Brenta Dolomites, Molveno, Italy

We are now back on the train headed to Rome after a fantastic 3 days in the Brenta Dolomites of Northeast Italy. We left Venice last week and headed towards the town of Trento in order to figure out where the best place would be to approach these mountains on the edge of the Alps. What makes the Dolomites unique is that they are an extremely steep range and in parts they have a pink glow at dusk. This whole region of Italy was once underwater, but has been uplifted over millions of years and the pink stone is actually ancient remnants of coral reefs. In Trento, we went over to the local Alpine Association and after seeing a picture of the view in Molveno, we were off to the Brenta Dolomites. Several hours later, we took a bus into Molveno and were stunned by the view! Gorgeous! We set up camp at a very nice campsite, Campaggio Spaggia and got some sleep. The next day we took the morning really easy. The village of Molveno sits on the largest alpine lake in Italy and the water is a brilliant turquoise color. I enjoyed sitting under a tree on the lake and reading until lunch, while JJ worked away at his secondary applications for med school. Later in the afternoon, we decided to hike up to one of the Rifugios (little mountain house where you can stay overnight or get a meal) because the trail started next to our campground. Apparently, there is no backcountry camping (Like what we have done in the Sierras and Alaska) because the mountains are just too steep and they want you to use the little rifugios. Therefore, we slept every night in the campsite and just adventured out during the day. The hike we took up to Rigugio Andalo was so steep! It was pretty much just like climbing up on continual set of stairs above the town. When we got to our final destination, we were rewarded with an excellent view of the mountains and enjoyed trying to communicate with the little old Italian Lady who keeps the place up. She suggested a few hikes for us to do while we were in the area. We headed back down laughing, because we could not believe how steep the hike actually was. We became buddies with two Czheckloslovakian guys who were camping across from us, Lukas and Peter. Peter had been to Molveno with his family a few years before and also suggested some hikes in broken English.

We headed out the next morning for a hike, but soon realized that the gloomy clouds and chance of thunderstorms later in the afternoon might not make it a good day for it. We opted to rent mountain bikes instead and using our trail maps of the area, JJ lead the way for my first true mountain bike experience! We started off by making a semi-circle around Lake Molveno and then heading Northwest into another village and along “cart roads”. Some of the trails were so bumpy, but all of the sights were incredible and I could not believe all of the great views! We saw some amazing countryside and on the way back we probably saw about 50 -75 other bikers in big groups doing the same trails. We headed back just at the right time and returned the bikes just as a big storm decided to come through. We did our laundry, took a nap, and watched the rain. Our tent, cosmo, was a superstar and kept us safe and dry! We enjoyed our dinner of minestrone soup, wearing all of our rain gear, and winter clothing! Just to think, the day before I was in my swimsuit!

On the third morning in Molveno, we woke up early to get stated on our loop hike to several rifugios. We had clear skies and decided to take the chair lift up to avoid some of the steep hiking at the beginning. We watched the clouds move in, but there was no rain and the up close views of these steep mountains made them even more spectacular. After the first hour, we arrived at Rifugio Cross Altissimo and our mouths began to water. The smells coming from this restaurant in the middle of the mountain range were incredible! Why do they not have this in the USA!?! We would love to be able to hike and then get a hot, home cooked meal! The prices were pretty good too! But, it was not lunchtime yet – and we decided to continue on to the next rifugio, Selvada. The menu was not as extensive, but we enjoyed a beer and just relaxing under the spell of the mountains towering in front of us! We continued on and headed down the Dolomites until reaching our campground. We were very happy with our hike and the perfect weather! We spent the rest of the day relaxing and working on the next parts of our trip. We are heading to Rome today for 2 days and 3 nights. Then we will head to Levanto, where we will hike around Cinque Terra National Park. From there, we will make our way to the Swiss Alps! Ciao!