I woke up at 5:48 and then again at 6:15, when I decided it was time to really get up. While the original plan was to get a taxi to the nearest town (Zarnesti), I decided I preferred to do a bit of walking. So at 6:55 I was ready to start walking (Zarnesti is 12.5 km away). The only problem was that there was no one in the cabin to unlock the door! So I had to do what I had to do, which meant that I crawled out of the window from the cabin’s restaurant . At 7:00 sharp, I started heading towards town. A couple of vehicles along the way offered me a ride, but I enjoyed the morning walk.
I arrived to town at 9:15. Got a microbus to Brasov at 9:45 and arrived at 10:20. Then took a local bus to the train station, where I arrived at 10:35. The train to Bucharest was late and left at 12:00 instead of 11:30. Eventually I arrived to Bucharest at 15:00 – an hour late (somehow we managed to pick up another 30 minutes delay along the way). Then I got a cab and arrived to the Hotel where my parents and brother were at 15:55. Coincidently, my parents and brother (whom I have not seen in 17 and 7 months, respectively) were at the reception. I called on to them and made sure to have my camera ready for them once they turned. It was a rather nice photo.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Monday, 10 Sep: Piatra Craiului (Curmatura Cabin – Plaiul Foii Cabin)
We all (4 Israelis and me) left at 8:40. From the very beginning it seemed that the group were much slower than me (granted their packs were a bit heavier and they had no tracking poles). For example, it took me 17 minutes to get to the first saddle (crapaturii), while it took the last of them 27min. I walked with them up to Turnu Peak (1911m), while heaving to wait for them continuously. I arrived at this peak at 10:45 so it took over 2 hours instead of one hour and 20 minutes, i.e. 50% longer than it should. Since I was worried it was going to rain (due to some unfriendly clouds in the sky) I decided to split from the group and take off on my own in a much faster pace with no distractions. So I told Ehud (who was the first to show up) that I was splitting. This came as no surprise as we had already talked about this possibility before. This would be the last time I’d see the folks. I’m a little ahead of myself here, but they never made it to the cabin, and I’m not sure what became of their day. In fact, I saw absolutely no one until nearly the end of the day.
I did the rest of the crest up to a place called La om Peak (2238m), which is the tallest peak in this mountain ridge and arriving there meant I covered nearly the whole crest. The hike was even more dangerous than Fagarasii mountains as it entailed going up and down peaks (over 10 for sure) and the descents almost always required the use of my hands. The terrain was very rocky and the path was rather narrow. Anyway, I arrived at the peak at 15:30. After some photos I continued a few more minutes to a place called La Lanturi (The Chains), where I had lunch and finished all my food with the exception of garlic (garlic is brilliant – it makes everything taste great). I left at 16:30. La Lanturi, was without a doubt the hardest and most dangerous part of my entire trip. It was a 600 meter descent over a distance of not more than 600 meters. It required extreme care and the nearly continuous use of my hands. There were many places where chains were attached to the rocks to enable one to descend or ascend. Without a doubt this place would have been 10 times easier going the other way. So I took my time in order to avoid the unpleasantness of falling off the cliffs. I arrived at a point called La Zaplaz (1640m) at 18:30, which was the end of La Lanturi. From here things were easy and simple and fast. At 19:00 I arrived at Spirla Refuge (1440m), where I met the first two people – a couple who was staying at the tiny refuge. I continued on arrived at Plaiul Foii Cabin (849m) at 20:45, which made this my longest day – a 12 hour hiking day.
The cabin was really good and I got a good meal and a hot shower!
I did the rest of the crest up to a place called La om Peak (2238m), which is the tallest peak in this mountain ridge and arriving there meant I covered nearly the whole crest. The hike was even more dangerous than Fagarasii mountains as it entailed going up and down peaks (over 10 for sure) and the descents almost always required the use of my hands. The terrain was very rocky and the path was rather narrow. Anyway, I arrived at the peak at 15:30. After some photos I continued a few more minutes to a place called La Lanturi (The Chains), where I had lunch and finished all my food with the exception of garlic (garlic is brilliant – it makes everything taste great). I left at 16:30. La Lanturi, was without a doubt the hardest and most dangerous part of my entire trip. It was a 600 meter descent over a distance of not more than 600 meters. It required extreme care and the nearly continuous use of my hands. There were many places where chains were attached to the rocks to enable one to descend or ascend. Without a doubt this place would have been 10 times easier going the other way. So I took my time in order to avoid the unpleasantness of falling off the cliffs. I arrived at a point called La Zaplaz (1640m) at 18:30, which was the end of La Lanturi. From here things were easy and simple and fast. At 19:00 I arrived at Spirla Refuge (1440m), where I met the first two people – a couple who was staying at the tiny refuge. I continued on arrived at Plaiul Foii Cabin (849m) at 20:45, which made this my longest day – a 12 hour hiking day.
The cabin was really good and I got a good meal and a hot shower!
Sunday, Sep 9: Piatra Craiului (Gura Raului Cabin – Curmatura Cabin)
I woke up at 7:30 with no help from my alarm clock – the cold took care of things. I was ready to leave before 9:00 but reception was closed and they had my driver’s license. Fortunately, someone showed up shortly thereafter and I left at 9:00. This is my third and final mountain ridge called Piatra Craiului. The formations are very steep and rocky and this is a good terrain for mountain climbers.
Gura Raului cabin was at 750m. I arrived at Curmatura cabin (1470m) at 12:00. At 12:30 I took off again on a circular 3 hour track, which took 2:45. This track involved climbing up to Piatra Mica Peak (1816m) and passing through Crucia Eroilors (The heroes cross) 1791m. The views were great as was the climbing up, which entailed going up some steep rocks and using chains and my hands. It started raining just as I got back to the cabin (15:15). At a little after 18:00 I talked to my dad and then 4 Israelis (Ela, Aiala, Udi, Ehud) walked in – the first ones I met in Romania. They were tracking guides from Ein-Geddy 19-21 y/o and were in Romania for 10 days just to hike in the mountains. Since we had the same itinerary for the next day, we decided we would all leave together the next day and possibly walk together (if we walk at the same pace).
One last thing – when I was in Bucharest I experimented a little with the locals and saw that they knew English well. Later I used just Romanian. Apparently, the Israelis had a really hard time communicating with the locals since outside Bucharest (or in the mountains) they don’t know much English – a problem I was completely oblivious too. Fortunately...
Gura Raului cabin was at 750m. I arrived at Curmatura cabin (1470m) at 12:00. At 12:30 I took off again on a circular 3 hour track, which took 2:45. This track involved climbing up to Piatra Mica Peak (1816m) and passing through Crucia Eroilors (The heroes cross) 1791m. The views were great as was the climbing up, which entailed going up some steep rocks and using chains and my hands. It started raining just as I got back to the cabin (15:15). At a little after 18:00 I talked to my dad and then 4 Israelis (Ela, Aiala, Udi, Ehud) walked in – the first ones I met in Romania. They were tracking guides from Ein-Geddy 19-21 y/o and were in Romania for 10 days just to hike in the mountains. Since we had the same itinerary for the next day, we decided we would all leave together the next day and possibly walk together (if we walk at the same pace).
One last thing – when I was in Bucharest I experimented a little with the locals and saw that they knew English well. Later I used just Romanian. Apparently, the Israelis had a really hard time communicating with the locals since outside Bucharest (or in the mountains) they don’t know much English – a problem I was completely oblivious too. Fortunately...
Saturday, Sep 8: Brasov – Zarnesti (Gura Raului Cabin)
Today was an easy traveling day. I woke up at 9:30 and caught the 12:00 O’clock train from Brasov tp Zarnesti and arrived at 12:39. Again I had some shoe issues and had to stop at a shoe repair shop and had my right boot fixed a bit. I then walked 3km to a Gura Raului Cabin, where I arrived around 14:00. Right after my arrival it started raining. The place seemed very nice and promising at first. However, my room was freezing (I used three blankets) and the restaurant/reception/bar area, which was warm, was a smoking area. Therefore, I had a choice between suffocating or freezing. Not an easy choice. The receptionist also annoyed me as she asked that I don’t open the window, and later in the evening when I found a non-smoking area, she asked that I leave as it apparently had a private gathering. Additionally, there were simply too many people around, the result of the proximity to town I presume. Lastly, the bed was crap as I could feel the springs in my ribs. This is not the first time. What’s up with those Romanian beds??
Friday, Sep 7: Fagarasi (Podragu Cabin – Victoria - ... Brasov)
The bed at Podragu was awful as it was way too firm. Anyway, I got up at 6:45 and left at 8:30. Today was my last day in the Fagarasi mountains and was an 11 hour long hiking day so there was much to do. The entire day I saw absolutely no one although the Cabin person claimed that it was very populated before. I presume the reason I saw no one is that the weather in general was getting worse and was predicted to be crap. In reality, however, the weather was great (at first). I managed to get to the tallest peak in Romania - Moldoveanu Peak (2544m) - in 2 hours and 45 minutes instead of 3:30 to 4 hours as the signs claimed. I guess I was finally in shape. The views were beautiful. More than that since nature called I had the chance to crap on top of the tallest mountain, which was exceptionally gratifying… I spent a total of 1:15 hours at the top, taking pictures, enjoying the views and talking on the phone.
As I started to leave the weather got worse (not bad timing). The descent to a small town called Victoria was lengthy and nasty. It was very misty and while the markings were mostly well places, I was on occasion not sure how to proceed. Additionally, I had to cross a stream a couple of times, which required taking off my boots. The water was so cold that I couldn’t feel my feet after the crossings until they warmed up again. After 4 hours since leaving the Peak I reached a 9km to Victoria sign, which took another couple of hours of walking.
Once in Victoria I walked another km or two towards a place called Ucea de Jos some 10 km away. I then hitch-hiked and arrived there. From there it took a couple of minutes before a 20 ton truck stopped and gave me a lift to Brasov. While the distance was about 100km, the ride took 2 and a half hours due to the road being under construction throughout and I arrived at 22:20.
I spent the night at a “hotel” that had a sink and a toilet but no shower :(
As I started to leave the weather got worse (not bad timing). The descent to a small town called Victoria was lengthy and nasty. It was very misty and while the markings were mostly well places, I was on occasion not sure how to proceed. Additionally, I had to cross a stream a couple of times, which required taking off my boots. The water was so cold that I couldn’t feel my feet after the crossings until they warmed up again. After 4 hours since leaving the Peak I reached a 9km to Victoria sign, which took another couple of hours of walking.
Once in Victoria I walked another km or two towards a place called Ucea de Jos some 10 km away. I then hitch-hiked and arrived there. From there it took a couple of minutes before a 20 ton truck stopped and gave me a lift to Brasov. While the distance was about 100km, the ride took 2 and a half hours due to the road being under construction throughout and I arrived at 22:20.
I spent the night at a “hotel” that had a sink and a toilet but no shower :(
Thursday, Sep 6: Fagarasi (Balea Lake – Podragu Cabin)
It was a nice day and off I went towards Podragu Cabin (2136m). We all (Costin, Diana, Alexandru, Alexandra, and me) started the hike together (at 9:45), but only for 45 minutes (up to a saddle point on the blue triangle). They all had a short circular track, while I proceeded to Podragu Cabin. Of course, I met no one on the remaining 5.5 hours track. My original plan was to walk on the crest until a point where I could split from the crest and take a direct path to the cabin, which is less exposed and safer. However, since the weather was getting better and better, I decided to deviate from the original plan and walked on the crest the entire way. Indeed, it was a little more dangerous but it was a splendid walk with brilliant views. It was well worth it.
I arrived at the cabin at 16:00, which was a refreshing change from arriving really late. At the cabin there were 5 people: The cabin manager and her two aids, and 2 Polish tourists. The Polish knew no English so communication with them was impossible.
I arrived at the cabin at 16:00, which was a refreshing change from arriving really late. At the cabin there were 5 people: The cabin manager and her two aids, and 2 Polish tourists. The Polish knew no English so communication with them was impossible.
Wednesday, Sep 5: Fagarasi (Balea Lake)
Today was a rainy day and so I stayed in and did not proceed to the next cabin. Catalin couldn’t spend more time and so his trip to the mountains came to an end. I spent quite a bit of time reparing my shoes again as a new hole appeared, so I had to stich them myself - and I did a pretty good job!
Three folks showed up: Diana, Alexandru and Alexandra. The first two are a couple. I taught them Yaniv and we played some for a while. At 17:00 I went to Hotel Balea in the hopes of doing my laundry and taking a shower – both of which were quite needed (the rain again happened when it was needed). I did both for 15 Lei (10 USD). The laundry took forever. I had to come back for it at 20:00 and ultimately it was ready only at 21:45..
I did get to finish my book, which was rather good but had too many similarities to another book by Harlan Coban that I read (Gone for good), so I doubt I’ll be reading any more of his stuff… Returning to the Salvamont cabin was an impossible mission as it was pitch black outside and I hadn’t brought my headlight. So I borrowed one from someone and made it safely “home”. Costin – the Salavmont – claimed I got my laundry back in record time as it typically takes 2 days. We all stayed up until around 1:00 and chatted a large part about Costin hike to 7000m back when he was 35. It was rather interesting.
Three folks showed up: Diana, Alexandru and Alexandra. The first two are a couple. I taught them Yaniv and we played some for a while. At 17:00 I went to Hotel Balea in the hopes of doing my laundry and taking a shower – both of which were quite needed (the rain again happened when it was needed). I did both for 15 Lei (10 USD). The laundry took forever. I had to come back for it at 20:00 and ultimately it was ready only at 21:45..
I did get to finish my book, which was rather good but had too many similarities to another book by Harlan Coban that I read (Gone for good), so I doubt I’ll be reading any more of his stuff… Returning to the Salvamont cabin was an impossible mission as it was pitch black outside and I hadn’t brought my headlight. So I borrowed one from someone and made it safely “home”. Costin – the Salavmont – claimed I got my laundry back in record time as it typically takes 2 days. We all stayed up until around 1:00 and chatted a large part about Costin hike to 7000m back when he was 35. It was rather interesting.
Tuesday, Sep 4: Fagarasi (Negoiu Cabin – Balea Lake)
The weather was good and so off we (Catalin and I) went towards Balea Lake. This was a long 9.5 hour day that started at 8:10. First we hiked up to Negoiu Peak (2535m), which was nearly 1000m up from the cabin. There were other hikers on the way up. From there we started heading down though a place called “Strunga Dracului” (translation: “the devils way”). This required going down using chains, and while that sounds rather exciting it pretty quickly lost its appeal, as it was simply plain dangerous. The descent was of approximately 200 meters I’d guess. We arrived at Caltun lake where we had lunch and from where we saw no one until the end of the day. At that point the weather also got a bit colder, but fortunately rain was not involved. We proceeded towards Balea lake with no incident and it took another 4 or 5 hours to get there.
Balea lake is a touristic place, unfortunately. There’s a road that crosses (north to south)the Fagarasi mountains and it goes through this place. Thus, unlike the rest of the mountain areas, there’s some noise there, people that are not hikers, and an overpriced hotel with not too friendly people. So we asked the Salvamont if we could stay in his cabin (some places have Salvamont cabins, which are not meant to host people officially). The guy was extremely nice and let us stay there for 20 Lei (8 USD).
Balea lake is a touristic place, unfortunately. There’s a road that crosses (north to south)the Fagarasi mountains and it goes through this place. Thus, unlike the rest of the mountain areas, there’s some noise there, people that are not hikers, and an overpriced hotel with not too friendly people. So we asked the Salvamont if we could stay in his cabin (some places have Salvamont cabins, which are not meant to host people officially). The guy was extremely nice and let us stay there for 20 Lei (8 USD).
Monday, Sep 3: Fagarasi (Negoiu Cabin)
A rather uneventful day. It has been raining the entire day and so I decided to stay in the cabin and wait the rain out. The rain could not have come at a better time, as I was aching from all the previous walking and needed a bit of a break. I spent the day reading Harlan Conban’s “The Innocent” and read some 200 pages. There was a group of older Hungarian folks that had good gear and wanted to head out. They came back after about 30 minutes..
I talked to a Salvamont guy who was there and he mentioned that there was another guy that intended to go to the same destination as I the next day. So I talked to the guy (Catalin – 34 y/o) and we decided to meet the next morning and hike together should the weather permit.
I talked to a Salvamont guy who was there and he mentioned that there was another guy that intended to go to the same destination as I the next day. So I talked to the guy (Catalin – 34 y/o) and we decided to meet the next morning and hike together should the weather permit.
Sunday, Sep 2: Fagarasi (Avrig – Negoiu Cabin)
Today was a bit of a shit day. I successfully hitchhiked from Avrig to Poiana Neamtului (15km), which is one of the many access points to theFagarasi mountains. It is located on the east side and my intent was to proceed westward. I left Poiana Neamtului at around 11:00. I missed the sign to Barcaciu Cabin mostly because the driver said the path leading there was really easy and wide etc., and thus I presumed mistakenly, that the wide path I walked on was the way. I further, paid no attention to the fact that it had no markings. Anyway, I walked up for 2 hours (and saw no one) until reaching a dead end. Well, several dead ends since there were forks in the road and I tried all of them. I called the Salvamont at that point and realized I had to go back to the very beginning, which was most upsetting. So at 13:30 I left again this time on the right track. An important (and useful) lesson was learned though: The paths in Romania are (mostly) very well marked so if you see no mark, then you’re not on the path.
From Poiana Neamtului (706m) it took me 2 hours to get to Barcaciu cabin (1550m). The weather got bad and it rained a bit. At 16:35 I left to Negoiu Cabin (1546m). While there is not much height difference the walk was extremely unpleasant because the path was very narrow with loads of wet vegetation that soaked my barely dry boots again. I was wearing shorts (which was a good thing because it kept my one pair of long trousers dry), which meant that I was pretty damn wet and cold. The walk took 2.5 hours and of course I met no one on the way. Negoiu cabin was great. First, I had a hot shower which was brilliant. Next, the nice lady over there took my shoes and some socks I had and placed them near their kitchen heater to dry. Additionally, she gave me a room of two for the price of a room of four (30Lei =~ 13USD), and there was no one there but myself. Also, I had some good food (or was I just too hungry?).
From Poiana Neamtului (706m) it took me 2 hours to get to Barcaciu cabin (1550m). The weather got bad and it rained a bit. At 16:35 I left to Negoiu Cabin (1546m). While there is not much height difference the walk was extremely unpleasant because the path was very narrow with loads of wet vegetation that soaked my barely dry boots again. I was wearing shorts (which was a good thing because it kept my one pair of long trousers dry), which meant that I was pretty damn wet and cold. The walk took 2.5 hours and of course I met no one on the way. Negoiu cabin was great. First, I had a hot shower which was brilliant. Next, the nice lady over there took my shoes and some socks I had and placed them near their kitchen heater to dry. Additionally, she gave me a room of two for the price of a room of four (30Lei =~ 13USD), and there was no one there but myself. Also, I had some good food (or was I just too hungry?).
Saturday, Sep 1: Carnic - Avrig
Today was a traveling day that got me close to Fagarasi Mountains – my second set of mountains. I woke up at 6:15 and took the microbus to Ohaba de Sub Piatra, where I arrived at 7:00. Then I took a train at 9:01 to Deva, which is a bigger town, and arrived and 10:20. I wanted to get a direct train at 11:50 to Avrig, but missed because of my mail experience (see next). Since my backpack was rather heavy and I heard that the Fagarasi mountains were harder to hike (as indeed turned out to be the case), I decided to mail to my parents’ friends the tent, and some other gear and change the designation of my trip from a tent oriented trip to a cabin oriented trip (this was not possible in the Retezat mountains).
Mail experience:
So I got a taxi driver to take me to the mail center, where my adventure began. When I wanted to mail my stuff the mail person said I needed a box. So the cab driver took me to some supermarket where I got a box. Then once at the mail again, the person said I needed to close the box somehow. So of the cab driver and I went to get some tape. Then upon my return she said that all printing on the box needed to be covered. So I taped some paper on those. Finally, when I thought I was done the person said I needed to close the box with a string. So I got that too. But by this time it was too late as the 11:50 train was gone. Still the adventure was not over. I had to fill out some form in Romanian, and while I can sort off read Romanian this was way beyond me. Additionally, the mail person refused to accept the fact that I had no “From” address. I had to explain to her I was a tourist but to no avail. The compromise was to have the ”From” address match the “To” address.
Eventually I managed to mail the stuff. Next, I got some supplies (i.e. food) and also bought some socks, a T-shirt, and some sheets. The idea behind the latter was that in the cabins one is provided with blankets etc., but these are not clean. Thus I figured why not sleep comfortably with sheets rather than in a sleeping bag.
At 14:40 I got a train to Vintu de Jos and arrived at 16:05. At 16:25 I got another train to Sibiu that arrived at 18:39. Sibiu is currently the cultural capital of Europe. All I got to see was a pharmacy downtown where I went real quick to get some cold medication. At 19:16 my final train ride left and I arrived at Avrig at 20:20. Then I had no choice but to lodge myself in a hotel for 80 Lei (about 35USD). At least I had a good shower…
A couple of notes:
1. The whole trip today got me about 150km (or maybe more) eastward.
2. I was wearing my flip flops the whole day as my boots were still wet :(
Mail experience:
So I got a taxi driver to take me to the mail center, where my adventure began. When I wanted to mail my stuff the mail person said I needed a box. So the cab driver took me to some supermarket where I got a box. Then once at the mail again, the person said I needed to close the box somehow. So of the cab driver and I went to get some tape. Then upon my return she said that all printing on the box needed to be covered. So I taped some paper on those. Finally, when I thought I was done the person said I needed to close the box with a string. So I got that too. But by this time it was too late as the 11:50 train was gone. Still the adventure was not over. I had to fill out some form in Romanian, and while I can sort off read Romanian this was way beyond me. Additionally, the mail person refused to accept the fact that I had no “From” address. I had to explain to her I was a tourist but to no avail. The compromise was to have the ”From” address match the “To” address.
Eventually I managed to mail the stuff. Next, I got some supplies (i.e. food) and also bought some socks, a T-shirt, and some sheets. The idea behind the latter was that in the cabins one is provided with blankets etc., but these are not clean. Thus I figured why not sleep comfortably with sheets rather than in a sleeping bag.
At 14:40 I got a train to Vintu de Jos and arrived at 16:05. At 16:25 I got another train to Sibiu that arrived at 18:39. Sibiu is currently the cultural capital of Europe. All I got to see was a pharmacy downtown where I went real quick to get some cold medication. At 19:16 my final train ride left and I arrived at Avrig at 20:20. Then I had no choice but to lodge myself in a hotel for 80 Lei (about 35USD). At least I had a good shower…
A couple of notes:
1. The whole trip today got me about 150km (or maybe more) eastward.
2. I was wearing my flip flops the whole day as my boots were still wet :(
Friday, Aug 31: Retezat Mountains (Lake Bucura – Bucura Peak - Carnic)
I left camp at 12:30 with all the gear. This was my last days in these mountains. The original plan was to exit the park from the west side. There was a trail marked with yellow stripe and a red circle, which was supposed to split into two trails. Anyway, I somehow missed it, and ended up on the yellow strip trail, which was the one I used to arrive to lake Bucura the first day. The first part was a hike up, which was fairly strenuous, especially in light of the heavy pack, and so I decided to simply backtrack out of the park towards Carnic the way I entered. But, after a little while I realized I could use another track (the red stripe) to get back to Carnic so as to make the hike more interesting. This red stripe track intersected the yellow track. So, I had to backtrack a bit. Next thing I knew I ended up at Bucura Peak (2433m). At least the views were nice. The path I took was by no means optimal, rather it was a nearly circular one and after some 4 hours of walking I ended up about 45 min from where I started…
Anyway, I then continued towards Pietrele cabin (on the way to Carnic) using the blue stripe track and met a group of people near a lake whole name I forget (????). I continued with them to their cabin, which was on the way. I got the train schedule from them and then continued on. Unfortunately, it started raining and since my boots are crap that resulted in an in-shoe flood… There was a shortcut through the woods that could have taken and decided not too as it was getting dark. I arrived at Carnic at 20:30 right as it got dark, which made this a long 8 hour day. It was nice to have a shower!
Anyway, I then continued towards Pietrele cabin (on the way to Carnic) using the blue stripe track and met a group of people near a lake whole name I forget (????). I continued with them to their cabin, which was on the way. I got the train schedule from them and then continued on. Unfortunately, it started raining and since my boots are crap that resulted in an in-shoe flood… There was a shortcut through the woods that could have taken and decided not too as it was getting dark. I arrived at Carnic at 20:30 right as it got dark, which made this a long 8 hour day. It was nice to have a shower!
Thursday, Aug 30: Retezat Mountains (Lake Bucura – Peleaga Peak – Papusa Peak – Lake Peleaga – Lake Bucura)
Woke up at 8:30 and wasn’t feeling too well. I left camp at 12:30 and left the tent and most of the gear. The track today was a circular track that first got me to Peleaga Peak 2509m (the tallest peak in the Retezat mountains) in 1.5 hours The views were terrific . I met two Germans there that arrived shortly after me (they were the only people I met until nearly my return to camp). From there I continued to Papusa Peak 2508m, which took one hour. The two peaks are one next to the other and I basically had to decent to a saddle and then ascend to the other peak. Then I got back down to the saddle between the two peaks and from there descended further on an unmarked path to lake Peleaga, where I arrived at 17:00. I had lunch there and then things got a little interesting as I had to continue on an unmarked path. The Salvamont (i.e. a person working for the rescue service) claimed it was no problem. In reality I had (bad) flashbacks from my Nina Valley Track experience back in New Zealand. Still, I managed to get a place called Poiana Pelegii at 18:48, from where the path was marked. In fact, things were ok even before then, once I crossed Peleaga stream.
The sign to lake Bucura said 2 hours. Although I was already pretty damn tired, I got my ass in gear and headed up (m height difference) toward lake Bucura as fast as I could, at first mostly because it was going to get dark and then because it was going to start raining. Ultimately, I arrived at my tent at 19:50 after having run the last few meters as it started to rain pretty heavily. Indeed, it poured the whole night real hard and fortunately my tent withstood the onslaught with dignity.
The sign to lake Bucura said 2 hours. Although I was already pretty damn tired, I got my ass in gear and headed up (m height difference) toward lake Bucura as fast as I could, at first mostly because it was going to get dark and then because it was going to start raining. Ultimately, I arrived at my tent at 19:50 after having run the last few meters as it started to rain pretty heavily. Indeed, it poured the whole night real hard and fortunately my tent withstood the onslaught with dignity.
Wednesday, Aug 29: Retezat Mountains (… Carnic – Lake Bucura)
I arrived at a place called Petrosani at 2:42am. At 4:10 I took a train to Ohaba de Sub Piatra, which arrived at 5:30. From there I got on a special “Microbu”, which is simply a minivan service that got me to Carnic at 6:20, which is a starting point for Retezat national park mountains. There was one other person with me on the microbus named Alexandru, who is a 36 y/o that went for the mountains as well.
We left Carnic together at 7:45 after a good morning tea. We walked together to a place called Pietrele Cabin, where we arrived at 9:30. This was supposed to be an easy intro walk, but I found it rather difficult as I was carrying quite a bit of weight. We then separated and I continued on my own towards lake Bucura (2040m). On the way I got to Retezat peak (2485m), which was very very nice. Ultimately, I arrived at lake Bucura at 19:15, which made this an 11.5 hour hiking day… There I met up with Alexandru again and set up my tent. I went to bed at 22:30. It was raining, but the tent worked out ok.
We left Carnic together at 7:45 after a good morning tea. We walked together to a place called Pietrele Cabin, where we arrived at 9:30. This was supposed to be an easy intro walk, but I found it rather difficult as I was carrying quite a bit of weight. We then separated and I continued on my own towards lake Bucura (2040m). On the way I got to Retezat peak (2485m), which was very very nice. Ultimately, I arrived at lake Bucura at 19:15, which made this an 11.5 hour hiking day… There I met up with Alexandru again and set up my tent. I went to bed at 22:30. It was raining, but the tent worked out ok.
Tuesday, Aug 28: Bucharest
Spent most of the day re-organizing my backpack and trying to reduce its weight as much as possible. Ultimately, I ended up with an 18kg pack (without any water), which was still rather heavy in my opinion. Miron helped quite a lot with this endeavor. Also, I had my boots repaired a bit (i.e. stiched), since each boot had a hole and there was not time to get new ones... At 20:45 I got on the train. I had a sleeping cart.
A few words about the intended route:
My plan was to do three mountain ridges from west to east: Retezat, Fagarasi, and Piatra Craiului. The second contains the tallest peak in Romania (2544m). The idea was to get from Bucharest to the first using trains (about 400km or so north west), then once done with that go off with trains to Fagarasi. The Fagarasi mountains connect to the third ridge and so I intended to connect using my legs. Ultimately that didn’t happen due to not having sufficient time (rain delays) . This wasn’t too bad as I learned that the nicest parts of Fagarasi or on the west to center part, which I ultimately have done.
Layout:
In order to do Retezat properly, one needs a tent as there is no cabin in the very center. Thus this began as a tent oriented hike. Fagarasi and Piatra Craiului can be done using cabins that are laid in “strategic” locations along the way.
Dates:
My return date to Bucharest is Sep 11th (no connection to America…) at which point I am to meet parents and brother, whom I have not seen in 17 and 7 months, respectively. It sort of feels like “The Simpsons” as my brother would be arriving from the US, parents from Israel, and your truly from some god forsaken mountain. Bro will be arriving on early 10th, parents on early 11th, and I sometimes during the day.
A few words about the intended route:
My plan was to do three mountain ridges from west to east: Retezat, Fagarasi, and Piatra Craiului. The second contains the tallest peak in Romania (2544m). The idea was to get from Bucharest to the first using trains (about 400km or so north west), then once done with that go off with trains to Fagarasi. The Fagarasi mountains connect to the third ridge and so I intended to connect using my legs. Ultimately that didn’t happen due to not having sufficient time (rain delays) . This wasn’t too bad as I learned that the nicest parts of Fagarasi or on the west to center part, which I ultimately have done.
Layout:
In order to do Retezat properly, one needs a tent as there is no cabin in the very center. Thus this began as a tent oriented hike. Fagarasi and Piatra Craiului can be done using cabins that are laid in “strategic” locations along the way.
Dates:
My return date to Bucharest is Sep 11th (no connection to America…) at which point I am to meet parents and brother, whom I have not seen in 17 and 7 months, respectively. It sort of feels like “The Simpsons” as my brother would be arriving from the US, parents from Israel, and your truly from some god forsaken mountain. Bro will be arriving on early 10th, parents on early 11th, and I sometimes during the day.
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