Day 6: Dolomites Hut-to-Hut

Todd Hunter
Jul 2, 2023
6 min read

Last day of hiking ended up being both our longest day and worst weather day. We'd been spoiled. Sarah and I agreed to get an early start to give us the most time possible to get ourselves to the pickup point 15km away. Getting mostly packed before heading downstairs to a decent typical Rifugio breakfast, we were hiking just a few minutes after 8. Raincoats on and hoods up as we walked out the doors and were greeted by a cool, gentle rain... the kind that felt like it might last forever.

On the day's route graph it appeared as if we had a gentle climb to our first and only Rifugio at the pass where the road crossed. But no, the route wound its way up and down small valleys cut by rain fueled streams as it skirted under the high cliffs above. Rocky and loose, with switchbacks reinforced with rain slicked wood timbers, we slowly navigated our way up and down, relying on our hiking poles to keep ourselves upright. Slipping once, Sarah earned a solid bruise on her bum. It was slow going, but the rain did ease up and we were able to remove our jackets for awhile. Approaching the first landmark of the day, the pass and its Rifugio, we heard for the first time cow bells from the valley pastures below. Prior to this we had seen no livestock.

We eventually made it to the pass, which was very busy given the road access and accompanying Rifugio. With the rain, many people we making stops here for a reprieve from the weather. Preparations for a big bike race were occurring, with massive cameras blanketed in rain covers aimed down the pass, ready to capture riders tomorrow as they fought up the classic narrow, winding mountain road that switchbacked back and forth like a spaghetti noodle. Near the top of the pass massive words of encouragement had been painted across the road. We stopped to use the restroom, arriving here at 10:30, and continued on.

Telling Sarah we were behind schedule, according to the time estimations provided by the Mont Trekking itinerary, she turned on her zoomies and we flew across a fast trail that traversed the slopes, angling slightly down. This had me concerned, knowing we should be gaining elevation. The rain started to fall more heavily and my concerns switched flavors as the trail took a hard turn at an intersection and headed straight up.

Our speed dropped to a crawl as we worked up the washed out, slippery with mud, steep trail that decided switchbacks weren't necessary. It just went straight up towards the pass above, hidden in the clouds as they descended upon us. Slog... with cowbells ringing from below, hidden from sight by the clouds. Near the top we found a massive boulder with an overhanging edge that provided a moment of escape from the rain. Sarah's face said it all... this was not cool.

Pushing to the top of the saddle to a low angle bench that stretched along the backside of what we'd just climbed up, we misread the signs and went exploring along a faint trail that disappeared in a maze of limestone chunks after a few hundreds meters. Frustrated, we turned around, returned to the saddle, and started a chill hike down the right trail. On this side of the saddle the clouds were blocked and we were finally afforded some views of what lay around us. Even the rain let up, allowing us to take a snack break at noon without getting wetter and cold from not making our own body heat.

We continued on, working down the slick and now super muddy trail. Both of us were pretty solidly coated in mud from the knees down. Today was really the first day we'd encountered actual dirt. The alpine high meadows reminded Sarah of a golf course.

Moving quickly with minimal breaks, we soon found ourselves at the base of the last climb, which turned out to be fairly gentle and recently upgraded with crushed rock. We pushed up and up, traversing below the limestone ridge to our right towards the next pass. We arrived to find a fence, one of the first we'd encountered, with a metal turnstile like you'd find at the entry to Menards. Coinciding with our arrival we're three mountain bikers descending from the other direction. Following us over the pass they lifted their full-suspension bikes over the turnstile, hopped into their saddles, and as gravity quickly accelerated them down the trail they struggled to clip their mud-clogged shoes into their pedals, making for a clumsy and near fall over the edge of the trail. Not going to lie... a full sus bike sounded like a pretty sweet way to make this descent!

Sarah and I moved quickly down the well maintained trail to the Rifugio at Crado de Lago, surprised at how dry this side of the mountain was and how many people we encountered hiking up. The descent was long but fast, and it wasn't long before we could see the small lake and Rifugio in the distance.

Checking the time and comparing our pace to the distance left to our pickup point... we had to make a choice. It was 1:40 pm, and our pickup was scheduled for 4 pm a few thousand feet down and miles away. The map showed a steep descent with many switchbacks, and Sarah's knees weren't in the best state given our already long and arduous day of slippery foot herding. We could either skip the Rifugio and just book it to the pickup point, which we felt confident in being able to pull off, as long as we were cool with being hungry, getting wet again (started raining), and hurting Sarah's knee more. Or, we call Mont Trekking and see if they could change our pickup to the Refugio. We opted to try calling from up high above the Rifugio, and after a few attempts at dialing the Italian 24 hr help line we got through. Ensuring they knew there was no emergency, we explained our predicament and they agreed to work with the transport company to see about making the change. We sat and waited, for quite awhile, so Sarah continued to the Refugio and I chilled on the trail. Eventually they called back and confirmed that yes, we could get picked up at 3pm at the Rifugio below. Awesome. I made quick work down the rest of the trail and shared with Sarah the news, which she was quite relieved to hear.

Relaxed now that our day of hiking in the rain was over, we sat down for lunch, coffee, and drinks with nothing but time to burn. It was delicious and dry and a satisfying end to the hike.

At 3 a Jeep pulled up and our driver helped us load our bags in the back. My first thought was... seriously why do we need this massive high clearance 4 wheel drive Jeep? Oh, but we did! The road to the Rifugio was wild, explaining why no one else was arriving by vehicle, only on foot. That Jeep was out to work, and both Sarah and I were glad to have avoided this steep descent into the valley that held Cortina. After about 30 minutes of wild driving and entertaining conversation with our driver, who has lived in Cortina all his life, we pulled up to our hotel Regina Cortina, where we'd started this adventure just a few days ago.

Checking in, stripping off wet, smelly, and now muddy clothes onto the floor of our room, showering, and stretching out on the bed left is feeling like a million bucks. Well... maybe a thousand in Sarah's case. We rested, met our friends the Machaceks (which was awesom) for dinner, and called it a day.

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Last Day: Travel from Cortina to Venice

This morning, Sunday, the main promenade through Cortina was turned into a market, with probably close to 50 vendors setting up and offering everything you could imagine. It was like an open-air Target. Our Cortina Express bus departed at 11:30, dropping us off at the airport in Venice around 1:30. We walked the 18 minutes to our hotel under the intense sun, sweating a ton and already missing the cool mountain air as we walked the narrow shoulder down the road. Our flight leaves super early tomorrow morning, so we chose to stay near the airport for the night. Checking in, dropping our bags in the room, and slathering on sunscreen, we hiked back to the airport, bought round trip water taxi tickets to Murano, an island off of the main island of Venice, and walked right onto the boat as it finished loading.

Murano was chill. We explored the glass shops, ate gelato and tried our best to stay in the shade of the buildings. A regatta was occuring, with racers paddling brightly colored gondolas through the canals. We ate one last dinner of pasta and pizza and spritzes. Then more gelato, before catching the boat back to the airport and making the walk once again to our hotel, where we now try to cool down and rest.