Not really a trip report, but last Sunday....

[clivehorridge]

As the title suggests really, the weather was fine and a bit warm so we just took a ride up the hill last Sunday....



Interesting bit of cumulonimbus rising over Bucegi (Busteni range) in the distance...



It was rising quickly, changing by the minute...



We took a little stroll and Ana flew her kite...



That zoomy thing on the camera again...



We're on the main east-west Europe flightpath, so always high altitude aircraft overhead...



A gratuitous snap of the truck...



Some of the locals, photographed "safari style"



The ripped up turf is the result of wild boar coming up from the forest at night, they do quite a bit of damage to the common grazing land up here, looking for ground nuts and roots, especially in dry weather...



The village of Secaria viewed from the hill



And the hairpin road going over the top to Valea Doftana...



Then time to come down. We chose a tiny track avoiding the asphalt, which runs all the way down to the track that our house is on. It's narrow, to say the least, and a bit scratchy. In wetter weather, it's almost impassible, because it's also very steep in places...









Through some old orchards





And back on the (not so straight and) narrow...







These are spring and autumn flowering crocus, very fragile flowers, but always welcomed on the hills and in the pastures...



Steeper and and narrower in this part, with high banks on either side...



Especially on the passenger side, as I could see in my mirror, the bank rising higher than the roof of the Truck...





This stretch is a nightmare in the wet...



Then it opens up for a relatively easy run down to the house...





BBQ for tea and the end of another lovely weekend out of the city...

 

[Julian T]

Very nice Clive.

 

[clivehorridge]

It's no "Morocco 2015" or "Iceland" overland, but very pleasant for 3 or 4 hours on a Sunday when weather permits....

 

[AndyCook]

Great weather for you and nice trails


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[clivehorridge]

Great weather for you and nice trails


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Yes Andy, that one in particular is nice in the dry, and somewhat of a "challenge" in the wet, particularly when going up it (instead of down).

As usual, photos never do anything justice, maybe next time I'll take a video, often a vid will capture more of the "reality" of a track than stills do.

It's absolutely bone-dry at the moment, those high banks in the wet do no damage to the truck, it just slides on the clay mud face like a toboggan chute, but in the dry it's hard and unforgiving, and will scratch or rip plastic trim clean off.

Gently does it, works (almost) every time for me

 

[Shayne]

Not at all envious my trucks better than yours

 

[clivehorridge]

Well Shayne, I wouldn't want to embarrass you by taking up a challenge

I appreciate yours will, without doubt, beat mine on acceleration and top end, and I'm sure as a shortie it's much more maneuverable in tight-spots, but when it comes to comfort on the rough and raw grunt on a climb, it will at the least match the 90 and be somewhat more stable in the process.

You know by now that I drive like an old fart, so the get-go (or lack of it) at the lights doesn't bother me. Anyway, it's horses for courses and I love it, you the same with your 90.

Still, you can't resist the tease, can you? Be careful what you wish for...

 

[Chas]

Very nice Clive, was that the route we took up the hill from your house in August?

 

[Shayne]

You know i jest what else do i have when you have all that on your doorstep , not sure who you are trying to kid by claiming you drive like an old fart though but don't worry your secret is safe with me so not a word about screeching tyres and going sideways around corners

 

[clivehorridge]

Very nice Clive, was that the route we took up the hill from your house in August?

I went up the same way as we did in August Chas, but coming down I took a different track, which avoids the asphalt road at the bottom of "the hill".

The track in the post is even smaller and narrower than the one we went on, but it's less rocky. It starts right at the top of the hill and runs down the contour directly to the old quarry just above our house.

As usual in my area, it's a horse-and-cart track, I think I'm the only person who's driven anything with an engine up and down it

Surprisingly, it's marked on Googly maps as the 1F road



On the above map, the track I took you guys on is marked in orange, from our house (red circle) up to the asphalt road (solid orange) then asphalt (dashed orange) to the bottom of "the hill", and onward up to the top (solid orange) to the squiggly orange blob where we enjoyed the view from the top.

Coming back down last Sunday, I took the track in this post (red line) which by-passes the need to go on the asphalt, all the way back down to the tracks around the area of the house. I avoided it on your trip because it's a bit scratchy for visitors, but I know you wouldn't have minded in the Phoenix, just a few more "character lines".

 

[Chas]

but I know you wouldn't have minded in the Phoenix, just a few more "character lines".

Green lane pin stripes.

 

[clivehorridge]

Green lane pin stripes.

Yep, the official "green-lane tartan".

 

[froggy Steve]

Looked like a nice run out - those pesky pigs are a Pita, they chomp up some the gardens we look after - still, taste bloody good!

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[StarCruiser]

You do live in a cracking part of the world there Clive. I'm going to have to convince Lynn she needs to come and visit. [emoji4]

 

[clivehorridge]

You do live in a cracking part of the world there Clive. I'm going to have to convince Lynn she needs to come and visit. [emoji4]

More than welcome anytime Richard, it's a bit of a jaunt from Bognor, as the boys (and girl) that did it in August will testify, but once here, I think you'd enjoy.Romania's not going to be everyone's cupcakes, but it suits me down to the ground.Drop me a pm when you're passing...

 

[StarCruiser]

True Clive, going to take a bit to convince Lynn, and we're not set up for camping, in fact this weekend is our first camping trip! Lynn does like her holidays though!

 

[clivehorridge]

Looked like a nice run out - those pesky pigs are a Pita, they chomp up some the gardens we look after - still, taste bloody good!Sent from my GT-I9060I using Tapatalk

It's amazing the mess they make, isn't it Steve. I should get me a gun and lay in wait one night, and go home with a freezer full. It is good meat, dark and gamey, and very lean. Nice stewed, with black olives and lashings of red wine, yummy!

 

[Shayne]

Get yourself a trailer tent Starcruiser .

 

[clivehorridge]

Get yourself a trailer tent Starcruiser .

Might even have some extra rooms ready in time for next year's posse...

 

[clivehorridge]

You know i jest what else do i have when you have all that on your doorstep , not sure who you are trying to kid by claiming you drive like an old fart though but don't worry your secret is safe with me so not a word about screeching tyres and going sideways around corners

Ha, ha! Well the truck goes so nicely when there's a bit of the red mist about, shame to tether the old dog on too short a lead. I normally behave when SWIMBO's about, but she lets me play occasionally!