It was my second time on the “La Lanturi” and “Northern Ridge” trails in Piatra Craiului. These are some of the hardest (and most famous) marked trails in Romania. If last time I did them in one go from Curmatura to Spirlea, this time we planned to camp right on the ridge and enjoy the views, calmness and remoteness of the mountain.

Left Plaiul Foii at about 2 pm, after some pretty ugly traffic jams along DN1. Refilled our water bottles at the spring just below Spirlea. This was our last water source for the next 24 hours, so we took about 8.5 liters with us. We needed slightly more water since we relied a lot on dehydrated food.

While I told Andreea the climb from Spirlea to the ridge was pretty vertical, she was still emotionally unprepared for what followed. But she pulled it through and I’m sure she’s now a lot braver when it comes to rocky sections.

Arrived at Saua Grind right at sunset. The shelter was packed with people. There were tents all around it, occupying every flat or near flat stretch of ground – which is pretty scarce high up there. Managed to squeeze our tent between two other tents on a slightly slanting area with rocky bumps – we had no other choice and were grateful for even this.

As night fell, we started cooking and preparing for sleep. Stirring in my bowl of mashed potatoes and soy beans, I had a weird feeling I was being watched. It was pitch dark already. Looking down the mountain, my headlamp came across two lights. A pair of eyes. Took the DSLR and went to investigate. Since the autofocus light isn’t working on my 10 year old over-abused camera, I have to go manual in low/no light. And with the thrill of the moment, I didn’t get the focus right in none of the shots. The chamois, getting bored of my camera’s flashes, scurried away.

The weeks before the trip, I saw a bunch of photos online of chamois coming close to the shelter in Saua Grind. I was hoping the goats would return in the morning. And they did. One in particular really wanted to graze on some grass near the shelter. A bunch of people (me included) sneaked close and took photos from all possible angles.

We packed our stuff and went on the Northern Piatra Craiului Ridge. The trail was oftentimes steep, technical, having us rely on our arms as well.

We needed about 5 hours to reach Saua Padinei Inchise. This is where we turned left and started the descent towards Diana. We started with a nice section of fighting junipers that were overgrown over the trail.

Reached the spring at “La Gavan”, the highest altitude water source in Piatra Craiului – actually, a hole in the face of the mountain, where water collects from the limestone. Continued with some scree. During this section, we met with another group and everybody had to be extra careful so as to prevent rocks falling on the people down the trail.

Finally went below the forest line and arrived at the Diana Shelter. Descended towards Plaiul Foii and ended that day’s 9 hour long hike.

We later found out somebody died that day on one of the trails in Piatra Craiului. According to the news, he wanted to have his photo taken with the view, but got too close to a cliff and slipped. I cannot emphasize this enough: be responsible when going up mountains. Most alpine accidents can be avoided if you don’t take any chances and come prepared. And if you want a photo of you and a beautiful view, let me know and I can photoshop you. It’s safer.