Follow the Mountains : Day 78: A beautiful morning

It was a beautiful morning. Just when I was about to take down my tent, some blueberry pickers were passing by not far away. I got some water and then headed steeply down.

After a short hike on the main 'road', I walked up again towards an even higher ridge than the days before. It was a VERY pleasant walk up and for the first time I had the feeling to be on a normal kind of hiking trail instead on a kamikaze crazy road-like trail. When I walked up I saw sheep tracks and could smell them. So I continued carefully, always ready to stop because furiously barking dogs might run at me.

I heard the little flock of goats before I saw them in the distance, thanks to their bells. There were only a few animals and I couldn't see a shepherd or dogs. But that would be strange! So I made a BIG detour around them, which isn't easy when they stand on the ridge and the trail is on the ridge. But before that, I watched them a while and saw a fox, who also decided to rather go out of their way.

I didn't get far before I heard the next bells. Ahhhh... this must be rest of the group. Yes, there were lots of sheep and a shepherd. I yelled a "dobri den" before they even saw me, to make sure the sheperd will keep the dogs at bay. Just when I had nearly passed him, the dogs realised that I was there and they came running at me, barking like crazy. The shepherd tried to keep them away, but had to throw his stick at one of them. I passed with a racing heart and happy that this worked out as easy.

I continued on the ridge, which now turned into a continuous meadow. And I saw the first clouds forming. Already way before noon! After Mt Tempa, I headed further east on the ridge instead of walking south towards the official border crossing to Romania. I wanted to visit the highest mountain of Romania, Howerla, which lies in a beautiful National Park (at least that's what I was told). But at first 9 Jeeps passed me, the usual tourist group, looking at the mountains the easy way... It got darker and it started to rumble. I decided to set up my tent and have a lunch break. If the weather would be fine, I would continue. My spot wasn't good, the flies were annoying and it didn't rain. So I packed everything and just when I was done and started hiking, I heard the thunderstorm again and there were REALLY dark clouds. I continued only a little bit, before the first lightning and thunder were striking close by. In a hurry I put my tent up on the ridge close to the road again. But the sun was shining on my tent, while only a few hundred meters away, the thunderstorms were going crazy. It was like there was a line, where really bad and really good weather hit. And I was standing with my tent slightly on the good weather side. Two more Jeeps passed me and I started to loose my patience. But the ridge will continue further up and I would have had to cross the imaginative line. So I stayed put for hours, ate all my snacks and although it sounded like the world might come to an end, no raindrop hit my tent!

I'm still hoping it'll get a bit better and I can move to a better campspot, but she's not seem likely since the clouds are above me as well and the thunder is still rolling...