Distance: 15.7km (463.9km), time spent: 5:26.
Weather: Nice.
It is strange waking up with a feeling that there is a gaping hole in your mouth, and that not being the usual one. It also brings with it some awkward moments eating breakfast.
Rifugio 7th Alpini beneath the Schiara.
And it is not only my broken tooth that continues the excitement of yesterday. Before we leave, I talk to Katherine who is upset about something. It turns out that she had met the guy we talked to yesterday on the descent to the refuge. He had told her that he would do the via ferrata, but without the safety equipment, and to no avail had she got him to reason with his decision.
Inviting pools in the cascading stream.
Now this brings us back to yesterday again. In the evening, we had talked to a woman who also had walked from Rifugio Pian de Fontana, not wanting to do the via ferrata or the bus option to Belluno. So, in order to get here, she had looked at a map and found a route on it. However, her selected route took her up into the mountains on a highly exposed path and up there she had starred death in the eyes. With the sheer drop on one side she had frozen solid and had been unable to move, deciding to call for help. Only, she had forgotten her phone back at the refuge. Tough luck, she then had no option but to continue moving. But she made it through, and is probably the toughest person in the refuge.
Path going down the Val de l'Art.
Katherine and Johanna out on a tip of the path.
Now this had come to the ears of the guy we met and believing it to be the via ferrata route he had gained confidence in doing it. Only that it was not a via ferrata route at all, only a difficult and highly graded route for experienced hikers only, containing some serious exposed parts. Despite that it is possible to do a via ferrata without any safety equipment, as you will still only use your hands and feet to do it, I think it is quite stupid doing it. I understand that Katherine is worried, but if anything happens, she is not to be blamed.
Steep and winding path going down.
Ruins of an old farm.
Today, the stage is all about getting down to Belluno. It is about the same distance as yesterday, but the difference in elevation gain and loss are signifcant. With my broken tooth that is fine, however. Florian and Lutz will keep company, and today I am happy to let the girls lead the way. Despite the difference in elevation loss from yesterday, it is still an 800 meters of drop from the refuge before it levels out again.
Contouring path in trees.
The walk down is through verdant woods and next to a cascading stream. However, most of the walk is in shade, as the valley is too narrow to let all the sunlight above reach down. The path clings to the sides of the mountains, crossing over the stream at times. Several pools in the stream looks tempting for a bath. As more sunlight is allowed into the valley, the green forests lits up. We walk on winding paths with a cliff on one side and a green fall on the other, sometimes steep down. Past ruins of old farms and crosses to the memory of people.
Looking back up at the Schiara.
Katherine and Johanna is getting ahead of me, then I meet a woman who stands watching the mountains and woods, almost intensely. Casually, I ask her where she is going to and that is a fine view she is looking at. She then tells me that she is actually working and that she is now out monitoring wild cast. Tough job, I assume, looking up, wondering where she would find then. About to leave, she warns me about that there are a lot of ticks here, which is quite common in Italian national parks. Doing a quick check reveals that a tiny little bugger has indeed found its way to my thigh. With her good tick remover, we get it easily off.
A biker memorial.
The path gives way for a wider forest track, marking the last part of soft surface before the trail goes on paved road down to Belluno. Here I notice a sign with 'Bus del Buson' on it. Not knowing what it is, I study my map and sees that there is a small footpath leaving here that will rejoin the forest track later. There is also a info-board about a poet of old that lived here. Maybe the path is linked to him. I did not know it then, but taking the decision to follow that footpath was one of the best ones I did on the whole of Der Traumpfad.
The entrance to Bus del Buson.
Bus del Buson turns out to be a hidden gem. For descending down the path through the trees, past some curious installations, I find myself standing in front of some cliffs, with trees growing on the top of then. In between the cliffs is a narrow opening, revealing a path going into the cliffs. It is simply put absolutely stunning, a sort of a miniature version of Grand Canyon and its peers. Only the kind of rock is different. The path is winding its way through the tall cliffs, only a narrow gap between them. The rock face is all layered. Looking up, I can see the rift through the cliffs with trees reaching upwards above.
Walking through the narrow canyon of Bus del Buson with trees as a roof above.
The twisting cliffs leads me to a bigger opening, before it is narrows again. The feeling is that of walking in a kind of bliss, it is seldom that I want to scream out in joy. Towards the end, the sun flares the exit in a white blaze. A short, steep and winding path leads me back to Der Traumpfad again, making me return from a dream. This should definitely have been mentioned in the guidebook. What caused this amazing narrow canyon to exist? Most likely a stream that flowed under the ice during the last glacial period. The canyon also provides such a special acoustics that actors and musicians use it for performances.
Bus del Buson.
After changing from a soft surface to a hard paved road, a thought comes back to me, the warnings of the wild cats lady about ticks. And sure enough, another tiny bugger has found a feasting place, well up above my shorts line. Problem is, these Italian ticks are way tinyer than the ticks back home, the viking ones. My tick remover fails to get a proper grip on it, being too big. If anyone would have seen me now, they would have seen a hiker with his shorts down, trying frantically to remove something they cannot see. No matter how I try, I cannot get a grip on it and in the end I end up squeezing it to death (not that it does not deserves that of course). Not getting all of it out, I am bleeding all over. I just douse the wound with antiseptic and antidisenfectant, hoping that it will help.
Looking up through Bus del Buson, trees reaching towards the sky on the top of the cliffs above.
The rest of the walk down to Belluno is fairly unexciting compared to what has occured. There are some great views of villages, hamlets and farms with the Schiara massif of the Dolomites behind on the way. I surprisingly overtake Katherine and Johanna again and we keep company the rest of the walk down, which is not so bad actually. First impression of the town is not that good, but we find a nice place for lunch. After lunch, I head for the tourist office to find out where I can get a dentist. To my dismay it is closed.
A flaring exit.
Lutz had originally booked at the Albergo Cappello, but the price was rather high for his budget. So, I had offered to take over his booking, as he then could go to the cheaper accommodation the others was going to. It works fine and is also perfect in terms of finding a dentist, the woman working at the reception is very helpful and even before I have gotten out of the shower, she has made an appointment for me.
The hamlet and the mountain.
As there is a first thing for everything, going to a dentist on a hike is one of them. I think the sedatives you get here are stronger than the ones I am used to back home, for I can feel absolutely nothing while he is doing is job. Which is dangerous. Because I am tired after my long walk and lying back, staring up at the lights and feeling nothing, is making me drowsy. I have a hard time trying not to fall asleep, which is weird considering that I am usually on my edge every time I am at a dentist.
Gioz (if I am not mistaken) with the Dolomites behind.
An old entrance to Parco di Mussoi just outside Belluno.
Belluno, on the other hand, turns out to be much nicer than initially thought. Once you get to the right places, it appear like a nice little town, especially the old part of it. It is also the largest place you get to after München. I go looking around in the streets before I meet the others at an appointed time.
Basilica Minore di San Martino, Belluno, with the last mountain ridge on the trail behind.
We have dinner at the restaurant attached to my hotel, which serves some great pizza. This is also the last evening with Martina, who travels back to Germany tomorrow. Martina has been a great company on the trail, almost since meeting her for the first time at the bottom of the long descent from Schlauchkarsattel. Katherine too leaves us tomorrow, going to Cortina to meet a friend there. So, from tomorrow it will be Johanna, Florian, Lutz and me. A great farewell evening.
Piazza Duomo, Belluno.
Palazzo dei Rettori and Diocesi di Belluno Feltre.
I am not done for the evening, when the others are returning to their place, I return to the main square, Piazza dei Martiri, for a night cap. Need some time to think about my experiences so far, now that there is only one climb left before the flat expanse to Venezia. Today was a fine day, the hike down from Pis Pilón was pleasant, but it was Bus del Buson that made the day. And now my tooth is whole again.
Dinner in Belluno, Florian, me, Katherine, Johanna, Martina and Lutz.
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