A good start for summer: Peak Ciucaș
Team: Myself, Dragoș,
Matei, Rareș.
Route: Cheia (from Prahova county)--Fabrica de apă (Water bottling plant)--Ciucaș
Hut--Ciucaș Peak--Tigăilor Saddle--Ciucaș Hut–Cheia.
First of all, I want to thank Matei for translating this article.
Also, Matei added what is written in red.
I managed to submit my bachelor thesis and I had a week left until its
presentation. I could feel the summer being very close. With the memory of last
year’s hike on the Moldoveanu Peak still fresh on my mind, I knew that the
summer must begin on the mountain trails. But where should it start?
After a hard year in college, I wanted to test
myself on an easier route. Because I had a score to settle with the Ciucaș Peak
from the past winter, the choosing process was rather easy. The boys and myself
chose to leave immediately after the presentation of my bachelor thesis
(#breakingthelaw / so badass). All I can say after that Friday night, in Cheia,
where Dragoș beat us at a game of Carcassone: Star Wars, it was easier to
imagine myself taking another exam next morning rather than climbing up a mountain.Water bottling plant--Ciucaș Hut (blue cross, 1h 30min)
Saturday morning we were in
the car, traveling towards Fabrica de Apă (The Water Factory) where we wanted to
park our car (Well it is Rareș’s car, but he doesn’t know that it
is our Mountainmobil. Don’t tell him). We avoided the trail with the yellow stripe from Cheia because there
are not so friendly dogs from Cabana Muntele Roșu (The Red Mountain Hut), which
was the route I tried during winter, but that story is for another time. I have to mention that in Romania there are some problems with the dogs, so it is better to travel with a larger group. We travelled on the
forest road for approximately 1 h 30 min. Izvorul Nicolae Ioan can be reached
with any type of car, but to progress further only a 4x4 (16 HUEHEUEEHUE) would do
the job. If you don’t take into account the last part of the road, which is a
steep ascent, the road is quite pleasant. This is why I am advising you to
leave your car at the beginning of the forest road :).
The forest road
The Peak-Ciucaș Hut
Delicious soup
After
we spoiled ourselves with a hot soup and with way too many talks about football
and video games (boys...), we marched on towards the Ciucaș peak.
But
before all this…what should we know about The Ciucaș Mountain?
So, they are a part of the Curvature Carpathians (Carpații de Curbură) which
belong to the Oriental Carpathians (Carpații Orientali). The highest peak is
the Ciucaș Peak with an altitude of 1954 m. Geologically speaking, it consists
of limestone, sandstone and shale. Also you can find little bears (they are not
small at all), lynxes, wolves and sooo many other animals. The best moment to
visit this peak is in the middle of June, to see the fully bloomed Rhododendron.
Ciucaș Hut--Ciucaș Peak (red stripe, 1h 30 min)
In the proximity of the
hut, the indicators can be found easily. Following the little trail, we left behind the noise
of a busy Saturday at the Ciucaș Hut. The road is accessible for someone who is
in a good physical shape. Also, the scenery is superb, so it is worth the
effort. The route is open throughout the year, but in the winter the snow and
the icy wind make it difficult to travel it. For me, this is an ideal route
for someone who hasn’t set his foot on a mountain trail in a long time, for
kids and for the ones who miss the spectacular rocky formations of this peak.
On our way to the peak
Horse drinking water
We follow the path...
Closer...
A look back, in the left side of the picture we can see the hut
Messages on rocks
Another look behind
During
last winter, I tried reaching the peak, but I was stuck in the middle of a
pretty sustained ascent because there was ice all around (to be continued). The
portion I am talking about is much friendlier during summer as you can see in
the picture below:
Dragoș waiting for us :))
Rocks from Ciucaș
After the "difficult" passage
Matei and the path
I
can recall how joyful I was with every step I took. I was feeling like the
luckiest human in the world because I was up there in the mountains, carrying
my backpack and being with my group of friends. I couldn’t believe it was
summer again.
The hut again
Ciucaș view
We
were lucky with the weather: even though on the peak the wind was quite strong,
the sun was bright and there were no chances of rain. Sadly, Matei didn’t wear anything on his head and he had some
nasty sunstroke to deal with when he arrived back home. Take home message?
Always wear a hat or a buff on your head. I would recommend the headbands! They can be worn in many different
ways, they offer protection from wind and sun and they dry quickly in case they
get wet. Mine is from Decathlon, but you can find them in other mountain shops as well and they
come in many shapes and sizes.
That is the Peak!!!
Photo taken on the Peak...
Top photo
Ok,
I believe I have some explaining to do. The shirt I am wearing resembles a
football shirt, but it contains the essence of my bachelor thesis. Bridgeman is
the one that found and demonstrated the above identity.
This relationship is related to differential geometry and general topology and
the key word is orthogeodesic.
”Ortho-what?”
you might ask. Never mind. The term geodesic can be quite easily explained and
is one of our favourite words that we use, even when we go in the mountains.
But this is for another time…
I love to take pictures like this...
Selfie with the team
The
road towards the peak is incredible, but it can be fully appreciated only if the
hiker is safe from any dangers. The first step towards achieving this safety
is: get a pair of mountain boots. I can’t stress this enough: walk on mountain
trails only with appropriate footwear. Sadly, on many accessible routes (where
you can travel to by car or by cable car) you will find many lunatics walking
in street shoes or worse …
Usually,
I don’t like to go back on the same road, if there is an alternative.
Immediately under the Ciucaș Peak, the red cross trail begins and it takes us
through Șaua Tigăilor (Tigăilor Saddle) which finally reconnects with the
first road we climb before.
Tigăilor Saddle
Small path
Friendly rocks
Our path
From Ciucaș with love...
Sheep
Back
at the hut we ate the already traditional sandwiches with paté and schnitzel.
Our meal was supervised by a craving Romanian Shepherd Dog. After the break we
headed back to our car.
All
I can say is that it was a pleasant hike in which we evaluated our fitness
level and we met again with the Mountain after a looong break. Taking into
account the trips that followed, we can all say that we evaluated ourselves with 10 out of 10 :).
This
trip couldn’t end without a drink (except the driver, of course) a Ciucaș beer
in this fairy-tale mountain. Here is the proof:
Me and the Ciucaș beer
As
I am writing this story, all I can recall is that it was a relaxing hike which
occurred without too many strange adventures, if I take into account what other
adventures we had this summer. I will leave a link with this mountain’s map that I used. With that in mind I strongly advise you
to go there by yourselves. You are just hours away form a friendly and
spectacular mountain. You can reach Cheia with a ”Maxi” from the IDM coach
station, Bucharest.
I want to thank you
all for visiting Ciucaș with us. As a sneak peek: the next adventure is from
Făgăraș.
