You know how we mountain addicts are. Always ready to go on another hike up the highest picks. That is why I called upon my friends and a group of 15 people rounded up, in an attempt to reach Fagaras ridge in 2 days.
The departure point was Sâmbăta de Sus cottage while the finish line was Suru cottage. So we hit the road, ease at first, preparing for a walk that would take many hours. Among the most important aspects that can ruin your hiking, weather is crucial. The experienced hikers know this, the beginners – well, take notes please. It will save your life. Up on the mountain you can go from 20 degrees to below 0 and snow in a heartbeat.
For the time being, the weather was weird enough, slightly cloudy, with showers fallowed by sun. Also for the first part of the road I had a minor “technical” problem with …my stomach, thanks to the omelet that I so hungrily devoured at Sâmbăta de Sus cottage. That brings me to another essential aspect – food. You need fuel for the effort you are about to do so you tend to eat consistent. Sometimes, too consistent. 🙁
Two of my comrades had an easy way out of the situation, I wasn’t so lucky. I was throwing up for about an hour as everything I had tried eating or drinking just kept coming back out. Common sense told me to ask them to go ahead as I was delaying them. George and Lucian stayed behind to keep me company. My lucky charm turned up to be Bogdan, a super military doctor. Once we reached the ridge he massaged my stomach and put me to sleep for about 30 minutes. I woke up as if nothing happened. Moreover, I was hungry as a bear.
After sleep, we treated ourselves with some brandy, a piece of chocolate and “Go Planet!”. In an hour we caught up with the first group of friends, after another 2 hours we caught up with the expedition leader.
We stop for pictures on Moldoveanu pick
Six of us had already left, followed by me, Cyprian and George, while the rest stayed behind to recover their forces. My plan was to be ahead of the rain, to retreat at Podragu cottage 
and warm up. Personally I had enough rain in Fagaras Mountains to last me for the next 10 years . 🙁
Remember what I said earlier about weather? Well, looking back, I realized that suddenly, a huge cloud of rain appeared out of nowhere, thunderstorm and lightning fallowed. I heard Ciprian behind me: “Wow, storm just hit the path we came.”
Just like that the inevitable happened: those beautiful clouds caught up with us. Before we managed to get our cloaks it was already pouring. Bonus, a slight frost came down. Our path was now a small stream so we closely watched the ground, stepping carefully through the water. After 30 minutes in the rain Ciprian starts panicking. He does not like the situation, being a little afraid of lightning. I wasn’t really the one to talk his fear away as I had my hiking poles with me, which can easily be two superb lightning dischargers L .
And … BOOM !!!. I heard the thunder in the same second my eyes caught the light flash nearby. It felt strange as I wore a copper bracelet upon my wrist. I burst into laughter but the stressed voice behind me was reaching high notes: “Hey! That was near us!!!”
I look at Ciprian, pale and shivering, pointing to our left, about 50 meters from our current location: “It stroke here! We need to reach the cottage as soon as possible!”. George behind him started laughing, I laughed but Ciprian was dead serious:
– “Hey! I’m not kidding! I saw it! This is no laughing matter!”
And he was right. Further on we caught up with three of our colleagues while on the path to Podragu, three more joined us. From there on we calmly reached the cottage, not before, one of them, pointed to the valley and said:
– “There’s a herd of black goats! So many of them!”
We look surprised at where he pointed and wondered. Perhaps because of the 14 hour hike we saw them too. When we got near, it proved to be a herd of donkeys that belonged to the cottage 🙂 Oh, well…
After accommodation and a spring water shower, we relaxed with a cup of boiled wine, a glass of brandy and the traditional bacon with onions and cheese. The group behind us was more ambitious. They continued their hike up to Bâlea Lake, while two of them went even further.
And so I concluded another amazing trip, filled with few scares and adventures. One that reminded me once more of the attention we have to pay when going up the mountain. You always have to be well prepared, especially in autumn or winter. So if you’re planning a climb to the ridges, please pack carefully, take with you friends that you can trust and pray for good weather. The mountain will reward your perseverance in full.
This post is also available in: Romanian
English
Română
RSS