Piz da Peres (South Tyrol day 2)

To begin: a bucolic soundscape video (to compare/contrast with Day 1's).

I wrote in the previous post that my camera was not good at capturing the depth and steepness of the views in the Gadertal/Val Badia. This continued to prove true for every hike we took: from walls of stone towering above us to boulder-strewn ravines dropping below us--everything looks like an easy hop, skip, and jump away in the photos. In contrast, the video offers a slightly better view of relative sizes and elevations. The peaks at 0:17-0:23 were our goal for Day 2: Piz da Peres.

The acrophobe would like to reiterate that even though it doesn't look like it in the photos, the trail we took was really steep. Even the easiest sections through the woods and wildflowers near the bottom of the peak were steep. But scrabbling up the rocky trail toward the top, the acrophobe reached her limit and refused to go any farther, recognizing that what goes up must come down. She thanks the non-acrophobes who were with her for taking photographs from the other side of the pass, and for not laughing too hard as she slid back down the steepest scrabbliest parts of the trail on her butt.

Before we head up the mountain, here's a look at some of the many wildflowers we saw on the hike. 

Forget-me-not

Yellow alpine poppy with something purple

Now, the hike. Guide books and online descriptions describe it as an easy hike, but not great for small children. It's worth noting that "easy" in the Alps/Dolomites means "no ropes, cleats, axes, or other climbing gear needed." In contrast, demanding hikes in the Schwarzwald come with signs advising hikers to "wear sturdy shoes" (meaning "avoid flip flops and high heels"). For Piz da Peres, we had three pairs of hiking boots and one pair of walking poles between us.

That peak up there is our goal. It's not very far away, just up.

Trying to convey steepness by putting a human in the photo. I'm just a little ahead of him on the trail.

E (R) and S (L), a little ahead of and above me on the trail. I think I gave up around here.

View of glacier-covered Marmolada in the distance. I didn't climb high enough to see it...

...but E and S did.

Proof I was there. Doesn't look steep, but my feet are in a ditch.

S patiently waiting for me as I narrate my way down. E is way ahead of us.

OK, here we go. Either S is half as tall as E, or the trail is steep. Why does it look flat in the photo?

Does having plants in the foreground help it look steep?

Back in the green woods