Alta Via 4, Day Three: Trails, Tales and Via Ferrata (continued)

Hiking the Alta Via 4 from Rifugio Savio to Rifugio Citta di Carpi

Day Three: Rifugio Fonda Savio to Rifugio Città di Carpi
Hiking Distance: 5.6 miles with 2,775 vertical feet of elevation and a via feratta section. As you come out of the mountains, you will see a cable car - optional to take the cable car down, grab lunch in Misurina and continue hiking on to Citta di Carpi.

I woke up early when you’re surrounded by the towering peaks of the Dolomites… it’s like why not wake up early? I grabbed my camera, managed to not bonk my head on the skinny ladder heading down from the attic where our bunk room was… and jumped outside to watch the sunrise. Ashley joined me and we sat soaking in the warm rays of the golden Italian sunshine…

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We bid farewell to our hiking buddies from the U.K. knowing, quite honestly we may never see them again.. It was pleasant to make friends out here and to share the experience with a few others. They were heading down the valley and leaving the Alta Via 4, while we were heading uphill, up to clip into another death-defying via ferratta with many miles ahead of us for the day. While descending the backside of some of the mountains pictured here, it started to rain… making each laddered descent section of the AV4 via ferratta especially tricky to navigate. One slip here and you’d be med-evacing straight to an Italian hospital. The trail climbs steeply up a rocky couloir and then drops down the other side as you come into view of Lake Misurina. As you descend the backside part of the mountain comes down with you… loose sedimentary carbonate rock crumbles under your hiking boots.

We made a strange choice on this day, we had an opportunity to ride a chairlift into town for a slight re-supply… it was a bittersweet moment, we could be done if we wanted to be… I remember reality sinking in as we rode the chairlift back after resupplying with Italian cookies and an espresso. We weren’t going to quit here, not on Day Three. The mountains called us back in, as they often do. The objective for the day was a slight deviation off of the Alta Via 4 where we would sleep at Rifugio Citta di Carpi.

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Reaching the top of the chairlift we tossed our packs back on and headed in the direction of Rifugio Citta di Carpi - with only two miles left on the day, this short hike felt like a breeze. We reached this beautiful Rifugio just in time as a storm rolled in… we checked in and lucked out with a private dorm room to spread out in and YES, a coin-operated hot shower. The shower felt like a religious experience after not showering for a few days... We made ourselves comfortable at this Rifugio… reading books in the dining room, and waiting for sunset to clear out the storms. We woke up early again the next day to catch sunrise and resume our Alta Via 4 hike over to Rifugio Vandelli located next to the ever-famous Lago di Sorapiss (one of the most iconic lakes in the Dolomites)