Hiking the Alta Via 1: Day 5

 Nuvolau to Staulanza. 6 hours, 40 minutes

    

    Nuvolau presented a splendid sunrise this morning. I watched the sun streaking rays above the clouds, breaking through a hole in them to drop gold and copper coins on the clouds and peaks. Stunning, from that rifugio in the clouds.

    Today would be a long day, so we started down the trail immediately after breakfast, dressed warmly. First we retraced the rock-climb trail down to Rifugio Averau.

                                            Photo by Margaret della Santina

At Averau we stopped to read the kiosk display about World War I activity.The cable car apparatus we could see heading down the mountain had brought wounded men down the hill and supplies up. Mules were also used. One soldier managed to bring up cats and a dog for the soldiers stationed on this lonely mountain.

    Finally we headed down the mountain on a very steep, rocky, fall-on-your-butt (I did once) trail, a sort of "via" that could have used some ferrata!

                                            Photo by Margaret della Santina

In fact, there was a via ferrata route down from Nuvolau, which we had been advised, given the weather and other factors, not to take. As we hiked under the cliff on which Nuvolau sat, Margaret kept looking for the via ferrata route we hadn't taken. I think she wished we could have done it. I think she wants to come back.

    After we came down that mountain, we went up another one, in the general way of the Dolomites. A rendition of the AV1 begins to sound repetitious: hike up, hike down, hike up, hike down. But the landscape varied rapidly, and there was always something interesting on the way. Today we passed beautiful and paved-road-accessible Rifugio Giau, where we stopped for a coffee.

                                                                            Photo by William della Santina

    We climbed a short but steep ascent to a narrow pass, where we met a man carrying a camera and a tripod (hiking all that distance with that heavy equipment!). He took our picture there at the pass.

I'm sorry to say, though, that I didn't much like him because to say he was hiking with his wife is to exaggerate the "with." The trail seemed to be difficult for her, and as we descended the other side of the pass, I noticed that he was walking very far ahead of her, as though annoyed with her. I felt sorry for her and irritated with him.
    We walked through wide grassy pastures today, too,

Margaret and me on the trail.                    Photo by William della Santina

once with a large flock of sheep grazing and baaing on the hills and, at a great distance, a shepherd lying in the grass with his dogs. Suddenly the dogs jumped up and started turning the sheep, obviously at a signal from the shepherd. A little dachshund ran with the other dogs, as fast as his little legs could carry him, doing nothing to help but having a great time and feeling important. The sheep made a cream-colored flow as they turned.

    Not too far beyond the sheep, we passed a sign to a Mesolithic burial site. Margaret contemplated turning off our route to see it, but it looked like a long detour, so we stuck to our route. Today was already going to be a long day.

    Finally, after walking for hours, up hill and down, we came at last to Rifugio di Fiume, where we would have stayed the night except that it was full when we went to make our reservations. That's why today's hike was a long one: we had to walk another hour and a half to get to Rifugio Staulanza. There was a long discussion at di Fiume about whether to turn onto a different trail. William consulted his online maps. Margaret had a paper map, and I had Gillian Price's guidebook. We consulted and argued and tried to figure out the right trail. Ultimately I dropped out of the discussion because I have such a poor sense of direction I was just muddling the picture. When some other hikers came by, we consulted with them, too, and determined that we should take the turn-off through the forest—another root-strewn, muddy trail through a beautiful forest.

                             Photo by Margaret della Santina

    Finally we dropped over a hill and Rifugio Staulanza was before us, situated on a paved road that smacked of civilization. 

                                                           Photo by Diana Coogle

Here we had the luxury of a private room with four beds (not bunks) and our own bathroom and shower—and the bonus of a rainbow over the mountains.

                                             Photo by Margaret della Santina

    We had been eight hours on our feet except for a short coffee break at Rifugio Giau. I flung myself on the bed and let my feet throb. I took a good long shower in our private bathroom and washed some clothes. We had a very good dinner (pumpkin ravioli for me). Then I went to bed. I didn't even hear Margaret and William when they came in.