0.09 miDistance
1,599 ftElevation gain
3,205 ftElevation loss
6 h 40 mTime
Today's hike would be filled with so many amazing views and visuals, from mountain silhouettes and cliffs that looked like something out of Pandora from Avatar, to crazy earthly formations of green. And it all got started with a full moon during breakfast in the lovely dining room of Rifugio Averu.
A bit of backtracking was required today in order to continue our trek. If we didn't, then we would have had to have gone down some via ferreta's-like ladders which require a solid stomach when it comes to the dropoffs, and a helmet to protect against falling rocks. Needless to say, this wasn't in our plan, nor did we have any helmets.
We made our way down back onto the trail and headed off into the greenness. I usually steal looks behind me as I hike just in case I spot something that I would have otherwise missed since I was going in a different direction. Today was one of those days, and I'm sure glad I did. This particular part of the Dolomites had so much unique looks to it: massive boulders, floating in the clouds, and a rock formation that seemed to be a throne fit for the gods.
The trail today took us down and up and down and up. We passed some larger groups (20+ people) going in the opposite direction as us. It was a weekend day, I think, so maybe they were just out for a group hike. It meant a lot of stop- and-go though, waiting for them to pass. There were also some busy roads that we had to cross today.
Once we passed the roads and left the larger groups behind, it was down to just the backpackers on the trail. This is where I saw some of the aforementioned amazing geological features. They definitely make this a unique hike. There was even a set of ruins hovering, seemingly, on the edge of thin air. Curved mountains pushed on their sides, mountains with the tops cut off by clouds, and endless green in all directions. What a beautiful day of hiking!
