37.05 Romania: Fagaras Mountains: Searching for direction in the fog and finding big rewards.
The structure in the distance and below the upper valley is from whence we commenced, 2.75 hours walk and climb. The trail is on the left side of the valley. (Portion of the Transfagarasan Highway.) We were excited to hike up a rather steep mountain behind Balea Lake following an earlier hike in the valley and mountains. The atmosphere, the sights and the general feel of the place were so good that it got our hormones racing. Perhaps, we’re too old for that stuff but something was bursting to get out and explore. We woke to heavy clouds and cool weather. Perhaps, things will be different higher up. Of course, we knew the answer to that dumb thought—they could only be worse. We arrived at the trailhead to find it was no longer there. The fog was so dense it made us look intelligent in comparison. We decided to wait a while, take tea and scones …nice thought but forget the scones. Things got worse so we took a second cup of tea as we began to freeze. While we waited, we though...