Top of San Diego - Part Two

We're back with Dachshund Daddy on Cowles Mountain. Ferdinand was the first fur-friend to send me a doggy-gram.

"Guess what?," Ferdinand wrote, "I just ran into Dachshund Daddy!"




"It's easy to spot DD on a hiking trail," explains Sparky. "Not many people bounce around taking pictures of dogs as they hike up and down a mountain."



"Dear Tootsie, DD took several dozens of pictures of me as he shared your life's story with my parents," recalls Dachshund Brenda.



"When he asked my folks whether he could take my photo, I knew I had to put on my best smile!" says Waldo, who's been taking acting classes in L.A. and has learned a lot about posing.


Joe also wants to become an actor. He already knows how to rattle an audience.



"I'm not the biting type, but if you invade my personal space with your snout I really don't have many options," explains Joe.

Joe reminds all Cowles Mountain trail users that there's a reason for those leash-up signs at the trailhead.

Top of San Diego - Part One

Cowles Mountain is the highest point within the city limits of San Diego, California and the first place Dachshund Daddy visited after he landed. Here's the view from the top due southwest, with Lake Murray in the foreground and the mist-covered bay in the distance.



Ben, who frequently hikes up Cowles Mountain with his parents, loves the view from the summit, located 1593 feet or 486 meters above sea level.



The hike can be very hot unless you go first thing in the morning. Nick likes to bring plenty of water and carries it in his wotten waven yellow doggie pack.



There's a doggie bowl with water right at the top just in case someone needs an extra sip. While the fire road to the summit is called "Barker Way," all the dogs in this post used the hiking trail from Golfcrest Drive.



"I love hiking up Cowles in the morning," says Larry, "though it's definitely not the place to go for solitude." Indeed, Cowles mountain is one of the most popular hiking destinations in the US!



Stay tuned for Part Two, where you'll get to meet more fur-friends as well as another animal who doesn't make a very good hiking companion.

From Lake Como into Switzerland - Part Two

At the end of Part One, Dad arrived at Rifugio Murelli, a former Italian border patrol station that has been turned into a mountain hut.

Until the 1970s, Italian smugglers would travel to Switzerland to buy goods that were heavily taxed in Italy (such as tobacco, coffee, and sugar), and walk across these mountains to carry them back to Italy. Italian customs authorities set up a dense network of border patrol stations in the mountains. Rifugio Murelli is one of them.

Rifugio Murelli sits on top of the ridge dividing Lake Como from its neighboring Swiss valley Valle di Muggio. This ridge offers fantastic views of the southwestern arm of Lake Como. On the other side of the lake, you can see the whole route of Mom and Dad's special hike from Torno to Brunate, which I highlighted in red.

You know you're crossing the Swiss border when you see one of the many boundary markers distributed along its full length. This one, at the top of Poncione di Cabbio, has been around since the year 1900.

After crossing back into Switzerland, Dad hiked down into Valle di Muggio to catch the last bus of the day in the peaceful hamlet of Cabbio...

where he was met by a wotten-waven welcoming committee!

Back in Idaho, I was just waking up when I received their donko-gram informing me of Dad's safe journey.

From Lake Como into Switzerland - Part One

It is possible to hike from the shores of Lake Como over the mountains all the way into Switzerland! Dad did that on a gorgeous Sunday in late February. After traveling to Como by train, he continued by boat on to the coastal hamlet of Moltrasio.

I was back in Idaho with Mom, but I learned about Dad's plan thanks to a doggy-gram sent by Pirillo, who was hanging out in front of a cafe in Moltrasio when Dad walked by.

From Moltrasio, a well-maintained mule track winds its way up the mountainside, providing the only transportation link to a few car-free hamlets. One such hamlet is Monti di Liscione, where Scooby Doo's family owns property they enjoy hiking up to almost every weekend.

Sally, instead, was on her way down with her dad, who was hauling firewood down the hill.

Across the lake, Torno and Montepiatto reminded my dad of a very special hike that he loves to do with Mom from Torno to Montepiatto and on to Brunate.

Not everyone chooses to walk. You can't drive a car up the mule track, but you can drive other things, like this oversized ATV.

There are also people who ride dirt bikes up the mule track. Luckily, you can hear them well in advance. Kester recommends you get the heck out of the way when you hear a dirt bike.

All things considered, Kester thinks Monti di Liscione is a great place to be a fufu dog.

The trail eventually leads to Rifugio Murelli, a former Italian border patrol station.

Stay tuned for Part Two!

Cima di Fojorina

In early March, while I was having some quiet time in Idaho with Truffle and Grandpa and Mom was giving readings from Body of a Dancer in Chicago, Dachshund Daddy (back in Switzerland) biked-and-hiked to a wotten waven mountain called Cima di Fojorina.

The trailhead is in Cimadera, the highest willage in the Lugano area. Free bicycle parking is available by the Swisscom cell tower.

Late that Saturday night, Truffle and I got a doggygram from Toby. Toby was on his morning walkies when he met Dad near the trailhead.

The hike is easy and scenic. The summit area has lots of fascinating rocky outcroppings.

It was very hazy and the view from the top wasn't great, but what makes this particular hike memorable is the higher-than-average number of doggy encounters. Here are the Fluffaroos!

And here is Macchia, who walks like a little black bear.

Macchia was hanging out with her fur-brother John.

And here is Alaska!

Alaska is a puppy and really wanted to play with Dad, as she wrote in the doggy-gram she sent me.

Unfortunately, early March days are short and Trusty Steed 2 had to get Dad home before dark.

On the way home, in the town of Signora, this lovely creature started barking like crazy at Dad. We're going to call her Ms. Barker!

Alpe Nimi

Nestled in the Alps of Southern Switzerland, Alpe Nimi operates as a rural dairy farm and provides food and basic mile-high accommodation to hikers.

Most notably, it is home to a multicultural ensemble of goats and pigs, who happily share their land with a horse and a donkey.

The goats were very excited to see Dachshund Daddy and his sweaty, salty backpack. Yummy!

Can you see the piggies milling about among the goats?

I hope I'll get to hike to Alpe Nimi with Dad at some point!

Dachshund Daddy's note: Alpe Nimi can be reached on foot from the towns of Gordevio and Maggia in the Maggia Valley. It takes 4-5 hours of hard work, but it's so worth it!

Locking Horns

Here's some mountaintop action captured by Dachshund Daddy. A word of caution: this video contains explicit footage and is intended for a mature doggy and kitty audience.



This footage was shot at the top of Monte Zucchero (literally, Sugar Mountain) in Southern Switzerland.

Fluff the Climber

Dear Readers and Kindred Souls,

As many of you guessed, it was Fluff who climbed Uri Rotstock!

Fluff is an avid hiker and mountain climber. He is also active as a full-time cuddle bunny. Whenever he's not hiking, he divides his time between the living room couch and the back yard, which he manages as his personal hedge fund.

Good job, Fluff!

Love,
Tootsie

Joker's Hat

There is a mountain near Lake Como that looks like a joker's hat, as Mom remarked when we saw it from Monte Crocione last fall.

It's called Corni di Canzo, "Canzo's Horns". Canzo is the Italian town where Maurizio bought property after he became financially independent thanks to the stock market crash of 2008. What a lucky donkey!

Biffo also made a fortune by shorting stocks in 2008. He now owns this villa near Maurizio's property.

Mozart the Bernese is interested in applying Nassim Taleb's Black Swan theory.

The Joker's Hat has two main peaks, called Corno Occidentale (Western Horn) and Corno Centrale (Central Horn). Here's the view due east from the top of the Western Horn on a warm Saturday morning in early March.

Gorgeous mountains, but not very dog friendly; would you want to climb down this couloir? Dad said it was kind of sketchy with the snow.

Due west lies Monte San Primo, which I have climbed with Mom and Dad last fall.

Due north lies the southeast arm of Lake Como; out in the distance, you can see Monte Crocione, where the first photo of this post was taken.

These are definitely not Tootsie-friendly mountains, but they sure look wotten waven!