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+m4_navtable(← Day 2,../day2,Alta Via 2,../,Day 4 →,../day4)
+
+# Day 3 - A knee-breaking descent
+
+m4_caption({{{{{August 22, 2025}}}}})
+
+## Route of the day
+
+<details>
+<summary><strong>Click to see map</strong></summary>
+<img src="../img/22-0000-map.png">
+</details>
+
+*Download the [gpx file](../gpx/av2-day3.gpx) or see the route on
+[outdooractive.com](https://www.outdooractive.com/en/route/hiking-trail/alta-badia/-2025-alta-via-2-day-3/325541657/?share=%7E3zdmpbrn%244ossqbcq)*
+
+## The lunar path to Rifugio Boè
+
+Our clothes are still wet by the time we wake up. The summer nights
+in the Alps are just too humid. But at least we can finally see some
+sun. The weather is going to be much better for the next few days.
+
+![View from the Pisciadù hut](../img/22-0702-pisciadu.jpg)
+
+m4_caption({{{{{A beatiful view from the Pisciadù hut at dawn.}}}}})
+
+The beds in the hut were comfortable and we slept well. After a comical
+incident with my dad's boots - he put on someone else's pair, not knowing
+that I had brought his back into our room, and spent a good 15 minutes
+searching for them - we are ready to leave the hut at 8:20.
+
+![The Pisciadù the lake and Piz Pisciadù](../img/22-0756-pisciadu-lake.jpg)
+
+m4_caption({{{{{The Pisciadù lake and Piz Pisciadù (peak Pisciadù).}}}}})
+
+The days starts with a short but somewhat steep section of the trail.
+There are some steel ropes and we use our simple harness once again,
+although this time we felt we could have done without.
+
+At 9:45 we reach what is likely the highest point of our route,
+an anonymous plateau at 2960 meters on sea level. There are higher
+points on some variations of the route, for example *Punta Penia* in the
+[Marmolada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmolada) massif, but we are
+going to take a lower route, which is the more classical one according
+to my guide book.
+
+At this point, we are completely immersed in a sea of fog. It is quite
+cold, probably only a couple of degrees above 0°C, and there is some
+unpleasantly cold breeze.
+
+![My dad resting on a rock](../img/22-0946-fog.jpg)
+
+m4_caption({{{{{My dad resting on a rock, trying to keep warm.}}}}})
+
+The fog comes and goes, letting us see the beautiful panorama for
+a few brief moments.
+
+![Panorama](../img/22-1006-panorama.jpg)
+
+As we walk down from the plateau, my left knee starts hurting. It is
+not unbearable, and it only hurts when I walk downhill. But it does
+not bode well for the rest of the day: our next stop is 900m below us,
+so we are going to walk downhill for most of the day.
+
+At 10:30 we are on top of the *Antersass* (2906m), a minor peak next to
+the more prominent [Piz Boè](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piz_Bo%C3%A8)
+(3152m). We could have walked arount the Antersass, but the trail to
+climb up to the top and then down is actually easier than the one that
+goes around it. Going to the top of Piz Boè would have been an
+interesting detour, but not quite feasible for our 9-day plan.
+
+We reach [Rifugio Boè](https://www.rifugioboe.it), a recently renovated
+hut at 2873m, before 11:00.
+
+![Piz Boè](../img/22-1145-piz-boe.jpg)
+
+m4_caption({{{{{
+A view of Piz Boè (peak Boè) from Rifugio Boè (Boè hut). The hut
+on the top of Piz Boè is, perhaps confusingly, called
+<a href="https://www.rifugiocapannapizfassa.com/en">Capanna Piz Fassa</a>.
+}}}}})
+
+We have now left Sout Tyrol. The rest of the Alta Via 2 route
+roughly follows the border between the provinces of Trento and
+Belluno.
+
+We leave the hut at 11:20. The fog has returned, but it is not as
+cold as before.
+
+The trail to *Foržela Pordoi* (2848m) is mostly flat, and very crowded,
+because of a cable car that makes it accessible even to families with
+kids. I am not sure I like this kind of over-turism in in places that
+would otherwise be hard to reach.
+
+## A painful descent
+
+As we reach the foržela, the view opens up on a more diverse landscape
+of grass, rock and forests. After a very short break, we start walking
+down to the Pordoi Pass.
+
+The descent is on a long and steep [scree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scree).
+I have never liked walking down this kind of trail, but now that my knee
+is screaming for mercy I am really hating it. I would have rather walked it
+up twice than down once.
+
+![The steep descent to the Pordoi Pass](../img/22-1236-pordoi-descent.jpg)
+
+m4_caption({{{{{The steep descent to the Pordoi Pass.}}}}})
+
+We reach the [Pordoi Pass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pordoi_Pass)
+at 13:30. I need a long break before continuining, so we decide to
+lay down next to a tiny church just after the pass.
+Luckily the weather is nice - or not terrible, at least -
+and we can enjoy a nice view of the surroundings.
+
+![View from the Pordoi Pass](../img/22-1358-pordoi-pass.jpg)
+
+m4_caption({{{{{The mountains surrounding the Pordoi Pass.}}}}})
+
+![View towards Canazei](../img/22-1431-canazei.jpg)
+
+m4_caption({{{{{The view in the direction of
+<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canazei">Cianacei</a>.}}}}})
+
+## Her majesty, the Marmolada
+
+At 14:10, after about 40 minutes of relax, we are ready to get up.
+
+The walk up an easy trail among ski paths.  Here too there are plenty of
+turists, and I can't blame them for choosing to walk in such a beautiful
+place. This is a very common touristic destination both in the Summer
+and in the Winter.
+
+We walk past a strange place called
+[Rifugio Fredarola](https://www.fredarola.it/) (2370m), which looks
+more like a night club you could find the center of Milan rather than
+a mountain hut. They are even playing some electronic lounge music.
+It's hard to describe, but it feels oddly out of place here. But for
+people coming from a big city this is just what they expect to find here;
+I guess it is a matter of points of view.
+
+We continue on a wide, mostly flat trail. For now my knee is is doing
+fine, but I am a bit scared for the descent that awaits us later today.
+And finally we have a good view on the Marmolada, the Queen of the
+Dolomites.
+
+![Me in front of the Marmolada](../img/22-1510-marmolada.jpg)
+
+m4_caption({{{{{
+The Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites, and its glacier.
+At the feet of the massif you can see the
+<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedaia_Lake">Fedaia lake</a>, around which
+there are a couple of huts, including the one where we are staying tonight.
+In the distance you can see the
+<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Pelmo">Pelmo</a> and the
+<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Civetta">Civetta</a>.
+}}}}})
+
+We stop at [Rifugio Viel Dal Pan](https://www.rifugiovieldalpan.com/)
+(2432m) for a short break at 15:30. From there, the steep descent towards
+the Fedaia Pass (2054m) begins. My knee forces me to walk slowly, so by
+the time we reach the pass it is already 17:30.
+
+The day is almost concluded, but we have to walk to to opposite side
+of the lake to [Rifugio Fedaia](https://www.rifugiofedaia.com/). The
+closer [Rifugio Castiglioni](https://www.rifugiomarmolada.it/), where
+we stop for a beer, was fully booked when we planned our trip.
+
+![Fedaia lake](../img/22-1730-fedaia.jpg)
+
+We walk fast on the old road next to the lake, chatting with a local
+resident who helps us keep up the pace.  We arrive at our hotel at 18:05,
+after almost 10 hours of hike (including breaks), and we are very happy
+to find a comfortable room with private bathroom waiting for us.
+
+This day was longer than we planned, partly because of my knee.
+But the scenery was beautiful.
+
+m4_navtable(← Day 2,../day2,Alta Via 2,../,Day 4 →,../day4)