Day the 3rd-
Toward the untamed heart of the Vrancea Mountains.
Stanele din goru at dawn.
The sleep was
relaxed with no cold coming from the ground below us. Resting on wooden bed is
the best option in winter conditions!
There was no
hurry to wake up early for sunrise pictures. We got up at an easy 7:30 am time.
To get ready for taking pictures required only putting boots and gaiters on and
stepping outside. The temperature was low, while there was no wind and skies
were clear. We repeated last evening scenario in the opposite order. Dawn
pictures taken at first, sunrise pictures completed in the second row.
Looking south-east from Stanele din Goru before sunrise.
Stanele din Goru at sunrise.
Just when we
were about to depart, a veil of mist approached from the north. We could see
that above us was a clear sky and considered climbing to Goru Peak (1786 m),
which is the tallest peak in the whole Vrancea Mountains. Knowing that we would
lost a lot of time in deep snows, we opted to get as quickly as possible to
Giurgiu peak, also higher than 1700 m. From that mountain we could see the scenery
from a different angle of view, its sits just opposite to the Goru Peak. On the
map it did not appeared too far away, and when viewed from the Lacauţi
Peak it seemed to be close to Goru Peak.
Fog alternated with sun.
Our traces on virgin snow below Goru.
We bypassed
an intersection with indicators showing directions to Goru Peak and to Pârâul
Gorului. However this was a trail for somewhere in the summer. I can’t wait to
get there in next summer! From here on we would be exploring on a terrain unfamiliar
to us. Despite the fact that we had a map, it was difficult to steer through
deep forests. Basically we had to remain on the crest, leading to south-east
from the Goru Peak. On the road in front of us were pure snows. Our footprints
were the only ones left on its white flawless surface. At first the road was
leading in good direction, and later it turned southward. This was not good, we
needed to keep in south-east direction. We deserted the road and kept on the
ridge. There was a road, but we only discovered that the road descends to the
north side to Zăbala River Valley. After descending a third of a
kilometer we realized that we were heading in wrong direction and returned back
to the crest. We were enveloped with fog, through which sun was shining at some
spots. We walked through beautiful parts until we hit the road again. It was
the same road, we abandoned less then an hour ago.
Forest decor.
Brown bear's track across the forest road.
With new joy
we continued down on the road. It led more to east-south-south direction than
it was supposed to lead. On one spot we crossed paths with brown bear’s track.
Later we stopped on sunlit corner to take a warm sip. The tea was so hot, that
we needed to put snow inside to cool it a little. In this way we obtained more
liquids. We suspected that we were on the wrong path, because to direction was
almost towards south by now. Plus the road was descending. We guessed that the
road must lead to Bâsca Mică Valley bottom. It was better to
abandon the road here in favor for unclear trail leading east. This path led us
through young coniferous forest covered with snow. On two spots we discovered
tracks and dropings of a capercaillie, inhabitant of coniferous forest. The
path turned almost in north direction and was overgrowned with trees on many
places. Finaly we declined for going without a trail more to the left. Steep
climb through old-growth forest brought us to the same road which we abandoned
an hour ago. On the road there we saw our own prints, folowing them until we
met with those bear’s prints. Climbing back to the top we tried to decide what
to do next. Our priority was to go to east diretion, so Ioan went there to
explore if there was any trail heading east. Out of blue, he called out the
thick grove, that there is a road heading-eastward. The entrance was obscured
by low hanging branches, clothed in white. The trail led in our dirrection,
descending.
In thick
forests I discovered a scrathed tree. At the height over one and a half of
meter I found thin long curly tanned hair. At least this must be brown bear’s
hair. The tree was used by the bear for demarking its territory. I took a hair
sample and put it into a clear plactic bag. At home I wanted to show it to some
people for correct determination. But this was not to be. I lost the sample
somewhere farther into the trip. The trail descended abruptly and we got to a
saddle in between two forested peaks. There was a clearing and we stopped there
for a lunch. It was 1 o’clock pm. It was quite warm on the sun and snow started
to be wet on sun-exposed areas. It was a sign that temperatures were rising.
The climb
from the saddle was steep, almost without a trail. Once we got to the top, we
could se nothing but a solid forest. Map and a compass were the only tools to
keep us on the right tracks. Ioan repeatedly checked his compass to keep us
heading east. There were no features in the lanscape, only steep forested
slopes, with no clue leading to the crest.
After another
hour had passed, the terrain became nearly level. There was not anything to be
seen around us, but a closed woodland. Crossing bear’s track for the third time
today we thought that it is good that we made no direct encounter with a large
carnivore. It was clear that wildlife has very sharp hear and it maintains safety
distance of any possibly dangerous human being. In this part we walked
separated by a distance of about 50 m, Ioan intentionally stopped and stood
still, just listening. Then he said, that the noise of my steps would scare any
wildlife away before we had a chance to spot it.
Right here we
decided to make a spin to the left and continue toward the east. If we kept
going in the direction we were heading in the last stretch (ridge led to the
south) we would arrive at the Giurgiu Peak by the nightfall. After ten minutes
we entered in a mountain meadow. Our difficulty with the map-reading was that
we overvalued the distance covered by us. We basically walked lesser distance,
then we thought, in those profound snows. Having had no point of reference we
simply hadn’t knew that the Giurgiu Peak was so close in front of us.
There was a watercourse
descending all the way through the meadow and we followed its line, until we
got to the forest margin. Besides there was a rim of a side vale, leading to
the main basin of the Zăbala River. Slopes were abrupt, that
was why we opted to set off on the edge, which proved to be a lesser ridge
named Culmea Prelunca, leading somewhere to the vicinity of Caldarile Zăbalei
zone, at least we contemplated it. In
fact the ridge descended to the place called Cabanele Giurgiu.
To our delight
there was a good trail on the crest, simple to follow, with nearly no snow cover
on it. The path was also used by a lonely capercaillie ahead of us, and we
followed its track for a kilometer or somewhat like this. At the junction we
took left, in the direction of north, anxious that following the trail to the east
we would appear excessively faraway from Cabanele Giurgiu. The trail led us downward
all the way through northern slope, with almost no snow cover. What a discrepancy,
on not distant meadow right above us, there was a bunch of snow, but here deep
woods did not permitted snow to drop on the soil. In less then an hour later we
were in the bottom of the side valley. The way was icy, but easy to follow. We
noticed an ideal asylum made by forest staff, where would be comfortable to spent
night time. It was still early, so we gambled on discovery of a further shelter
at Cabanele Giurgiu.
After getting
into the main valley with flat bottom, we walked briskly to our destination of the
day. There were no bridges in the valley. They were not added, because trucks
carrying logs have no need for them, instead of bridges there were numerous fords.
We needed to wade in the water at least for three times. Luckily the water
level was much lower then it was in summer and we had no problem other, than wetting
our boots a little more. They were already damp from walking in wet snow during
the day.
Arriving at
Cabanele Giurghiu at dark we promptly explore the area with several buildings.
One of them was not locked and had several rooms inside it, equipped with beds
and wood stove. Rooms were cozy enough to encourage us to sleep in safety,
within four walls.
We put off
our rucksacks from tired shoulders and went out to bring water. This time we
had running water in the river and did not need to melt snow. The evening felt
very comfortable, even though the room temperature was probably sub zero.
Outside it was freezing much more. The temperature outside would drop at about -10°C by the morning.
The night was
much more pleasant than previous two nights. Because there was nothing to
photograph, since we were at the bottom of the valley, we enjoyed the calm of
the long winter evening without doing any work other then preparing hot drinks
and food. Later we had time to talk more about ouf feelings. I felt very
comfortable to make a connection with Ioan’s family. It was surprising for him
to hear my explanation, that before we two met on last Christmas in the Nemira
Range, I made no close connection with anybody in Romania. Even though I was
visiting here regularly since 1996. I explained that my trips were focused on
crossing main ridges in the mountains, discovering natural wonders in the
Apuseni Mountains and with almost no contacts with locals, except meeting with an
occasional shepherd, village elder etc. When I descended from a mountain, I
aboarded on the train or a bus and went home. Plus when I was travelling with
other czech people, we were like a closed circle, making no serious connections
with anyone outside that bubble. Last Christmas made the difference and since
this time, not one of my current romanian trips was like it used to be before.
There was only a single exception. In 1999 I met with a girl, called Andreea.
She was from Mediaş and we met in Cheile Râmetului,
in the Apuseni Mountains. We kept in touch for a year or something, but never
reunited. I lost a contact with her. I think she must be married by this time,
having a family. Who knows.
Day the 4th-Double
topping-climbing Pietrosul and Zboina Frumoasa peaks in a single day.
We woke up
early, well before sunrise. On that day we wanted to climb Pietrosu Peak,
towering right above us. The tourist indicator standing just outside the
cottage showed a distance od 5 hour to get to the peak. This information was
exagerated we thought. Actually the peak
was less then three hours away. The distance to the village of Vetreşti-Herăstrău,
where we wanted to get today was indicated as 8 hours of walking.
At the
beggining I did a stupid thing of refilling my gasoline heater. I kept gasoline
stored in a clear PET bottle in duration of the trip. I grabbed a bottle from
the table a put the liquid into the heater tank. After giving 50 strokes on the
pump, I turned on the regulator and tried to light the burner. To no avail. Gas
was running out but it wasn’t burning. What went wrong? A while later, after
several futile attempts to lit the heater, I discovered that I used a bottle
with water to refill the tank. I mistakenly grabbed a bottle, filled with water
from the river, instead a bottle with gasoline! Well, then. I tried to get
water out and replace it with new gasoline. It didn’t work, due to a costruction
of the Coleman Peak 1 stove, the content of the tank can not be extracted
without removing the burner. This I was afraid to do, because of the damage on
the generator needle I did on the very first evening. In that way I remained without important part
of the equipment. Beiing without a stove in winter is more serious then in
summer, when there is a lot of running water.
We prepared
breakfast on Ioan’s gas stove and set off at day break. The sky was clear and
the air was still in the valley. It was freezing, but we warmed up when
climbing toward a mountain pasture called Golul Pietrosului. The meadow sits in
a wide saddle in betwen Pietrosu and Zboina Frumoasa.
Climbing toward Golul Pietrosului.
Looking toward Goru from Golul Pietrosului.
Reaching the
saddle at sunrise we took photographs first. The saddle was windy and suddenly
we felt cold. Later, when the finest colours were gone, we decide what to do
next. We realized that if we made an attempt on Pietrosu we would not make it
to Vetreşti-Herăstrău by daylight. The better option was to prolong
our stay in the mountains by one more night. In that case we would get to
Zboina Frumoasa and Lapus Mare peaks. In addition from there it will be much
storter distance to get back to civilisation. Since I was eager to stay longer
in the Vrancea Mountains and getting to Zboina Frumoasa was on my wish list for
more then two decades by now, there was no leeway I would say no to such an
offer!
Thick forest below Pietrosul Peak.
Hidding our rucksacks
under a tree we set off for the summit. We were already at altitude of over
1300 m, so the peak was not far away. We were just a little afraid of the
safety of the food, since there were bear’s footprints in the snow on a nearby
forest road. Higher on the ridge we entered very thick forest, through which
walking was quite labourious. Nevertheless we made it. Later we found a track
of a capercaillie and a bear. At the
first peak we stopped for a while. The views over the Vrancea were incredible.
Reaching the ridge.
Capercaillie prints.
Later we walked on the
crest, until we reached the terminus point. From there view opened toward the
north. In this part we clearly saw the Nemira range, Golul Cozei, Izvoarele
Narujej, and Dealul Negru. On the west we saw Penteleu, Goru, Bucegi Mts.,
Făgăraş Mts. On the south just opposite us were Zboina Frumoasa and...sea of
clouds. On the east there was Magura Odobeşti and again a sea of clouds. We
were overlooking almost the whole Vrancea Mountains.The description of the
Vrancea Mountains I saw for the first time in 1988 red: “Even far away Zboina,
Coza, and Furu make a part of the Vrancea Mountains.” (“Chiar si departatele
Zboina, Coza, si Furul fac parte din muntii Vrancei.”) The descripton was
related to a view from the Goru Peak, but it also fitted to a watch from
Pietrosu Peak. Back in 1988 it did not occur to me that it would take me more
then 20 years to see it with my own eyes. The citation comes from a book
“Carpathian Games” by a well know czech author who spent a quater of century
exploring mountains of Romania in between early 1960s and late 1980s. The book
was also in print in Romania by a publisher named Tribuna, Cluj in 2007.
Giurgiu Peak was opposite us. In backdrop is Bucegi Mountains.
I told Ioan that here in the mountains of Romania, the valleys
are so big that a whole czech mountain masiff would fit into a single valley in
the Vrancea Mountains. Such an impression had a view over the range from the
Pietrosu Peak.
The descend was
uneventfull. We picked up our backpacks from under a tree. They were untouched.
I must say that we saw no people in the Vrancea Mountains, with a an exclusion
of a forest worker at Bâsca Mare River valley and a meteorolog atop Lacauţi
Peak.
Beech forest in Romania looks differently than in my country.
Walking on Golul
Pietrosului, enjoying the views of the mountains, nothing left to be wished.
Our rucksacks were much lighter by now, easier to carry. We had some problems
to navigate our way to the meadow under Zboina Frumoasa. There was a maze of
old forest roads and it was dificult to decide which route to take next. We
checked photographs taken high on Pietrosul, which helped us a little. Here for
the first time we met with beech forest. The central part of the Vrancea is
covered in continuous coniferous woodland. Only on east and west there are
beech forests.
At rest at sunlit meadow.
Wooden box for shepherds used for sleeping close to animals in summer season.
Later we get onto a
forested ridge, where we reunited with tourist marking. Marks were old, however
the trail was obvious. Arriving at the meadow brought a big relief to us. There
we rested on the sun for a while, sitting on a patch of dry winter grass. The
meadow was snowed in and and on its margin there was a sheepfold. It would be
nice to spent a night here. After renewing our body energy with a chocolate we
continued toward Zboina Frumoasa. Since there was only tall forest atop, we did
not plan to climb there. The marked path makes a detour a meets with another
marking coming from the east. Here we reunited with the trail which Ioan took
on last Easters. I remembered it from reading his article. This time we will be
walking in opposite direction. Zboina Frumoasa is over 1600 m high and the
decend to Lapoşul Mare was about 400 m. It went through dark forests, mainly on
a forest road system, linking village of Nereju with Zboina Frumoasa.
Wild forest below Zboina Frumoasa.
Looking toward Furu.
Evening in the Vrancea Mountains.
Twilight wedge above Magura Odobesti.
Sheepfolds at Laposul Mare area.
After sunset.
If you want to make pictures after sunset don't forget to bring your tripod.
By the fire at night.
Inside our shelter.
We got to Lapoşul Mare
past sunset. At the forest margin we spoted a woden box, with two benches
inside and a table. It was new and used by forest stuff as a resting place.
There was a writting above the entrance oppening, saying: “Place for smoking and taking a rest.” The
box was inviting to spend a night here. Just beside there were two dead trees,
which could serve as a fuel source. We needed to build a fire in order to thaw
snow for water.
First we took off a
little farther to explore a different refuge. The building was much larger and
it was clean inside. But outside there was a slight breeze, which was powerfull
enough to chill us, if we would stand next to the fire outside. I talked Ioan
into returning to the first building.
With ease we build a
fire just next to our “hotel.” Melting snow on a fire was a joy, because of the
heat coming from it. We only had to be
carefful not to burn our hands or equipment in the fire.
This time we could
have as much hot tea as we wished, since we had no limits on firewood. The
source would endure for several evenings. The tea had a smoked taste, quite a
difference form a tea prepared on the stove. One must get to be acustomed to it
and for a first timer this fact can be little surprising. Since there were no
doors at the entrance, we put a plastic cover over the openning. At night we
laid on wooden benches, feeling perfectly warm.
Day the 5th-A
long way to civilisation.
The morning dawned
clear and cold. Because of our wet boots, which felt uncomfortable to wear, we
did not rush for early morning photos. I suspect, that if we had dry and warm
boots we got up a little earlier and wentured farther out. We opted just for a
couple of shots taken from nearby the door.
We used Ioan’s stove
to rewarm a tea prepared yesterday, ate a little from our provisions and set
off for the finall stretch of the journey. We supposed it would take us three
hours to get to the nearest village, which we supossed it should be
Vetreşti-Herastrau. If we wanted to descent to Nereju village it would be even
faster. But somehow we wanted to get to Herastrau. Ioan told me that there
lives his friend, whom he met in last summer during the remarking action. If we
arrive soon enough in the valley we could meet with her.
From Lapoşul Mare we
continued in the north-east direction on the subsidiary ridge. At first the
road was easy to follow. Below us was a sea of clouds. Later we get at he
margin of the clouds, which had a great potential for taking photographs with
sun and fog at the same time. So we used remaining energy in our camera
batteries there.
Still above the clouds.
At one place the road split. It was difficult to take a decision. We thought it would be better to keep to the north instead of east. So we kept always in north direction. At some places we went on roadless part. Nevertheless we descended and that was what we neded to do. The descent was steep and finaly we emerged inside a large white valley.
Because it was foggy,
we could not see much what was around us. Soon we hit the road and chose to
follow it to the left. A while later it seemed to be taking a big detour to the
left and we prefered going straight on, so we abandoned the road and descended
through the forest. At first it was easy, walking in a beautifull and
surprisingly wild beech forest. Then the valley narrowed and become a canyon.
The best option was to climb on the opposite side, where we got onto a narow
edge, terminating with abrupt slopes on three sides. From there we saw first
cottages. The slide down was quite difficult, although we managed it safely,
crossed the brook and emerged on a sunlit meadow. There was no snow on the
ground, we have left winter behind us in the mountains.
First view of human setlements.
We heard some noise and soon we met with locals, who walked beside a horse-powered cart, loaded with hay. Ioan chatted with them for a while and asked them what year was, explaining that we lost traces of dates when being up there in the mountains.
Following a narow path we crossed a rivulet on wooden bridge and climbed on steep muddy road toward first houses seen at the margin of the valley. This view reminded me himalayan village, its mudy road, wooden houses no sight of power lines. When we got among houses, it proved to be more modern one, being not like those remote villages in the Himalaya, off course.
We quickly discovered that there was a bus leaving at 1 pm. Now it was 12 o’clock. We visited a local store to buy something to drink and eat. I was asked by locals whether we saw a wolf. I answered no, but said that we crossed bear’s track several times. Those men laughed at this, arguing then bear is not dangerous to man, only wolf is dangerous. Myself I don’t think that either animal is dangerous. It depend on our attitude and behaviour, when we are in the mountains. I know that fear of large carnivores is universal throughout the world. But here in Romania, large carnivores seemed to have more acceptance than in my own country, where they had been exterminated in late 19. century. They are slowly returning to our territory since 1970s, but the prospects of their future are uncertain, because of urban over-development in our parts. Mountains in Romania are much bigger, thus ensuring that with a certain respect for wildlife from man, big mammals will survive to the next century.
We aboarded a bus and
at 1 pm it departed from the mountains. Unfortunately, we did not make it to
meet with Ioan’s friend in Herastrau. She lived in other part of the village,
some 6 km away from the point, where we descended from mountains.
We changed busses at
Focşani and arrived at Bucharest past 5 pm. We still had a time to visit an
exhibition in Cercul Militar hall, where Ioan’s father and Ioan himself held
and exhibiion of paintings and photographs, respectively. There I met with his
parents. Then we visited his aunt place, where we met with his sisters, Irina
and Maria. We learned that Maria is leaving to the Vrancea Mountains on the
very next morning. They had planned to spent a New year’s eve at a sheepfold on
Mount Coza. I was a little disappointed, not to be able to join. But our trip
in the Vrancea Mountains was an adventure at its fullest, so I was perfectly
satisfied with it, having had no desire to go anywhere.
Day the 6th-A Rest day
On the next day we
moved to Breaza for the final evening. The evening itself was uneventfull, even
if it was the last day of the year 2011. We dinned, watched a movie and then
went to sleep well before midnight as if it was an ordinary night.
Sunset on the 31st of December, Breaza.
Day the 7th-Journey home
Town's Hall in Brasov.
Next morning we woke up early and set off to catch our trains. Ioan was headed to Slanic Prahova and I went to Braşov. Having arrived there I still had 5 hour left, so I deposited my backpack at a railway station and set off to see city’s center in it’s winter coat. I climbed the Tâmpa peak above the city’s center for an overview of the area. I knew no one in Braşov, so I spent those final hours alone.
On the next morning I arrived at home. I felt very relaxed with the trip, thinking that it was a real adventure. The echo of the event was alive for next several weeks after my return home, thus inspiring my ordinary days at a city for future adventures in romanian mountains.
The End
