DOLOMITES

AUGUST 2024

DOLOMITES

Dog Trekking in the heart of the Dolomites

Quick intro on which area of the Dolomites we are and what the plan is.

Talking about experience from Meraner Höhenweg. Pepe had some challenging hikes in the meantime, everyone ready...

STAGES:

Day 01:

Day 02:

Day 03:

Day 04:

PREPARATION

Dolomites Dog Trekking Planning Guide

If there’s one thing, we’re not good at, it’s planning our trips in advance. Well, we knew that when hiking from hut to hut during peak travel season in August, we would have to reserve spots in advance. So, we went down the rabbit hole of a Google search containing the search words hut tour, dog, Italian Alps. It wasn’t long before we came across the blog www.etappen-wandern.de where Romy shares hiking adventures with her dog Lotte, including detailed descriptions of trails and accommodations. We came across her entry of the Meraner Höhenweg and realized that it was the perfect adventure to get started with – most of the huts are willing to take in dogs plus the hike itself is not supposed to be that challenging.

We booked the huts recommended in the blogpost four months in advance and only had to find replacement for two of them as one was already fully booked and the other one no longer serviced.

It was pretty clear to us that Pepe would have to carry his own food– a total of 2,4 kg of kibble was definitely not going in either of our backpacks (also, it was pretty much exactly 15% of his body weight, which is the amount healthy dogs can carry safely). After some research we were really excited to have found a stylish yet functional backpack for Pepe in a fancy signal red.

Unfortunately, Pepe is a very ungrateful dog as he hates all the things we dress him in: winter coat, rain coat, pulling harness, you name it – he does not like it and shows you his disgust by pretending he can’t walk anymore once you put said things on him. Well, he wasn’t going to get around this one, so he gave in eventually. We were wondering whether he was fit enough for the tour but since this dog outperforms us in every activity we quickly moved on from that thought. The last thing we needed in order to prepare for a hut tour with Pepe was of course to introduce him to the situation of sleeping in a hut, most likely with strangers in a shared room and unfamiliar noises where he wouldn’t be able to rest very well.

So, we were planning to do some overnight hut stays to see how the doggo deals with the situation and get him used to it. Guess what: the good dog parents that we are, we spent exactly ZERO nights at a hut with him.

Oh well, let the adventure begin!

THE ROUTE

STAGE 01

Daunëi - Regensburgerhütte

TIME: 2.45h | DISTANCE: 6.7km | ALTITUDE: 784mh

It was 32 degrees outside when we secured the last parking spot even though the sign down the road told us it was full - you can’t fool us! Paid 32€ for four days and off we went.

We started the day at the perfect time - midday heat! Pepe thought it’d be a great idea if he dumped two loads of shit right at the beginning of the hike, so Benzino got to carry it all the way to the hut!

We went uphill for 2 hours straight and the sweat game was strong. Benzino hit a sugar low about when we were 3/4 in, but despite his suffering Nadja wouldn’t share her Gummi bears with him (that’s wrong of course, he just didn’t ask nicely). It was a little demotivating to go straight uphill, then almost the entire meters in height back down again only to then having to go back up.

Arriving at the hut it was time for sugary drinks and snacks! Afterwards a shower (hot water, as long as you wanted, the room comes with a towel - Nadja couldn’t believe her eyes!). She might sneak out for cowboy camping tonight, that is, if she weren’t freezing already!

Dinner was delicious, Katharina maybe should have skipped the garlic pasta, since we’re all sleeping in one room…

COSTS

Parking: 32€ (for 4 days)

Accommodation: 59€ p.P. incl. breakfast (dinner a la cart)

STAGE 02

Regensburgerhütte – Schlüterhütte

TIME: 4.5h | DISTANCE: 10.4km | ALTITUDE: 864mh

We were almost the last group to leave the hut since we only had a 4-5 hours hike ahead of us. Soon we went straight up again, crossing the Roa Scharte with great views on both sides. Also: lots of groundhogs along the way and Pepe smelled them way before they whistled. Katharina and Nadja were hoping for a great Kaiserschmarren on the hut on the way, but then they surprisingly went for the savory Käseplatte. But don’t be fooled - 50 minutes later they went for the Kaiserschmarren at the Schlüterhütte, our place for the night. After dinner, the girls both won crowns at the dice game - poor Benzino didn’t get lucky.

Regensburgerhütte (2040 m) – Roascharte (2590 m) – Kreuzjoch (2260 m) – Schlüterhütte (2306 m),

COSTS

Accommodation: 48€ p.P. incl. breakfast (dinner a la cart) + 15€ for Pepe

STAGE 03

Schlüterhütte – Gardenaciahütte

TIME: 6.5h | DISTANCE: 21km | ALTITUDE: 1.337mh

The day started with two very tired hikers (Katharina and Benzino) who weren’t able to sleep in the warm room - Nadja loved it! For the hike we had two options: one that involved a via ferrata which we weren’t so sure was suitable for our four-legged buddy and the other one meant hiking all the way down to the valley just to then hike all the way up again… we went for the safer route. Red The trip turned out nicer than expected since it was sunny and we saw diverse landscapes from meadows, to forest and then again rocky deserts. We were pretty exhausted and all went for the full meal at the Puez hut after 14km, Pepe was even too tired to eat! The last 7km stretch turned out to be pretty long and some might have taken a nap once we arrived at the Gardenacia hut

Schlüterhütte (2306 m) – Mühlental (1590 m) – Puezscharte (2520 m) – Puezhütte (2475 m) – Gardenaciahütte (2050 m);

COSTS

Accommodation: 65€ p.P. incl. breakfast (dinner a la cart) + 20€ for Pepe

STAGE 04

Gardenaciahütte – Daunëi

TIME: 4.5h | DISTANCE: 14.1km | ALTITUDE: 1.67mh

Today’s weather forecast wasn’t great, therefore we had the perfect bus route mapped out the night before. But when we didn’t wake up to pouring rain, we decided to start the final part on foot and go for as long as we felt like it.

Good news: Pepe perfected his 💩 intervals and took two dumps right before we took off, so Benzino didn’t have to carry it for hours. We took off at exactly the same time as four very chatty and opinionated Bavarian country girls whom we had overheard bitching about Munich city people the night before - well, hi there!

The route was pretty nice, it started out with a steep ascent followed by a ridge crossing and then we went almost all the way down into the valley. We followed the high route alongside the mountains when it started to rain, so we decided to hop onto the next gondola.

When we arrived in Wolkenstein we decided it was pizza time before we started the hardest climb of the trip towards the car park. 🙌

PLAN:

Gardenaciahütte (2050 m) – Puezhütte (2475 m) – Kreuzweg Wolkenstein (1630 m) – Daunëi (1663 m);

REALITY:

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LOVE IT

Everyone we met was friendly and helpful, the hosts were always welcoming, each in their own way. Every accommodation was clean and - if a vegan can judge – the food was tasty and plenty. The route was never crowded, and we often hiked to ourselves, which is something we really enjoyed.

LEAVE IT

The only thing that comes to my mind is the fact that it will be impossible to do the Meraner Höhenweg entirely vegan, unless you’re willing to a) cut down calories big time or b) carry a ton of weight in food.