Hiking the Romanian Carpathians - The Retezat and Tulisa Mountains [Balkans Ep1]

[@elizardbeast666]

I'm so happy to come to your videos cos you guided me to an awesome adventure when i go back to my mother country this year! All the love and support, you really rocked this one!

[@RichardHartfield]

Cheers Alexandra! Really glad the videos have got you planning some hikes :) Romania is BEAUTIFUL!

[@WyeExplorer]

That dwarf pine forest was way worse than the dogs. Good going Richard. part 2 now. Mark

[@roamaniacs]

Wonderful - Retezat is in our heart forever, can't wait to go back

[@RichardHartfield]

breathe-to-travel me neither! :)

[@cristiana4895]

Great Video i came from Romania and i love Retezatu..you are all alone realy you are great

[@TRUEiMPROrecords]

Great to see you on the trails again! Cool looking destinations too... Im exited for the videos :)

[@RichardHartfield]

Thanks for watching!

[@amoreazione3563]

Hello Richard, I admire your determination and ability to hike alone in one of the wildest areas of Europe. Did you encounter any wolves or bears, or did you meet other hikers who did? How difficult (or easy) is it to follow paths and orienteer? I would like to head to the Carpathians in October, and I am wondering if I will find any more challenges other than cold weather and absolute solitude

[@RichardHartfield]

Hi amore! It really depends where exactly you’re thinking of going to. I’ll talk about Romania here since that is the video you’re commenting on. In Romania there certainly are bears and they can be very dangerous. Taking simple precautions is often enough, but it needs to be considered. I imagine they‘ll probably be looking to eat as much as possible during October, in prep for winter hibernation, and as natural foods like berries etc could be in short supply by then, that could increase the risk of them giving you problems, so do some solid research in on this from an expert! As for waymarking- it’s generally really good in Romania and there’s up to date digital and paper maps available. There’s an app called muntii nostri that’s particularly good. Good luck in whatever you decide to do! Romania is a beautiful country with very friendly people and a fascinating history.

[@amoreazione3563]

@@RichardHartfield Thank you for your quick and accurate reply! I might look into getting bear spray, although I don't know if that is legal and available for in-store purchase in Romania. In Canada it is, but Canada has got grizzlies ahah

[@RichardHartfield]

Amore Azione bear spray is a good shout, I think it might be possible to buy it there in some places now. Check out a website by my friend Paul which has a lot of good near info for Romania: www.wildtransylvania.com/?m=1

[@hugbearsx4]

@@amoreazione3563 While sporting pepper spray downtown might raise a couple eyebrows (and likely land you in trouble), carrying it in plain sight on the trail in forested areas (so that it's immediately available for deployment if required) is not only legal, but also highly advisable. In Romania you can get bear spray either in hunting/fishing shops or in some sporting shops for about 50-100 euro. Of course, it's also available online.

[@amoreazione3563]

Hi Richard! I ended up going to Romania and hiking on the Carpathians last May and I thought I would share my experience here. I hiked in the area of Brasov on the Bucegi mountains. Beautiful, pristine mountains. One only has to stay away from the touristic towns which, unfortunately, display horrible socialist architecture and have some of the shantiest hotels and restaurants I have ever seen. But the surrounding peaks and the immaculate forests make you forget all that stuff very quickly. I have seen some of the tallest standing beech forests, gazed at an incredible amount of flowers and, last but not least, I encountered a mother bear with her cub. It happened while I was making my way down to the car and the trail was deserted. They ran away as soon as they heard me coming though. Of course, it could have gone in a different way as I was not carrying any bear spray. But that momma bear was merciful. An amazing experience which I hope to repeat in the future.

[@sydneyhunt6681]

Come across you looking at walks I'm getting back into am sooo unfit so more reason too get out loved seeing your adventures all the best buddy

[@RichardHartfield]

Martin Hunt thanks, just get out walking and your body will soon adapt!

[@RichardHartfield]

Martin Hunt thanks, just get out walking and your body will soon adapt!

[@DEBBIEJCOX]

Great video, whats the intro music, have heard it before but want to get hold of it to keep.

[@chrisrete]

Beautiful, m8! You were so keen on visiting the eastern side of Retezat (where it meets Tulisa). That's amazing! I think you would be happy to see some other wild parts of these mountains. If you ever go again, don't hesitate to contact me for some cool advice.

[@RichardHartfield]

Chris Reţe thank you very much Chris! I absolutely LOVED hiking and travelling in Romania. I can’t wait to go back, I want to explore the whole country! I’ll def be in touch when the time comes :) take care, rich.

[@danos5181]

Really nice video! Just wondering a few things. 1. Which tent did you use that did not hold up to the winds and how stong were the winds; 2. I guess no bears so far? But how did you camp on the forrest? Wwth the food up on a tree in a bag or in a bear cannister or something else? Thanks again for the video and looking to the next one.

[@RichardHartfield]

Dano S thanks man. Tent was a zpacks solplex. Winds were over 30 so pretty strong to be fair. No bears at all, and I avoided camping below tree line and never bothered hanging my food. Some locals recommend it though

[@Vlog.Nobita]

Ahhhhh amazing, I hope I can go to there someday 😍😍😍 but how many days you need for go and back?

[@RichardHartfield]

Nobietha Croft thanks for watching! It depends on where you travel from. I flew from the U.K. to cluj napoca, then had another full day of travel to get to Cabana Pietrele, part of which I had to hitchhike, since I couldn’t find a mini bus! It’s probably easier to approach from the southern side of the Retezat from Campu Lui Neag, and I think that a lot of people do this :)

[@Vlog.Nobita]

Richard Hartfield oohhh I see, I'm from Indonesia, I hope I can go travel to there becoz I have bf from Romania, or maybe someday you will come to my country, so more beautiful mountain in my country 😊

[@RichardHartfield]

Nobietha Croft I shall add Indonesia to my list!

[@Vlog.Nobita]

Richard Hartfield really, I can give you recommend the best mountain in my country 😆

[@sterianburghelea6567]

Come and hike in Neamt county and visit Piatra Neamt. It has gorgeous places to visit.

[@RichardHartfield]

Sterian Burghelea I will. I plan to head back to Romania soon to explore more!

[@domo3552]

2'22". Sorry Rich, you're not the star on this one. I had a dog (border collie 'Blaze' on name tag) follow me all day in the Lakes once. I managed to outwit him, but his face of rejection : ( .. Blaze caught up with me though - happy to see me - and I him : )

[@RichardHartfield]

Haha! That's brilliant! My record so far has been when hiking across the Castellon region of Spain, where a dog followed me for two days! Even when I went into a village for the night, I found that he'd just slept right outside my guesthouse, and was waiting to carry on with me again the next morning! Started to wish I could've brought him home with me. Don Carlo you will be missed :'(

[@bastogne315]

Are you doing any hiking in 18.

[@RichardHartfield]

Yeah I'm off to the Caucasus Mountains in mid June!

[@sopheeyuh5848]

what song was in the beginning?

[@RichardHartfield]

Hi Sophia. I’m not actually sure, I just remember I searched for “Romanian folk music” and found the sample when throwing together these videos. But it has proved a controversial choice to some! (See other comments) apparently it is a gypsy song of some kind!

[@sopheeyuh5848]

@@RichardHartfield thank you so much! it’s beautiful.

[@Zdamaneta]

@@RichardHartfield yeah, it's really insulting, it has nothing to do with us Romanians and our culture. That's like adding an Indian Bollywood song to represent Japan.

[@zygmuntlegutko352]

Richard, I got a question about this first windy day. Did you changed your tent to ZPacks cuben one or is it your old Tarptent? You were sleeping in a Czech guy's tent - what was it? Free standing one? I'm in the market for a tent and withstanding windy conditions is kind of a priority for me. Love your videos btw. Cheers

[@RichardHartfield]

Zygmunt Legutko hey, it was the zpacks that couldn’t handle the wind. It’s bad in high winds, but even my tarptent notch would’ve struggled. The notch is definitely more wind worthy overall though.

[@RichardHartfield]

As for the Czech guys tent, it was a traditional two layer, heavyweight tent.

[@zygmuntlegutko352]

Richard Hartfield thx for quick reply. Cheers

[@comansimion]

🇹🇩☝🏻👏👏👏

[@Ds0792]

My country ❤️

[@bastogne315]

I notice you wear trainers not boots for hiking. Can you get away with trainers in the Carpathians?

[@RichardHartfield]

Footwear is a very personal choice, but for me, those shoes work perfectly. I don't like boots because they don't provide any meaningful ankle support to me, and they're really heavy/hot. And also they take ages to dry.

[@gcrecords1731]

Carpatyans mountains daco scityians is indenticals peru mountains and himalyan both they are cousen scityians saka kurgans