I have not posted in a while; I have had a few interesting things/trips to post but did not have enough time to do it until now.
My latest and greatest hike is part of my One Day Hike series. It is also the first post in the new Summer of George series (a Seinfeld reference in case you missed it). This summer is special to me because I am on parternity leave, so I have planned a few weekends to take a break from babysitting.
Overall the hike is a moderate one in terms of difficulty with 3 portions of the trail involving steep uphill climbs.
This first hike is made out of 2 trails and takes place in the beautiful Bucegi Mountains (2 hours away without traffic from Bucharest - up to 4 in traffic).
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| Peștera Cable Car to Omu Peak Trail Map |
From the Peștera cable car the trail starts with a small uphill portion of about 20 minutes. Until it reaches a flat portion.
At this point of the trail the Obârșia Valley can be seen to the left, Obârșia Mountain in the middle and Șugarilor Valey and Babele Mountain to the right.
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| Bucegi Mountains - from left to right, Doamnele Mountain, Obârșia Valley, Obârșia Mountain |
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| Bucegi Mountains - from left to right, Obârșia Mountain, Șugarilor Valley and Babele Mountain |
From this point on the climb begins towards the Obârșia Watrefall, on the right side of the Obârșia Valley - at first the climb is mellow and then becomes more steep (not too steep though). The valley used ot be a glacial valley so there a lot of remains from the glacial period - rocks of all sizes scattered all over the place.
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| Bucegi Mountains - Obârșia Valley |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Obârșia Valley |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Obârșia Valley - giant glacial boulder |
In about 30 minutes the trail arrives at the Obârșia Waterfall.
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| Bucegi Mountains - Obârșia Waterfall |
From here on a there is a very steep climb to the small plateau where the waterfall starts and then the trail continues north for another 30 minutes to a spectacular rock formation called Mecetu Turcesc and then past it
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| Bucegi Mountains - Mecetu Turcesc |
Following the beautiful rock formation above there is the second steep climb of the trail. It is really tough. So tough, that I was not able to catch a breath and take pictures of it. Once finished, you will get to a junction of trails - one leading to Omu Cabin/Peak and another leading to the Babele Cabin/Peak.
One cannot miss the beautiful view of the Cerbului Valley, before the 40 minutes ascent to the Omu Cabin/Peak.
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| Bucegi Mountains - Cerbului Valley |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Ascent to the Omu Cabin/Peak - there is still snow left in June |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Ascent to the Omu Cabin/Peak - there is still snow left in June |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Omu Cabin/Peak |
Once at the cabin we took a well deserved one hour break to have lunch (it was 12:00 already). The cabin serves soup and other dishes (chicken, sausages and mashed potatoes).
Once at the Omu Peak, it is worth your time to take 15 minutes to look at the scenery around.
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| Bucegi Mountains - View of the Gaura Valley from the Omu Peak (West) |
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| Bucegi Mountains - View of the Moraru Mountain from the Omu Peak (North) with the Piatra Mare Massif in the background on the right |
Omu Peak to Padina Cabin
The second trail of the day is the easy one. It is a downhill trail (1.000 meters of elevation difference) with a small portion of brisk climb.
The trails starts with a small lean descent past Bucura Peak, and Găvanele Peak (with view of the beautiful glacial valley of Gaura on the right - which I get the impression is the one of the largest if not the largest glacial valley in the Bucegi Mountains).
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| Bucegi Mountains - view of the descent to the Bătrâna Peak as seen from the base of the Bucura Peak (Gaura Valley to the right) |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Gaura Valley as seen from the base of the Bucura Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - view of the descent to the Colții Obârșiei Peak as seen from the base of the Găvanele Peak (Cerbului Valley to the left) |
The trail continues past the Găvanele Peak, with a spectacular view of the Doamenele Peak on the trail leding up to it (which is the most difficult ascent in this second part of the trip). This ascent offers a unique view on of the Mecetu Turcesc rock formation as well as of the Obărșia Valley (on which we climbed to the Omu Peak initially).
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| Bucegi Mountains - the ascent to the Doamnele Peak with Mecetu Turcesc to the left |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Mecetu Turcesc as seen from the ascent to the Doamnele Peak |
Once the ascent is done, it is downhill from here for the most part. The descent is entirely on the western ridge of the Bucegi Mountains with spectacular (I use this word a lot but it is the best one to use) views of the Bucegi southern peaks and plateau.
The descent to the Bătrâna Peak is about an hour or so with plenty of place to take a break (cigarette break in my case).
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| Bucegi Mountains - view of the Piatra Craiului Mountains as seen from the Doamnele Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - view of the descent to the Bătrâna Peak as seen from the Doamnele Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - view of the descent to the Bătrâna Peak as seen from the Doamnele Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - view of the descent to the Bătrâna Peak as seen from the Doamnele Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - descent to the Bătrâna Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - descent to the Bătrâna Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - looking back towards the Doamnele Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - another view of the Piatr Craiului Mountains |
Right before the Bătrâna Peak, there is a one kilometer uphill portion (easy one) going through a patch of dwarf mountain pines, up to the Bătrâna Refuge (which can be used by hikers year long - not the best maintained refuge, but comfortable enough to spend a night there in the middle of the wilderness).
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| Bucegi Mountains - dwarf mountain pines on the way to the Bătrâna Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - dwarf mountains pines on the way to the Bătrâna Peak (Colții Obârșiei Peak in the background) |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Bătrâna Peak and the Bătrâna Refuge |
From Bătrâna Peak on, there is a steep descent on a trail with scenic views overlooking the Colții Țapului Peak.
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| Bucegi Mountains - view from the Bătrâna Peak looking south |
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| Bucegi Mountains - view from the Bătrâna Peak looking towards the Peștera Valley |
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| Bucegi Mountains - descent from the Bătrâna Peak looking south towards the Colții Țapului Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - descent from the Bătrâna Peak looking south towards the Colții Țapului Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - looking towards the Babele Peak from the base of the Colții Țapului Peak |
The trails rolls around the base of the Colții Țapului peak all the way to the Strungile Mai Peak (another hour or so).
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| Bucegi Mountains - Strungile Mari Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - looking soth from the base of the Strungile Mari Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - looking soth from the base of the Strungile Mari Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - looking soth from the base of the Strungile Mari Peak |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Strungile Mici Peak |
And then ... the final descent starts once you reach the viewpoint to the Strungile Mici Peak. There is a 15 minutes brisk desent to the Șaua Strunga Refuge (recently refurbished and very decent looking - better choice for overnight stay compared to the Bătrîna Refuge if you ask me).
From the Șaua Strunga Refuge, the descent continues to the Peștera Valley (for another 30 minutes).
It is important to know that this last part of the trail goes past a big sheepfold and one needs to watch out for the sheep dogs (I almost go attacked by three of them - not a usual incident as the sheep herders are very mindful ofnot harming the tourists, but it can happen).
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| Bucegi Mountains - Strungile Mici Peak descending towards the Șaua Strunga Refuge |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Strungile Mici Peak descending towards the Șaua Strunga Refuge |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Sdescent from the Șaua Strunga Refuge to the Peștera Valley |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Sdescent from the Șaua Strunga Refuge to the Peștera Valley |
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| Bucegi Mountains - Sdescent from the Șaua Strunga Refuge to the Peștera Valley |
... and voila ... The day trip is over ... back to the Peștera Valley - feels like going back to civilization.
I strongly recommend this day hike, as it is a easy drive and an easy enough hike to make for an enjoyable day out of Bucharest.
Pestera (starting at the cable car) to Omu Peak in the Bucegi Mountains (marked with blue vertical stripe) - about 4 hours is relaxed stride with plenty of breaks
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