Saturday morning. The big day. My phone rang at 6:30. Unfortunately, my phone was on the table, underneath a pile of stuff, while I was on the top bed, next to the wall. At least I have a pleasant alarm (for positive wake-ups!).

We ate some omelets (our first and last hot meal of the day), packed our stuff and left. We were careful to supply ourselves with water, since the ridge trail has no springs – I was carrying no more than 6 liters.

After a steep climb up the rocky mountain, we arrived at the first peak, Turnu (1911 m), and the beginning of the ridge. We then followed the trail, reaching the peaks along the Piatra Craiului Mountains, climbing up.. and down.. rocky walls, going through forests of junipers or across exposed sections, enjoying the views towards the Bucegi or the Papusa Mountains.

Around 5 pm, we reached the highest peak, La Om (2238 m), and we started our descent towards Spirlea Shelter. This part of the trail is famous, being considered the hardest marked trail in the Romanian Carpathians. Horizontally, we had 1.5 km to the shelter. But we had to descend 800 m, oftentimes on vertical walls. Because of this, cables have been installed along treacherous sections, giving the name of the trail “La lanturi” (“At the chains”).

We finished the rocky descent just as it got dark and we continued our hike through the forest, guided by our headlamps and the reflective signs along the path. With our energy reserves dwindling, we finally reached the shelter. We ate dinner, mainly cans of beans/fish/pate, and went straight to sleep, hoping not to be awaken by a bear.

Yet.. we were awaken. 1 am. It wasn’t a bear, but a group of thirsty hikers. They had gone on the same route as us, but, having left Curmatura later and having stopped more often, they had reached “La lanturi” at nightfall. I cannot imagine how it is to go down a vertical wall, clinging to a cable, at night (and they didn’t even have enough headlamps). Furthermore, they hadn’t brought enough water. We gave them whatever we had left (.. I drank all my 6 liters) and they gave us their wine (… yup.. they were carrying wine.. but not water).

Next day, I woke up with an awful muscle soreness. I relied heavily on my walking sticks to get me back to civilisation – Plaiu Foii Chalet. From there, there were 12 km to Zarnesti, on a flat dusty road. People here usually hitchhike back to town, which is what two of us did. Me and the other two weren’t so lucky, so we called a cab. Tip: don’t use cabs in Zarnesti! Or at least check the price beforehand.

We took the train from Zarnesti, ate some cheap food in the train station in Brasov and then returned to Bucharest. On our way back we saw the Orient Express, stopped in Sinaia, with the rich folks probably visiting Peles Castle.