Of course, I started with my favorite hike: Forcella Cir. I hopped on the bus, took the Dantercepies gondola, and had a quick cappuccino and apple strudel (notice a pattern here? But when in Rome, am I right?) at the Jimmi Hutte...my very favorite hut. It started out cloudy and misty and quiet and then the sun peeked out and burned off the clouds and it was so beautiful. One of my favorite things about the Dolomites in August is how the afternoon thunderstorms leave behind misty mornings that turn into the most beautiful light and it's just sooo stunning and perfect.
Then I hiked up the pass, explored some of the side trails, and had lunch at a little restaurant by the gondola station.
Afterwards, I walked through Wolkenstein and took it easy for the rest of the day.
I wanted to go somewhere new on day 2 of Val Gardena so I pulled up Google Maps and looked for trails in different areas that I hadn't explored before. I found a cable car going up to the top of the Sella group...a huge, intimidating plateau of stone rising up from the ground that I'd been admiring and had no idea you could actually climb. I'd watched the clouds engulf it the day before and grew mesmerized by it's presence...I couldn't wait to get up there and see what I could find!
I don't know if I mentioned this before, but in Val Gardena, the hotels charge a fortune for parking in their underground lot - something like $45 per day. But if you can get a spot out front, it's free...they just lock you in and once you're out, you lose your spot. BUT, they provide a bus pass, so the idea is that you get a good parking spot out front and just leave your car there for the duration of your trip and ride the bus.
The beginning of the cable car was 1.5 hours away on the bus or 45 minutes by car and you have to pay for parking. The bus schedule was not at all accurate on my phone, but I managed to get on and just ask the driver when to switch buses to get where I was going, and I made it.
I took the cable car up and it looked like the surface of the moon up there...it was absolutely incredible.
It just felt so raw and rugged and new - there was virtually no vegetation and it was just this crazy, grey, lunar landscape that you could walk right up to the edge and look thousands of feet down and around it was so amazing. I had planned on just kind of following the edge of the plateau, taking in the views and taking lot of pictures.
I knew that there was a summit atop the plateau that was pretty easy to get to (Piz Boe), but I didn't have much interest in getting up there...in fact, I just wanted to get away from the crowds and explore. But after a couple of hours of watching people go up there and seeing how close it way, I figured, why not? So I climbed it. Again, dozens of boomers had to say SOMETHING about my sandals and that I was wearing a tube top, but guess what? I did it. And I did it fast. And I felt great. I was a little worried about my knee, but it didn't bother me at all and I had the best day up there...complete with yogurt and honey and of course, a Radler.
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| Talk about a loo with a view! |
After a full day of hiking and gawking, I took the gondola down and the bus 1.5 hours back to town.
Upon checking out of my hotel in Santa Christina on day 3, I made my way a bit closer to Cortina d'Ampezzo, stopping at Lagazuoi to explore some tunnels and mines dug through the mountains during WW1.
During the war, the Austrians took refuge in the mountains, so the Italians dug 3 km of tunnels and mines beneath them to blow up. I hiked through trenches built on the mountain by the Austrians and through tunnels built IN the mountain by the Italians and it's just incredible to think of how they lived back then. The troops lived there for 29 months...through snow and avalanches, traversing mountaintops with no established trail system...it's just crazy. Some of the tunnels were so steep and they're not that big and to imagine soldiers moving explosives and supplies through MILES of these tunnels just blows your mind. Last year, I was across the valley at Cinque Torri which was a military base built on the mountain by the Italians and it was interesting to see things from the other side. There were various structures and tunnels also built by the Austrians as their shelters so I spent several hours hiking around and exploring as much as I could.
Then I drove into Cortina d'Ampezzo to check into my hotel for the night.
On what was essentially my last day, I opted to hike up to Lago di Sorapis.
This is a super popular spot so I booked a hotel that was literally right next to the trail head...I'm talking a 30 second walk from my car to the trail. After breakfast, I hit the ground running and I got up there really quickly. Along the way, I met a guy from Belgium that tried his best to keep up with me for a bit, but once we hit the ladders and cables, he fell quite far behind and I never did see him again, lol.
I got to the lake before the sun had come up over the ridge so the water was a rich, turquoise blue and it was so still that you could see the mountains reflected in it's surface. There were maybe 10 other people there and it was so peaceful and quiet and perfect.
I hiked around the lake as the sun came up and turn the water to a milky larimar shade of blue and as I reached the other side, began to see the hordes of people coming up into the basin and it was time to start heading out. I had a beer at the Refugio up there and then began my decent but it took me three times as long to get out because so many people were hiking up and once you let one pass, you have to let them all pass. It was ridiculous and I'm sooo glad I started so early in the morning and had a chance to enjoy it in peace.
After my hike, I began back south towards Venice for my flight out. I got the dreamiest hotel room with a sauna and a soaking tub and I ate and watched movies. It was a wonderful way to wind down after 2 weeks of go, go, go.
I, once again, had the best time and just fell more in love with that place. I look forward to going back to hike for as many summers as I'm able!
