Sunrise in the mountains, is almost always a special treat – more so when the weather reports were wrong – with a prediction of rain. Blessed with another special morning, I couldn’t help but snap a few pix before breakfast.

But before saying goodbye to Rifugio Averau, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful morning and try again to get to Rifugio Nuvolau. And we were not disappointed. The skies were continuing to clear, offering some unusual backdrop, especially for Cinque Torri.

A quick stop at Rifugio Nuvolau, along with an espresso (!), and we headed back to Rifugio Averau to grab our gear and begin the trek to Croda da Lago.

Beginning to descend first toward Cinque Torri, then further below as we make our way toward Croda da Lago. The skies had cleared well, enabling us to get a view of Rifugio Lagazuoi.

Descending further, we leave the rock-strewn alpine area behind and begin to enter the forest. Enjoying the sheep herding – the herd flowing over hills like water over some rocks. Very cool to see them flow!

As much as it was enjoyable to be in yet a different terrain, this section of our trek, on route 437, proved a bit challenging. We were descending, though the terrain became very muddy in places – causing us to move with caution as we lost some altitude, and didn’t want to end up sliding down the hill with our backpacks.

Despite that, it was still quite breaktaking to pause and take a look at where we’ve come.

A bit of what we call “civilized hiking” – beautiful trails through large pine stands – with a well-maintained bridge over a stream (low water at the moment).

Following route 434 which, at this point, was a pleasant walk in the woods, we soon came to Lago Federa – a beautiful mountain lake in the shadow of Cima Ambrizzola on the right. Check out this link for other pix of this beautiful section of the AV1.

Following the trail around the lake, we soon arrived at our destination for the afternoon/night – Rifugio Croda da Lago (or sometimes Rifugio Palmieri)

Thus ended our trek for the day – not a record-breaker from the stats perspective – 7.2 mi in just about 4 hrs, with 1800 ft ascent and 3260 ft descent. Yes, it was clear we were beginning to leave the high summits and the alpine zone.