night in or near the town of Linthal), it was highly probable that we would be caught in terrible weather (at this point, it was quite certain). Alternatively, if we continued at night instead of sleeping, we would have a chance to reach Liechtenstein before the terrible weather hit. And this also meant that we would not have been able to see the part of the trail up to Elm, our next stop, at dusk (Nightmare on the Elm "Town", here we come!) It was a compromise we were willing to make and we decided to move on.

At night in the moonlight around 10.30 p.m., we had arrived at the Richetli Pass (2260 meters) The crimson velvet sky offered a beautiful view in the valley where we rose before it got dark. It was 2:30 when we descended into the Elm town. After taking a nap in an empty garage closed on three sides where we passed, we set off again before daylight. The trail took us to the Foo Pass at an altitude of 2223 meters. From there, we first went down to the plateau of the same name and then to the town of Weisstannen, following the river flowing in the valley.

In the morning, the air was quite clear and the clouds began to gather slowly. If you are all about the easy way, you can reach the municipality of Sargans on the border with Liechtenstein in a short time by taking the municipal bus from Weisstannen. We chose the hard way :-) When we arrived at the Sargans around 3:00 p.m., the rain had started pouring. We had a chance to go over the limited accommodation and transportation options while snacking on what we bought at the grocery store, sheltered from the rain. If we could act quickly and everything went well, after reaching the starting point of Via Alpina in Vaduz, we could go back to Sargans by bus and cross to Zurich by train and return to France and the Netherlands by night buses (transport on the mountain is hard; Long Live Swiss railroads and Flixbus!). The rain had no intention of easing on us, but it wasn't soaking wet either. We put our ponchos on, and thanks to our bags, which were now lighter with no food inside, we were able to run and complete the stage between the Sargans and Vaduz.

Did we get soaked and had a little hard time? Yep. But we did get there on time! On Friday, August 28, 2020, we were now under the billboard next to the tourism office and at 18:25 (the office was closed at that time). Since the city center of Vaduz was deserted with everyone having escaped from the heavy rain and the surrounding places closed, we had to search for the office for a while. Also, thanks to a kind couple passing by, we even had our picture taken! After a brief adventure of us withdrawing some cash (Swiss francs were required to pay for our bus tickets), the rest went all according to plan. The municipal bus, which left at 6.30 p.m., was passing through the train station. And there, we were able to make it to the train that would get us to Zurich before the buses left. Half an hour after arriving in Zurich, Sertan had already taken the Paris bus, and Serkan's bus was on its way.

After the Yellow and Blue trails, we have now also completed the Via Alpina Green Trail!

SO WHAT IS NEXT?

To finally mark the end of our project of running through the Alps by following the Via Alpina trails, we only have the Red Trail left. It is more than 2600 kilometers long and includes more than 138 thousand meters of climb. If we can arrange our day-offs from work, we hope that we'll get to run this trail that crosses the Alps from one end to the other, in a single try without being interrupted. Depending on the conditions, it is possible to complete it within 45-50 days. Our experience on other trails shows us that it will be challenging to constantly bivouac for such a long period of time. So we'll probably have to go with huts and other accommodation houses and make more use of the dining facilities to help with the weight we constantly have to carry. You can contact us for support!

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DREAM OF?

Guess it's just human nature, but we always find ourselves dreaming about the next big thing, our next "challenge", something "incomparable" to everything we've ever done before...You know... These two words are particularly "emphasized" because their definitions and scopes, at least for us, are somewhat subjective and contextual, depending not only on what is written on paper (or screen) but also on the real-life conditions. With some research, it is possible to find information about other long trails like the Via Alpina in different parts of the world, including our country (Turkey), e.g. on this Wikipedia page. One Wiki entry there really caught our attention not only due to its technicalities, but also in terms of the geographical set-up and the way points. The "Great Himalaya Trail", or "GHT" for short.

The Great Himalaya Trail traverses Nepal-- the roof of the world, in an east-west direction. There are two alternatives, the high and the low route. They are also called mountain (high) and culture (low) routes. The 1,700 km-long high route, which begins at Kanchenjunga base camp, one of 14 8000 peaks, and ends at Humla, you take on snowy passes at an altitude of 5000-5500 meters, as the name itself tells. The highest point is the Sherpani Pass at an altitude of 6135 meters. Usually, especially if you don't have any assistance, some of these high passes are skipped due to their difficulty and the need for technical (climbing) equipment. The reference route by famous British female runner Lizzy Hawker is such an example. The high route passes near Makalu, Everest, Manaslu and Annapurna peaks, the other '8000 meters' peaks in Nepal, and through the Dolpa region. Certain stages are subject to permission, though. The low route starts and ends in similar areas, but follows a line further south of the high route. Its highest point is the Jang La Pass at an altitude of 4519 meters, and the average height for the low route is about 2000 meters. It's about 1500 km long. A "challenging" but breath-taking trail, through and through, especially that high route!

Right now, we're just contemplating on it, to be honest. Let's see what the future brings! Even the thought of it puts us in a great mood!

Sertan:
So I've come across something quite interesting, how about that?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Himalaya_Trail

Serkan:
Wow, that seems really cool! But looks like a lot of work! :-)