Hiking in the Făgăraș Mountains in September: the west-east traverse (3)

For most people, traversing the Făgăraș Mountains is an achievement that takes about five, six days. This includes seasoned hikers. Yes, it’s possible to do it in less – I know trailrunners who’ve done the entire length of it (close to 100 km) in under 48 hours – but for most of us earthlings that is beyond our reach. In fact, it’s beyond my wish. Admittedly, I sometimes get slightly green with envy when I scroll through my social feed and see another feat that I know I will probably never achieve. But I also know that I thoroughly enjoy hiking at my own pace, with plenty of time for breaks and pictures. And for the Făgăraș that means I schedule five or six days, depending on where I end up everyday. Now on day two of our September traverse, we took it a bit far – so day three was definitely going to be an easy one. Join me from Călțun Lake to Capra Lake, via Bâlea Lake for a pit stop. If you need trail info, you can jump right to the end of the post here.

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Hiking in the Fagaras in September: the west-east traverse (2)

Hiking in the Fagaras is always rewarding, but hiking in the Fagaras in September especially so. I mean, imagine waking up to this! Isn’t it just perfect? Read on for some more impressions of traversing the Fagaras ridge – day two, which ended up being a very long one. Key words: Custura Saratii, Negoiu Peak, and over 1700m of ascent… In short, a crazy day, but good kind of crazy. If you’re in a hurry: trail info is at the bottom of the post.

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Hiking in the Fagaras: the west-east traverse (1)

Ever since my first traverse of the Fagaras ridge in the summer of 2018 I’ve wanted to cross those majestic mountains again. And in September opportunity finally struck! There were a few major differences though: 1) I tackled it west to east; 2) I tackled it with Wilbert (hubby and best hiking buddy) and 3) I tackled it in autumn. All of these factors made this hike very different from the last one. Same mountains, same girl: familiar, yet new. Hiking in the Fagaras is always going to offer a surprise or two, that much is clear. Here’s part one – because I’m fairly sure I’m not going to manage to fit everything in one post! Off we go. If you’re in a hurry: trail info is at the bottom of the post.

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Seven things I learned in Romania in 2018

Oh dear. It’s March. In fact, it’s spring! This means I’ve been back for over four months and still I haven’t written my reflective 2018-post. Of course it is a bit ridiculous to publish it this late but since I kept a things-I-learned-list I would like to share these insights with you. Also it is a good exercise for me to get back into writing blog posts. It’s not that I don’t write; in fact I do little else. The deadline for my guidebook to the mountains of Romania is end of April and I have no clue how I am going to finish it in time. But I will. Besides that, I’m working on lots of exciting new projects that I can’t quite talk about yet – but what I can say is that I never dreamed the Roamaniac adventure would roll on like this after the guidebook part! In short, I’m juggling a lot of balls at the moment, so here is a little distraction from all these frightful facts for myself, and for you from whatever it is you need distracting from.

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The Iezer-Păpușa and Făgăraș revisited

Just a few days after I had come back from my hike across the main ridge of the Făgăraș, I went back: I wasn’t quite done with these mountains yet. During an earlier hike into the Iezer-Păpușa, I had planned to cross over into the Făgăraș via a connecting spur, but was prevented by the weather. This time round the forecast didn’t look too favourable either; 5-10mm of rain or more was predicted for every afternoon, so I resolved to go on short hikes and pitch my tent before the rain. But I was fortunate: I was much faster than expected (I suppose I’m getting the hang of this hiking thing) and there was less rain than predicted.

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Hiking across the Făgăraş: Romania’s longest ridge

Oh Făgăraş. You kept me waiting for so long! But It Is Finished: I hiked across the entire length of the Făgăraş Mountains in less than a week! Five days and a rest day, to be precise. I still find it hard to believe that it went so well. But the pictures, the bruises on my legs and sores on my feet serve as good reminders that this actually happened: the longest hike is down! So, hiking in the Făgăraş: this is how you do it! more “Hiking across the Făgăraş: Romania’s longest ridge”

First three months: come rain, come shine

I intended to write a reflective post after my first month in Romania, but then all of a sudden two months had passed – and then three. This doesn’t mean time flew – it didn’t exactly. Last year’s start was tough – this one was tougher. When I look at my walks list I am not impressed – I only managed one three-day hike in June, for instance. In terms of kilometres it looks a little better – I did about 240km which is almost half of what I did in total last year and the year before – so it looks like I’m getting somewhere. Although that said, I have no idea how many kilometres I have ahead of me. I can only hope that I’m about half way, since in another three months winter will force me out of the country.

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