One of the top of the list trail running day tours planned for this year was Piatra Craiului Ridge; especially after the
failed attempt of last year. However the very unstable weather of the 2014 summer made it hard to find a good day for this trip. Doing the ridge in safe conditions requires dry and stable weather. Then I also had to find someone with comparable fitness level as it is not a good idea to do the technical ridge hike alone.
The higher section of the main ridge of Piatra Craiului measures about 10km in length, and most of it is above 2000m altitude. It is one of the most spectacular routes in the Carpathian Mountains. It is a technical hike, recommended only on good weather and for people in good physical shape and without fear of heights. In fact only about 10% of the route is suitable for running. On many sections of the ridge route one has to also use the hands when hiking up and down on the rocky sections.
On Saturday the 13th of September, most trail runners in the area were participating in the
Ciucas Trail Marathon races. After doing the half-marathon in 2012 and the marathon last year, I have decided not to participate this year. I was however hiking on Ciucas mountains where I met and encouraged the racers in the 105km ultra-marathon race. The weather was very good for trail running. Dry, cool and sunny, a bit windy though. For the Sunday, the 14th of September the weather forecast looked even better. Same stable weather but less windy. So I knew that it might be a good day for a hike on Piatra Craiului Ridge.
I was wondering if I was the only trail runner in the area who did not participate at Ciucas marathon, so in good shape for a hike along Piatra Craiului Ridge next day... Around 19:00 I phoned Mihai, a passionate trail runner that also lives in Schei district of Brasov where I live. I first met him this spring at the Brasov Marathon, where we ran together the last kilometer of the race. He told me on the phone that he tried to call me, but realized that he might have lost my number... His idea... Piatra Craiului! We quickly agreed on all the details and next morning at 6:30 we left Brasov.
As expected, the day turned out to but to be perfect for hiking along the ridge. The weather was sunny, stable and not to warm. The constant but quite weak wind kept us cool and dry. We progressed very well along the ridge, making short breaks to admire the landscape, take photos, eat, and talk to other hikers. It took us 4h30 from Turnu Peak to Funduri Saddle; a good time. I am sure that we could have done it faster, but we were not competing in a race and also wanted to enjoy the amazing landscape.
Here is the GPS recorded track of the day:
