English
04-Sep-2004 -- Ne-am inceput expeditia sambata, 4 septembrie 2004. La ora 11 am plecat din Bucuresti spre Focsani pe DN 2 ( E 85 ). GPS-ul arata 185 km in linie dreapta pana la intersectia 46 Nord cu 27 Est. Am trecut prin orasele Urziceni, Buzau, Ramnicu Sarat si, dupa aproape trei ore de mers si 200 km, am ajuns in Focsani, la 35 km de confluenta, in judetul Vrancea.
Am continuat drumul, cotind spre vest, spre Panciu. Trecand de comunele Muncelu si Straoane, distanta s-a redus la aproximativ 5 km. Cel mai mult ne-am apropiat de confluenta de pe sosea la 4,8 km, in zona monumentului inchinat Ecaterinei Teodoroiu, eroina a Primului Razboi Mondial. Deoarece chiar langa monument incepea un drum de tara ( la dreapta, venind dinspre Panciu ) ce parea ca urmeaza directia spre punctul cautat ( nord-nord-vest ), am parasit masina si ne-am continuat drumul pe jos, pe Dealu Mare.
Din fericire, acest drum de caruta ne-a mentinut pe traiectoria corecta, trecand printre fanetele, ogoarele si viile satenilor. Dupa circa 3 km, am intrat in padure, iar la o bifurcatie ( 1 km de confluenta ) am ales drumeagul ce ne mentinea spre nord-est. Pe masura ce ne afundam in padurea de foioase drumul s-a transformat intr-o poteca, pe care am fost nevoiti sa o parasim la aproximativ 300 m de confluenta, deoarece ne indeparta de aceasta. Spre marea noastra surpriza ne-am intalnit chiar cu o caprioara, ce s-a indepartat repede. Am inceput o usoara coborare spre nord-est- est si, dupa aproape o ora de mers alert ( de la sosea ) ne-am atins tinta, adinc in inima padurii.
Bineinteles ca, din cauza coroanelor arborilor, calitatea receptiei satelitilor a scazut, dar am putut localiza confluenta cu o precizie de 10-15 m, dupa ce ne-am invartit un pic. Punctul de confluenta se afla aproximativ pe buza vestica a unei rapi adanci de 15 m , pe fundul careia se putea observa o albie secata de parau. Panta accentuata si statul gros de frunze uscate au facut dificila mentinerea echilibrului la determinarea execta a punctului cautat, dar am reusit fotografierea la cateva miimi de 'punctul zero.' Ne-am felicitat reciproc si am facut fotografiile de rigoare pentru a imortaliza pentru eternitate cucerirea.
Drumul de intoarcere a fost usor, pentru ca eram deja familiarizati cu zona. La caderea noptii ne aflam inapoi in Bucuresti. In aceasta regiune au avut loc batalii crancene in anul 1917 ( Marasti, Marasesti, Oituz ) intre armata romana si cea rusa, pe de o parte si cea germana si austro-ungara, pe de alta. Inainte de a porni pe traseu am vizitat impresionantul mausoleu de la Marasti, aflat la 20 km de Panciu ( foto #10 ).
English
04-Sep-2004 -- We began our expedition on Saturday, September 4th, 2004. At 11 o'clock we left Bucharest for Focsani on DN 2 (European Road 85). The GPS showed that we were at 185 km from the confluence North 46 with East 27. We drove through the cities of Urziceni, Buzau, Ramnicu Sarat and, after three hours of driving and 200 km, we reached Focsani, at 35 km from the confluence point, in the county of Vrancea
We continued our journey, heading west, towards Panciu. Passing through the villages of Muncelu and Straoane, the distance to confluence point decreased to almost 5 km. The closest area of the road to the confluence ( 4.8 km ) is in the vicinity of the Ecaterina Teodoroiu monument (Romanian female hero of the First World War). Because a dirtroad started right at the monument (on the right coming from Panciu) and seemed to head exactly towards the target point (direction North-North-West), we left the car and continued our trip on foot on the Dealu Mare hill.
Luckily, this cart road kept us on the right heading, passing through the villagers' pastures, cornfields and vineyards. After about 3 km, we entered the forest, and at a crossroad (1 km from the confluence) we took the road which kept us going towards North-East. As we walked into the oak wood the road changed into a path , which we left at about 300 m from the confluence because we were getting away from it. We were surprised to meet a deer, which wandered away quickly as it saw us. We started descending a slope towards North-East-East and, after an hour of walking - from the monument - we reached our target, deep into the forest.
Needless to say that, because of the treetop cover, we had poor satellite coverage, but we managed to locate the confluence with a 10-15 m error, after some wandering around. It lays about the western cliff of a 15 m deep ravine , on the bottom of which we saw a dry riverbed. The steep slope and the thick carpet of fallen leaves hindered the descent and very precise determination of the confluence point, but we managed to pinpoint and take photos within sufficient accuracy from 'zero point' . We congratulated ourselves and made the necessary photos to immortalize for eternity our conquest.
The return journey was easy, because we knew already the area. By nightfall we were back in Bucharest. In this region fierce battles took place in the year 1917 (Marasti, Marasesti, Oituz) between the Romanian and Russian armies, on one side and the German and Austro-Hungarian ones, on the other. Before starting our trek, we visited the impressing mausoleum at Marasti, at 20 km of Panciu.