Jim and I woke up on Day 5 of our 9-day trek, bellied up to the bountiful breakfast buffet and stepped out to meet the day. It turned out to be a great hike in a land of enchantment, with varied terrain, five forcellas, stunning scenery and, yes, challenges. Forgive me if I misname any of the mountains, peaks and passes in this post.
We’d decided to bypass the via ferrata section passing Rifugio Nuvolau and take an alternate route. We paused outside Rifugio Averau for a fellow hiker to snap our photo and chatted about our hike plan. She invited us to follow her and her family down a “shortcut.”
Some lessons must be repeated: trust but verify. The woman confidently disappeared behind the rifugio and we followed, noting that other people were following us, so this must be a good idea (but there are no signposts, are we sure?)
And then…any trace of a trail disappeared as we dropped abruptly into a boulder-filled ravine. (Gee, we thought later, I guess it wasn’t the right trail.) The woman was still ahead of us and others were still behind, so we’re all in this together.
Jim and I slowly scrambled down through the boulders using our hands and butts (great triceps workout). Let's just say I'm okay with sitting down in water flowing over the rocks if it helps me get down to solid ground. Not for the last time on this trek we were thinking, “Here we are again doing something dangerous.” Eventually we reached a skinny trail across a scree field.
Still confusing: small trails crisscrossed all around us, some with red and white stripes but no trail numbers, and people were hiking in both directions. Twice we stopped folks to confirm the direction to our next waypoint, Passo Giau.
Near the junction with the main AV1 we joined up with Steve and Emily and walked together down to Passo Giao, where there is a rifugio and a restaurant (bathroom stop). Its overflowing parking lot and cars lining both sides of the road reminded me of Alum Cave Trailhead in the Great Smoky Mountains. At this busy road you can catch a bus back to Cortina d’Ampezzo when you’ve had enough awesomeness in the Dolomites.
Steve and Emily quickly moved ahead as Jim and I crossed the road and stopped to review the signpost for what’s ahead. We are following #436 through Forcella Giau and Prendera, then turning onto #467 to Rifugio Citta de Fume to Passo Staulanza. Our home for tonight is at Rifugio Staulanza.
of Forcella de Col Piombin
Beyond the forcella, on our right we followed a lovely balcony path at the head of a grazing valley called Val de Zonia. Far down in the verdant pasture a shepherd and his dog herded their flock on the mountainside. Extra points if you can zoom in and see them.
Minutes later, looking across the larger valley to our left, our old friend the Tofane massif rises to the skies, unmistakable in its pink and gray granite coloringWith our heads on a swivel trying to take in the panorama, the trail continued to our next waypoint: Forcella Giau.
Along the approach we met Marina again and paused to compare maps and apps. Then we joined the ant-like people progressing up to Forcella Giau. I admit a small shock to my system at tackling this challenge after the unexpected crazy descent from Averau, but I’d now found my pace. The climb was short-lived and not nearly the intensity of our first day from Lago di Braies.
We sat down for a snack and people watched. Did they all come from Passo Giau? (No, there are several access trails.) Someone was taking photos of a large group of children, then adults, so maybe a family outing? We saw the whole crowd later in the afternoon hanging outside at Rifugio Citta di Fume.
rising abruptly from the Mondeval di Sora meadows.
Getting ready to move on, we saw Marina start up a trail approaching the rock walls, so we followed. In a few minutes, she turned around and came back, explaining that it was the wrong way, the trail wasn’t signed or marked and it ended at the cliff walls. She shortcutted down the slope while Jim and I retraced our steps to the pass to look again for signposts.
The grassy green slope is Monte Mondeval (8,054 feet)
The detour we regret not taking: In 1987, the 7,500-year-old remains of a Mesolithic hunter were discovered at what was a seasonal base camp for hunter-gatherers in the Mondeval di Sora. The remains were sheltered under a large sloping boulder along with burial artifacts, indicating social status. The site can be reached via an easy side trail from the AV1. The skeletal remains and all artifacts are now preserved and displayed at the Vittorino Cazzetta Museum in Selva di Cadore.
Over the next several kilometers, the AV1 hugged the base of Lastoi di Formin on our left with wide open spaces of Mondeval Di Sora on our right. Though hot in the full sun, the tread was fairly easy walking, rock hopping small creeks, and small children skipped past me following their (young) parents.
Left-leaning Beco de Mezodi in the center
Jim and I surreptitiously kept Marina and her red backpack in view, and occasionally when she paused we checked in about the route. All of us kept an eye on clouds forming around the high peaks on the horizon, especially the Pelmo which we would eventually walk directly along its base.
At Malga Prendera the trail became a wide dirt roadbed, descending on a grade steep enough to slow us down. Many people joined the flow, solo hikers, families with kids, older folks. I was particularly impressed by one woman older than me, taking her time like she hiked there every day (and she probably does). She wore a short cornflower blue hiking skirt, hair white like my own, weathered brown skin, great legs and a serene smile. I was too shy to ask to take her photo, but she is imprinted on my heart as “Serenity” in the mountains!
The pointy peaks in the center are Cima di Ambrizola
Beautiful larch trees on the edges of the dirt road
At long last, Rifugio Citta di Fume came into view sitting in the bowl-like meadow of Val Fiorentina. It is a very popular spot in summer, with guest rooms, a restaurant and a welcoming outdoor space with picnic tables. Today, of course, it was filled with daytrippers and kids kicking soccer balls around. Hey, isn’t that the big family group from Forcella Giau?
Marina stopped with us for a brief break. We felt sprinkling rain, enough to put on our pack covers, but after just a few minutes it stopped. That’s all the rain we had on our 9-day hike in the Dolomites.
Marina moved on as our friends Steve and Emily walked up. We were all heading to Rifugio Staulanza for the night. As we shouldered packs and left Rifugio Citta di Fume, the resident cows could not be bothered to make way for us on the trail.
The day wasn’t over. Still 3km to go and, of course, they seemed the longest of the day. We walked through a bit of larch and pine forest on very rutted tread and several scree fields flowing directly from the Pelmo which now towered over our left shoulders.
Jim and I had a private room with a private bath. Our bookings for this trip were unintentional for private rooms vs dorms, just the luck of availability, but the pattern of private-dorm-private-dorm-private so far felt just right. We rinsed out some clothes and hung them on the balcony railing, but the air was humid enough that nothing dried much. (I moved mine inside before nightfall.)
Review: Although we appreciated our comfortable accommodations, Staulanza was our least favorite rifugio on the AV1, higher prices and disappointingly mediocre food. I thought I could use a credit card at check-in but they emphasized a preference for cash, so I paid with both. Live and learn.
Quick showers, then downstairs for happy hour at the picnic tables. At this point Jim’s favorite thing to do was spread out the Tabacco map and mark the next day’s route, and I was glad to see him taking on the navigation. Steve and Emily were at another table doing the same thing so we didn’t disturb them.
After a while, though, they sat down with us to talk about the next day’s hike. I felt a tap on my shoulder and Erin and Emily from last night’s bunk room at Rifugio Averau joined us too. Here we were, Jim and me, surrounded by the “young’uns.”
I introduced them as “Utah, meet Utah!” Turns out all four of them were physicians, had colleagues in common, even lived fairly close to one another in Salt Lake City! Truly, there are just a couple of degrees of separation between everyone on earth.
"When there is mist on the mountains,
it is beautiful, and when there is no mist,
it is also beautiful."
~Thich Nhat Hanh
