The more you climb the colder it gets and the deeper the snow. Small gaps in the forest reveal the valley. A good time to refill our energy with some chocolate. And also a valuable lesson to learn. Always carry a thermos with you when you climb in under -15C. Or you will end up like me with a frozen bottle of water.
After 4 hours of climbing, just when the forest seems to never end we see it. The red band trail that will take us to the hut. A few minutes later an ocean of white – Saua Ciobanilor.
A few hundred meters away Rarau Peak reveals itself. The wind blows so hard freezing our faces. Is no place to rest here so we keep going. Relatively an easy summit at 1651m as the peak looks more like a hill.
One that reaches the top is delighted with a superb view of Toancii Valley. The well known rock formation Pietrele Doamnei ( Lady’s Rocks) dominates the surroundings. We spot some signs of civilisation – electricity cables – and we know the hut is close.
One hour we reach Rarau hut. It’s actually more of a hotel by the size of it. I remember taking a picture that is nowhere to find. We spend the rest of the day drying our clothes and resting.
We’ve decided to return by another route and we follow the yellow triangle that will take us to Poiana Sihastriei. It’s an easy hike and it shouldn’t take us more than 3 hours. The massive forest clearance makes it difficult in finding the trail but the instinct kicks in. We are just sad to see nobody does anything to save it.
The trail continues beneath the Bodea Peak into Valea Seaca (Dry Valley). We can see some houses in the distance and in less than an hour we are in the restaurant waiting for the a well deserved dinner.
