Hiking/Trekking

Intro – Dolomites

Posted by pdittman on October 11th, 2022 in '22 - Dolomites & Slovenia

Yes, on everyone’s bucket list – it’s just that good! Trekking in the Dolomites – the Italian Alps.

Ok, maybe not everyone’s list, but certainly on every hiker’s bucket list. Arguably, one of the world’s most beautiful and accessible regions for single day and multi-day adventures, as well as the Dolomiti Superski region (12 ski resorts, 1,200km of trails, one pass!).

We’d first heard of the Dolomites from some fellow trekkers (the “Dutchies”) while in Patagonia, who raved about the area. On investigation, we discovered the Alta Via routes – the high roads – with many blogs written about it (such as this one). For us, we chose a northern section of the AV1, beginning and ending near Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Date	Section	Distance	Time
8/28/22	Lago de Braies to Pederu	11.21	5:34:36
8/29/22	Pederu to Fanes	3.93	2:04:00
8/30/22	Fanes to Lagazuoi	10.43	5:30:24
9/1/22	Lagazuoi to Averau	2.67	1:33:45
9/2/22	Averau to Croda de Lago	7.17	4:00:01
9/3/22	Croda de Lago to San Vito	8.77	4:08:45

And, as our custom, we bookended that, preceding with a visit to Venice and some relaxation at the end in Slovenia to round out the holiday.

Explore more about the hikes, beginning with Day 1, or check out our visit to Piran, Slovenia and Croatia as a bit of relaxation after some amazing trekking in the Dolomites!

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Lago de Braies – Day 1

This was it – our first day on the Alta Via 1. It had been a long time in planning and anticipation, and thus far, the trip had been going smoothly, but there’s nothing quite like the feeling of strapping on the boots and heading to the trail. We’d been able to secure a car/taxi to bring us from our accommodations in San Vito to the trailhead – nearly an hour drive. There might have been public transportation – which

Pederu to Fanes – Day 2

The distance for our second day of our Alta Via 1 adventure was short – a bit less than 4 miles – made shorter because of day 1’s extended distance. Not necessarily a bad thing. Mixing up the shorter and longer days helps recovery a bit. We were blessed with yet another stunning weather day, though interestingly, because Refugio Pederu is in a valley/bowl, we didn’t see the sun for a but, but when we did… wow! We took a

Fanes to Lagazuoi – Day 3/4

Rifugio Lagazoui had been one of the touchstones or centerpieces of our choice around which parts of the Alta Via 1 to select. Resting at just over 9,000 feed, getting there was a beast. Visiting the Refugio’s website, the place looks stunning, and incredibly vibrant, especially during the winter months. Accessible from a gondola at Falzerago Pass, some 2,000′ feet beneath the Refugio, people come to visit just for the amazing scenery. For us, it was a big hike day

Zero Day in the Dolomites

Something we have never done on a multi-day trek – take a zero day. A day where we do no hiking (at least, not on the route itself), chalking up zero miles for the day. Instead, just taking a day to recover, relax, and enjoy the journey. This was intentional – we were at our maximum elevation, just above 9,000′. Seemed reasonable to take a day off and enjoy the space – where we were and what was around us.

Lagazuoi to Averau – Day 5

Leaving Lagazuoi we had a bit of a choice. Yes, we could hike down – roughly 2,000′, or take the cable car down, either way, arriving at Passo Falzarego. While probably not familiar to most folks, the pass is an important east-west connector through the Dolomites. We decided on the cable car. 🙂 downhill is always a bit rough on the quads. The day was another stunner, though some ground fog made the cable car “into the clouds” an interesting

Averau to Croda da Lago – Day 6

Today we said our goodbyes to Rifugio Averau – and headed toward Rifugio Croda da Lago, technically taking us off the Alta Via 1. We were still headed southward, but this path would bring us a bit closer to our return to San Vito de Cadore. Yet again we were blessed with a fine day, though definitely cooler to start than the other days, and creating a bit of ground fog. Even so, a beautiful day for a hike. The

Returning to San Vito – Day 7

This was our last day on the Alta Via 1 – saying goodbye to the Dolomites and heading back to San Vito de Cadore and on to our next adventure in Slovenia. We were treated to yet another marvelous day in the mountains, some scattered clouds, but nothing special. And for the day, we were to descend by more than 4,000′ over roughly 8.75 miles. Quite a bit of descent! Just beneath the Rifugio was a wide open plain, beautiful

Slovenia and beyond

As has been our custom, we tend to include some form of “civilization” and relaxation in our travels – at least something not involving backpacks and exhausting hikes! We’d heard the Istrian Peninsula offered some vineyards and olive groves, along with temperate climates and a bit away from crowds. We settled on Piran, Solvenia and were not disappointed! Piran lies just over the border from Trieste, Italy and less than a 2 hour drive from Venice – perfect for our