Trekking the Dolomite Mountains - Days 1 and 2

The mountain region visited between Munich and Venice

Let the trek begin! We had six very nice days ahead of the trek in Munich, Innsbruck, and Monguelfo/Welsberg in the South Tyrol of northeast Italy. The Dolomites aare located at the eastern end of the Alps.

Overland route and modes of travel to the trailhead

We took many forms of transport to get to the trailhead - double-decker bus, trains, and finally a private transport van from Monguelfo to the trailhead near Cortina d'Ampezzo. Before we begin a description of the trek, I include two last looks at the area near Monguelfo.

In the Val de Santa Maddalena northeast of Monguelfo - this is Bavarian!

We took public transport to a secondary valley called Santa Maddalena. Lots of milk cows graze these pastures and dairy farming is dominant here.

The mountains in the Val de Santa Maddalena are not the Dolomites limestone 

The crest of the mountains in the background forms the international boundary with Austria - since 1918. Italy entered World War I with the express purpose of taking territory from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And they partially succeeded during negotiations at the end of the Allied victory. However, it was not all that they had hoped for and the bitter aftertaste left over from the agreements fertilized sentiment that eventually brought Benito Mussolini to power in the 1920s. The Dolomites are rich in ruins of World War I fortifications and an interesting story about Italy's involvement in The Great War can be found here.

Day 1 - June 21

 

Don, Anne and Helen at the trailhead near Cortina's D'Ampezzo

Finally, we began our trek on June 21 at Sant Umberto at an elevation of 4,900 feet. This is the entrance to the Natural Park of the Ampezzo created in 1990. However, this area is also part of the Regole d'Ampezzo, a collective form of ownership of the pastures and forests in these mountains. The first documentation of the regola here goes back to at least the year 1225! You can read more about this interesting European institution here and here. Learn about the management of this collective heritage here. All of this is information I found only after our trek and in composing the blog. So interesting!

Google Earth image of the first two days of trekking. Refugios in orange.

The annotated Google Earth image above shows our trailhead located just north of Cortina d'Ampezzo. I'll post a Google Earth image for each segment of the hike and the above shows the route for days 1 and 2. We began in a forest, entered a meadow at Ra Stua, then climbed up switchbacks on a dirt road to the plateau where our first Refugio, Fodara Vedla is located. The total distance on day 1 was about 5.5 miles and on day 2 was about the same (although the 2nd day felt more like 8 miles!).

A view to the north of the Dolomites from near Ra Stua

Throughout the hike, I noticed a gentle but persistent northeast dip to the rocks (down to the right in this view). Localized faulting and folding occasionally would interrupt this pervasive dip but it was observed on numerous days in the mountains. When I took this photo, about an hour into the nine-day trek, I could not know how prevalent the dip would be - only as the days rolled on did it become apparent to me.

Looking south as Helen crosses a bridge

We had purchased a self-guided tour package that included 12 nights lodging, transportation to and from the trek, and a detailed itinerary to get us where we needed to go. The directions could have been a lot clearer on this first day - or were we just in need of getting used to the vagaries of European mountain travel? They measure distance in time. Still, not all of the signposts or junctions we encountered were mentioned in our notes for this stretch of trail.

We eventually made it to our first lunchtime refugio, Ra Stua

About 1.5 hours on we enjoyed a cappuccino and some delicious French potatoes at Ra Stua. Hey, this is pretty civilized hiking and quite nice!

Figuring it out at Ra Stua

Like a lot places around the world, the people in charge of making signs or describing routes may not travel themselves and since they are intimately familiar with their home, they don't always explain things that can be readily understood by visitors. It took us a few days to sense and feel what the locals have known for centuries. Travel is fatal to prejudice - Mark Twain.

 

On the "trail" after Ra Stua

It was a bit surprising to learn that "the trail" actually included many roads, a few of them even paved. In fact, it wasn't "a trail" - it was many trails and with different numbers that are all patched together to form what they call the AV 1 or the Alta Via 1. It did make for nice hiking.

Climbing up from Ra Stua

Just past Ra Stua we left the valley and began a climb up to a plateau to the west (about a 750 ascent). I had bought a pair of new hiking pants with really deep pockets before the trip and kept pulling out a bandana to wipe the sweat off of my forehead. When we got to this place above, I reached into my pocket and the bandana wasn't there. So Helen (dressed in the yellow shirt above) offered to go back down the switchbacks to get it. What a sweetheart! She went down four or five switchbacks and came back without it. Turns out that the pockets on the pants are REALLY deep and the bandana was hiding deep down. My bad. But it gave me a chance to check out the Triassic limestone that would be our beacon for the next nine days.

On the plateau and looking south to Sas dla Para (upper left) - it is shown on the last
Google Earth image - the one with the trails on it

We had climbed 750 feet to an open plateau. Along the ay we saw two marmots, the only two I would see the whole trip. The mountains lay before us!

Refugio Fodara Vedla

At last, through a hazy sky, we arrived at Fodara Vedla, elevation 6562 feet. I had chosen these specific dates in an attempt to "beat" the seemingly eternal haze that seems to settle over Europe in the summer. It looked like I might have failed in the attempt, at least on this day.

Note the reflection in the window too

The sign says it all - the is no connectivity here in the mountains but somehow we were able to connect! The occasional cell signal did migrate to many of the refugios.

Fodara Vedla dining room

Every refugio we experienced was like a small, rustic hotel complete with running water, kitchens, full bars, beds, just about everything. And this is how day 1 ended. We had one of our best Primi Piatti's here (First Plate) - an eggplant ragu -lovely!

Day 2 - June 22

A last look at Fodara Vedla and Sas dla Para (photo by H. Ranney)

The day began with a descent that was so steep we all commented about it. It was about 1400 feet and mostly on a paved road (to resupply Fodara Vedla). But it was only paved because vehicles would not be able to gain traction were it dirt. Our legs ached at the base of the hill.

Down, down, down

On sections that were not as steep, the road reverted to dirt. But on the curves and the steep stretches - wow! You really had to watch your footing. The worst part - our next refugio was located at the same elevation as the last and we would have to make the climb back up on the other side. Note the same northeast dip to the rocks ahead. Many caves could be seen in the bedding planes of the strata.

Refugio Pederú in the Val de Tamersc

You can see the Refugio Pederú in the valley floor but note the debris flow coming off the mountain. Everywhere we went we saw evidence for recent events that had sent huge volumes of rock down these steep walls. It was impressive and I took many photos of them.

Art installation on the valley floor at Pederú

Cappuchino Italiano!

Helen doesn't normally drink coffee but the lure of a mid-morning cappuccino in Italy was too great a barrier! They were delicious.

The road to Refugio Lavarella

After leaving Pederú

A steep climb was made on a trail to the west of the road (both visible with the trail on the left and the road on the right in this view north back toward Pederú). Mountain and power bikes took the road and hikers took the trail.

It seemed to go on longer than it should have or actually did. But the scenery was grand!

Sign to Refugio Lavarella

Mandatory shoe racks in the refugios

All of the refugios have shoe racks located in the basement of behind the bar. Upon entering one removes their hiking shoes and takes them to the shoe rack. This one at Refugio Lavarella has heated posts to dry out the boots (it often rains and there can be wet shoes).

Refugio Lavarella

You may have noticed on the sign two photos up an advert for beer. Lavarella has its own brewery and they announced it as the highest brewery in Europe. The beer was very tasty.

Sunset from Lavarella

Thus finished our first two days. I'll be posting more soon Thanks for reading.