Ranastøngji (Ranastongi) 1900 m asl
The night spent in the tent was not the most pleasant one. It was because of cold and I decided it was time to look for a new, warmer sleeping bag. I got up at 05.00 and spent about an hour getting ready to go. I packed the tent, brushed my teeth, took a few photos on the nearby rocks, prepared the equipment for the trail. It was chilly, but I hoped the walk will warm me up. I already begun my hike when it was starting to rain. I managed to get my jacket out of my backpack and put it on, but after a few or a dozen minutes the rain stopped and I had to take it off.
Initially, the trail runs along one of the swift streams flowing down the mountains. There was still a lot of snow on the surrounding slopes and the high temperatures in recent days meant that it was melting quickly. Therefore, the stream was racing like crazy and when I had to cross it, it turned out to be quite a challenge. Instead of walking through and soaking my feet or looking for a convenient passage over the stones, I went a little higher, where a thick layer of snow covered the stream and Iwas able to walk over it that way.
Further on, the trail led to the northeast. The ground, initially covered with grass, soon turned into a rocky desert. Somewhere among these stones I found small reindeer antlers. I left them on a stone by the trail to take them with me on the way back. When I reached a certain height, huge stretches of snow appeared before my eyes. There was no way to get around them and only in few places the snow was so compact that it supported my weight. Most often I sank to my knees, sometimes even deeper. Fortunately, the last stretch of the trail is almost flat. Thanks to this, the way to the summit was not such a hassle. In spite of everything, it was tiring to wade through the snow, overcome successive, small hills to see another hill in the distance. Moments of respite were provided by the few, small, rocky areas not covered with snow.
Finally, in the distance, I saw the characteristic shape of a stone mound. I was getting close to the top. A few more minutes of agony and I was able to celebrate reaching the summit. The views at the mound were not impressive, but there was a cliff about 100 meters away and when I got there, I found out that I had not made the whole several-hour journey in vain. It was amazing. I forgot my fatigue in an instant, savoring the sight of the valley perfectly carved by the glacier, the vertical sides of the slopes opposite, and the distant peaks rising from the plain further to the southeast. I took pictures, relaxed and decided to come back. The way back turned out to be much easier. I tried to follow my footsteps in the snow, which often saved me from digging my legs out of the deep snowdrifts again. Before I reached the antlers on the stone, I found one more. Later, on the last stretch of the trail, I found two other. In the meantime, I encountered other hikers going up which surprised me as I didn’t think this trail was so popular. In addition, gray clouds obscuring the sky heralded potential rainfall. Indeed, as I approached the parking lot, it started to rain. As I noticed, exactly in the same place where the rain caught me in the morning. Fortunately, this time it was also a passing rain.
I was also wondering why I came across four reindeer antlers, and during the entire journey I did not encounter a single live reindeer. Not even dead either. Soon after these deliberations, in front of my eyes, a whole herd of these animals, some thirty or forty individuals, marched on the opposite bank of the stream. The whole trip took me less than 7 hours. The information board by the car park states that the route can be walked in 6 hours, but I guess it does not include deep snow walking. So I don’t think my time is very bad. During these 7 hours the weather changed several times. From the piercing cold of the morning, through rain and beautiful sunny weather, to heavy lead clouds approaching with a strong frosty wind.
I was relieved to change my shoes on the car and changed into not-sweaty clothes. The shower unfortunately had to wait until I got home.
