The Dolomites. Days 4, 5, 6, and 7.

I decided to condense the rest of the hike into one post, I’m a little too far removed from those days, and none of them were as harrowing as the first two.

Day 4 turned out to be one of the more enjoyable days on the trek. It started off a bit foggy, and after a bit of a fortuitous wrong turn, we hiked approximately 16.5km that gave us the most amazing views.

It was a great day, not too hot, and not too strenuous. The rest day that we had the day before definitely helped. The day ended at Rifugio Staulanza where we were able to soak in a hot tub before dinner.

The morning of day five gave us more golden hues. It was a bit of a more difficult day with a few decent climbs, but the views and rewards were  worth it.

We ended up at Rifugio Vassoler where we enjoyed another 3 minute shower and some delicious house infused grappa.

Day six was shorter, just over 9km, but the terrain was challenging, and the day was damp. We had to cross several rock falls, where sometimes the trail eluded us. The views, at times, were otherworldly.

We arrived at Rifugio Carestiato earlier than normal, so we had a hearty lunch, a shower, a nap, an even heartier second lunch, a couple of beers, and dinner. It was at dinner where we met Michael, a 59 year old nurse who walked out of his house in southern Germany on July 18th and was continuing on foot to somewhere in central Italy. He’s still walking, he won’t be finished until September 7th.

Day seven was beautiful, but all downhill, all 10km of it. The path took us from our alpine Refugio to pine needle forests and cute little cabins in green pastures. The rocks and roots were often slippery, requiring careful calculation with every step. It was both hard on the knees and the brain.

We descended into Agordo, knees ablaze, and stopped at the first place we came across

Aptly named Break Time.

The hike was challenging, moreso than we anticipated. We all wound up with a few bruises and scrapes, but our memories of the trail will stay with us long after they have faded. Would I do something like this again? Possibly, but not for a while, I was sick of climbing mountains halfway through day six. Our alpine adventure was complete.