After rain overnight, today was dry as forecast. I left my damp hollow, after picking wet, fallen leaves off my tent, and continued along a ridge admiring the wisps and strata of clouds in the valleys. Then it was downhill to a few scattered houses called Gura Bordului. The route of the E3 from there went straight up the steep north side of the valley, which looked like a wall of trees. Looking at the overgrown start of the path, and the red and white waymark that looked like it had been painted out, I decided to take an alternate route. I had picked this on Google Earth when planning my trip, as on satellite images I could see no sign of the "correct" path. This alternate route was a muddy, steep and unpleasant forest track, only suitable for the huge tractor units with enormous tyres that drag tree trunks of mighty girth, from where they were felled to a road or track suitable for more conventional vehicles. Considerable effort and care was needed to ascend the steep, slippery track up the wooded mountainside but after a few hundred metres of hard won height the track levelled out and improved in condition, about where it was joined by the "correct" route of the E3 coming up from the valley. After this the trail generally stayed on high ground, often following ridges through woodland or, later on, over grassland. After the major climb much of today was on roads, allowing faster progress on tarmac.
My target for today was to pass through four villages so that tomorrow I could reach the town of Ilias. The first village of Vadu Dobrii, I just touched the edge of. I was running low on water. There were no springs, streams or other sources of water on my route, at least none with water at this time of year. Consequently at the second village of Poiana Rachitelii, spotting a place with several people wandering around, I asked if I could have some water (apă). I was duly shown a washbasin where I filled up with plenty. The place seemed to offer rented cabins but had no sign advertising this and I was told it had no restaurant, what looked like one was an "eating place". At the third village, Feregi, located on a hill, there were a couple of taps on the street with cups on a piece of string, but when I opened the taps, nothing came out. There was also a well which, if I had not picked up water earlier, I might have tried. New red fire hydrants dotted the road, a few still in plastic wrapping, it looked like a municipal water supply had recently been laid. Possibly they had also upgraded the power lines in the area, as I had been seeing old, ceramic electrical insulators being placed on top of gate and fence posts, either for ornament or to stop water accumulating in the posts.
After the final village of Poienita Tomii I had completed my planned mileage and looked for somewhere to camp. Surrounding the village was grassland with cows and fenced fields, fences often made of roughly cut tree branches. I continued on the road until it entered woodland where I could camp unseen. Among the trees I found a place to pitch, although the perfect flat spot continues to elude me.
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