Clubul Montan Transilvania’s hikes are free and open to everyone. We usually hike on Saturdays, in the Apuseni Mountains and around Cluj. All the work behind them is done by volunteers.
1. Pick a hike
Hikes are first posted as events on the club’s Facebook page and on the Events page. Each event gives, in Romanian and English, the route, meeting point, distance, elevation gain, duration, difficulty and mandatory equipment.
If it is your first hike, choose an easy or medium-easy one and look at the distance and elevation gain. Better a hike that is too short than one that is too long.
2. Sign up by Thursday
Sign up with the form on the event page (the “Sign up” button) by Thursday of the hike’s week. The form asks for your contact details, your age, and whether you need a seat in a car or are driving. You also accept the terms and conditions and confirm that your health and fitness allow you to do that hike.
3. Confirm on Friday
On Friday morning you get an email asking whether you are definitely coming. Reply to it by the time given: only participants who confirm get a seat in the cars, in order of registration.
On Friday evening you get the final details: the meeting point and time, which car you are in, the weather forecast and the route as a GPX file, so you can follow it on your phone (we use the OsmAnd app).
If you can no longer come, let us know as soon as possible so we can give your place to someone else.
4. Getting to the trail
We travel in participants’ cars. The club shares out the participants among the available cars, and we split the fuel cost. Each event shows the estimated cost (usually between 10 and 50 lei per person).
5. On the trail
- Before setting off we give a short briefing: the route, the risks and the group rules.
- The slowest person sets the pace. Nobody is left behind.
- Hikes are led by a licensed national tourist guide, who carries a first-aid kit and keeps an eye on the weather.
- Along the way we take breaks and photos and, where there is something to tell, talk about what we see: fortresses, old mines, villages.
- Everything we take into the mountains, we take back with us.
6. The goulash
If everyone agrees, we end the day with a goulash or a traditional meal at a guesthouse or farmhouse nearby. It is not compulsory, but it is one of the club’s traditions.
7. After the hike
On Sunday you get a thank-you email with the photos from the hike, the recorded track and the details for an optional donation. Donating is optional and has no effect on joining future hikes. The money goes into equipment and the club’s running costs; see the Transparency page.
What to bring
Each event lists the mandatory equipment. Usually:
- a backpack;
- hiking boots (not trainers);
- hiking clothes in layers and a rain jacket;
- water, at least 2 litres;
- food for the whole day;
- a charged phone.
In winter, some trails require crampons. If you don’t have any, the club has 30 pairs of crampons and 10 pairs of trekking poles that it lends free of charge. Let us know in advance, when you sign up.
Questions?
Have a look at the FAQ or write to us. See you in the mountains!