WELCOME TO UNPAVED HAVEN

Distance: 16K

Total Hours: 8 hrs

Elevation: +961m, -1427m

Steps taken: 37,245

Rifugio Tissi –> Rifugio Vazzoler –> Forcella Col D’Ors –> Rifugio Bruto Carestatio

This was a fairly remote part of the AV1, with fewer people on the trail.

Rifugio Vazzoler was only 2.5 hours away. Since we wanted to get an early start, that would mean we would get there too early for lunch. Because of that, we purchased a picnic lunch (Speck + cheese sandwich, snack bar, apple).

Rifugio Vazzoler and Rifugio Bruto Carestiato were both known for their apple strudel, so this was exciting for my sweet-tooth assistant. Vazzoler is accessible via jeep road, so that is an option we could consider if the weather took a turn for the worse or if our team was tired.

We followed a path to the right as we left for Vazzoler, downhill on a technical trail through a forested area (slippery, eroded, root-y, and muddy) that led to an open area called Cason di Col Rean (1899m).

We followed trail 560 until we saw Rifugio Vazzoler, around 2.5 hours later.

This was the second tiramisu my assistant had on the trail. Tiramisus were not as readily available as they had expected. They managed to purchase the second last one. After a rest and a bio break (squatty potty), we continued down the jeep track for around 30 minutes until trail junction 554.

This next section was slightly shaded with trees.

The trail varied between scree fields and forest for around 1.5 hours. We had a picnic lunch after we arrived at Forcella Col Palazin (1746m). We had to keep our eyes peeled for the red and white blazes as sometimes they weren’t obvious. As we walked by, once in a while we could hear climbers above us.

We got to Forcella Col D’Ors around 1 hour after leaving Col Palanzin. There was a traverse section that was a knife’s edge (more so than the entrance to Galleria Lagazuoi), with shrubby tree roots. My assistant had to crouch down because it felt quite exposed on either side. This would not be fun if it was raining – we were lucky to be doing this on a beautiful (but hot) day.

The trail from Forcella Col D’Ors to Forcella Camp required a bit more careful navigation, as there was a rockslide that buried parts of the trail. This trail led us past a farm on the right and then elevation gain up to Forcella Camp, on a muddy red trail. This part took around 1 hour.

After this, we had a series of exposed scree sections before reaching a wooded area that had challenging footing. Eventually we made it to Rifugio Bruto Carestiato. Similar to other rifugios, boots went into the boot room.

We showered after purchasing a gettone. This rifugio had shared bathrooms, which meant we had to wait our turn.

The apple strudel was delicious (with raisins and cinnamon yum yum yum). Also there was fun climbing decor in the lobby.

Dinner was quite cheesy.

Sunset was quite the treat.

On to Day 8: to Malga Pramper / Hotel Garni Posta – the last day!