Off the grid pt4

Sept 9 Stacy's birthday epic. We set out today to hike to Mt. Capanne, Elba's highest peak at 1000 m (3000 ft). The trail we took began from near the hotel up through a steep, forested gorge. We had some trouble trying to find a connecting trail so we took the long way round on a more clearly marked path via Mt Troppolo and Tavola. From there an "expert" trail (that's what the sign said with a drawing of a scared, bug-eyed mountain goat teetering on the edge of a precipice) continued along an exposed ridgeline to Capanne. Expert- no shit! Gnarly cables, drop-offs.. exposure. It was WAY more than we had bargained for. But we would have had to go the long way down and once we had ventured onto the ridge trail we were committed as it would have been twice as difficult to backtrack. Stacy was in white-knuckle city and I had to keep very calm so as not to incite panic. And though I love climbing, heights have always bothered me ( a twisted combination).
After some delicate moments of composure (Stacy's "F&@k me Martha" moments) we made it to the summit where the crowds of cable-car summiteers amassed. Our weary legs and nerves were relieved by the cable car descent in a tiny, yellow 2-person cage that took us just outside of Marciana Alta. Stacy bought a vase at a ceramic shop there, where the owner had a pigeon for a pet, flapping around on the counter. A pigeon in a ceramic store could probably cause only slightly less damage than a bull in a china shop. We took the bus home from Marciana to Patresi and collapsed on the bed.