Riding with Cosimo, custom cycling tours in Tuscany: Hike in the Alpi di Cisles

Today, I again set out on a hike by myself. My feet, the big toes in particular, were quite sore from being jammed on the steep descents of the last two days, so I worked on them a little and laced up the shoes tight to take the pressure off, and started with the intent of a short hike. I rode a large gondola, then a tram up to the Seceda, and area above Ortisei. The first trail that I set out on climbed gradually and contoured the edge of a large cliff, which eventually ended in the Gran Fermeda, one of the large Dolomiti. The distances on my map were a little deceiving, based on what I did yesterday. So, my plan had been to turn around after about an hour at a trail junction, but I reached the trail junction in around 20 minutes. This allowed me to greatly expand my hike, which ended up a very happy and comfortable 2 1/2 hours. From the edge of the cliff, I descended toward the Troier hut, then traversed above it to the Pieralongia hut. From there, the trail went through some rock formations and contoured around a high basin. I continued on this, then descended around 1500 vertical to the Firenze hut. From this hut, I climbed a pretty steep 1000 vertical, descended into a hidden valley, then climbed up to the Troier hut. It was really beautiful - excellent craftsmanship and maintenance. I continued a quite steep climb until I joined a trail junction, which left me a gradual climb and around a kilometer to the top of the tram station. I returned to town on the tram and gondola and met Emily. She had found a food cart which she said looked good, which we tried. I devoured a half chicken which was roasted and excellent. Back for time by the pool and in the spa at the hotel. The hotel has really incredible food, and we will go down for another excellent 4 course meal in an hour or so.