Posted by rita on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hR_ofysjdXKi4t2AY4QIJ9zLBZmTUaDQVuRrAvGD-mU/edit?usp=sharing

Growing up in North Carolina and going to school at Vanderbilt, I have hiked throughout the Appalachian Mountains and other nature trails, forests, and parks within my home state and in Tennessee, but never beyond our little corner of the world. I had never heard of Mount Etna before this Maymester. And Mount Etna isn’t just any old mountain, but it is actually many mountains and houses one of the most active volcanoes in the world, with fairly regular activity! Who would have thought that there could be volcanoes in Sicily? Surely, not me. However, my understanding of geography and geology isn’t the best… Anyways, Mount Etna is located in Catania, Sicily, Italy and has a history in Greek mythology. Furthermore, Mount Etna recently became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013, a designation that grants the area international protection because of its cultural, historical, and environmental significance. What more, Mount Etna is also home to bountiful agricultural land and production because of its fertile volcanic soil. And lastly, moreover, Mount Etna was absolutely glorious to see for myself! The day didn’t begin a pretty one and nor did it end that as such, because of cold, rainy, and windy weather, but I saw and felt so much in our short and wonderful hike up Mount Etna.

On the day of our hike, we drove through Sicily and cloudy, dreary, and rainy skies. We were notified with weather precautions the day before and told that it could possibly snow on Mount Etna, but I wasn’t prepared for the weather. When we got to Mount Etna, it was very cold, with a slight wind, making it even colder, and there was rainfall. It wasn’t the most pleasant day to be outside. As we began to walk, behind one shoulder of the mountain was a nice and blue sky and on the other side was a dark and gray, cloudy sky. The weather continued to surprise me on the hike. It would be raining in one area and then we would hike a little further and there would be no rain. It was this way for the duration of the hike. We also felt snow and frozen rain or hail. I (dramatically) thought to myself that I would get frostbite. And then there were winds over 80 mph, in my estimation, and these winds hit right when we got to the top of our destination and were making our final descent. The hike was hard leading up to then because the lava ash was very difficult to dread and also, the steepness of the climb. The joy I felt getting to the top of Mount Etna was a feeling that is hard to describe, but it was something I don’t feel very often. I am so, so, so happy that we climbed Mount Etna (even in the awful weather)!

Now Mount Etna, like I wrote before, was nothing like the hiking I am used to. The last hike I went on before this Maymester was in Manchester, Tennessee. I hiked at Short Springs and Old Stone Fort, during a rainy and cold weekend at the end of the semester (though nothing like the rain and cold at Mount Etna). These hikes had much more greenery and water and thick forest brush than Mount Etna. These were also steep hikes at parts, but the muddy ground was much easier to tread than lava soil. The terrain was very different and also, invites a different kind of hiker. I think the major difference between hiking those local areas and hiking Mount Etna is that the local areas don’t have the history and mythology and lore behind them like Mount Etna does. And so, Mount Etna probably has more people making the climb because of that history rather than their keenness for hiking. Either way, I am so thankful to have climbed Mount Etna and to be able to have the memory of that day!