TRAVEL. ADVENTURE. HIKING.

Around the Never-Ending Mountain Peak in a Never-Ending Hike

A challenging hiking trip in the Dolomites

I just kept on stopping to take in those views. The mountains surrounding us were spectacular. The route we were on — more than challenging. But it was all worth it in the end.

This was day 5 of our hiking trip through the Dolomites. Together with my parents, my husband and I hiked from one mountain cottage to another with all the belongings on our backs.

This day we knew it was going to be a long day. We had to surround a massive peak or let's say an entire mountain range. We estimated it to take between 8 to 10 hours to get to the next accommodation.

The morning was rather fresh. A chill was in the air before the sun appeared behind the mountains. Some clouds were to be seen on the horizon, still painted in some sunrise colors.

One look back to our last lodge and off we went.

Morning dew was covering the grass. Sunrays falling now between the trees onto the meadow. Yes, for once we were just below the tree line. But not for long. Soon we’d be high up in the mountains again.

We had quite a climb ahead of us getting to the first ridge of the day. Since it was still cool and we were feeling strong, we walked rather fast ahead. The trail was also easy to walk on. That helped.

Just my dad was jumping ahead like a mountain goat, stopping over and over again to take a picture of us. I really don’t know where he gets all his energy from.

We had a short stretch to walk on a gravel road before we turned off into a hilly landscape getting closer to the peak we were to surround on this day. It was a beautiful landscape.

My husband also embraced the view of the scenery which we often took as an excuse as to why we stopped on the trail.

My parents were anyway always far ahead of us.

That mountain you see in the picture below is the one I’m talking about. We have to get behind both of those peaks. On the left around. Because that was where the trail was leading us.

But first, we got down into the little valley up in the mountains. A small hut, a lake, and some water was creating a peaceful scene.

And donkeys. The last animals I’d expect up here. I’ve seen cattle, sheep, even goats and horses on altitudes like this one. But never donkeys. So here we go.

Say hello.

We were about one hour into the hike so there was no reason for a break but this would have been a lovely place for a picnic.

Heading back up to the ridge on the other side, we passed a rock field where we spotted several marmots. These large ground squirrels are at the end of their feeding season. Soon they’ll go into hibernation underground.

Which is why they are right now really fat.

Then there was a debate going on. My husband was walking ahead after we had watched the marmots for a while and my mom was saying the route was further left. He insisted he was on the right track and so I kept following him.

We kind of knew where on the mountain ridge we should be crossing over to the other side and my husband and I decided to follow the old trail we saw.

My dad was walking somewhere in between my mom and us and then was torn apart and stressed out because none of us wanted to turn around and follow the other trail.

My husband and I kept on climbing in the hope no steep descent would arise after the small crest. We now knew we were following an animal trail and surely not the hiking trail we were supposed to be on.

As we got to the crest I managed to look across the next field and saw a thin trail. I said it would be doable but will be tricky and a bit dangerous. It was a large scree slope. Those tiny pieces of rock are incredibly unstable.

“Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. (…) Scree slopes are often assumed to be close to the angle of repose. This is the slope at which a pile of granular material becomes mechanically unstable.” — Wikipedia

Well, there was one thing for sure. We weren’t gonna turn around. So, we went for it. We both took out a hiking stick to have something to put our weight on in case our feet would slip and walked slowly ahead.

I also did mention to my husband in case he should slip, he should roll onto his backpack and slide down on it. The best option to survive a slide on this slope.

At one point on the slope, it got very steep and we felt like tipping over if standing up straight. So we continued on all four. Hands and feet on the ground. I got stuck somewhere telling my husband ahead of me that I couldn’t move my feet either forward or backward.

I used to climb a lot. I do know the rule of three points. And I did not want to let go of it. I also felt the ground under one of my feet giving in. I surely did not feel like sliding down.

I was stuck there for a few minutes before I managed to first move backward, just a few centimeters, and then over the left up again.

Let’s tell you one thing. We were relieved once we made it to the top.

But then I turned around and saw my parents on the slope. I had hoped they continued the real trail and we would meet up with them on the ridge. I felt bad now, for forcing them to take this dangerous route. But then again, I didn’t. They decided on their own they would follow us.

Plus, they have a lot more mountaineering experience than both of us.

They made it up there. Totally fine.

My mom said something like “this wasn’t really challenging”.

I guess I’ll rather stay quiet. And looking back at my dad’s hiking map (from 1990), we did find out that this wasn’t just a massive shortcut but the old trail as well.

Relieved about one thing we were now again looking forwards. It was going down. We hoped to stay as high as possible and as close to the peak as possible but the trail was leading across a large boulder field down into a valley.

We didn’t want to go down because we knew, just around the corner we had to go all that altitude up again.

But that is what hiking is about right?

And we did make it to the next ridge as well. We did think by now we had the longest part of the hike behind us and decided it was time for a lunch break.

A lovely table with a bench was awaiting us on a small hill up on the mountain crest. We relaxed our muscles and embraced the view.

And looked back at the mountain we had summited two days prior. It doesn’t matter from which side you look at this peak, it always looks like you can’t get up there without ropes and climbing equipment.

But we were up there.

We now had a short downhill part again on a very uneven gravel road.

And this is where my husband spotted this old fuel tank. Dated back to the second world war, this was a tank used by the US Air Force.

And we reached the first solid building for the day. Originally we had planned to have lunch here but as we watched the clouds build up in the sky we had changed plans which is why we ate our sandwiches instead on the break just a few minutes earlier.

We had two options from here on to get to our destination. Either go on the gravel road all the way into the valley and then walk up the tar road back up again to our next mountain lodge.

Or take the trail just underneath the cliffs and stay at one altitude until finally descending to the cottage. Which was obvious the more beautiful, more challenging, and more dangerous route. Not to take in rainy weather.

The waiter at the cottage had told us the weather would hold until the early evening. It was lunchtime. Nobody wanted to descend into the valley. So we just drank a Radler and headed on.

We had heard this hike would take us about two hours. Then we met people coming from the other side telling us they were already for 3.5 hours on the route and still didn’t make it to the cottage we just left from.

We might have a longer stretch ahead of us than anticipated.

But no reason for distress.

Just enjoy the view. We still had plenty of time until sunset.

And we did spot some chamois in the scree slopes above us. We did point one out to the other travelers as well. They hadn’t seen any but were so happy about this one.

You gotta have the eyes for the wildlife. It’s there. You just need to spot it.

And yes, below you can see the route we were heading on. First across the grassy slope, then somewhere in the rocks.

Of course, I didn’t capture the dangerous parts. That is when we had at least one hand at the ropes to hold onto. The trail was very narrow and the rock was lose. We walked slowly but carefully.

And always stopped to enjoy the views.

Our trail as well just continued on. After one stretch it appeared as if the same came up again. Some grassy area and then rocky terrain again.

And then we spotted them. The “Tre Cime di Lavaredo” is the most famous mountain range in South Tyrol. If you type in “Dolomites” into Google, you’ll get a selection of these three mountain peaks standing next to each other.

It’s where it gets crowded in this part of the world.

Not so much on our trail. We were all alone. This was good because trying to pass someone on these rocks would have been a challenge on a different level.

And we could relax again. Just for a short time following a narrow path on a grassy field.

Then we were back in the rocks and on the cliffs again.

Yes, and here we didn’t even have ropes to hold onto. Just watch your step.

I guess you know now why we didn’t want to be on this trail when it rains.

Time for a scenic picture. For once I wasn’t standing right on the edge because we were walking on the edge the entire time.

And just keep going.

When it appeared we had the most dangerous parts of this crossing behind us, we stopped for a break.

The views were simply astonishing. The entire time.

We had almost entirely surrounded this massive mountain peak and were starting our final descent.

It’s where my husband is always ahead because he starts to smell the beer. But this time seeing the next mountain cottage wasn’t motivating. It was still so far.

On the other side of the valley. And we still had a long way to go down…

But like everything in life. Step by step we made our way down.

Just somewhere on that long descent, my shoes were giving up. Not both, just one of them. The sole was kind of off the base of my foot. Not surprisingly, I had those hiking shoes for over ten years and my husband told me before to get new ones but there was no reason for it.

Now there is.

My dad packed out the emergency ropes in his backpack and I tied them around my shoes. That should work.

We reached the valley. Our steps were getting heavier.

The final stretch of this hike was the easiest part but the most hated one. Three kilometers of walking on a well-maintained gravel road. Who needs that after walking on the side of the cliffs?

With the very, very last bit of energy, we made it to the beautiful mountain cottage.

After 9 hours of hiking.

And yes, we all first needed a beer before doing anything else. Even before taking off the shoes.

Just an hour later dinner was served and the rain started to fall. We made it just in time. Safely and dry.

Before going to bed I wanted to head outside and take some photographs of the stars since the clouds had disappeared but got disappointed once I saw the full moon out.

I usually hate taking night shots with the moon but this image wasn’t that bad. I loved how it captured the silhouette of the magical mountains of the Dolomites.

Then I decided to turn around and simply shoot in the other direction. A beautiful valley opened up in front of me. The shadows of the moon were stretching far and the stars were shining in the sky.

I went back to bed with the intention to go out later again. In case I’d wake up. Sleeping in a dorm-style room there was no way I could set an alarm for 3 or 4 am. All those hikers would have been very angry.

But I got lucky. As my husband got up to go to the bathroom, I woke up and convinced myself that I do want to go out into the very cold. I put on all the warm clothes I had with me and got rewarded with a sky filled with stars.

There was no other light but the one from our cottage. The mountains were in black darkness.

And the shooting stars were all across the sky. I saw more than a handful during the 30 minutes I spent outside.

I even got a glimpse of the milky way but didn’t have the energy or warmth to stay longer to perfect the image. I was already happy with my results.

Time to go back to sleep.

“I like the night. Without the dark, we’d never see the stars.” — Stephenie Meyer

These pictures were taken with a range of cameras:

• Canon EOS 750D 20mm wide-angle lens
• Nikon Coolpix L330
• Drone: Mavic Mini
• Samsung Galaxy A51
• iPhone 10 XS

And watch here the full video of our hiking adventure through the Dolomites in South Tyrol, Italy:

More about our trip to South Tyrol, Italy:

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