Four nights, hut to hut with Andreas along the Dolomitenhöhenweg Nr. 1.
Day 1: Tavel by rental car, train and taxi to Pragser Wildsee (1494 m)
The Italian trains were on strike, so we had to rent a car to get from Venice up to the Dolomites. Luckily we managed to get a car and get out of town. We drove to Bozen, waited around an hour or so until the siesta was finished to actually give the car back, caught a train to Brixen (some trains were running by that point), and then grabbed a taxi to the hotel on the Pragser Wildsee. Getting there may have been chaotic, but the hotel was absolutely wonderful.
Day 2: Pragser Wildsee (1494 m) to Seekoffelhütte (2327 m)
Nice day of hiking up from the Pragser Wildsee through the Nabige Loch to the Seekoffelhütte. Reaching the ridge over the Seekoffelhütte we experienced the first (of many) "oh wow!" panoramas from this trip. We played around with the idea of heading up to the peak of the Seekoffel (~2810m), but decided in the end to save our energy for the days ahead.
Day 3: Seekoffelhütte via Pederühütte (1540 m) to Faneshütte (2060m)
This day started fairly level, then headed down to Pederu, where we had lunch. From there it was up along a dirt/gravel road to Fanes. This is almost a normal hotel (as opposed to a berghotel) since there's basically a taxi service back down to the parking lot at Pederu. Still, it's a nice place.
Day 4: Faneshütte via Forcella del Lago (2486 m) and Lagazuoi See (2182 m) to Lagazuoi (2762 m)
The day started with low clouds/fog that quickly burned off. The morning was mostly level hiking, followed by a climb to the Forcella del Lago, where we had lunch. From here we could see the descent to the lake below and the path across the valley to Lagazuoi. We stupidly didn't have enough water with us to be comfortable, so the afternoon was long, hot and thirsty. But the views were great (almost goes without saying!). It was funny to arrive at Lagazuoi sweaty and exhausted and to walk into a crowd of loud American teenagers in flipflops who came up on the gondola. Luckily they all left on the last gondolas. Another very nice meal and good night's sleep.
Day 5: Gondola down, bus to Cortina, bus and train to Venice.
Take the gondola down to the valley, say "bye" to Andreas, and then work our way back to Venice.
