Reset means plan B
I had a plans for my next trip to Norway. I wanted to go out to the mountains at least two, maybe three times, take a tent and sleeping bag and spend a night somewhere outside. I prepared several maps with interesting tracks and full of optimism I went to country of fjords. Unfortunately, the weather ruined my plans. I realized that just after arrival when I check forecast for next day. And for day after. And for whole next week up to the end of my vacation. My enthusiasm disappeared in one moment. Forecast showed rain, strong wind and more rain in following days.
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It looked like the best weather for any mountain trip was in my arrival day. But now was after three afternoon and if I wanted to go anywhere, I had to go now. I packed very quickly my backpack and in few minutes I was ready to go.
I decided to go to Stokkadal valley, where was the trail to mountains Reset, Bukkanuten, Høgafjellet and Bårnuten. I tried to climb there in April, but due to snow lying on the road I had to surrender. Now I was not going to give up.
Because of late time, I counted that I may go back after dark, so I put a flashlight into the backpack and I take my fleece jacket with me. When I started to go, it was warm and still sunny. I attach my jacket to backpack then.
Soon I was on the trail. Steep but wide road goes into the woods, just next to the stream. After first minutes I realized that I am not in shape. There was very warm and I sweated a lot. To relieve my back I carried my backpack only on one arm. Soon I reach the place, when I had to turn back last April. I passed this spot and went further. Few minutes later the road ended. And there was no trails in my sight. I found only tracks of quad. I didn’t follow them but I turned right and went into the wood. There was some kind of path there which led me out to open space. The path was gone there but I found quads tracks again. This time I followed them for some time. But when they go too much on east, I decided to go on my own. From one of the hills I check where should I go to reach first summit. Then, I followed that imaginary way.
And when I was just several dozen meters from the top I realized that I lost my fleece jacket. It was gone. Somehow it slipped from the backpack and fall somewhere on my trail. I knew that I had to go back and looked after it. I could climb up first and go back then, but I wanted to walk from one top to another and that means that I will back completely different way. I had to turn back now. I supposed that my jacket is lying somewhere around and it takes no more than few minutes to find it.
But those few minutes became longer and longer. I used Endomondo app in my cell phone to check my recorded track so I followed the same route. But I still couldn’t see my jacket anywhere. Soon, I started to think that maybe it slipped out in place where I turned back and I didn’t look at my feet. Maybe it was lying just there. In the same time I found out that in the pocket of the jacket I left two items: headphones and my passport. I could stand the loss of fleece jacket (it was over 10 years old) and the headphones (it was very cheap ones), but my passport was quite new and I had to find it.
I reached the road again and I just knew that I won’t find my loss. It had to be at place where I turned back. I was too tired, too angry to myself and it was going to be late to come back to this place once more. I returned to my car, still angry for this situation. I hoped that I will have a chance to go back here and finally find my passport.
This post was originally published 2018-09-29 on https://kraina-trolli.pl.
