12th - Moldoveanu/Sambetei

Today’s goal was to reach the tallest point of Romania, a path that would lead us from the lodge, up into a saddle and across 4 small summits before reaching the top, Moldoveanu peak, at 2544m. Unfortunately the weather hadn’t improved much since yesterday, so the clouds were covering the saddle, effectively preventing us from seeing where we would be going.

Almost half the group stayed back in the lodge while we made the attempt to get to the summit. It didn’t rain but the lack of sun meant that the ground was in areas moist and slippery. But up we went, and the further up towards the saddle we came the more rocky it got, so the moisture became less of a problem.

Standing in the saddle we realized that the weather wasn’t with us today. Visibility was less than 50m with light rain and high winds. But we wanted to see how far it would be possible to go, so we continued on over the first small summit. The weather didn’t really change and it was generally pretty sully. A small trekker’s hut was placed after the summit which we quickly entered to try and wait until the weather improved before continuing on.

We ended up spending an hour or so in the hut before deciding that we might as well be heading down again because there was no indication that the weather would improve. Back over the first summit, down to the saddle and down from there went without problems – the descent when nearing the bottom wasn’t near as muddy as I had feared due to the rain so the walk down ended up being easier than expected. And you couldn’t really complain about that.

So no, the tallest point in Romania was not reached; the altitude of the top we passed was around 2100m so it wasn’t too bad. But this was the first trip I have been on where the summit was not achieved, but I am glad that it was on this and not on some of the taller mountains I have been climbing.

Looking upwards in the morning it looks promising.

Looking down from where we came.

Weather changed, though.

On the way down towards the saddle, this is where we came from.

Looking down towards where we were going.

11th - Fagaras Mountains/Sambetei

Not much walking today, so it wasn't too bad.

The morning was spent on visiting Bran castle, close by where we had been spending the last couple of nights. Bran castle is more known by its less formal name; Dracula’s castle. It got its name as at one point Vlad the Impaler too up residency there. A beautiful castle, very unlike the large almost bombastic buildings in England this was a very compact building with a lot of small nooks and crannies, small corridors and generally fairly small rooms. Overall it was a great walk around and nice to see.

After lunch we went back to the bus which took us to our next destination, the Fagaras Mountains. It would be a 3 hour walk up through a valley where just before it would be getting steep we would spend the night at the Valea Sambetei Chalet. We were supposed to walk along a long muddy road which is mainly used by loggers, but due to the moist weather our driver took us up as far as the bus managed, which cut off almost an hour of the trek. Getting out of the bus it was only drizzling so it made the walk easier as opposed to if it had been pouring down.

The walk up was primarily by mud paths so the path all the way up to the lodge tended to be quite slippery. Apart from that it was a nice walk – the clouds were hanging fairly low so the sun never really appeared.

After a few hours we arrived at the lodge where we were separated into dorms and rooms. It was a nice place, but as there was no heating you had to rely on having a nice warm sleeping bag. Personally I didn’t have any problems with that, but others were apparently struggling a bit with the temperatures. I had no problem with staying here for two nights.

The castle sitting in the background overlooking the town.

Small narrow staircases.

The inner courtyard.

Vlad's clothing. Easily recognizable from the pictures that exist of him.

Two of these black swans were spotted after our lunch break.

Gotten out of the bus and started walking along the road.

Reaching the lodge, all we can see are low clouds.