Dolomites / South Tyrol

September 5, 23 Sillianerhütte > Dreizinnenhütte

Beautiful morning with a sea of fog and quite warm at our altitude. After about an hour's walk, I took the cable car to reach Sesto in the valley. Here I had to fill up my wallet with cash, as not all huts allow payment by card. In contrast to Slovenia where this is possible. Now the climb of approx. 1400 meters to the Dreizinnenhütte begins. At first it was pleasantly cool through the forest but later the area became open and it got hot. I was amazed when more and more people came towards me, then found out that this hut is a popular day trip destination. Since the recent storms washed away part of the hiking trail, workers were busy building a new one! When I got to the top, I was amazed a second time at how many people were staying in this hut. The innkeeper told me there were around 140 people today and there were still a few beds available. It's amazing what's going on up there in the kitchen, etc. The third time I was amazed at the three peaks themselves, how they stood there like that! It's a real natural phenomenon! The food was good and the beer too. I slept well despite the many people.

September 6, 23 Dreizinnenhütte > Dürrensteinhütte Plätzwiese

It's the same here at 2400 meters above sea level, in the morning when you first look out the window there's just blue sky. How lucky I am with the weather! The Three Peaks, a wonderful subject for photos when the sun rises, you almost can't get enough of looking at them. But the tour continues and so after breakfast I climb down the path to the road in the valley that leads to Cortina d'Ampezzo, near Dürrensee. Beautiful clear streams accompanied me on the descent, so I quickly decided to bathe my feet in one of the streams. What a blessing! When I got to the bottom I treated myself to a little snack. The steep climb of around 800 meters to the Strudelkopfsattel in the midday sun was quite challenging. A very steep and partially exposed path demanded everything from me. About 3/4 of the way I overtook an older hiker and immediately noticed that something was wrong with him. I spoke to him and he told me he had to fight and was breathing very short and superficially. He went on to say that he was part of a group from Germany and that the others were waiting for him upstairs. Very strange, I thought! After some back and forth, he gave me his backpack and so I accompanied him to the Strudelkopfsattel, where the others were lying like dead dogs in the shadow of a war ruin, except for the leader and a companion who were keeping an eye out for the stragglers. I thought it was also a form of group culture. The group had a different goal than me and so I went on my way. When I arrived at the Dürrenhütte, I was rudely rejected for the first time and accused of having called. I should have, I said, but no one answered the phone! The innkeeper may have had a bad day. I found a room in a nice hotel about 20 minutes away, so I didn't make a bad deal! Washing my clothes, showering properly and eating good food were my advantages. Evening saved!! I tried to make a reservation at the Seekofelhütte but unfortunately in vain.

September 7, 23. Plätzwiese > Seekofelhütte

Clothes dry, nice weather, rich breakfast - this day starts with everything you could wish for. After a short, flat section, the path begins to climb steeply and I gain altitude very quickly. When you look back you can see the three peaks again and when you look forward new landscapes open up. Short exposed areas have to be overcome, even a cone of scree has to be walked around. As soon as you get to the other side of the cone it starts to rumble several times and quite large stones roll down this cone with a lot of dust behind them. There I met two young Swiss people with whom I hiked together for a while. Although we had the same goal, we took different paths. Now the path leads over a terraced slope up all karst rock, which was very difficult to overcome. The path continues over a long ridge and the hut can only be seen shortly before. The first thing I did when I arrived was to ask if there was a place for me to sleep! I was lucky and was even able to be the first to choose the bed in a 7-bed room! The hut was full so I decided to wash up and settle in the room. I was able to play again with the two Swiss guys (bidder) and ultimately won. This hut once again had standing toilets, which I've now gotten used to!

September 8, 23. Seekofelhütte > Welsberg St. Martin

There is also a beautiful morning atmosphere to admire in this hut. As usual, pack up, have breakfast and then set off. The path leads to Lake Braies. This section is steep and partly exposed, which means there are passages with wire ropes where a bit of scrambling is required. About half an hour before the lake I was amazed again at how many people climbed up to the Seekofelhütte. Whole groups of up to 20 people climbed up there. I don't know if they all stay overnight. Very beautiful on Lake Braies, which is nestled between wooded mountains. A real visitor magnet that attracts crowds of visitors. The Seekofelhütte can be reached in 2 1/2 hours, which I see as rather sporty. The path winds more and more through forests and past farms down into the valley. It was getting hotter and hotter! In Welsberg, the lowest point of this stage, I tried to get a room in St. Martin, which the woman in the tourist office couldn't do either. For me, the path close to the road wasn't attractive enough, especially in this heat! So I decided to stay in Welsberg and take the bus to St. Martin tomorrow morning.

September 9, 23 Welsberg > Antholz Mittertal

Arriving by bus, I first had to orientate myself where the path begins. That wasn't easy because there were signs saying "Private road passage prohibited"! Thanks to the GPS I found the solution. The path led over an alpine road over which wood was transported down to the valley and cows were driven from the alpine pasture into the valley. Some of the cattle stay up there for another week. The climb to the Grüblscharte is steep and long. From this point you can look back and forward far below, to the new destination, which is Antholz Mittertal where the well-known biathlon races take place in the same valley (Antholz Obertal). The biathlon competitions will take place there in 2026 on the occasion of the Olympics. A very luxurious hotel awaited me in the valley, where I could wash my clothes and do extensive personal hygiene.

September 10th 23rd Antholz Mittertal > Rieserfernerhütte

Sunday morning, nice weather again, I set off knowing only that there was about 1500 m to climb, but not how steep! It was comfortable down at the beginning, walking through the forest and still cool. A hiker came towards me and who was it? It was Jürgen who I knew from the Karnischer Höhenweg. Very warm and joyful encounter. He actually wanted to go home on Saturday, but the weather forced him to go to the Rieserfernerhütte, so he's only going home now. The path now meandered up above the tree line and became steeper and partly exposed. So that the hut can be accessed from the side, people built stairs made of wooden logs on the rock wall! In some cases you could hold on to additional ropes. The art trail lasted a good half hour, I kept thinking, how did they transport the material up there and what resources did they use to build it? In any case, I got up safely! We were 3 people who stayed overnight and it was very comfortable. There were Brünneli in the rooms to wash, only the toilet was in the hallway. I even had a room to myself.

September 11, 23. Riserfernerhütte > Ahornach

I woke up early and went to see the sunrise. As soon as we reached the top, the spectacle began and beautiful photos were taken. I returned in time for breakfast and had a hearty breakfast at 2800 meters above sea level! This is also what is needed for today's stage, which should be over 20 km. Everything I climbed up yesterday is going back down today. At the beginning the path leads through rocky, stony areas where I promptly got lost. Thanks to the GPS, I found the way again immediately. Now I crossed alpine pastures and forest until I reached the main road in the valley. There I found the Guardia di Finanza doing exercises with their search dogs. It was very interesting to talk to the three police officers. Now there were a few kilometers to cover on the main road before a climb to the high path that led to Ahornach. A wonderful path through alpine pastures and forests, where I could see the Rieserfernerhütte again across the valley. I stayed overnight in a natural herbal hotel where I could still use the herbal sauna. There was also room for washing clothes etc. Wonderful dinner (Gordonbleu made from celery slices and brie).

September 12, 23 Ahornach > Chemnitzerhütte

After a sumptuous breakfast buffet, I set off. First about 5 km. wonderful forest path before I got to the Speickbodenbahn, with which I was able to climb a few meters in altitude! I treated myself to that because it was another longer stage. The path here again led a lot over the mountain ridge up and down over hill and dale. Nice encounters with all sorts of people along the way. The view back was also something special, because I could see the 3 Peaks and the Dürrenstein, where I was a few days ago! At the end of the stage it got even tougher, as we had to climb through large boulders and climb paths that were partly covered in wire ropes. Finally, I had to climb a short, steep climb before I was warmly welcomed by the family of hut owners. We had a really great evening with the people, because there was a group from Chemnitz who told us a lot of history. Warm atmosphere throughout your stay. A number of people also came from the valley to have something to eat and drink after work, because you can drive close to the hut by car.

September 13, 23 Chemnitzerhütte > Pfunders

Rain was forecast for today, which meant packing Oberst's rain gear ready to hand. After breakfast there was a descent to the Neves reservoir and you would be amazed, even in good weather. On the return climb the weather changed noticeably and we arrived at the Edelrauthütte still dry. But just then the predicted rain started. Now bite the bullet, put on your rain clothes and off we go downhill through the rain again. Since the path was very slippery, I needed both hands to walk with the poles and keep myself balanced. I was the only one on the road for miles, I thought. At lunchtime in an alpine farm I met a number of hikers who were also fortifying themselves there on a rainy hike. As soon as I was on the road again it started to rain again and this time without interruption all the way to the village of Pfunders where I spent the night. Actually the route would have been shorter, but because the rifugio on the high trail in Dun is closed, you have to walk about 6 km. Climb down into the valley to spend the night. At the Gasthaus Brugger I was dry again and was able to recover well.

September 14th 23rd Pfunders > Pfitscherjochhaus

This morning no more rain but not just sun as I'm used to. Once I arrived in Dun, the path took me through alpine pastures where the cattle and cows were still grazing. It was a beautiful sight and the sun was shining too. Further uphill the sun stopped and it became increasingly windy. At the last alpine pasture I was able to enjoy an apple spritzer and apple strudel before the very steep climb to the ridge at approx. 2600 m above sea level. led up. I climbed up all alone and then back down the steep path on the other side. Here we had a view of the remaining glaciers, which unfortunately have also shrunk significantly. The path was no longer so steep down to the pastures, but here I could also see how heavy rain had affected the hiking trail. Everything goes down from 2600m to 1700m before climbing again 500m uphill to the Pfitscherjochhütte. In the upper part of this route the wind came up and was so strong that I had to put on the windbreaker. Quite surprisingly, I found myself standing in front of a large hut next to an old, dilapidated military facility. Wonderful rooms, nice shower with warm water and a warm radiator, as well as clean, newer toilet facilities combined with the good food made this stay unforgettable. I only realized that it was my last overnight stay on Italian soil the next morning when I continued hiking.