Alta Via 1 - Day 8 - Rifugio Pian de Fontana to La Pissa Bus Stop - Last day on this superb hike.

Alta Via 1, The Dolomites, North Italy

Stage 8 Pian de Fontana to La Pissa/Belluno

Pian de Fontana to La Pissa/Belluno, given as 11.7km, 5 hours, 250m ascent, 1350m descent, from bookatrekking.com

Following a nice breakfast of coffee cereal, bread and jams, we were the last to leave at 8am. There were great views down the valley. We got lost a couple of times, and we felt the route could be better signposted.

Arriving at rifugio Bianchet at 11am, 325m ascent, 3 hours,4.40 miles covered. We then decided to catch the 1.20pm bus, so speeded up and arrived at the bus stop at 12.50pm, to find everyone who had left earlier still waiting, as the timetabled 11.15am bus had not arrived. At 1.30pm a large taxi stopped, (€80) which 10 people got in, the driver said that the bus was not coming. Fortunately, for everyone else, ten minutes later the bus came. On the bus stop was a sign saying cash only, however when we boarded the driver said on-line tickets only. He still let us on without a ticket, we then tried and failed to purchase one!

We were here on a Sunday, and there are only 3 or 4 buses on a Sunday. Originally, we had decided to make the most of our last day in the mountains, to take our time, and catch the 6pm bus. We were so happy we changed our minds, as this was a really short day of walking, and it poured in rain all afternoon. Instead, we checked into our Hotel Albergo Delle Alpi, in Belluno and went to the laundrette. Then in the evening had a fabulous night out at Osteria del Tiziano with our lovely new friends from Germany, Claudia, Nico, and Aleem. The perfect end to a wonderful trip.

There are always mixed emotions on the last day of a walk. We were pleased that we had achieved our aim of completing it, and we had met many new friends from all around the world. We had had some great weather, with only a couple of hours of rain, and 2 cloudy days towards the end.

However, we found this a tough walk. I think mainly as we were carrying our own rucksacks (as the majority of people were), also suffering from a lack of sleep in dormitories.

Distance 8.85 miles (14.25km)

Duration of Walk 4 Hours 45 minutes including breaks

Total Ascent 1184 feet (361m)

Total Descent 4880 feet (1488m)

Pace 32 min a mile