To rest my feet between hikes, I rented a mountain bike for an “easy” day in the mountains of North Italy.
I did a good chunk of this loop. The bus delivers you to a high pass. And you roll generally downhill.
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The Rails to Trails sections were awesome. But at times I was pushed out into astonishingly dangerous holiday traffic. I can’t believe they don’t have several deaths a day.
The cycling was brilliant. So much fun that I ended up cycling about 120km. Probably the longest day in the saddle I’ve ever done.
(There was some chaffing.)
My 19 Euro / day bike was great. The company – Noleggio – does a very professional job. I could drop the bike anywhere around the loop.
Check this out … a custom water bottle holder for a 1.5 litre Coke Lite.
Like my hike to the 3 Peaks, again this trailhead starts high, at a bus stop mountain pass
I followed exactly trip #10 from my hiking guide. I planned, as recommended, to sleep the unique and extreme Rifugio Nuvolau 2575m (8450ft)
hut at the very TOP of the mountain
Sadly all the bunks were reserved, the only Refugio I’ve found completely full, so far.
This lofty aerie is totally dangerous. It would never be allowed in Canada. I assume one or two people fall to their deaths off the cliff every year.
Here’s a guy drying his t-shirt on the helicopter landing pad a few feet from the brink.
I’m a little more cautious getting that close to the drop-off.
There are the famed 5 towers far below.
From here they don’t look like 5 towers. But from Cortina they do.
It was a fantastic hike. Just gorgeous. See the rest of my photos.
On the return to my starting point I checked 3 more Refugios. All had space for me. But I did not like any of them. Especially the one that suggested the price 45€.
The one previous charged 26€ for a basic bunk bed.
Happily there was a late bus back to town. I slept in my own tent in Camping Rocchetta back in Cortina. Cost 9€.
The 5 Towers is a well known destination for mountain climbers:
… Cinque Torri, meaning “Five Towers”, is a group of actually more than 5 towers that lies on the south slopes of Falzarego Pass above Cortina d’Ampezzo. …
These are the famed and disclaimed 3 Peaks. The most photographed mountains in the Dolomites, I reckon.
… The Drei Zinnen (German for “Three Peaks”), also called the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Italian), are three distinctive battlement-like peaks, in the Sexten Dolomites of northeastern Italy. They are probably one of the best-known mountain groups in the Alps. …
People come to the Locatelli Refuge (IT Rif. Locatelli) to enjoy a fine meal at high altititude.
I’ve never seen so many hikers in one place at one time before, except on the Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand.
Why are they here?
It’s easy to take a bus right to 2300m (7545ft), the very base of the mountains.
But, for some reason, the crowds did not bother me. It was wonderful to see so many people exposed to hiking in such an easy and painless way.
If you hate crowds of enthralled visitors, go hike Alaska.
I adored everything about this hike.
I loved the wild flowers. Alpine meadows. The WW 1 history. The tunnels. Especially the Via ferrata (Iron Way) side trips. I think I’ve found a new life passion.
Hiking in Italy is far easier than I expected.
1) Travel to Cortina, Italy
2) Buy a bus ticket to TRAILHEAD at Rif. Auronzo
3) Wander where you like for as long as you like
4) Take a LOT of photos
I used Walking in the Dolomites: 28 Multi-Day Routes by Gillian Price. This Cicerone title is the best available in English for this region. This area is covered by hikes 1,2 and 3. Buy your guidebooks in advance of travelling to Italy. English books are not widely available here as there are so many other titles in German and Italian.
No need to carry a hiking pack. There are great mountain huts every hour or two. Hosts will feed you and give you a bed for 40-50 Euro a day.
hiking in the clouds
I left a Summit Stone on behalf of artist DSD. Look for it in the cairn atop the carved stone steps starting the Via ferrata closest to Refugio Pian de Cengia. (That’s a FUN Via ferrata by the way. Exhilarating, but safe.)
If looking for more inspiration to plan a trip to Italy, see all 134 of my photos. (I went crazy with the camera.)
An information kiosk lady told me I would not like the Cape Split Trail. That peaked my interest.
Was she wrong as so many information kiosk ladies are wrong about hikes?
It looked appealing on the map.
At the trailhead a woman coming off the trail looked muddy and disappointed. She inspired me to take to the coastline (left side) instead of the regular inland trail.
Perhaps I could make it all the way to the end. Then backtrack on the regular trail.
I love the beach boulder boogie at low tide. There were no impassable headlands as far as I got. It was great FUN … but required the agility of a mountain goat.
Eventually, time pressing, I decided to bushwhack across the Spit to the main trail. And return back to my rent-a-car that way.
Flagstaff, AZ-based authors Ghiglieri, a biologist who leads river trips in the Grand Canyon and abroad, and Myers (Fateful Journey: Injury and Death on Colorado River Trips in Grand Canyon), a medical doctor who has treated hundreds of Canyon injuries, have compiled a fascinating chronicle of deaths and dangers in Grand Canyon National Park.
The book is arranged by category falls, dehydration, floods, the Colorado River, air crashes, freak accidents, suicides, and murder and at the end of each chapter is a chronological list with names, descriptions, and causes of the accidents. The authors show that most of the deaths, whether of tourists, prospectors, or experienced adventurers, occurred when people failed to pay attention to warning signs or did not use common sense; others are attributed to high testosterone levels.
… Falls, fatigue, extreme temperatures and horseplay at national parks throughout the country lead to nearly 3,600 search-and-rescue operations each year, according to 2007 figures. The park service also responds to 16,000 emergency medical calls a year for anything from abrasions to twisted ankles, heatstroke and cardiac arrest, said Dean Ross, park service branch chief of emergency services in Washington, D.C.
Rangers at the Grand Canyon perform more rescues than at any other park, including 300 helicopter rescues a year, Ross said. …
I got lost and exhausted in similar terrain in 2005, Colca Canyon, in Peru. Eventually I hired a local villager to carry my pack and lead me to a “hotel” in the canyon.
There’s no Search and Rescue in Peru. …
More advice on avoiding heat emergencies by Steve Howe in Backpacker – THE FRYING GAME
The Ultralighter does this trail as an annual pilgrimage.
The summary of his 2009 trip report:
You probably don’t want to try the Loowit Trail now. Maybe 2011 or later, if the Forest Service does a bunch of work. Even Lava Canyon is impassable, unless you are very, very bold. So for now it’s the north half of the mountain or the Smith Creek valley, rewarding in their own ways.
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He survived his most recent 33mi circuit. But barely.
This trip is no longer an adventure. It is an ordeal.
The greatest backcountry boozer I’ve hiked with is Kelly Mock, then living in Whitehorse, Yukon. It was Kelly that carried a “Bubba” (mini keg of beer) over the Golden Staircase to Happy Camp on the famed Chilkoot Trail in Alaska.
Arriving on the solstice, Kelly bought a round for the house at Happy.
He’s been one-upped.
Michael Popov carried 20lbs of beer up 4,000′ of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental USA. He was doing some kind of loco carbo loading / altitude acclimatization for his record breaking unsupported John Muir Trail run. (4 days, 5 hours and 25 minutes from Mount Whitney to Yosemite Valley)
Incidentally, Aaron Sorensen will be starting June 28th an attempt on the Unsupported Record on the Lake Tahoe Rim Trail. No one has claimed this record yet. Aaron is looking at 55-60hrs for the 168 miles.
Vital information about natural, unseen hazards that threaten hunters, hikers, campers, and other outdoor activity enthusiasts, including Rabies, Tetanus (Lockjaw), Tularemia (Rabbit Fever), Brusellosis (Undulant Fever), Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Borrelia (Lyme Disease), with CDC advice on how to avoid ticks, and how to remove ticks. Each of the subject diseases is described with symptoms, treatment, history, geographical risk areas, and significant incidence reports. The book is written by Jerry Genesio, a former employee of Cutter Laboratories’ Biological Products Division, and author of a natural history series published by New England Outdoors magazine.
But, once again: “Rangers re-examining safety of popular hike after a fatal fall from cables during final ascent”
It was crowded on the climbing cables leading to the top of Half Dome, but Hirofumi Nohara was seemingly giddy with excitement on what could only be described as a gorgeous Saturday in Yosemite National Park.
The 37-year-old Japanese citizen was talking and laughing with his four friends as they worked their way up the nearly vertical granite slope, witnesses said.
Then he slipped.
Nohara didn’t have time to speak or even shout before he slid off the side of Half Dome to his death, becoming the third fatality within a year off the 4,800-foot granite dome. …
1) Travel to Cortina, Italy
besthike.com 