Day Two Dolomites: The Hofer Alpl Route

Sciliar Massif

Fiè To Tuff Alm & Lahetto Loop via Hofer Alpl.
Elevation gain 1620 (494 metres) ft elevation loss 1620 ft (494 metres)
Distance 11.5 kilometers

Breakfast is pretty good in this hotel. And when you know you’ll burn a couple of thousand calories, you eat with even greater enthusiasm. I had the healthy egg option with fruit since after yesterday’s experience, I know there’s a lot more food to come!

Eggs a la chef

Today we hiked from the hotel to the Hofer Alp then down for lunch at the Tuffalm hut. We then hiked to Laghetto di Fiè, a small lake surrounded by fir trees. It was warm, which made the hiking a little more difficult, and was quite steep in places. Otherwise the paths were pristine, we hiked through meadows full of flowers, apple and cherry orchards. It's a great day out in South Tyrol.

Adige River Valley

Apple orchards

At the Hofer Alpl

Lunch at the Tuffalm Hut. (wiener shnitzel/potato salad/affogato)

Laghetto di Fié

And on to dinner! After one of the trekker's birthday drinks, we had dinner organised in the garden.

It was a seven course meal with wine pairings and it was just what we needed after a long day's trek.  Of course, we would have needed to do much more elevation and distance to cover the calorie content of this meal, but it was most enjoyable.

Fried champignon, foie gras, chickpea and prawn soup, citrus and monkfish risotto, beef fillet with green peppercorns, a vodka and citrus granita finished with a tiramisu.  

And to literally finish us off, varieties of grappa tasting in the cellar.

Tomorrow is an early start and a very big hiking day.  I think we'll need to start slow. Perhaps a couple of paracetamols and glasses of water before sleeping might help.