Tom`s travels: Croda da Lago hike (14/10/2023)

On an October weekend, my brother and I decided to go hiking in the Dolomites to see some fall foliage. We woke up early and left Vicenza, driving north for a couple of hours to reach the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Once there we drove further up to reach a parking lot along the road to Passo Giau. We parked the car and started our trail at 1458m above sea level, heading straight uphill through the forest. The day promised good, with a clear blue sky and despite the altitude and late season not so cold yet. As we gained altitude we started having a beautiful view of the surrounding landscape and mountains. After a bit of walking, we started coming across other hikers, some coming from other trails which all join on one spot to continue upwards. About halfway up we then came across a vantage point from where we had one of the most beautiful views ever. Westwards we could easily make out the rocky outcrop of the Cinque Torri; to the north the Tofane, Pomaganon, and Cristallo mountains; and to the east the Faloria and Sorapiss. At its center surrounded by these beautiful mountains, down below in the valley was the town of Cortina, in my opinion, one of the nicest places ever due to its geographic location. After enjoying the magnificent scenery we continued onwards, and after a bit more walking eventually reached the Lago Federa, an alpine lake at about 2038m. All around it were beautiful yellow larches and green pines and spruces which came even more alive and bright under the morning sun. The lake is also closed to the west by the tall wall of the Croda da Lago mountain massif. To the south, in the distance, set in a scenic location, is the Becco di Mezzodì with its peculiar shape like that of a rhinoceros horn. As we walked around the lake we admired the beautiful scenery and were captivated by its turquoise-colored waters. Having completed the round of its perimeter we then decided to follow a steep path up the side of the mountain to get up at a higher altitude and admire the scenery. That was an excellent choice because now we were able to have a beautiful view of the lake below and the mountains to the east, including Cristallo, Sorapiss, and Antelao. We were getting hungry and decided to head to the mountain hut located on the shore to the south of the lake. Here we ordered some food, I got three different types of canederli while my brother took polenta with cheese. We sat outside but by the time we were done, the sun was now mostly covered by a thick veil of clouds. After lunch it was time to move on; we decided to take the longer route around the Croda da Lago massif and head down towards the car from the other side instead of the same way we had come up. We walked uphill until we reached the Forcella Ambrizzola, right below the Becco di Mezzodì. Here we had a great view despite the clouds of the mountains to the south, including the notorious Monte Pelmo. Heading then west and north we walked further up to reach Forcella de Formin at nearly 2490m. We were now on the west side of the Croda da Lago and from there had it all downhill towards our car. The way was quite hard and it was all over rocky terrain with big and small boulders all around. The path required a lot of attention to where to put our next step as some rocks were also loose and some sections steep. After a while, the sun decided to come out once again briefly and granted the scenery a nice afternoon glow. As we descended down the sort of canyon we eventually came across trees, as we had reached an altitude where they were able to grow again. There were more larches and spruces with their beautiful yellow and green colors. Continuing onwards we eventually joined back to the path we had originally taken that same morning. With some more hiking, we got back to the car and were ready to drive all the way home after a successful hike.