Dolomites Hike Day Two: 27km

Day Two Hike: Drei Zinnen base towards Carbonin, then the trail to Plätzwiese (Prato Piazza) → Strudelkopf (Monte Specie) → return towards Plätzwiese and descend through the Braies Valley.

Distance: 27 kilometres

Today was the day of Trail 37! Yes, there are many marked trails in the Dolomite mountains, but this one kept popping up and even allowed us, instead of hiking along wider trails (which we could call fire trails at home) to take short cuts through pine forests and still be on track. While chatting to another walker, I actually took one of these short cuts when Mr Darcy was ahead of me. He didn’t know I was now ahead of him, and manifested his concern for me by calling. This was quite a big deal as I pay Telstra to keep in contact with others, but he refuses to spend $10.00 a day unless there is an emergency. Last year, he called after running a few kilometres to find his lost phone (a true emergency) but today he called because he knows I’m a relatively fast uphill walker and believed I should have caught up!

The bus: There were three of us still hiking for the last few kilometres of the hike (me, Mr Darcy and a third musketeer who apparently shares our aversion to buses). At the foot of the trail we had to catch a bus to our accommodation (it’s impossible or at the very least dangerous to walk along mountain passes, particularly given some Italian driver’s penchant for speed and aggressive tooting). We had seen that we were only a few kilometres away from the stop, but we didn’t think to push the button to stop the bus. Massive Fail! We had very grumpy bus driver who was reluctant to let us off the bus until the next century, but the second driver took us close to our hotel and was very friendly, so balance was restored. And as it turned out, the rest of our party also didn’t push the button in time and came back via a wild off-piste route, so the three musketeers, notwithstanding taking the longer hiking option, had a much easier time of it.

The accommodation: The hotel was in the middle of nowhere, but there was a 25-metre swimming pool and it was glorious! The water was the perfect temperature for wallowing, so wallowing we did. There was also a very nice dinner except …

Yes, we are tourists, and on this tour our hotels and guest houses provide dinner, but we had tiramisu yet again. Savouiardi sponge biscuits. Eggs. Sugar. Coffee. Cocoa. All excellent. But then there is the cream (I think, traditionally, tiramisu is made with mascarpone cheese, but it tastes like cream to me and I don’t like cream). A small matter, but I hope our run of tiramisu ends soon.

The funny: Uncle Fester was a ‘presence’ in the hotel. At the desk lurching over passports. At the dinner table lurching over water (4 Euro for a small carafe of still water which is available through the tap). But my biggest gripe was at breakfast. I am a slow eater, breakfast was only served from 7.30am, and we had to have our bags packed and teeth cleaned and be assembled at reception by 8.15am. So I ate my regular fruit salad with a spoonful of muesli. And I was just about to spread an excellent looking honeycomb on two thick slices of bread when I had to leave the breakfast area. Could I take the bread and honey? No I could not because Uncle Fester was lurching!

RefuJesuses. A new word? Potentially, but crosses at the tops of hills and mountain refuges serving coffee and soup and lunch are quite the thing. The refuge food is very expensive, but as the refuges have to restock regularly and that can’t be easy, the costs are justified. And who isn’t willing to spend 7 Euro for a coffee mid-afternoon on a tiring day? As to the Jesus part of this word, the crosses are many but appreciated whatever religion one might have or not have. The crosses are also tall so a good marker as one walks up the next hill …