If you read the Day 1 post of this Leaving All Behind series, you already know about some of the background that led me to get into this one-time life adventure and how I arrived Romania after more than 50 hours on the road by bus.
Even though the first day of the arrival I was so tired, this second day I woke up early in the morning with full batteries and ready to start a hiking route through the Nature Reserve to reach the Tampa Peak at 960 m. altitude, having to cross also through a bear reserve.
Even though the hiking route is considered to be moderate difficulty and for everyone, I must say that between the high humidity of this forest and the constant steep slopes, I can't imagine anyone in a poor shape not breathing their lungs out, especially if you add the stress of knowing that you are in a forest that is part of the largest European nature reserve in wild brown bears and that in 2022 more than 9 people/tourists lost their lives due to bear encounters.
No joke.
In Romania brown bears are the largest in size (or so they say), just below the polar bear, which is the largest bear on the planet and the only animal that has humans in its diet.
I am not a person who gets scared easily but the stress with which you constantly walk through that closed forest is high, especially if you do the route alone as in my case, and you have all your senses focused on the environment and specially on noises.
In the video you can see how the sound of a squirrel coming down from a tree makes me stop and look around worriedly, in case it could be a bear.
And trust me, when you're there, the struggle with the forest noises is real.
YouTube short going up a steep slope and heavy breathing due to humidity and stress about bears:
There are several precautions for bears, both to avoid meeting them and in case you encounter them:
- As in my case, bring something that constantly makes noise and be noisy while walking to avoid, as far as possible, chance encounters.
- Do not carry food with you and, if you do, it must be vacuum packed in a protective atmosphere and unopened, like an energy bar or something like that.
- Never make a fuss or make sudden movements when you meet them, not run away, nor climb trees.
- NEVER yell at them, not in bass tones (they might believe you are a bear and fight for their territory), but much less in high/sharp tones, since you awaken their hunting instinct by identifying you as prey or wounded animal.
- Retrace the path in the opposite direction of the bear, as quietly as possible and if you speak to him it should be in a very conciliatory and calm tone, as if reassuring the animal or talking to a baby.
- If the bear attacks, drop to the ground with your belly down and wait for it to satisfy its curiosity, get bored or get annoyed after not identifying you as a threat or prey.
- BUT if you are upside down and the bear continues to bite and attack after a "reasonable" period of time, defend yourself and attack as forcefully as possible and say an Our Father since the attack is taking place and possibly the bear is hungry or wants to neutralize you as a threat. At this point there is not much more to do and if you get rid of dying it will be a miracle.
The route is constantly marked with white and blue markings.
You end up crowning the route at the peak, with a viewpoint from which to enjoy beautiful views of Brasov and the Carpathians, but all that I will show you in subsequent posts.
(Audio of the video in Spanish).
YouTube video recorded with my GoPro Hero 8 camera.
Video recorded at 1440p 60 fps 4:3.
Some photographs were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G camera, some other are screenshots from my video.
YouTube Short recorded with my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G camera.
Some sources to get more info about the complete hiking route: (1), (2), (3).
Diverse info about precautions against bears shared in this post is common knowledge.
Brasov and Romania tourism website.