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Our Wilderness Travel trip leader is Richard, pictured here on
a hike with Dave. He's from England, but loves the Dolomites and
knows them well.
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Stephano is actually a farmer from Florence, but supplements his
income leading trips. He's in charge of the gastronomical portion
of the trip (most important).
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Pablo, our third leader, comes from Argentina. He normally
leads trips to Machu Pichu, but after 120 times up the Inca trail, he decided
to take a working vacation in Italy.
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Our group first met at the Venice airport. Over lunch we
got to know each other. while sampling Italian "fast food".
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Our first stop was Refugio Passo Giau, a wonderful mountain inn
run by Diego and Claudia. The food is absolutely fabulous, and the
views are incredible.
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This is the view out the window of our room. Dave hopes to climb the peak, Gusela, tomorrow after lunch. On the left lower
skyline, the square block is Nuvolau, see below.
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On Monday morning we took our first hike. We traveled across
green pastures, up steep slopes, through two high passes to our lunch spot.
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Along the way, beautiful wildflowers bloomed at every turn.
Karen is trying to learn their names, and will update this page after she
gets another look at the guide.
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Karen loves cows, so she insists Dave take at least one photo of
them. As they chew their cud, the tinkling of their bells resounds across
the countryside.
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From Forcella Giau, we could see the trail that would lead us to
the Refugio Palmieri where we would have lunch.
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Not only cows, but Palomino horses grazed on the slopes as we
walked by.
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From Forcella d'Ambizolla, we could see the Lago Federa and the
sunlit Refudio Palmieri.
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At the Refugio, we had a lunch of pasta and salad. For desert,
Dave had fresh mountain blueberries with whipped cream, which has become
an addiction....
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Our six mile hike included numerous views along the way.
It took about seven hours, including lunch and leisurely breaks.
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More yet-to-be-identified wildflowers along the path.
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While most of the group was recuperating, Dave took off on an "easy"
via ferrata, climbing up ladders and cables at his own pace.
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The trail took him to the Nuvolau hut, which will be Wednesday's
lunch spot. Once again, mountain views made the rigorous climb worthwhile.
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On the descent, Dave found this pinnacle irresistible. He
climbed up the center of this face.
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Once on top, he enjoyed the sunset views, then scurried back to
Passo Giau and some fine Italian cuisine.
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Tuesday's hike began at Passo Tres Croche above the town of Cortina.
As we began our hike, clouds wrapped around needles of Dolomite limestone
above us.
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Along the trail, butterflies would swarm around us as we hiked.
Some seemed more interested in the hikers than the flowers.
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The trail frequently is cut into steep cliffs, sometimes there's
even a steel cable to grasp if you suffer from vertigo.
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It seemed there were photo opportunities around every corner.
Sometimes we just couldn't resist....
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While the "normal" hikers on Tuesday relaxed mid-day at the glacial
lake Serapiss, Dave and the other intrepids climbed an extra 1700' to a
high pass.
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An afternoon thunderstorm brought cloudy weather and a few rainbows...
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Wednesday we hiked from our hotel at Passo Giau up to the Nuvolau
rifugio at the top of a sub-peak of Averau. Before lunch, Dave climbed
nearby Ra Gisela with Dan and Becca.
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After lunch, we hiked around the left side of Averau, through a
valley, and spotted our destination, Rifugio Lorenzo, a tram ride up from
Passo Falzarego. Look carefully, you can see the tram car against
the cliff.
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Thursday was cloudy and rainy. Our wildlife sightings
included this curious "marmota", just like the ones in the Sierra except
they speak Italian.
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We spotted several chamois. Most seemed to prefer perching
distantly on rocky crags, but we snuck up on this buck in the forest, just
before the thunderstorm broke.
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Friday's weather was still cloudy, but no more rain. We did
a beautiful walk entirely around the "Tre Cima", (three peaks), and snapped
this nice pose by the local bovine representative.
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