VLADEASAMOUNTAINS– The
White Rock cache
Welcome to Vladeasa mountains, in
Transylvania, Romania!
General description and main
access
This cache is part of a series of caches in the Vladeasa Mountain
range, Cluj County. They are aimed at serving as a travel guide for
the tourist wishing to visit this picturesque area of Transylvania.
Vladeasa Mountains’ proximity to one of the main access roads into
the country (E60 from Oradea to Cluj-Napoca, please see the
road/airport map below) also provides easy access for the visitor
coming from Western Europe. Cluj-Napoca and Oradea airports are
also close by (some 70km and 110km, respectively).
The principal gateway into the Vladeasa Mountains is on the DN1
(E60) road between Oradea and Cluj-Napoca, at N 46º 53.622’ E 022º
52.839’. Follow the road indicator to Bologa and Sacuieu, turning
right (left) as you come from Oradea (Cluj-Napoca). You can’t go
wrong, there is no other secondary road
there.
Why Vladeasa
Mountains
They aren’t tall, they aren’t famous and they definitely don’t
provide the comfort of a 5 star resort (nor 4, 3, 2, or even 1
star, actually). So, why would you go there?!
Well, there are more answers than one… First, because they are one
of the latest location where one can appreciate the traditional
Romanian way of life in a genuine context. No museums, no traditional shows with paid actors, it’s
the real thing (but hurry up, they are changing rapidly!). The
remote village of Rogojel (see the next section for how to get
there) has no regular connection with the “civilized world”. Its
houses are spread over a huge mountainous area (the mean altitude
is around 1000 m), rather than grouped together along a principal
road. The reason for that is that the people’s lands are so far
away from each other that they preferred to build their home right
on top of them to avoid having to walk large distances every day to
work the land. Still, the houses are linked together through a
complicated network of dirt roads, which make for a great mountain
biking experience. Many of the houses are of traditional
architecture, with steep roofs (for the snow to fall down, avoiding
overloading the structure), tiny doors and windows (to avoid
loosing precious heat) and an exterior open corridor, used as
living room in the summer. People have their own cows, sheeps, dogs
and chickens and most still carry goods on donkeys or horses. They
generally buy nothing from the outside world (they have a hard time
getting there, anyway!), making their own bread, cheese, salamis
and harvesting their own garden.
Than, it’s the spectacular landscape, which is
relatively easy to do trekking on. The interesting spots are
close to one another, so 3 days are enough to see the most of it!
After enjoying the peaceful village of Rogojel, you could climb all
the way to the top (Vladeasa peak, 1836m), you could go visit the
only sequoia trees in Romania, do climbing or just enjoy the
breathtaking view of the White Rock wall or simply relax at the
Vladeasa hostel (1400m). And it’s the ideal site for mountain
biking, too, as all the principal objectives are interconnected
through dirt roads.
Ok, that’s it, I say no more! Go there and see for yourself!
Getting there
After exiting DN1 (E60) at Bologa (N 46º 53.622’ E 022º 52.839’),
you should take a few minutes to visit the Bologa Medieval Castle
and to find its cache (
GCH89G). From there, just go follow the main asphalt road (it’s
in very good conditions!) towards Sacuieu. This way, you will
arrive at a crossroad at N 46º 49.749’;
E 022º 52.553. Here, you need to make a tough choice, as a road
sign points you straight to Vladeasa hostel, some 11km away.
You could simply turn right and head towards it by car. It saves
you a lot of effort, as you get right into the heart of the
mountain without moving your leg. If you come in a 4x4 car, I
advise you to do it. The road is so bad that you’ll need one hour
to get there, but it offers you mobility and safety, as you’ll
always have the car nearby. If you don’t have a 4x4, don’t use that
road unless you can’t care less about your car!
In the first case, you’ll simply get to the Vladeasa hostel, at N
46º 46.736’; E 022º 48. 762’.
If you would rather walk to the hostel than leave your broken car
into the mountains and walk for help afterwards, just go ahead at
the mentioned crossroad. You soon enter the village of Sacuieu. Two
kilometers after you exit it, at N 46º
48. 249’; E 022º 53. 457’, you’ll find
another crossroad, with a sign pointing to Rogojel. Make right
towards it. Well, it’s true, the good road ends here, but the dirt
road you are on is like a highway when compared to the one to
Vladeasa hostel. With a little care, your car will be just fine,
you’ll see. Five km after, at N 46º 47.622; E 022º 50.184, you are
in the centre of the village. Ok, there’s almost nothing there, I
know, but it’s the only convenience store they have! Just turn
right onto the concrete bridge and drive some 150 more meters to N
46º 47.681’; E 022º 49.926’, where you’ll find another crossroad.
Well, you now need to find a decent place to leave the car. You may
go ahead and ask at the first house on the right. The owner’s name
is Ion. He’s a nice fellow and he normally lets people park in his courtyard, for a small fee. He
speaks no English, but nobody does there. He’ll understand what you
want. Just in case, Romanian for car is “masina” and for backyard
is “curte”. If he has no more “parking spots”, just leave your car
into my own backyard – turn left at the crossroad and go 30m more
to N 46º 47.641’; E 022º 49.887’. My house is the one on the left,
if you are on the road (the point is within the yard). I’m almost
never there, as I live abroad, and you don’t need to ask for
permission. Just put a paper with “GEOCACHING” on it somewhere
visible within the car. Just across the road, some relatives of
mine (retired city people) have a house. If they are not down in
the city, they would also provide one car parking spot. If they are
there, greet them, they are nice fellows, who know a lot about
mountains. If you wish, you may camp on my land, too!
Now, you could go trekking to Vladeasa hostel, which is one hour
away (by foot). At the crossroad close to my place, just walk
upwards and always stick to the dirt road you’re on. A trekking
mark, a blue band on a white square accompanies you all the way to
the hostel, but it’s lacking
maintenance, so I put some waypoints to guide you through. Along
the way, you’ll see a lot of traditional houses. You can buy fresh
milk (lapte), cheese (brinza) or fruits (fructe) from the villagers
(you may argue on the prices if you wish, but they normally won’t
ask much).
At N 46º 47.314’; E 022º 49.236’ (1127m
altitude), you’ll be out from the village and all sweat because of
the steep climb. Fortunately, a spring is here! Just drink from
it’s water, it’s cold and refreshing,
don’t be scared of germs (my one-and-a-half year old son drank and
he loved it)! Go up on the mountain paths straight to N 46º
46.886’; E 022º 49.023’ (1298m altitude). Another good spring is
here and a bunch of summer houses for the shepards. You are tired, but you’re close! A few
more meters away, you reach Vladeasa hostel at N 46º 46.736’; E
022º 48. 762’. You can camp here, or
rent a room for a ridiculously small amount. However, the
accommodation is also minimal.
From Rogojel, you could visit the only sequoia trees in Romania,
which are close by (check the cache
The Twin Sequoias for how to get there).
At the hostel, please don’t forget to find our
Vladeasa cache! Furthermore, you could go to the Vladeasa peak
and to the White Rock (the current cache is there) or to the
Banicelu Rock (all tracks are duly marked). Or your can link them
together (see
Vladeasa mountain tour for details).
The cache
The point of this cache is to show you the White Rock, a
spectacular white carstic formation, a vertical wall some 200m tall
and some 2km long. I don’t know much about it, but it’s truly
amazing! It’s 2 hours and 30 minutes
away form the Vladeasa hostel. Just walk (right, south) on the road
close to the forest located straight down from the hostel. Follow
the track marked with a red dot (circle) on a white square – it is
a circuit (see
Vladeasa mountain tour for details) that gets you to the White
Rock, to the Vladeasa peak and back to the hostel.
A 5 hour walk, but highly
recommended!
In the fateful night of February 4th, 1970, a regular
flight from Bucharest to Oradea crashed close to the White Rock,
killing some 20 people. There were survivors, however, one of which
managed to get to the hostel, asking for help, in spite of being
heavily wounded and of the terrible winter conditions, such saving
all the others survivors. There are some crosses at the site, at N
46º 44.829’; E 022º 48.728’, and when I was a child, some 20 yrs
ago, you could also see what was left of
the plane!
The cache is at the top (and on the edge) of the White Rock, at the
given coordinates. The area may be dangerous, especially for
children, so caution is advisable. For the whole Vladeasa series,
my policy was to hide them well and make them easy to find through
detailed hints. Please, be stealth! If a child from the village
tracks down a toy box, no stashnote will discourage him to take it
home (even the plastic Tupperware may be a great toy for them!).
So, just don’t let yourself get seen. The muggle presence should be
low, however.
The cache is a small plastic Tupperware in a blue plastic bag. It’s
hidden some 2.5m below the plateau area, at the base of a big
rock.
Initial content:
-
stashnote
-
notebook & pencils
-
2 dinosaurs
-
2 metal toys
-
1 funny rubber