This morning we woke up at 05:45 with intent to leave at 06:30. We were disappointed to see that it was a cloudy day and the forecast showed clouds and rain all day, with temperatures around 12… not sure why none of us thought to check the weather forecast before now. This was our only day to see the most famous peaks in the Dolomites so we decided that the clouds would be better than direct sun and hoped that we would be able to see something up there. We dressed in the warmest clothes we had, shorts/pants, t-shirts and a sweatshirt. We shared 2 buns with home-made strawberry jam that our host gave us, and we were on our way. We left the apartment at 06:35 which wasn’t bad.
The traffic wasn’t too bad and we arrived at the toll booth just after 08:00. There was a long line, but the sign showed about 200 parking spots available so we figured we had timed it well. After paying the 30,00, and driving up the crazy switchbacks, we reached the “parking”. It was basically a wide gravel road with place on both sides to park. Addison got out and directed Tavis into our spot so he didn’t fall down the hill to the parking lot below us. By 08:30 we started our 11km journey around the Tre Cime.
The clouds seemed fairly high and the mountains looked surreal all around us. We were just happy to see them! The road we started on seemed quite narrow and we thought it was only for pedestrians. About half way down, a Heineken truck was coming at us. The people walking the road had to stand up the hill off the road so there was room for the truck to pass. It was crazy! We came to the trail to the first look out and quickly made our way down, only to find that it was completely covered in clouds. We could see some peaks occasionally through the cloud cover but there wasn’t much to see so we carried on.
At 09:20, we came to the first station. There were bathrooms, and I figured I should probably try to use it in case we didn’t see any more. I was surprised that you had to pay ,50 to get in. I didn’t have any money so I snuck in. I was sure glad I didn’t pay because when I got to the women’s stall, it was just a hole in the ground and a sink!!! I double checked to make sure I was in the right place. Yes, there were other women in there aswell. Someone showed me how to use the pedal to turn on the water. The hole in the ground also had a pedal so I guess they were flushing holes. Either way, I decided I didn’t need to go to the bathroom that bad.
At 09:30, we reached the base of Tre Cime. The view was stunning and not at all covered by the clouds. We all took some time getting photos before moving along to the next station. As we left, we could see some clouds moving in. By 10:00, the clouds had completely moved in behind us and we could no longer see the peaks of Tre Cime. We couldn’t have timed that better if we tried!
At 10:15, we had hiked all the way up to the second station along the back. This was the furthest station, and it seemed to be where people were getting ready to rock climb. By now, the clouds were starting the thin again, and we could catch glimpses of the peaks. We stopped for a short break to eat 1 cookie each for energy. The clouds sure move fast. We continued on our way and began a steep descent down toward a valley. Once we reached the bottom, we had to hike a steep incline on the other side. We could all feel it in our legs today. By 11:15, we reached another station down by a couple of lakes. We took a short break and each ate 1 more cookie and we shared a package of peanuts. The water was beautiful, the views were incredible.
By 12:00, we had hiked the entire 11km and made it back to the car park. However, Addison was not finished with us. He had a short 3.5km walk that he also wanted to take us on. Not everyone was onboard because the clouds had rolled in and we really couldn’t see much. However, we dutifully followed our leader and bypassed the car park. An hour later, we reached a peak and decided it was finally time to sit and eat our sandwiches. The clouds seemed to be thinning out and we saw a trail down to a steep peak. Addison decided that was a famous instagram spot he had been looking for and it was our final destination.
We followed a very narrow dirt path along the cliffs of the mountain. Eventually we reached a spot where there was a narrow path with cliffs on both sides and dropped straight down. It was by far the scariest and most thrilling part of the entire hike. At the end, there was maybe room for 8 people. There were 2 guys out there already and they couldn’t believe our timing. They had been waiting for 3 hours for the clouds to lift. Moments before we arrived, the clouds finally lifted and revealed the breathtaking view they waited all morning to see. The spot we had climbed out to dropped straight down on 3 sides. It made me dizzy just thinking about where we were. We each took turns walking/crawling to the furthest point and getting our photos taken. It was such a surreal experience and we all made it back without any incidents. A success! It was definitely worth the extra trip, and everything seemed perfectly timed.
The photos don’t even begin to capture the moment but the memories will last a lifetime! We got back to the car just before 14:00 and arrived back to the apartment by 16:30. Everyone went straight to bed and had a siesta. Later today we will go back to the pool to rest our legs and it will be an early bed time tonight as we have to leave at 04:30 in the morning to make the 2.5hr drive to Verona so we can catch our train at 08:30 (Thanks to the train tracks still under construction, and the disruption to the train schedule). The construction was actually a blessing in disguise because had we not rented a car, we would have missed the beautiful drive through the Dolomites, and we wouldn’t have been able to make it to Tre Cime.
We will see what adventures tomorrow will bring!