The hike from Rifugio Croda da Lago started out with a fairly steep descent down into the valley to the northeast, then a traverse, and then a long ascent up to Rifugio Cinque Torri. In spite of being sprinkled on from time to time (it was overcast) it was still very warm, so we were all pretty sweaty.
The trails were in good condition, however, and we saw just a few groups along the way until we started to get closer to Cinque Torri.
Peculiar logging operation part of the way up the ascent (there was a big truck and a guy with heavy equipment, but also a gang of teenagers helping out?).
Cinque Torri:
Stopping for a "gorp" break and to admire the back of Ethan's shirt:
Climbers on the side of a tower:
The scene there was a bit weird; there was a big group of Italian military folks doing some sort of exercise up on the top next to the Rifugio. Participants included a large group of soldiers standing at attention holding rifles and looking uncomfortable (while a drill instructor stood by and watched), a full brass band, a collection of climbers (in uniform) and a large group of soldiers working on assorted bits of communications and radar gear. It was busy enough that we decided not to hang around for very long up there [although later on it turned out that Cinque Torri is actually one of the better places to see ruins of WW-I era fortifications].
At that point we were looking at another lengthy descent, but Amy noticed that by taking the chairlift down and then joining back up with the trail we could eliminated some of the wear and tear on our knees, so we decided to go ahead with that option. The chairs on this particular lift actually had a sort of rain shield or rain cover, which was nice.
At the bottom of the valley, the start of the trail to Rifugio Dibona. This section of the trail was a bit less manicured than some of the others -- we didn't see very many hikers on it.
We stopped to eat lunch... a ham sandwich from Rif. Croda da Lago. They were pretty dry to be honest, but we were all very hungry:
The weather cleared up a bit as we hiked along, so we got some nice views again. This is looking to the northeast at Tofana De Rozes:
This section of the trail ran through a small tunnel at one point, which I thought was kind of cool:
Looking back towards the southwest across the valley. At the very left you can see Cinque Torri again; at the bottom right you can see the tunnel we came through.
Another view of Cinque Torri:
We were high enough up that the trail was a bit more precarious, although not quite at the life-threatening stage:
There the trail branched off; we took the fork to the east to head to our hut.
At one point the trail was washed out completely; we had to pick our way across this big messy scree pile:
Amy:
Yay, Rifugio Dibona... getting closer:
After that it was a fairly easy descent for another kilometer or so and then we were able to put our feet up at the hut (I think we arrived a bit after 2). Rifugio Dibona turned out to be a much nicer hut -- larger rooms, free showers (that actually functioned properly) and more space to spread out. We spend the afternoon lazing around reading, playing cards + bananagrams, and talking with the other hikers. The kids immediately mobilized their cell phones and plugged into the available wifi (yes, mountain huts have wifi now). At around 4 or so the "real" rain arrived -- the sky turned completely black and it poured for several hours. Very glad we didn't have to hike through that stuff. Dinner was very tasty indeed-- wonderful pasta dish followed by a choice of sausage or chicken. Yum.
Went to bed around 9 this time (managed to hold out that long). The beds were comfy and it was warm but not hot.
Stats for the hike: 15 km, 1235 meters ascent, 1230 meters descent.
No comments:
Post a Comment