Trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles.
I was super excited to hike the Alpe di Siusi region of the Dolomites.
… Seiser Alm, (Italian: Alpe di Siusi) is the largest high altitude Alpine meadow in Europe. Located in Italy’s Bolzano-Bozen province (South Tyrol) in the Dolomites mountain range, it is a major tourist attraction, known for skiing and hiking. …
I planned 3 days, 2 nights. A big trip. Lots of mileage.
To get started, I cheated by riding the cable car to Compaccio 1844m (5050ft), a busy mountain tourist trap.
Arriving late afternoon, I was quite quickly forced into a cave.
OK, it was actually a storage space under a ski lift. I relaxed, dry, for about 90min.
The typical late afternoon rain ended. Some blue sky appeared. So I set off across gorgeous alpine meadows in the direction of the high peaks. Towards Rifugio Bolzano. I was following the Walk 24 itinerary from Walking in the Dolomites: 28 Multi-Day Routes by Gillian Price.
I was alone in the early evening except for many friendly cows.
Surprisingly, the skies threatened rain once again. To stay completely dry, I quickly set up my (technically illegal) tent on the side of the mountain. There I got pounded with a severe storm. Thunder and lightning non-stop for at least 5hrs. Super dangerous in the mountains. I feared for my life.
It continued raining all night.
I stayed in the tent 10hrs before I finally heard it stop.
Unzipping the fly , I was astonished to see this winter wonderland. It was July. In sunny Italy.
Snow is always better than rain for a hiker. I packed up as quickly as I could. And headed back down the mountain. The only other hikers I passed were a couple from Norway. They had the same idea. Hiking in the snow is beautiful. Hiking in the rain, a drag.
That night I ended up in a soft bed in a terrific hostel in the quiet mountain town of Brixen.
All’s well that ends well, I guess.
But I REALLY want to go back ….
By the way, my friend Jeni had a similar experience on this same route. She got lost, taking a wrong trail/animal track. On the side of a steep mountain she decided to rope herself to the cliff. Gathering her wits, she finally decided on the safest way out of danger.
Even when there are hundreds of other hikers around, the mountains can still be very dangerous.
This was a cautionary adventure for me. It was almost as scary as the lighting storm I experienced on the John Muir Trail.
besthike.com 
Hi Rick! Sorry you had such a time, I do recall on my version of this trip that one night in one of the huts we had about 1/2 inch HAIL all night (and my cot was directly under the metal roof – cool but LOUD). Well, what’s a trip without some good stories?? Good luck on the rest of your trip.