Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

The Carpathian Mountains are Europe's longest mountain range, and the wildest part is in Romania. Much of these highlands is known as Transylvania, which much of the the world only has ever heard of, if it has at all, as where Dracula supposedly is from…Me, there is perhaps a bit of some of that in my attempt to walk across Romania via the Carpathian Mountains, but this is a working hike…substantial portions of my planned route technically don't exist as a trail, and some of the climbs along the way are 1,500 meters or more…

Destination: Bran
Starting Location: Bran
Today's Kilometers: 0.00
Trip Kilometers: 436.75

SCHLOCK IT TO ME

20.06


Tasteful mugs for that tasty beverage. Actually, there was plenty of other tourist junk on sale. But this was the most tacky. Sunday, June 20, 2010



“Zero” day, didn't hike anywhere
And that is: Bran, Casa Medievale


Dayend data: As above
Distance advanced: 0

Weather: Rain overnight, drizzle day, sort of clearing, and then more drizzle. I can see the Bucegi from where I'm sitting and I feel for the poor suckers caught out there.

Today was again a journalism day, this time devoted to completing a story on how Dracula helps or harms the Romanian tourist industry. Most of the research had already been done, so what remained was to write up the text and take some pictures of the souvenir market in the middle of the village.

This work was complete by mid-afternoon.

Next on the hit parade was properly starting planning for the next leg of hiking, a 7-8 walk along the crest of the Transylvanian Alps, or as they are known here the Fagaras. I read the guidebook Fagaras section for the third time, and followed the author's advice on my 1:60,000 map. (Why pick that scale?) All in all it looks doable, although there is a central section involving some rock clambering. But there are shelters about every 10 km., and proper cabanas about every 20, and more frequently if you're willing to drop of the main ridge.

The big good news of the day was that the pension landlord/local businessman came through for me, and confirmed it would be possible to courier a box of stuff from where I am, Bran, to where I'll finish up this upcoming leg of the hike, Sibiu.

A bit of checking also reserved a room in a Sibiu pension, and they'll receive the box which, as those of you in the hiking community have already realized, will be my bounce box. In it will go the laptop, all the cables and adapters except for the phone, town clothes, town slippers, old maps, the receipts I've accumulated, and probably a couple of pair of socks.

The poncho was going to get bounced as well, but that rainy day on the Bucegi convinced me it's useful to have a tarp to throw over myself against severe precipitation.

I'll still be carrying the camera, batteries, and extra lenses, but I have every expectation of reducing my pack weight by 3 kilos, and maybe even 4 or 5. That ain't chicken feed.

The downside is that these daily reports you guys are expecting, will stop for the week and a bit I'm separated from the laptop. I promise to take a lot of notes.
"Boola Boola!"


Stefan Korshak is a reporter and blogger at Trail Journals. You can read his blog entries at http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=311030