Day 30 – to Santa Maria, Switzerland

My plan was to head up to the refuge, Malga Stelvio di Sopra, at 2100 metres, but though south facing, I was aware that the snow may be a barrier.

But when the sun is shining at this time of year, it does get warm, late teens at least, and that of course leads to a lot of melting.

I was lucky, just the odd patch to wade through, and the hike itself was the best of this course yet.

There was plenty of wildlife, and I was totally alone. The dog disturbed plenty of deer, and when the breeze was in favour, I witnessed many scarper.

The highlight though was emerging above the tree line to a meadow just below the refuge. At first glance there must have been 30, probably more, foxes enjoying the day. Within 30 seconds they were underground, but it was a pleasure to see them, though I expect that many of them are doing the ecosystem no good.

We wandered quite a bit higher than the refuge, and could be it would have been possible to get to one of the peaks, at 2500 metres, without too much snow. If not, it certainly will be possible in a week or two.

After a leisurely lunch back at the van, I headed down to catch the supermarket in Prato allo Stelvio, and set about finding somewhere for the night.

Just before the Swiss border at Taufers i nosed around. There would have been no problem to stay at the sports fields, but it was not likely to be as peaceful as I am used to. I’m aware I sound spoilt..

Across the border there was a campsite at Müstair, but it didn’t open until May. It would also have been 25 euros, which is fine if I need to use any facilities on offer, but I don’t, so headed on to Santa Maria, just a few kilometres further. There’s a campsite here also, now at 1550 metres asl, and not open until 22 May. It’s a little way up towards the Stelvio Pass, so a road that is hardly used at this time of year. There was no barrier, and it looked wonderful, with grassy pitches all with tremendous views. There was a guy attending to some gardening who just shrugged when I asked if it was possible to stay. With another day of good weather tomorrow, and good hiking in the valley, it is an excellent place to stay.