Today was our last day in the Dolomites and we were hoping to make it a good one. It was cloudy when we woke up and during breakfast we contemplated our options. The sun was making a valiant effort to break through the clouds so we finally decided we would all hike. We opted for a hike around Seceda. We had visited this area last year (The Odles) and thought it was lovely spot with open mountain fields dotted with small farms and hay barns and surrounded by rocky mountains.

Norah and I gave Steve a head start to hike/run up to Seceda from Ortisei and we would later take the two stage funivia and meet him at the top. For Norah and I it was an easy day; once at the top we did not have any significant elevation gain as we made a leisurely loop to Malga Pieralongia, Rifugio Firenze, and Col Raiser. The weather held so we decided to walk back down to Ortisei via the trails and access road. This (website) has a description of the hike we did. They list the hike as 9 km/5.6 miles and taking 5 hours.

A highlight of the hike was a stop at Malga Pieralongia, a small farm serving food and drinks. We have never been disappointed by eating at farms and Pieralongia was no exception. We had a cheese, sausage and speck plate; fresh yogurt with fruiti di bosco, and ricotta strudel. It was fantastic! Norah loved all the animals on the farm and the small playground equipment. It’s not every day you get to swing with a view like that.

Back in Ortisei we did a little souvenir shopping, visited the pool and had our last dinner at Terraza (a restaurant popular with the locals). We finished the night with gelato and a folklore parade through the pedestrian zone. It was a great stay in the Dolomites. Now on to Verona and Cinque Terre!