For Enthusiasts-T7 - Descoperă Eco-România

T7: For Enthusiasts

DESCRIPTION

Trail route: Şuncuiuș – La Castel – Mișidului Valley – La Mori – Mișidului Valley – Poiana Damiș – DJ 7460 – Zece Hotare – Ciungi- Gugu – Tomnatic – Şuncuiuș

Start off in the center of Suncuiuș village and follow the blue triangle marking going uphill to La Castel. This is where the first walking segment starts, followed by a difficult segment where you need to carry your bike down a steep slope until you make it back to Crișul Repede Valley, in the vicinity of Peștera Vântului (Wind Cave).

If you’d like to avoid this segment, start off in the centre of Suncuiuș village and cross the river to its right bank (according to the river’s flow direction). In other words, you need to move upstream with the river to your right and cross it using the hanging bridge once you get to Peștera Vântului (Wind Cave).

Follow the blue triangle further, uphill through the forest, and drop back to Mișid Valley. Once here, all you have to do is follow the path along the river, crossing from one bank to the other as it takes you. Remember you’ll have to cross the river many times before reaching the forest road, but you’ll be able to do so stepping on boulders in the water even in the spring, when the water level is higher. You’ll see that as you climb,the valley grows wider and the narrow, rocky path is replaced by a wider, smoother path. Once you get to the forest road descending from your right side, continue going upstream to La Mori area; once you pass this area, there will be a crossroads with a less visible road to the left that goes on to cross the river. Take this road and keep on going upstream along Mișid Valley until you reach a wider sector with a crossroads (between less visible roads): to the left, a dirt road; straight ahead, the road going along the valley, more and more covered with grass; and to the right, a road that looks like it follows the valley, but will actually start a steep, winding climb just a little further up. Take the latter road and climb it to a clearing. Keep going uphill (it’s not such a difficult climb), pass a house and you will find yourself on a hilltop. You will soon start going downhill again and cross another dirt road climbing to your right; this road is covered in gullies and therefore impossible to use, but right before crossing it there’s another barely visible dirt road that runs parallel to it for a while. Take the barely visible dirt road, which will take you west, down a gentle slope and across a small valley. Then the direction will change north and you will come to a crossroads and make a left on the road climbing alongside the forest line. Once at the top, follow the road along the ridge and make a right to exit into a much more visible forest road, then make a left on this road. From here on you’ll start a long descent, first among the scattered houses of Poiana Damiș until you meet the asphalt road, then make a right and continue the descent on the paved road to the intersection towards Zece Hotare. Take the gravel road gently winding uphill and make a left at the top, at the intersection towards Zece Hotare. Go around the left side of Chicera Buglei peak, following the gentle ups and downs of the road to the intersection towards Tomnatic. Brace yourself for the segment leading to the village, one last short climbing effort followed by the final descent to Șuncuiuș (interrupted by a few more short uphill segments).

Challenges:

there are a few difficult segments on this route, where you’ll need to walk or even carry your bike (especially along Valea Mișidului – Mișid Valley, up until you run into the forest road);
you’ll need to cross the river a few times with no bridge available (again along Valea Mișidului – Mișid Valley);
there are few segments between Valea Mișidului and Poiana Damiș where the road might

DETAILS

Length: 41 km
Duration: 7 hours
Difficulty: difficult
Trail type: cycling tourism
Total elevation gain: 870 m
Surface: asphalt, gravel road, dirt road, path