HIKING. ADVENTURE. MOUNTAINS.

The Hike That Broke Us All

The final push through the magical mountains of the Dolomites

This entire day we were hugging the mountain with breathtaking views to our left and challenging scree slopes to cross ahead of us. We didn't see another human for something like 7 hours. Not one other hiker. It should have told us something.

This was the final day of our hike from one alpine cottage to the next one. It was our final day of descending from living above the tree line. Our host had recommended us the route not without warning us about what we thought was one sketchy stretch of boulders to cross.

We didn’t think twice about taking another route. The locals always have the best advice. But I’m not sure when this lady got the last time information about the trail. I must have changed a lot.

It was a gorgeous morning with the sun just hitting the mountain peaks. The sky was clear. The air crisp. We were motivated for this final day of hiking while still feeling the previous day’s hike in our muscles.

The beginning was rather relaxing. Crossing the mountain pastures with cattle around us we heard the cow bells for the first hour of our hike. It was a soothing sound coming together with the singing of the birds.

Of course, my mom fell behind because of stopping more than once to find those feathered species with her binoculars. It’s her passion. Bird watching.

But we all knew, she’d catch us sooner or later anyway.

And already now, I was marveling at the breathtaking views.

How could I go back, back to Germany’s flat North, and not be missing these spectacular mountain peaks? Those breathtaking views I woke up to the past five mornings.

This one particular cow was making it clear this table wasn’t for us to have a picnic on. This is her territory and we should rather hurry up getting out of her way. And so we did.

We then soon left the pastures behind us and headed into the pine forest.

These mountain pines are smaller than the normal pine trees you know from the flatlands and they often grow more in the size of bushes and subshrub.

But some did cover our hiking trail and forced us to bend down or walk through a tunnel made of pine branches.

Then there was the first rocky field ahead of us. The one field our host had talked about.

It didn't look that bad. At first. Only when you look at it from the other side do you know what challenge we had to cross the scree slope. And canyon. Because that is what it was.

The first part was slippery but with careful steps, it was all doable. But once we had to climb down over the loose pebbles into the canyon and up again it was all a game between luck and keeping it very, very slow.

Yes, my dad took this picture from the other side. The edge where my husband and I are walking in the picture below was the exact ridge we had to cross and go down.

And it wasn’t just one scree slope. We had to cross several of them. As soon as we had crossed one we saw another one appearing ahead of us.

In another one of those canyons, my dad was ahead of us while the rest of us was still on the edge when I heard something that made me alert. I shouted “rockfall” mainly to alert my dad who was down in the hole.

Then we looked up and saw the three chamois, a type of mountain goat, running across the cliff above my dad. He was lucky. None of the rocks made loose by the animals did reach him but I guess this is the reason why some hikers wear helmets. For stretches like this one. Not because they are going to do some rock climbing. Just to protect their heads from rockfall.

Then we could focus on the views again. And the breathtaking trail we were on. Despite all the challenging parts we had to cross this was still a very scenic hike.

The fact we didn’t see any other soul was just another sign of what beauty you find off the beaten trail. While this trail surely gets maintained well and has to be cared for after every heavy rainfall, it is not the type of hiking trail that attracts hundreds of visitors. I’m sure there go by some days when not a single human walks across.

We didn’t cover a lot of altitude in these crossings but stayed rather on one level. It made it a very pleasant walk whenever we didn’t have to watch every step. Which was the case most of the time.

We then reached a section where we descended just underneath a huge rock wall. The cliff reaching all the way up to the summit of the mountain was straight and covered in bolted rock climbing routes. Bringing back memories from my time working as a climbing instructor I inspected those knowing I wasn’t able to lead any of them in my current shape.

But I anyway had a totally different challenge for myself.

After descending the stairs, the trail was winding its way back up again. Turn for turn and step for step we were getting closer to what we knew was just another ridge in an endless hike.

We took our time needing to stop a lot to catch a breath. Don’t forget, we all carried our belongings in a backpack with us. Even if you think those bags are light when you lift them first, when you carry them for days on your back, they do weigh you down.

We had come to just another canyon where my husband looked down and said he won’t be able to do it. The trail had disappeared, rocks must have been washed away and we didn’t see an option to get up on the other side.

But and here comes the important but. There was no way in this world I’d turn around and walk all this path back again. Not an option. So I descended first with my parents and husband looking at me and then finding the best and safest way to climb out of the canyon again.

And so we all did, successfully. Because there was no challenge too big for us. That day.

We thought.

I do admit, by this point, our spirit was broken. At least a bit. We now did not only feel the previous day’s hike but the challenge of today as well. It was physically and especially mentally exhausting.

Just look into my face when my dad was pointing the camera at me.

But we continued. Because what else could we have done? Turning around was not an option. Not after we had come this far.

And so we kept on walking. Through just another field over boulders. And tiny pebbles. These scree slopes didn’t seem to stop. I only slipped once. According to my husband, my ankle did a 90-degree turn. But then went back up. With no follow-up pain. Cheers to the muscles I have built up in that ankle. It saved me.

And while we surely sent some rocks down the valley, we always stayed on top of the trail.

And when we found another ridge we accomplished we decided it was time for a break. Not because we thought we’d managed the worst, we knew that wasn’t the case, but we all needed some rest.

The next challenge was awaiting us just around the corner. It was a long one with what might have been four or five canyons we had to descend into.

And so we did.

One after the other.

Only once did I look up the mountain and got the feeling of being incredibly tiny. Being a tiny creature on this massive mountain I felt how vulnerable I was. Vulnerable to any events in nature out here.

And I stopped again to take another panoramic picture. What else to do with all those panoramic views? Normal framed photographs won’t capture the full-sized beauty of it all.

We were following my parents seeing them disappear into the canyons and climb up again.

Until we all reached the final ridge which meant we had crossed all scree slopes. We also descended into the tree line so the hike should be getting easier.

Or so, we thought.

We made a last break on the mountain eating some energy bars and chocolate and drinking fresh water.

Then we started to descend into a beautiful hilly landscape.

Originally we had planned to continue hiking along the ridges but seeing how much time we needed to get here we looked onto the map and chose the next route to descend into the valley.

I almost forget to mention that I had this improvised shoe of mine. Or let’s say we improvised when fixing it. The tape wrapped around the back part of my shoe where the sole was coming loose kept it all together but also created a very slippery surface. I had basically no profile on the bottom of the left shoe.

But this shoe brought me through all this challenging terrain.

And as we turned off onto the trail descending we were in good spirits again knowing we’d have another 2 to 3 hours and would be down at the lake. We didn’t know yet how painful a simple gravel track could be.

No picture will explain what we felt. It wasn’t a narrow hiking trail but a simple gravel path leading down into the valley. Without turns or twists, the road was going straight down the mountain with gradients of up to 20 percent most of the time, I’d guess.

Carrying what now felt more like 20 kilograms on our back plus our own weight, our knees and feet had to work extra hours getting us down.

The trail up to here was dangerous, more than challenging but it was fun climbing over boulders and crossing the scree slopes. The path now was everything else but difficult yet it cracked our spirits within minutes and broke the rest of our bodies.

At one point I saw both, my parents, sitting at the side of the road. Not because they were waiting for us but because they couldn’t anymore. They were in pain. They had even tried walking backward down the steep path just to release some pain from the knees.

Eventually, there was a relief. The lake was in sight.

But still out of reach.

Once we reached the valley we didn’t stop. My husband and I kept on walking at the fastest pace we still possibly could. We were hungry and thirsty as well, after all, we had only eaten some energy bars since breakfast and it was late afternoon by now. But the worst of all was the pain in the legs. From the hips down everything hurt.

When I finally reached the lake I just put down my backpack, took off my shoes, and put my feet into the freezing water of the lake. I got a quick shock but then it felt so relieving.

My dad and my husband walked ahead to reach the first restaurant on the other side of the lake. My mom stopped when she saw me and also stepped into the lake.

The lake was busy with people. People who had no idea the pain we felt. The pain we had gone through. They had no idea how many hours and days we had hiked. They were doing their casual walk around the lake with strollers in tow and beach towels under their arms.

And there were birds. The lake was a bird's paradise. All seemingly unimpressed by our arrival.

After what felt like an eternity I stepped out of the water and walked the rest to the restaurant. We drank one beer way too fast and then continued our walk into town. It still took us about an hour walking on gravel and then a tarred road before we got to the guesthouse.

My husband and I were walking in slippers. There was no way I was going to put back my hiking shoes. My feet needed air.

And rest.

When we arrived at the guesthouse, the grandson was telling us the host was going to arrive in a few minutes. We couldn’t have cared less about waiting a bit longer to get into the room and into the refreshing shower.

We just sat down on the terrace, closed our eyes, and drank a can of beer we had bought in town.

We had hiked for 9 hours. Again.

We made it. With some pain in the knees, toes, and wherever else but we made it.

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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