Italian Dolomites Part 4 - Tre Cime di Lavaredo
Full screen gallery below
The fourth and final post of my Dolomite trip back in September, times flies. They say save the best for last, the previous three post you can find here first - second - third, so I did and boy this was the best day of the week. Tre Cime di Lavaredo did not disappoint, however I expected or wished for a more spectacular sunset. There is always more to wish for right? Go ahead and read on - all photos are at the end below and can be viewed full screen.
The main parking lot is here, see map. It will cost you 30euros per car to park there, not cheap, but due to the massive tourism and popularity I guess the local government has its hands full of maintaining and guiding the masses to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. I happily paid the fee. From the gate towards to top of the surrounding area will take you about 15-20min by car. Once at the parking lot it was clear that this is a very populair place. Although still morning, around 10:30h, there were hundreds of cars parked already. So let’s get out and start our hike, but take some photos first.
The trail(s) start at the main rifugio - Rifugio Auronzo. From there the first few hundred meters of the trail(s) are shared, arriving at the next rifugio - Rifugio Lavaredo - the trail(s) start to split and wander off. This was the first choice I had to make, follow the main 101 trail or go further and really explore the area. Seeing the people in a long ribbon climbing up the trail alongside the mighty Tre Cime, it was clear that I needed to avoid this busy area and walk my own trail. In the end I walked the 104 trail switched back to the 101 trail near the end.
The 104 trail starts quite easy with a light descent and a long walk towards the next mountain ridge. This is a very quiet and calm area, with almost no people here, as the trail is much longer and demanding than the 101 trail. You can see birds, a marmot or two and if lucky some ibexes as well. I only encountered small birds and a marmot just peaking out of its hole. Once at the next mountain ridge the climb really starts as you need to get up and over that ridge.
Once up the ridge you are rewarded with some epic views from the trail you just walked and over the ridge to the other side, the trail that still lays ahead. Right there, just around the corner you will find the next rifugio - Rifugio Pian di Cengia. This is a really beautiful little mountain hut situated between the rock giants. From here you can go even further to the next rifugio, but that would make the day hike one that would go deep into the night - hint I already ended up in the dark at the car.
So after a well deserved fresh pasta meal I continued the hike, back to the 104 trail and downwards to swing back around to the Tre Cime Peaks. This was a really cool part as the trail went straight down along a small path to a mountain lake and towards the next rifugio. Hold on - first some photos before leaving this ridge. Two very cool panoramas seeing the trail on either side of the ridge. I’m not really a panorama photographer so I was lucky I guess to get these. Seeing them afterwards I need to do panoramas much more often ;-)
Getting the gear back in to the backpack the descent started and quite quickly I arrived at the little lake, just barely seeing the next rifugio - Rifugio Antonio Locatelli. This rifugio is where the 101 and 104 trails meet. So here you can switch back to the 101 trail and go up and over Tre Cime, back to the second rifugio - Rifugio Lavaredo. Here is where you can take the epic blue/pink hour shots - as I did as well.
Looking back at the trail you can clearly see the long distances you need to cross, way up there where you can still see the trail signs near Rifugio Antonio Locatelli. See the photo below, see the small post sticking out in the middle of the sky area, else see the overview below where you can see the photos full screen.
Back to the trail - arriving at the Rifugio Antonio Locatelli it was very clear that the populair 101 trail is near. As it was suddenly much more crowded with people, heading back to their parked cars or staying the night at this rifugio. Myself I would rather stay at the Rifugio Pian di Cengia than here. Still it’s beautiful up here.
Here I decided to take the 101 trail back to the car and to wait for the setting sun and get Tre Cime in the photo as well. Here, sitting up on the rocks, just off the trail, I met a very kind Japanese couple. He wanting to take photos, she eager to get back to the car. Still the curiosity won them over and sat with me to capture the setting sun. We talked mainly about the area and our trips and our cameras obviously, as he just switched to Fujifilm, but was still very much contemplating his decision not to bring his Nikon D800. The clouds started to roll in and there went an epic sunset, we all were a bit bummed out by the fact as this was the story of our trip, but in the end some clouds still broke away and the sun just peaked through.
When the sun set I packed up and started to walk towards the ridge where the descent towards Rifugio Pian di Cengia started that eventually would end up at Rifugio Auronzo and the parking lot. However the clouds were still moving fast, so with a half sunset in the pocket a really pink purple blue hour started. So I really could not let this pass and took some of the last photos that day, before getting back to the car in complete darkness.
I was feeling relieved and lucky at the same time and thinking back to that afternoon where I decide not to go further but rather to get back to the 101 trail. As this decision would have made the day hike ending up well into the night. For now it was round 20:00h and getting of the mountain in search of pizza!
As always all photos where shot with Fujifilm with the X-T3 and the Fujinon lenses; 10-24F4, 16-55F2.8 and the 50-140F2.8.
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