Lake Bled

Not sure about you, but I have, for years, had nightmares about me going to school without my backpack... It never happened to me in real life until October 26, 2024.

It was a beautiful morning with red clouds and a thin layer of fog over the mountains right before the sunrise. We drove almost 30 minutes to Lake Bled in such excitement because, finally, we could take some good photos of this magical place with perfect lights... When we arrived at the parking lot, the hard reality hit me - I didn't bring my camera bag containing 2 cameras and 2 lenses!!

Yeah, for a second, I did want to kill myself. But to my surprise, the thought went away within a second. I was so happy to just be there - be present, be able to enjoy the amazing place with such level of calmness and peace.

To live means to be present - joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely present!

Here are the 2 photos I captured with my iPhone in that beautiful morning.

Lake Bled

Slovenia

October 26, 2024

 

Alps Mountains

May your trails be winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above clouds where storms come and go…

Dolomites, Italy

October-November 2024

 

The Eternal Beauty

The dreamy fog and dancing clouds took us through the amazing journey to the eternal beauty...

Slovenia

October 2024

 

Trail No. 215: Passo Tre Croci Pass

It's never my intention to take significant risks in a foreign country thousands of miles away from home. But sometimes, curiosity takes you to a point of total UNKNOWN -- it's just that simple!!

October 30, 2024: Sunny / 54F

This was the day we needed to check out of B&B Hotel at 12pm. For the past 4 days, we drove through the highway (SR48) in front of our hotel numerous times. Each time, there were countless cars parking along the highway. Oh, okay, I saw a trailhead right off the highway, about 200 yards from our hotel.

Curious, I looked it up. The trail leads to Lago di Sorapis, a beautiful glacier lake with milky green colors and surrounded by dramatic mountain peaks. The trail was clearly rated as "Moderate". 7.5 miles long with the elevation gain of 1550 ft. Takes about 3-4 hours to complete.

Since nothing was scheduled for us before the checkout time, I decided to get up early and hike to the lake. Left hotel around 6:10am, it was mostly dark. When I got to the trailhead entrance, the normally packed highway "parking lot" was totally empty -- not a single car there. Wow, I was the FIRST person going into the mountains today!!

The first part of the hike was easy and pleasant, with nice trail conditions and gradual ascend. Aside from occasional birds' singing, the world was in total silence... 

About 35 minutes in, the trail became rockier and rockier. I was totally okay until I met the first river crossing in a very rocky place. I didn't think I could get through it without my hiking poles. That was the first time I thought about turning around and heading back... But I didn't. 

Over the next two hours, the trail became more and more difficult. There were wet, slippery tall rocks to climb; there were narrow cliff side paths to cross; and at the most extreme points, you could only get through by pulling the ropes installed on the cliffs... (See pictures 1-3). "Wow, why did they rate this trail as Moderate???" 

I can't even tell you how many times I wanted to turn back. But I didn't.

After almost 3 hours hiking, I was still at a very high elevation struggling with the cliffs and ropes -- I was nowhere near the LAKE!!  Each time after the getting through the scary cliffs, just when I thought the trail would get easier, I entered another section of sheer cliffs again... 

The sad story is -- worried about the 12pm hotel checkout, I didn't have enough time to hike to the LAKE. So, I reluctantly decided to turn back. "Wow, why did they say it only takes 3-4 hours to complete the entire hike???" "Am I too incapable???""

The surprising reward is -- during the 5 hours hike, I got to see one of the most beautiful sunrises (See pictures 4-5). Note: the red mountain peaks in picture 4 were straight out of my iPhone - no edits.

Passo Tre Croci Pass

Cortina d'Ampezzo

Dolomites, Italy

October 30, 2024  

 

The Flying Banana Viewpoint

It's never my intention to take significant risks in a foreign country thousands of miles away from home. But sometimes, life takes you to a point of NO return - it's just that simple!!

October 28, 2024: Sunny / 55F

Got up early for our morning shooting assignments at Lago di Misurina in northeast Italy. Nothing special, we decided to head back to the Natural Park Three Peaks, where we spent the entire afternoon the day before hiking with hundreds of other people on the trail - it was insane. The park was much quieter early in the morning when everything was still sleeping in serenity...

Around 9 am, everyone packed up ready to go back to the hotel, when I noticed a trail leading up to the edge of the mountains -- looks like, standing at the edge, I'd be able to get a much better view of the other side of the mountain range -- the real Dolomite type of mountains. I casually asked if anyone wanted to "take a walk" with me. No one - not a single person - wanted to make the effort to see the other side of the world. So, I started walking toward the seemingly "very close" edge of the mountain by myself.   

 

Wow, half way through, I realized it wasn't that close! As I climbed higher, I met some hikers on their way down. When asked how the trail was ahead, they smiled and kindly told me: "Oh, it's not bad. When you get to the top, the trail splits into two ways -- left and right. The left side trail is narrow and is on the cliff side, but the view is amazing. The right side trail is definitely safer, but there isn't much of the view..." I made my decision right there and then - I'd definitely take the LEFT trail.

As I headed down on the left side of the trail, it got narrower and narrower, and even before I had a chance to contemplate my options, the sheer cliff was right in front of me on my left side -- thousands of feet straight down. Since I was so afraid of height, my steps slowed, heartbeats increased... I continued, moved as cautiously as possible -- half of a step at a time -- until I really couldn't continue moving forward.  I was literally paralyzed. On my right was the tall cliff straight up. On my left was the deep cliff straight down. In front and behind me was the narrow trail path... "Can I go back?" No, because I would be facing the same deep cliffs and narrow path going back. 

At my most hopeless moment, a young couple approached me. The lady asked me: "Are you okay? Do you need help?" "YES!!" I couldn't remember ever accepting "help" from anyone so quickly and definitively.

To me, they were God sent angels. With their kindness and generous help, I completed the LONG, narrow trail and even reached the very tipping point at the end of the trail -- locals refer to it as "The Flying Banana Viewpoint."

Thank you, Stana and Mark, for saving my life and showing me how beautiful the world is!

Picture 1 was downloaded from the internet - just to give you a better perspective of where the "tipping point" is in the vast Dolomite mountains. I stood TALL out there!!!

 

Sentiero Bonacossa Trail

Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Dolomites, Italy

October 28, 2024