Into the soul of the Dolomites [Passo Tre Croce & Passo Falzarego; 8/14 - 58mi, +5971ft]

After winding my way up and down a roundabout zig-zag through the southern Dolomites, today I'm beginning my approach to the centerpiece of this amazing range. A gentle climb up the valley out of the town of Dobbiaco hints at the amazing spectacles to come:

First on the agenda today is the Passo Tre Croce at 1809M. The Cloud Goddess smiled upon me and lifted the ceiling above the high peaks just to make my day all the better. I couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions.

I hadn't necessarily planned on also clearing the top of Passo Falzarego (2105M) today, but on the long climb up I was failing to spot a decent place to camp for the night. There are really just two criteria: being out of sight of the road/houses, and flat enough to sleep on. When the weather doesn't threaten rain and the bugs aren't bad, I just sleep under the stars in my sleeping bag, so I don't need much space. But the terrain was so jagged and rugged that it was proving tough, and eventually I was at the top of the passo. Dusk was a great time to be there anyway- no crowds, no traffic, nice and chilly. And it's always nice to wake up to a descent rather than a climb!

Passo Falzarego at 2105M

So I started down the backside, still intent on finding a campsite for the night as near the top as possible- since it's no fun to ruin a descent by slowing down to look for potential sleeping spots....

....cuz they just don't build roads like this in the US:

Only a mile or so off the summit, I stopped to poke around a little meadow that looked promising. There wasn't much level ground, but there was this perfect, empty, unused hay shed a ways off the road. Found my spot!