In search of the mountain peony on the paths of Ciucaș

Dear traveler,

For so long I've been hearing stories about the mountain peony. It's actually called rhododendron, but people call it like that and I cannot pronounce this word anyway, and neither does Mamarmot. In my imagination there were pink mountains with a lovely scent, and in my mind I was wondering if these punk mountains aren't actually made out of bubble gum and candy. 

I have never seen this peony, but this weekend it was going to happen.

We started off to Ciucaș mountains in a rainy weekend, thinking about camping there. My folks found an interesting trail, a wilder one, which I never walked before. 

We start walking on paths covered in plants, flowers and weeds, thinking that we will set up our tent in Tigăilor Saddle, that fairytale like place I visited last summer.

The leaves are full of water drops that gathered like beads and in the air you can feel a fresh scent of green and forest. The path is winding and takes us in a gorge where a big rock seems to have fallen from the top of the mountain and got stuck between two other rocks. 

Reaching a meadow where we slide so we won't step into the puddles, we find a raw green forest and a path, much narrower than the one we walked so far. 

We were alone on the trail since the beginning, or at least this is what we thought.

I suddenly stop next to a big bear track. 

The track seems quite fresh and it continues on our path. The forest becomes more and more wild and the bear's track doesn't seem to stray from our way.

I'd really like to see a bear, or, in the case of this track, a big bear. But my folks don't share my view. Checking the map, they say it's better to get back to our car and head towards Tigăilor Saddle on a much known trail. Oh come on, it was really nice here...

I cannot convince them, so we make our way back to the car. They say we will se up our tent in the courtyard of the Ciucaș cabin, and that first thing in the morning tomorrow we will head towards Tigăilor Saddle, in search of the mountain peony.

After we ate and I jumped for about a thousand times on the trampoline from the cabin's courtyard, I tucked in my sleeping bag, cuddling with my teddy bears. I'm sorry I did not see a third bear today..maybe next time. But a dinner and a thousand jumps in the trampoline are not a good combination, so as soon as I tuck into my sleeping bag I get nauseous..and I don't want to give you additional details, but all I can say is that I had to say farewell to my teddy bears, which ended up in the first dumpster from the cabin. Opening the tent to get some fresh air, we end up with three dogs in our tent, which dare drooling everything around. It's going to be an interesting night..but I'm too tired so I let my folks to deal with that. 

In the morning, the mist is beautifully rising from the forest and I'm well rested and ready to meet with the mountain peony. My folks are not that rested, their eyes are red and it seems they did not sleep at all. They told me they heard music all night long and that at some point, Mamarmot got out of the tent and was hugged by one of the dogs, that afterwards had entered our tent again. I did not hear a thing. 

Let's hit the road. 

The trail is easy and beautiful, with few climbs. The sun is not brave enough to show up and the mist is still dense on some parts of the trail. 

A dozen kinds of colored flowers pop on our way, but not the mountain peony, Where is it? That thought barely leaves my head when the first peony flower pops in front of my eyes. Then the second. And after the first turn, dozens, hundreds, and I'm not counting further. Woooow!

Wherever I look, the mountain peony covers the crests. And in the distance, the mountain actually seems pink, exactly as I imagined. We reach the place we visited last summer, which I like very much. If on the other road, all the stones are resembling dinosaurs, when you reach Tigăilor Saddle, it feels like you reached at the gate of a huge castle.

Some wild horses are enjoying this place and the peony as well. 

I help Mamarmot take a picture with the map, from the same spot the picture from the map's cover was taken.

We head out towards the Ciucaș peak as well and if so far we climbed just a little, now we start finding a few slopes on our way.

The sun cleared up the mist a bit and Mamarmot shows me different rocks and tells me how they are called. She even shows me the trail we would have walked yesterday, if we continued walking along with the bear.

This narrow path is very beautiful, sprinkled with many flowers. The narrow path starts to climb but I'm trying to keep my patience in one piece as I'm stunned by what's around me. Still, the last climb could have been nicer.

At the peak we can see only the waymarking as besides that all you can see is a milky mist. It's fine, I'll have to return to this place to enjoy some clear sights as well. But even this mist has its own unique charm. 

From here we descend lightly back to the Ciucaș cabin, back to the doggies guarding our tent. 

The descent back to the car turns into a run on the steep slope, enjoying the sounds and scent of the forest.

I enjoyed this day so much!

I ask Mamarmot:

-"Mamarmot, what wonders will we see next time?"

-"Marmot, I think we'll go in a place you've never been before."