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.
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