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onsdag 18 juli 2018

Reaching for the sky

Day 6, June 29th Another try to climb a mountain
Oskar wanted so badly to climb one of the tops so I bought a hiking map, hoping that it would be easier to find a way up a mountain. I decided a short car ride to Högfjellet and the top Durmålstuva 711 m above the ocean. Thought that it would be not a too hard climb. Johan and his son decided to go and visit a space center instead, so it was me and my kids only who took this challenge.
It was already in the afternoon when we started our hike. First and foremost, we didnt find a path. Maybe the red dotted line was only a suggestion for the best way?

We took many pauses, one reason because I was slow comparing to the young ones and one because the terrain was difficult.

Half way up and we are soaking wet. Mind you that the temperature is 9 degrees, but higher up the temperature drops to only a few degrees above freezing point.
The forests on the hills are so beautiful, there are lots of flowers  in the grass. We also stumbled upon several heaps of bear poo. I know how it looks but Alfons repeatedly said it wasnt a bear, like he was scared to meet one. Not likely because we were noisy. 
We discussed the best way up several times, the sight wasn't the best and with no path it wasn't easy.
When we finally reached above the tree line and only had 50 m of climbing to the first top, we took a rest and ate our sandwich. We had climbed for 3 hours, we were soaking wet and Johanna admitted that she had a fever.
While we sat there, a thick fog swept in and hid the view (the photo below is before that). We only had 30 meters of sight. We knew that we could find our way up and down anyway, but since Johanna was tired and the fog put us in risk, we decided after some afterthought to walk downwards. 
So, instead of reaching Durmålstuva at 711 m we almost reached Småtindan (little top) at 600 m. The higher top was completely covered by clouds, and to climb all the way, would be too dangerous.

Me and my sons on the photo below. Forgive me my stupid face, I was cold, soaking wet and had a adrenaline rush.
As you can see the land that we had to pass was water soaked, no shoes can stop this except rubber boots and they are not fit for this kind of hiking. Wool socks is the only way to keep you a little warm.


Another photo that gives you a hint of how hard this hike was. I became so proud of my sons, they showed me how good they are in team working, caring for each other and me and Johanna. We came toghether really well this day and I'm thankful for sharing this challenging experience with my children. I can be sure that they will handle any obstacles well.
Almost back on the gravel road. Can you see were the mountain dips a bit on the horizon? This is were we turned and walked back. Of course everything on a photo looks flat and like a walk in the park, I can tell you that it was steep, rocky, swamping wet and quite cold.
Alfons had so much energy left, he's hyper active. At 22 o clock in the evening Alfons wanted to take a dip in the sea. With a wet suit and clothes on, he manage to dip twice before rushing up from the cold water. 

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