from Walter Ponten
Our hiking guides were Sabine and Karen
Hiking friends: Angelika, Birgit, Günter, Heidi, Leonie, Lizzy, Melanie, Olga, Walter, Wolfgang
First day, Saturday 03.08.2024
The group met at 2 p.m. at the train station in Villach to travel to Sauris by car. They split up into Karen’s van called Lucy and Sabine’s little Citroen, also known as the Knutschkugel. The journey took us across the border into Italy and into a wild and romantic mountain range with a gorge, vertical rock faces and dark green forests as well as several tunnels that looked like old mountain tunnels and led through the mountain without any fortifications or lighting. Eventually, almost everyone reached the picturesque Lago di Sauris reservoir, from where a winding road led to our guesthouse “Pa’ Krhaizar“. It was situated on a sunny mountainside at an altitude of around 1400 m, a picturesque, very cozy wooden house.
I, on the other hand, enjoyed the following journey: As my train connection from Cologne to Munich was almost four hours late in total (many greetings to Deutsche Bahn), I took a cab in Villach and only arrived at the guesthouse when the other participants were already sitting down for dinner. However, the hiking friends and the pleasant atmosphere of the house quickly made up for my exhausting journey.
Second day, Sunday 04.08.2024
The day began with a yoga session led by Birgit and attended by all the women. This morning yoga session would prove to be a ritual throughout the entire tour.
After breakfast, we set off on our introductory tour. We walked leisurely uphill across flowering mountain meadows full of arnica, little summer gentian, eyebright and faded pasqueflower to Monte Rinderperk and continued uphill with views of the lake below and the nearby ridge of the Carnic Dolomites. As the area here consists partly of slate rock, the landscape profile was somewhat softer than the typical Dolomites. This area around Sauris was and is a German-speaking enclave, where a Bavarian dialect is still spoken today.
In the afternoon, we arrived in Sauris di Sopra, where we stopped off at a small restaurant and ordered drinks. Confused between my personal coffee preference and Italian coffee terminology, I drank Melanie’s Americano coffee as my cappuccino – I was generously forgiven.
After a short rain shower, we arrived back at our guesthouse to spend the night there for the second time. In the evening, the whole group unexpectedly celebrated a birthday girl: Birgit was delighted by the birthday songs and everyone’s good wishes. The girls enjoyed the local sparkling wine. The boys remained loyal to the beer…
Third day, Monday 05.08.2024
After breakfast, we took the cars to Forni di Sopra, from where we took the chairlift to gain altitude. Sporty Sabine led her group, which was accordingly fast on the way, while patient Karen set off with the leisure hikers. In the meantime, the morning clouds had cleared and the sun was shining. The path led through dense forest and was reminiscent of the Eifel in places. Olga spotted a small, green caterpillar climbing with astonishing speed up a silk thread hanging from a branch right in front of us. Both groups met up for lunch, with Leonie keeping us amused with her cheerfulness.
In the afternoon, we crossed the road at Passo Mauria at an altitude of 1298 m and descended to Rifugio Giaf, which we reached after crossing two streams. This hut is located in the middle of the forest at an altitude of around 1400 m and turned out to be a very cozy place. We had polenta for dinner. Little did we know that this dish with different ingredients would accompany us every evening on our tour.
Fourth day, Tuesday 06.08.2024
After breakfast, we climbed the steep rocky landscape of the Dolomitei Friulane in beautiful sunshine. First we climbed the Forcella (= saddle) Urtisiel (1990 m), then the Forcella Val di Brica (2088 m) and finally the Forcella dell Inferno (2175 m). We had now arrived in the bizarre rocky landscape of the Dolomites with its towers, walls and pinnacles.
Today we walked together as a group, but this led to a lot of “stop and go” in the steep terrain. After a long descent, we reached the secluded Rifugio Flaiban at an altitude of 1587 meters. We were the only guests and had only seen 5 other hikers or trail runners on the entire hike today! And that in the Dolomites. And we had arrived in digital nirvana.
No question: we had polenta for dinner.
Fifth day, Wednesday 07.08.2024
After breakfast, we set off in two groups. When Sabine started with the sporty group A, we listened to the moving farewell songs of group B for a long time. It was emotional. Angelika, Melanie, Heidi and others had taken over the musical direction of the group.
We went up to the Passo dell Mus, 2063 meters high, which was impassable and steep in the upper part (“black” hike). But once we reached the top, we were again treated to a fantastic panorama. We recognized the Marmolada with its vertical south face, Civetta and the striking Monte Pelmo as well as the symmetrical triangle of Antelao. Here we took a photo break, with Lizzy as the enthusiastic photographer taking our portraits in front of the mountain backdrop. In Group B, Wolfgang was to make a name for himself as the cameraman.
We descended through a romantic, green valley with great bouldering blocks. We took a break at a refreshing waterfall to cool off. Down the valley we continued, always along the stream, which also invited us to take a lunch break. The name of the valley was paradoxical: Val dell Inferno. The paradisiacally beautiful Meluzzo river meandered through a sparse birch forest and offered a view of the towering Dolomite walls behind it.
In the early afternoon, we reached the Rifugio Pordenone at an altitude of 1249 m in sweltering heat. A quaint little stone cottage was nestled in the forest with a view of the mountains. We were spoiled by our super friendly hosts Marica and Ivan. As it was not yet late, Leonie, Lizzy, Olga and I made our way to a higher vantage point from where we could see the landmark of the Friulian Alps: Campanile de Montania, a rock tower whose diameter at the base is less than half its height. Framed by huge rocks, this bizarre dolomite spire stood some distance away, defying gravity. On the way to the viewpoint, we saw some climbers and children trying their hand at climbing a vertical wall. We also met some climbers later in the hut.
The attentive reader will no doubt guess what we had for dinner…and then a thunderstorm with heavy rain set in.
Sixth day, Thursday 08.08.2024
The thunderstorms and rain had cleared and today was the longest stage. It should take about five hours with 1200 meters of ascent and about the same amount of descent.
We set off into the sun-drenched forest with a cheerful song from the ladies in Group B. Once we had left the forest, it was a steady and sweat-inducing climb up the stony and rocky terrain. Even Leonie, usually a bubbling source of cheerfulness, became quiet by her standards.
We crossed the steep Forcella Leone and rested at the bivouac box below. We then went over the Forcella Montfalcon and the view opened up into the valley to the northwest. In the distance, we were able to see Civetta, Monte Pelmo and the Antellao. A long descent began, which eventually led us down to the valley floor. This stage was really demanding. The steep descents on loose gravel demanded full concentration. In Group B, there really was a heavenly silence here – only our own breathing was audible. A gift and an experience at the same time. Birgit used it for walking meditation – who else…?
What a pleasant surprise when we crossed a stream just before the Rifugio Padova, which had been dammed into a pool at this point. Olga, Sabine, Lizzy and I couldn’t resist returning to the water after a welcome drink at the hut to jump into the icy lake and rinse off the Dolomite dust.
The Rifugio Padova was a dark log cabin with red-painted shutters and lots of floral decorations. It looked like something out of a fairytale movie. Around the hut, large carved wooden figures, dwarves, chamois and other creatures enlivened the scene. Impressive Dolomite mountains shone in the background, illuminated by the evening sun.
No question: we also had polenta tonight.
When I went to the toilet at night, I took the wrong turn on the way back and accidentally ended up in someone else’s room with my headlamp shining red. The signora greeted me with a torrent of Italian that I couldn’t understand. But the tone of voice made it clear to me that I had better retreat.
Seventh day, Friday 09.08.2024
Today was our last day of hiking together. After breakfast, we climbed up to Forcella del Cridola at an altitude of 2050 m in bright sunshine. Here, Group A climbed further up the ridge to Monte Cridola with Sabine. However, the terrain became so steep and riddled with scree that Lizzy, Olga and I reached our limits. Only our oldie Günter climbed a little further behind Sabine like a young chamois buck. Eventually, however, we turned back and continued our descent from the top of the pass. We plunged back into the forest, observed a large herd of chamois on the opposite mountain face and reached the Rifugio Giaf. This was the end of our great Dolomite circuit (Anello Dolomiti).
Group A and Group B now descended together to the parking lot and drove back to Villach. We put up for the night in the “Goldenes Lamm” hotel, swapped our sweaty and dusty mountaineering gear for clean clothes and visited the town center for our last evening together. We said goodbye to Karen and Sabine, who had guided us through the mountains so happily and with so much experience and commitment. Wolfgang gave an emotional farewell speech and Angelika had written a song to go with it, which we all sang at the end.
A wonderful and eventful week in the mountains came to an end. We had experienced a varied tour and had repeatedly passed through different climatic and vegetation zones, from deep forest to the barren, rugged rocky region. The characters of the participants were also different, but there was always a cheerfulness and team spirit in the group. Thanks to both guides, we were given an additional educational vacation with plenty of inspiration.
Fortunately, we were able to enjoy more than just the regional “polenta in variations” at each hut. Unexpectedly, the hut hosts always offered lunch to go.
Thanks to all!
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