September 2021, Sondrio, Italy
"Are we going to tent in the mountains?"
I had never slept in a tent, much less in the mountains. We were a nice group of friends, equipped for the night at a campsite in Lanzada. We pitched our tents, had a delicious dinner in the village, and, when we returned, hid the bathroom keys near a log that would not be disturbed. All extremely nice, until "well, anyway if a wolf or bear came tonight it would take half a second to get through this net and into the tents." That's true, but it didn't seem like the right time to consider that possibility.
The next morning, we get up at dawn and head for the trails. We start our walk all elated by the crisp air. We decide to hike to the Bignami hut, where we take a break to catch our breath. Surrounded by breathtaking valleys, we didn't look tired, or perhaps we were simply looking forward to our destination.
The last part was quite steep, but we forgot our fatigue the exact second we glimpsed it from above. When we descended down to the lagoon, we could admire it in all its glory: huge blocks of ice towered before us, and every now and then you could hear it creaking. I don't know why my mind took me to Patagonia in front of Perito Moreno since I have never been there, but apparently they say it "sings" with its creaks. Well, that sound had something that was both beautiful and sad at the same time. It sounded to me like one of those beauties so precious and fragile that we probably won't be able to preserve. I thought, "How lucky to be here at this moment, breathing deep in front of the power of nature."
We ate our sandwiches at its feet and then set out for base camp between chats. How wonderful.
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