ABOUT THE TRAIL
DAY 1 – FAIRYTALE
It’s here…another longed for vacation, another trek. Time to be free, liberated from all the worries and pressures of everyday life. Time to leave the hustle and bustle of the city far behind and spend 2 wonderful weeks in peaceful connection with nature. Time to get on trail and be carried away by breath-taking views while fighting thirst, hunger, sore calves, sweat in the eyes and a smell of…
DAY 2 – WARM-UP
Apparently the sun rises quite early here in the Dolomites. It’s 7 a.m. and we are already awake. We want to pack up and move as soon as possible. Last night was peaceful and despite the occasional slipping down the slope, we had a good night’s sleep. It’s breakfast time…beside flapjack with coffee, I’m also enjoying a wonderful view of the rocky massif towering in front of us. I notice a tiny little zig-zag path leading all the way up to the col. “Holy smoke!…
DAY 3 – HIGHWAY TO HELL
The day today seems very peaceful at first, idylic even. After I wake up, I get a chance to observe a marvelous sky. Dozens of flaming feathers floating through the sky, melting away into the violet infinity. I’m enjoying my morning coffee, looking at this beauty above my head while…
DAY 4 – TWO STORMS AND US
The ending of tomorrow was just as precarious as the day itself. We got into an oddly arid and deserted section between Rif Boé hut (which was closed due to reconstruction) and Rif Forcella Pordoi. Finding a…
DAY 5 (part 1) – JUST A BIT OF SNOW, ISN’T IT?
“We will be crossing a snowfiled tomorrow“, says Thomas scanning through the map while lying squashed in our tiny little tent. “Hmm…something to look forward to, I guess“, I answer ironically and unconcernedly. Thomas continues his investigation and begins to….
DAY 5 (part 2) – THE CREEPS
When we get a grip on ourselves, we continue onwards. That actually means going back – back to Lago di Fedaia basin. And just like that we found ourselves right where we started…over 4 hours of hiking….great! We will have to bypass the basin via an asphalt path leading around its shore. There is only one tiny little problem with it…
DAY 6 – TENSE NIGHT
In the middle of the night I’m suddenly roused from my deep sleep by a sound….a sound of a crunching rock and falling stones. I’m half asleep but I’m realizing that the sound comes from a real world…not the dreamy one. An unwanted image pops into my head – a huge …
DAY 7 – THE TRUE FACE OF DOLOMITES
A heavy mist came down after the dusk and turned into a dew in the morning. It’s not the first time we are waking up in completely soaked bivoaucs. The air is generally quite humid here in the Dolomites and the condensation is high. As we were falling asleep yesterday, we got disturbed by another animal…This time …
DAY 8 – DON’T PANIC, DON’T LOOK DOWN, DON’T FALL
Although we tried really hard to find a flat spot yesterday, we were still sliding down during the night. We were not the only ones camping in the “ibex valley”. Some guys have built their tent under a big stone few hundreds of meters far from us. As we were passing by them later on, they were just crawling out of their tent. Nice to…
DAY 9 – DRIP, DRIP, DRIP
The night in the “cursed valley” under Cima Canali massif was quite pleasant in the end. Actually, it was the most pleasant night so far. The morning is chilli though. We pack our staff and depart. We need to descend all the way to the bottom of the valley – that means about 1,000 meters altitude loss. One would think…
DAY 10 – THE NIGHT IS DARK AND FULL OF TERRORS
Imagine this: You are lying on the ground in your sleeping bag, listening to lurid sounds of a wild beast moving around. A beast with a paw of a size of your head. A beast so confident that you are constantly failing to cast it out. All that stands between you and the animal is a tin tarp of your tent….The worst thing is that…
Hopeful Wanderer 