carpathians Archives • Roamaniac

Hiking in the Cerna Mountains: Part Two

25th October 2024

After I hiked up to the Cerna ridge from Cerna-Sat and survived my first three flocks of well-protected sheep, it was time to encounter… the next flock of sheep! It’s Day Three of my traverse of the Cerna ridge, and I wake up to very strong winds, and an equally strong awareness that I need to get going fast so as to beat ‘the flock with the bad shepherds and evil dogs’ to it. I’ve been warned against those by the previous shepherds, and I’m a little bit concerned. By ‘beating them to it’ I mean passing them before they get to the ridge; they will have to climb up from the valley several hundreds of metres below me, so I have an advantage. If I get going on time, that is.

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Camping next to the Ses River in the Cerna Mountains

Hiking the Cerna Ridge

18th October 2024

I have a lot of stories to tell since my last update in January, but I’m going to start with the last one: my traverse of the Cerna Mountains in September. I’m going to share it with you in two instalments since I finally figured out that writing it all in one go is a lot of work and becomes way too daunting a task – which means I keep postponing it and hardly get to post anything. So I’m lowering the bar a bit – so that I can write and you can read! Here goes.

“What if I fall?”
“Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?”

I was so scared beforehand: can I still do this? Is this the right thing for me to do now? It was mid September, and I had finally decided to go on a long hike; the first of the season, at the start of autumn. I was reeling from so many things: the drawn-out process of purchasing our Romanian house and starting the renovations have taken a huge toll on me, and sent me hurtling down a terrifying depression episode. I’ve hardly had time to work, or hike. Still sniffling with a cold, I was only just regaining the courage and energy to embark on an adventure like this. But could I? The only way to find out was to actually try. And I felt I just had to. So I planned a trip, and sat on a bus, terrified and tempted.

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Moving to Romania - Sureanu Mountains close to Vf Godeanu

Moving to Romania: one year in!

9th January 2024

Hello dear reader! It’s been a while. To be precise, I haven’t posted since June 2022. All this means is that life away from keyboard has been very eventful indeed. I think I’m going to need all of 2024 to process all of 2023! If you’re following me on Facebook or Instagram you may have noticed one major change in my life: we found a house in Romania and I’m now mostly living there! Let me walk you through the highlights. I’m going to start with the lowlights though, because they are what made me move. Hold on to your seatbelts, because it’s quite the ride!

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Hiking in the Buila-Vanturarita

10th June 2022

It’s June, and summer is here! Hurray! Among my favourite mountains in Romania is the Buila-Vanturarita National Park. So when I saw my friend Alexandra Puscasu from bloguldecalatorii.ro was planning to go there, I dropped her a line to see if I could join in. Like me, she prefers to hike alone or just with her boyfriend most of the time, but during our joint venture at my book launch last year we had agreed we should hike together sometime. And so we did! Hiking in the Buila-Vanturarita is an absolute treat, especially at this time of year. Have a look!

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Gut feelings: what’s going on with me?

3rd June 2022

So I’ve been in Romania since mid April and I feel it’s confession time! I’ll start telling you what I’ve been up to so far this year. Heads up: this is going to be a highly personal post with fairly little hiking info – although I’ll pepper it with photos from my first hikes. I feel it’s important to take you with me on my sometimes difficult journey; I’m not just exploring Romania but also my self. I simply don’t want to leave you under the impression that everything is going swimmingly when it’s not. I’m building the life I want, but the process is far from smooth. I’m hoping that reading about my struggles will somehow resonate and support you on your own journey.

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Janneke Klop in the Fagaras Mountains, facing Vistea Mare and Moldoveanu Peaks

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

2nd January 2022

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)

7th December 2021

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)

26th October 2021

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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Hiking in Padis: the heart of the Apuseni

28th August 2021

After my three-day hike through the Vladeasa Mountains I went straight on into the heart of the Apuseni Mountains: Zona Padis, as the Romanians call it. Padis is a green karst plateau full of surprises. Its mysterious forests hide many a cave (and possibly also many a bear); spectacular dolines connected by underground rivers make for challenging hikes. Overall, hiking in Padis is very easy, because most of Padis consists of large pastures, where you can camp with the cows if you like. It’s very suitable for day trips with children or for newbie hikers, but also for multi-day hikes, as you will see below.

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Bivouacking near Piatra Talharului, Vladeasa Mountains

Hiking in the Vladeasa Mountains

23rd May 2021

Normally I try to squeeze an entire hike into one blog post, but my first multi-stage trek of the season was way too eventful to do that. So I’ve decided to split it up. So here’s Part One: hiking in the Vladeasa Mountains. Sprinkled with a good dose of snow and peppered with adventure and beauty!

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Hiking in the Ciucaș Mountains

5th June 2020

One of the first places I want to revisit when I am allowed to travel to Romania again will be the Ciucaș Mountains: a small massif nestled in the Carpathians’ Bend, just southeast of Brașov. Although humble in size, the Ciucaș is generously endowed with natural beauty. Not only do the bujorile de munte – mountain rhododendrons – adorn the green slopes in May and June; the Ciucaș is also known for its vast collection of oddly shaped calcareous rocks, sculpted by wind and rain over time. I visited the Ciucaș mid-May in 2018, when the rhododendrons just started to bloom. And what I’ve seen has convinced me that I need to go back.

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The Piatra Mica in winter

8th February 2020

Last winter I was lucky enough to spend some time in Romania in winter – for the first time ever! After celebrating New Year’s Eve in the Buila-Vânturarița with friends and exploring the nearby Cozia Massif with Wilbert, I headed to Brașov to revisit the Piatra Craiului Mountains with some friends, old and new. Since the winds were too strong on the main ridge we restricted ourselves to do the Piatra Mica circuit. But as you will see, it was well worth it! So here it is: the Piatra Mica in winter.

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The Piatra Mica in summer

23rd November 2019

Yes, I am aware winter is encroaching on us in the northern hemisphere, but I still have summer stories to tell. Although I spent just over a month in Romania this summer it was crammed with adventures – and I still have many pictures to share. Time to catch up. Here is a photo journal of my hike to the Piatra Mica, the Piatra Craiului‘s smaller but no-less-gorgeous sister. I’ve added ‘in summer’ to the title as I did this hike in winter as well – so a winter version of this post is in the cards. At some point. Eventually.

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The Bucegi: the Mălăieşti approach

19th August 2019

It’s 7:15. My alarm goes off. I snooze only twice, meaning I’m up, and proud, by 7:25. I do yoga, apply the finishing touches to my pack, have breakfast and call a taxi. It drops me off at Braşov station, where other taxi drivers line up to lure me into one of theirs – but alas, I’m getting on a train. To Râşnov, to be precise. After a short ride on the ridiculously cheap Regio Calatori train I briskly direct my steps towards the Bucegi. After about two kilometres I finally begin to wake up properly and realize I am still for an asphalt road, and that there are no signs of it ending anytime soon. I should definitely have taken a taxi for the first stretch to Cabana Mălăieşti. I could probably still call one, but instead I start flapping my hand up and down Romanian-style to find a ride. It doesn’t take long to take one: I end up in a car with a mountain guide, two Italian tourists and their driver. They are headed for Mălăieşti as well – lucky me. The ride probably saves me two hours of dull walking; as it turns out it’s almost 12km until the start of the trail. Sloppy slapdash planning on my part – I had a deadline to make the night before and didn’t mind the details.

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Mountain magic in Măgura

19th July 2019

Yesterday has been a very full day – in the best possible way. I wrote a whopping seventeen pages in my (small) notebook – I brought only one because I thought that would suffice for a month in Romania. But by now I only have eight empty pages left. After only two days in the mountains my heart is full and my head is brimming with stories. That’s why I’m taking today off – or rather, have decided today needs to be a processing day. It’s pouring it down outside so that makes it easier for me to reconcile myself with the fact I’m not hiking today. Not that I feel bad about it – not at all this time. These past two days have brought me so much that I really need to sit down and think, write, sift through the stories, the images, the recollections, the conversations. It’s going to be quite a task, and a long read. If you don’t feel like reading, there’s pictures. I won’t blame you.

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Update on my life and my book plus the Ceahlău Mountains

22nd June 2019

Hello dear people. It’s been a while. This blog is turning into more of a quarterly than, well, a blog. I’ve been wanting to write a post for a long, long time, but finishing the manuscript of my guidebook to the mountains of Romania and handling the feedback has swallowed me whole. It’s not that I didn’t have the time – but I’m feeling so depleted that I spend 12 hours out of every 24 sleeping and am so tired that I can’t handle much in terms of cognitive and creative effort. But I do want to write. I don’t imagine any one of you wakes up in the morning thinking ‘When is that girl finally going to post again’ but I do feel some sort of duty towards you, and myself – mostly myself perhaps. I want and need to write, and share. So here is a little update on how things are going and I’m going to treat you to some more Romanian mountains – the Ceahlau. So scroll down if you don’t want any of the personal dribble or read on if you do. (You’ve been warned.)

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Seven things I learned in Romania in 2018

22nd March 2019

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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Autumn joy in the Suhard

26th October 2018

One of my favourite ways to start a hike is when I can walk out of a town and straight into the mountains. One perfect base to do this from is the charming town of Vatra Dornei, in the northeast of Romania. I used to be a little scared of the northeast. It is arguably the remotest corner of the country and I’ve had some negative experiences there in the past. Most recently the dog bite, and in the more distant past I thought I wanted to buy a campsite in this area. It didn’t feel right, it wasn’t a good plan and I ran away screaming. Ever since I get a little mental shudder when I think of the northeast. But not any longer: I’ve discovered the northeast is perfectly friendly and perfectly gorgeous.

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The Iezer-Păpușa and Făgăraș revisited

20th August 2018

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

12th August 2018

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

3rd August 2018

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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A week in the Cozia and Buila-Vânturarița

22nd July 2018

After my hike in the Iezer-Păpușa was cut short by the rain I planned to return there, but the rain wouldn’t stop so I started looking around for alternatives – and settled for a hike in the Cozia and Buila-Vânturarița, after lengthy consultations with the 500th liker of my facebook page. So after two and a half months in and around Brașov I set off for Cârța, a lovely little village in between Brașov and Sibiu at the foot of the imposing Făgăraș mountains. Actually my host, Sorin, drove me there – he happened to have an appointment in Aiud that same day and Cârța was pretty much en route. So that saved me a lot of dragging and sweating.

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Hiking in the Rodna Mountains

28th July 2016

If the Carpathians are wild, the Rodna Mountains (Munţii Rodnei in Romanian) are truly wild. In the mountains around Braşov, the Fagaraş for example, you will meet plenty of people and find many a cabana – but in the Rodna, you will have to be completely self-sufficient. There are no cabanas except for a (temporarily closed) inn at the Setref Pass in the west, Hanul Pintea, and a cabana at the easternmost end of the ridge, Cabana Rotunda. So pack your tent, food and water, and let’s go… more “Hiking in the Rodna Mountains” …

“What if I fall?” “Oh but my darling, What if you fly?”

“What if I fall?”
“Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?”