This year the autumn was very long … the weather in November was great. So we decided to make a last hut hike in the weekend. We knew from the beginning we wanted to go in Ticino since the colours are great in autumn and the weather is a bit warmer.

Our good friend Delia came at 05:30 from Germany and we left from Zürich around 06:30. The road was free and we passed the Gottard tunnel around 08:30. Then we went to Biasca and got some provisions for the road.

Around 09:15 we drove towards Campo Blenio.

Our hike started from a small village from Campo Blenio. In the parking lot we met a little cute dog … The hike was pleasant and we stopped after 20 minutes for breakfast on the left side of the road. There was a green field and as there were no cars passing by we really liked the place. Our breakfast was very diverse starting with fruit, joghurt, Gipfeli,  honey with nuts, some Shitake Pate from Alnatura, etc. Some locals even passed by and wished us Buon Apetito! And we even got rid of the garbage at the next house since the owner was very friendly to take it from us.

The first hour of the hike was on the normal road. That wasn’t very pleasant for our feet, but the colours of the trees were just splendid. And the weather was amazing, sunny and relatively warm. We passed by some traditional houses …

At some point three fellow hikers passed by us. Then we had a first break in front of the waterfall wehere we ate some fruit. Not far away the three guys were also having a break.

We continued up and reached a small valley where a river was flowing through. Me and Delia had fun bathing our feet in the cold water. That was quite refreshing.

We continued with the ascent to the top where we saw the first hut. We had lunch there and had as a view the snow on the other side.

Each brought up something for his liking to eat, thus we ended up with a  special lunch containing everything from  some chicken schnitzel, avocado to vegan food that Delia brought of course with chili and garlic.

The same guys passed by; we asked them if they would stop already at the hut nearby and they said yes. Then we told them they would have enough time to reach the Motterascio hut. In the end we saw that they took our advice into consideration and they continued the hike. Meanwhile some people were coming from the other side and we asked the conditions of the road. They said the snow wasn’t big and it shouldn’t take us more than 3 hours to get there.

We started then our ascent through the snow and at the top of the hill we did some jumps … This is Delia’s speciality :). We reached Greina pass and the view changed a little: on the right side in the shadow was plenty of snow and on the other side in the sun lots of grass and no snow. Unfortunately our hike was through the snow and sometimes we were getting deep into … We guided us by the steps of the others and we realised only later that they took another path. Then we tried to return to the marked path following the GPS but we strayed off the path and had to climb quite a steep hill. That was a bit risky since it was also some ice, but we managed it. Delia took the lead and made stairs for us to follow. Once we found the path we managed to stick to the road.

Soon the sky started to change its colours and the sunset was close …

We reached a small bridge where all the roads were getting together. Seeing that all the paths met there we realised that we could have walked on the other side in the sun as well. Anyway the sun was getting lower and the light dimmer so we tried to hurry the pace and make it in time to the cabin. The last 10 minutes we turned on our headlamps and we even had to descend a ladder. But we made it and found the hut after we went scouting and checking all the nearby houses (at 17:30)…

There were already some people at the hut cooking. It was smelling good and warm. We took our backpacks in the dormitory – we had one room for ourselves … and then started to cook. Delia prepared a tomato soup and we cooked the ravioli … and everything was as always combined with fresh onion, chili and garlic. Just to keep us healthy enough … and on the top some ginger tee. The three guys who passed by us started preparing a mushroom risotto … what adventurers! I hope it tasted good …

We went to bed and had a good night sleep. In the morning we woke up around 07:30 to see the sunrise. Some of us even tried to take some photos. It was quite nice.

Then as we were the first ones in the kitchen we tried to make the fire. It took us several tries … but we did it in the end and cooked our morning tea – some black tea with fresh ginger. We combined this with swiss cheese, vegan specialities from Delia, jam and butter and of course garlic, chili and onion :P. Then prepared our rucksacks and did some photos in front of the hut.

The view was great … and the hike till Lago Luzzone with unbelievable colors. The trees were a symphony of colors where the primary yellow and the red are born from the green and it generates so many nuances which all work so well together. It’s fascinating how the nature can not only be so generous with the color palette, but also how it can combine the colours making even the most talented artist jealous.

We’ve seen waterfalls, bridges over mountain rivers, mountains with their tops covered in fresh snow and hills on fire …

When we approached the lake its color was sublime like a combination between topaz and smarald … and with the trees mirroring in the water just breathtaking.

We’re in love with the colours of the nature because they bring us into another world of beauty, perfection, freedom and love. A world where you can smile, and dance and sing, and even fly … a world where you can hear the nature. And we left us submerge in this world and listened to the water, the trees and the leaves. We didn’t hurry for the destination, we enjoyed every turn and tried to capture as much as possible in our photos.

Just before the dam was a 1 km tunnel, mostly stone very long indeed when you go by foot … you take a turn and don’t see the end anymore. Well and the fun is that you can hear your echo … The dam is impressive and the longest climbing route down a bit scary.

We made a lunch stop just after the dam near a nice house. Green grass, beautiful view … and tried to finish our provisions. Then we continued the route and reached the parking lot in the village around 14:00. We wanted to return earlier to avoid the traffic in the Gotthard tunnel.

Photos, Downloads and References

• The complete photo gallery
• The recorded GPS track (please note that it also contains all the mistakes we did on the hike)

Track Details and Elevation