Upon waking up I made my way to the common room. I reorganized my pack and ordered a breakfast. The breakfast was coffee, a hearty stack of bread and spreadables. Once finished I stepped out into the chilly morning, fought my way through the heard of donkeys at the base of the stairs and began my climb back up the ridge. After gaining the top of the ridge I set off, ever onwards to the east. Before too long the imposing peak of Moldoveanu came into view silhouetted against the rising sun.

Moldoveanu

After the hike up I found myself alone on the peak. I thought it appropriate to take a few moments to reflect on how lucky I was to be making this expedition… Then I took a bunch of selfies!

Tippy top of Moldoveanu Peak

I descended from the peak of Moldoveanu and continued on. I had to cover a total of 20 kilometers in order to stay on schedule. No problem on flat land but more of a challenge with the ups and downs of the Fagaras mountains. Eventually I met two Romanians hiking east to west. They had come from Refugiul Zarna which was my destination for the day. We chatted about the trail and they informed me that they had helped a donkey have a baby that morning at Refugiul Zarna. They asked me to let them know how the mother donkey was doing when I reached the Refugiul, we exchanged contact information and I pressed forward. Passing many beautiful views and flocks of sheep.

The idea of meeting flocks of sheep in the mountains may seem nice and calming but those sheep usually come with agressive sheep dogs. The trick is to never turn your back on them for too long when they are close. Ideally give the flocks pleanty of space as you pass. The further away from the flocks the less agressive the dogs get. Also acknowledging the shepherds as the flocks are approached usually results in them gaining control if the dogs.

None of the shepards I meet spoke much English but I managed to have conversations with all of them. One man spoke Spanish so I was able to have a more detailed conversation with him. He worked in Spain for 9 years hence the Spanish. We also talked about how the mountains were beautiful. I initially suggested that they were handsome (guapo) because I couldn’t remember the word for beautiful. After some laughing he suggested Bonita (pretty). We made a few more attempts as small talk and eventually bid each other adios.

Most of the conversations with the other shepherds involved us both talking in our native language and making hand signs. The conversations typically were allong these lines.

Them asking if I was from Germany. Me replying no U.S.A. Them asking where I started the hike, where I was headed that day. Then they would tell me how long before I reached my destination. Then they would ask to borrow my lighter. Offer me a cigarette. Then try to take my lighter. I would tell them I needed it for lighting my camp stove and they would reluctantly hand it back. We would bid one another goodby and I would move on. For anyone planning on hiking in the Fagaras bring extra lighters for the shepherds!

Eventually I spied the Refugiul and began the decent. As I got closer I was greeted by 4 angry barking dogs. I entered the Refugiul and met two Czechs, fresh on the trail, who were huddling inside out of fear of the dogs. Talking to them I learned that they had not left the shelter for hours because they were scared. One of them had even been bitten by the dogs. When I asked how that happened he said it caught him while he was running from it… I suggested that instead of running he should stand his ground and possibly yell. I explained they would be meeting more dogs and that they really should not run but needed to stand up to them or risk more bites. I don’t think they trusted my advice.

Latter that evening my two Czech friends who I had been running into on occasion made their way into the camp. Yelling and kicking at the dogs as they approached. They made it safely. We caught up over dinner and some tea and settled down for bed. We drifted off to sleep to the barking of the dogs outside.

Doo Doo doo looking out my back door

Zarna Refugiul

Sign post for Zarna