Sunrise Loop Hike to Tre Cime di Lavaredo

September 12, 2024: From our itinerary: Rise early for a stunning fineale to your Dolomites hiking adventure! Starting at Rifugio Auronzo (7,677'), set out on a loop hike around the soaring peaks of Tre Cime di Lavaredo (9,839')- probably the most famous landmark in all the Dolomites. Since the first routes were climbed in the 1930s. Tre Cime has become one of the most popular Italian peaks in the mountaineering world and seeing it at sunrise (weather permitting) is nothing short of spectacular. Raise a toast to your Dolomites adventure this evening and enjoy a farewell dinner with the group in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Planned activity: 6 hours/8miles hiking with 2,000' elevation gain and 1,800' loss

Actual activity: around 2 hours/around 4 miles with about 500 feet elevation gain/loss

One correction: the Lisa/Kim ATM incident was today and not yesterday....

Weather: rainy and cold. The fair weather hikers decided not to hike.

The rain meant a big change to the itinerary, sleeping in and not seeing the sunrise or the peaks - normal thing for me on hikes.

The new walk itinerary took us through the drippy forest to a lovely waterfall.

We had a group shot at the top and more influencer shots. Tracy is still finder her way on these....

The river levels were high due to all the rain

We saw interesting evidence of a local woodpecker

The walk was kept a bit short because the temperatures dropped. I decided not to put on rain pants, which wasn't a super smart move. By the time we got back to the van I was pretty soaked through.

Lunch was at another local pizza parlor where I ate the entire pizza all by myself

We spent the afternoon in the spa - more influencers there. Lisa was happy the water was replaced in the room:)

Our final dinner was wonderful and rowdy.

I had the pea soup, which was actually bean soup, and venison with mushrooms.

Mary and Thad celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary

2 beers and a lemoncello had me pretty much under the table by the end of dinner