Giumalău Peak, Rarău-Giumalău Mountains

1. Fundu Colbului saddle (1300 m) - Izvorului peak (1460 m) - Polița Caprelor (1565 m)

1.5 hours / 3.4 km / easy / red lane

The path, at first a forest road, climbs through the forest almost continuously, but without a steep slope. We keep to the red lane markings. It passes a small lookout point in a clearing, where it also changes direction. The first junction is called Goat Police. Here there's a big rock in the woods and a trail junction. This is where the loop that we'll follow begins and ends. We're at point two on the map.

2. Polița Caprelor (1565 m) - Giumalău Peak (1857 m)

1 hour / 1.4 km / medium / red lane

From the intersection we continue straight ahead on the same red lane marking. The fir forest is getting colder, we enter the jnepennis, the ground is frozen in places and we encounter patches of snow. The fog is creeping in. We take our lunch break on the way out of the jnepennis because we know it's windy on the ridge. The ascent through the jnepenpen and then to the alpine void is a little steeper. there is also a winter trail option for the white season. With hat, gloves and hood we scrape through the wind to the summit. Before the summit is a large memorial stone cross.

3. Giumalău Peak (1857 mdm)

On Giumalău Peak is a marker with the Romanian tricolor and the marker that marks the maximum altitude of the Rarău-Giumalău Massif, 1857 mdm. We take the group photo in the wind that almost blew my cell phone out of my hand. To the left, as we climbed we see from time to time the Rarău Mountains with Pietrele Doamnei. The summit break was short. It was time to descend more sheltered.

4. Giumalău Peak (1857 m) - Hut Giumalău (1560 m)

0.5 hours / 1.4 km / easy / blue dot

We keep roughly the same direction, but change the marker to the one with the blue dot and the slope becomes steeply downhill. We look repeatedly to the left to see Pietrele Doamnei and forward towards the Bistriței Valley that separates the Bistriței Mountains and the Stânișoarei Mountains. Giumalău Hut appears in front of us. We stop here again.

5. Hut Giumalău (1560 m) - branch point 5

0.25 hours / 0.4 km / easy / blue dot

There are signs in front of the hut. Stay on the blue dot, but turn 90 degrees to the left. The path climbs smoothly through alpine meadow to a new branch, marked on the map as number 5. Note that there are 2 branches close to each other, both marked with signposts. We spot the first one, which is slightly to the upper left of the path we came on.

6. Ramification point 5 - below Giumalău Peak - Polița Caprelor (1565 m)

1 hour / 3.0 km / easy / red cross

We turn left again at 90 degrees at the marked intersection and follow the red cross marker.We enter a segment of the trail that I liked very much. At the beginning we keep the contour at the edge of the forest, but outside it, passing under the Giumalău peak, but sheltered from the wind and with permanent visibility towards Rarău. Then we enter the forest and descend slowly. We pass through many small groves and several springs where we can get cold water. This trail will lead us to Polița Caprelor, from where we opened the loop a few hours earlier.

7. Polița Caprelor (1565 m) - Saddle Fundu Colbului (1300 m)

1 hour / 3.4 km / easy / red lane

This segment of the route coincides with the first one, except that now we turn towards the Transrarău, which just before Șaua Fundu Colbului appears snaking in our visual spectrum

8. Hotel Alpin Rarău - Piatra Șoimului Peak (1510 m)

2 x 15 minutes / 2 X 0.5 km / medium / unmarked

We then drove along the Transrarău to the Hotel Alpin Rarău. We walk back a bit on the road we came on and meet the signpost guiding tourists who want to climb to the panoramic platform on Piatra Șoimului. The ascent is short but steep, at the last part there are stairs that lead you to the panoramic platform with its transparent floor, but not as wow as I've seen in other places. The view is beautiful though. We stayed here until sunset watching the little windows of sunshine peeking out from the moving cloud blankets.