Little Stones Peak, Mount Mare

1. Info Center Băișoara (1.350 m) - Băișoara Trail - Plopiș Saddle (1.519 m) - Buscat Peak (1,676 m)

1.5 hours / 3.3 km / medium / red lane

From Information and Promotion Center Băișoara we follow the mark red tape slightly uphill to the right. From the resort we leave the yellow cross on the left. We reach the forest. At a certain point we intersect the ski lift from the Băișoara Trail. After a while we have to be careful because the marked trail changes direction slightly to the left, at a fork not marked by trails. After 45 minutes from the start we will reach the DJ107R again, at the point called Saddle La Plopiș (point 3).

We just tangentially touch the road in this glen and continue straight ahead. From the saddle we are joined by a stretch of road and the yellow cross marker we had parted from earlier. But be careful again! 15 minutes from Plopiș we change direction to the left once more at a red arrow painted on a tree trunk. We climb a little more steadily through the increasingly sparse forest. Between the juniper bushes we enter, we encounter the first traces of snow. Buscat Peak  lies in an almost flat area. Half a kilometer past the summit marked on the map (point 5) is a viewing platform (point 6).

2. Buscat Peak (1.676 mdm) - panoramic platform

Panoramic platform Buscat Peak is also the upper end of the Buscat chairlift from the Buscat Ski Resort. From Buscat Peak we can see Vlădeasa Peak, and to the south Pietrele Mărunte Peak, our destination for a short while now, and Muntele Mare Peak, which is off limits as there is a military unit here. The peak is marked by a round balloon, I think meteorologically. In front of the platform, there is a leash where you can take Instagrammable photos. We take a well-deserved 15-minute break.

3. Buscat Peak (1,676 m) - Buscat Ski Resort - Poiana Șesu Cald (1,560 m)

15 minutes / 1.0 km / easy / red lane, but we didn't see it on the road

From the Buscat plateau at the Buscat Ski Resort you go down the ski slope. Although I didn't see the markings mentioned on the map, you can't get lost, as the wide slope provides visibility all the way to the saddle in the valley, called Poiana Șesu Caldwhere we meet the DJ107R (point 8). On the left side of the road is the mountain rescue center, where several trails converge.

4. Poiana Șesu Cald (1.560 m) - Colțul Rotund (1.630 m) - Vârful Pietrele Mărunte (1.731 m)

45 minutes / 2.0 km / medium / yellow dot

We continue ahead for a bit on the asphalt road that starts to climb. We climb and after the asphalt ends and after 20 minutes in the saddle we reach the Round Corner (point 10), where we change direction 90 degrees to the left. We start to climb a little steeper on snow. The coniferous forest cools down, junipers appear again and the terrain becomes flatter and flatter, just like on Buscat Peak. Just before the summit there is a branch to the left, marked with a yellow dot. From here we walk a little further to the most spectacular place of our route, the summit of Pietrele Mărunte (point 11).

5. Peak Pietrele Mărunte (1.731 mdm)

We took the main summit break for the next 45 minutes. The whole group would be amazed by the spectacular scenery we found here. We were above the sea of clouds, it was sunny, there were patches of snow, and we were identifying one by one the higher ridges whose peaks were peaking above the clouds. From right to left: Retezat, Parâng, Condrel, Făgăraș, Bucegi. Closer to us, the Șesul Craiului which borders the spectacular Scărița - Belioara ridge, also part of the Muntele Mare Massif. Before we give up again the peak of Muntele Mare. Lunch break we took shelter between the rocks that form the summit. What a special day on the summit!

The view from the summit of Little Stones can be seen here.

6. The summit of Pietrele Mărunte (1,731 m) - Round Corner (1,630 m) - Poiana Șesu Cald (1.560 m)

30 minutes / 1.8 km / easy / yellow dot

We return to the Poiana Șesu Cald on the same path we climbed earlier. There are more and more tourists that we greet. We keep our eyes on the branch at point 13 where we have to take the path marked with a red cross to the right.

7. Poiana Șesu Cald (1.560 m) - Telefonului Road - DJ107R (1.410 m)

45 minutes / 2.7 km / easy / red cross

At the beginning we follow a wide road that has several branches, we follow the marked path. A former torrent has created a fairly deep break in our path, but we have no difficulty in continuing our route. This segment is called Telephone Road. Through the forest we arrive at the lower station of the Buscat ski lift. We cross a beautiful forest until we reach a serpentine of the road DJ107R (point 14).

8. DJ107R (1.410 m) - - Info Center Băișoara (1,350 m)

15 minutes / 1.0 km / easy / yellow dot

In the road we meet again the marked yellow dot where we will close our circuit. At a T-junction of the paved road, we turn left. Also on the left near the end of the trail is a captured spring with good cold water. Next to the Avram Iancu's Cross the group photo is taken, which confirms with our smiling faces what a great lap we have covered.