Alfheimr Renaissance

The first day was okay, some changing and unstable weather but overall went well. I see a hiking group in the distance in the binoculars and takes a picture with the zoom lens, but otherwise the path I have chosen isn't the big trails, and much is land without trails. I prefer it that way, as it feels more like I'm isolated in nature. I sit and watch a couple of lemmings making noises as I make dinner. The first two days I have flatbread rolls with peanut butter and dried meat with me as hiking food during the day. Easy to take out and pack away in a ziploc bag. Without butter so it doesn't turn rancid, and its good energy and nice chewing resistance. I just enjoy the hike, and walk with my thoughts and nothing disturbing. Peaceful.

I've never found land navigation hard, and the orienteering is simple with a hiking GPS with terrain map in color to give me a location fix and I can see my pace, which helps me planning breaks and how far I go each day, but a map and compass is the primary way of finding my way. I have different world terrain maps on memory cards, with better or worse details. Sometimes excellent as over Sweden and Norway, sometimes bad, because there are no good ones to download. I have brought the large standard paper map of Hardangervidda, but it's awkward to use, and since I have the whole of Norway's terrain map in pictures on the computer at home, I have printed selected parts in A4 format and have them in a plastic ziploc bag in the thigh pocket on the pants, 7 in total. They cover my planned route, optional routes and abort routes. I've even stored the map pictures on my cameras an cell phone, since zooming in works.

To keep direction, I have a good Silva compass, but the small Suunto compass on the watch's bracelet is usually enough, or just watching and the sun to make sure I keep the right direction. On Hardangervidda with a view several or tens of kilometers, it's often easy to orientate oneself on a large scale, its detail orienteering of 50-200m that can be difficult. Unless the weather is bad with low clouds, haze or fog decreasing sight distance, because if you only see 100 to 200m in terrain that looks the same, its more difficult.

I find a suitable tent site for the night - experience have taught me to not wait for too long. The tent site is safe if it starts to rain, with some wind protection and in the shade for at least the next 7 hours. It sucks to wake up from bright nasty sun shining and warming the tent. It can ruin the sleep. The problem on Hardangervidda is finding that shade when there isn't any trees, so a high hill is the only option, and to understand how the sun will move for the next 7-9 hours, so the tent site stays in the shade.

I sit in the undergarment set I sleep in, and eat a meal of freeze-dried food with some hot fruit soup to drink and watch the sun and nature. Just relaxing. I check if there is cell phone coverage to be able to send an SMS update with coordinates, but nope - no coverage. I just stow away the jetboil kettle and then pee, wash, brush my teeth and lie down. No need to hang up the solar panel because everything is fully charged already, and it will be in the shade unless I've fucked up when choosing my tent site. I just lie and listen to the wind and relax.

Usually I don't bring a paperback book to read, but I have with me my 2-in-1 windows tablet in its protective case which has plenty of books, some movies and a bunch of documentaries. As well as a slimmed down copy of my 'data' directory from my home computer. Photos, saved images, project logs, role-playing books, books, pdfs, etc. I honestly don't know exactly what I have on it, because a 512GB memory card its quite enough as long as I don't take the entire 'camera' directory. About 80GB is free for things I record or pictures. Usually I just empty enough space for my current need which is often older movies or so that I can delete as I have them on my server back home. Its boring to both update files and clear space.

Paper books on travels are often unnecessary space and weight, but the tablet is practical and have been so useful. I often buy a book at location if I see something interesting. Sometimes at museums, sometimes at airports etc. But books are not brought on hikes, and sometimes they are sent home by mail package if I fly. Part of my evening routine is to back up photos I took during the day, and I let the memory cards stay in the cameras - they are big 128GB so they're rarely filled, but it can take an hour or two in a cabin, hotel room or tent every night, and a small wireless mouse is brought to make the job easier since the touch screen isn't particularly good to really work with. Convenient, but not great. A small mouse can be much more ergonomical. Above all, action cameras usually take the longest to copy over, and movie clips take up a lot of space, so by default the Mobius and other save in 5 minute clips that overlap and I can quickly go through and throw away all which is uninteresting. Keeping the resolution and framerate down also helps, unless its needed. Having pictures and movie clips in two places means I have a backup, which have saved me a few sometimes. I don't trust SD cards or any flash memory.

My mind goes on tangents as usual, while I just lie and look out over the mountains and nature. It's usually enough and I don't need to read or listen to music. I set the wake up alarm on the cell phone, put in the ear plugs and fall asleep.

The cell phones alarm wakes me up, and I've slept well. Extra large Thermalrest NeoAir Xtherm sleeping pad. It's so nice for a good sleep on land with rocks or roots, in combination with a good sleeping bag and a nice inflatable pillow. Experience have taught me to appreciate good sleeping equipment. A good night's sleep is worth it, especially on longer hikes. My tent is cheaper, but it fulfills it's function and is small and light. I have a bivvy bag in the sleepingbags compression bag, and should probably take it out for weight and volume, but the extra insulation is nice if the weather turns really bad, which has happened. I often hike in mountain terrain.

Sometimes I only use the bivvy if I havn't brought the tent or I don't think it's needed. I've been wrong and have woken up with a couple of liters of water between the legs due to rain, but I was completely dry inside the bivvy. Dry is nice. A soaked backpack isn't pleasant, even if everything in it is dry-packed with a lot of plastic bags, both as protection and to keep things apart.

The second day's hike goes well and I take it quite slowly towards Hårteigen via a loop to the south. The idea is to maybe go up on Hårteigen if the weather is okay and the view is nice, otherwise just continue towards trolltunga and down to the car in Tyssedal. I don't follow the big trails because I don't need too, and it changes the feeling in the hike and makes it better even if the pace becomes slower.

As I hike, the sky starts to cloud over and to the south the sky is turning really dark. I just continue west and hope for the best. Another 20 minutes and the terrain under the clouds are blurred and with the binoculars there is no question that it is pouring down rain, and it's heading straight towards me. Wonderful. No real protection out here. No trees. No shelter. No chance to reach Hadlaskard cabin before the storm is here. I probably have half an hour to an hour before I get drenched.

I walk to a decent tent site, a little higher and drier and I am at a place called 'Små Grananutane', so I might as well just make camp and endure the storm in the tent. Who knows how long it will last? I raise the tent so the entrance is on the leeward side, and quickly piss and poop before I crawl into the tent. When the rain starts, I sit in the tent with the kettle heating up in the opening so it ventilates the CO2. The pouring down rain force me to close the flap.

I sit huddled and eat while the rain hammers and wind tears at the tent. I hear faint thunder, but it seems far away. I wonder how many the storm caught in the open, hours from shelter. I have taken dayhikes that turned bad, and when the rain and wind hits in open mountain terrain and the temperature drops to 5-10 celcius it's serious. Hypothermia is a real danger, and usually more serious if it's wet and cold, than dry and colder. The options are to sit still and get colder, or keep walking to stay warm and get to shelter. But then the danger is getting lost, slipping and so on.

This was a shorter hiking day than I like but nothing to do about it. Dry and sheltered is better for the coming days. There is no cell coverage with the cell phone, so I turn it off again. Too early to sleep as it's only about 16 o'clock in the afternoon, and there will be daylight seven more hours. At least the storm is making it darker, but even with the beanie pulled down as light protection, 13 hours are just too long to try and sleep. This far north in the summer there isn't any real night, and I am just days from midsummer, the shortest night in the year. About 600km north of here it's midnight sun.

This is where I lie several hours later after dozing off while listening to the storm. I look up at the tent's light gray cloth above my head when I see the colors. It takes some time before I react that the light is wrong. That's when I open the tent flap and look out, and see the red and green dark clouds and I understand why.

NOT GOOD.

The whole evening is anxiety and damn worrying. Not only for the CME that hit Earth, but because I am lying in a small lightweight hiking tent on Hardangervidda high plateau, surrounded by mountains, rocks, water and grass and the rain pours down and the thunder rumbles. There are a couple of really close lightning strikes that scares me. The light from the lightning bolt illuminate the tent and I just have time to think '1 ..' and then the sound hits me and it is ... loud. I'm man enough to admit I am happy I had time to pee and poop before I crawled into the tent. But, still... My wet tent is pretty much the highest spot in the nearby area, and lightning branches out. That is not a comfortable thought as more lightning strikes and thunder rolls. But, leaving the tent is a worse idea.

It's dangerous to just lie like that. It's difficult to sleep and nothing to distract me. It gives me all the time in the world to start thinking. Exactly what have happened to the world? Did they receive warnings in time? Is everything okay? Or is this the beginning of the end? Will the world I go back to be the same as I left? How easy will it be to even return home, because I'm 1000km away, which is more than one refueling of my car, even if it is land contact all the way. And if it's really bad I may not even be able to text and tell my family that I'm okay, and find out if my family is okay. At least I have no wife, children, or girlfriend to worry more about. I've lived alone for the last decade.

Just plenty of time to think. Both an advantage and a disadvantage if you're alone, regardless of home or away on a trip. Time to think. Something I usually like, since I am a bit of a lone wolf, but sometimes it's bad. Very bad. But there is absolutely nothing to do. I can not influence what happened. Just accept reality and move on.

Going down to Tyssedal is about 1-2 days longer hike than aborting and going north via Hedlo and Vivelid to Upper Eidfjord. I'll check the weather tomorrow, but it's quite a big chance I choose to abort regardless. 1-2 days earlier is worth it if there is chaos, and I won't be able to enjoy the hike anyway due to anxiety. But above all, there are manned cabins with food etc, and they might have people who might know what it's like in the world. I have a FM radio function in my MP3 player and Wouxun walkie talkie, but Norway shut down the FM network a couple of years ago and now broadcasts digital radio, and I don't think I will pick up any Swedish station. Maybe I should consider bringing my Icom IC-R20 broadband radio/scanner in the future. But it's large, weighs and with a very limited specific use. A small walkie talkie is bad enough, but that have more use. My backpack is heavy enough and lack space, and I prioritize other things.

My thoughts go on and on. It's hard to stop or distract myself, but eventually I fall asleep.

I wake up to beautiful weather. Birds singing and the sun is shining on my tent that is too warm and bright. It's early at 0440. I'm no morning person. I trying to sleep and slack off but the sun is stubborn and it will only get hotter and sweattier in the tent. I didn't get many hours of sleep. Oh, well. Rise and shine. Breakfast will be the last of the flatbread rolls since I don't need to boil water. Zombie Robert doesn't like the morning. Especially not bright sunlight. Mmm, sunglasses. But it is a nice morning with basically blue skies all around, and eventually the brain starts ticking.

Okay, I will abort the hike and take the route north via populated places down to Upper Eidfjord. Before I leave, I walk around and try to see the where the lightning hit from the previous evening, but I see only rocks, grass and puddles of water. Argh, it's only six in the morning. I replace the rechargeable batteries before I start the GPS. In addition to eight extra rechargeable AA and four AAA, I have a twelve pack of AA and AAA each that I bought on the way; buy ten, get two extra - yay. I try to stick to few battery types in general, so my flashlights, headlamps, GPS etc, are powered by the same batteries. A bigger problem are all things that require their own design of li-ion batteries - like the cameras - also require their own chargers. There are larger battery packages for them but I have solved it through modding and DIY. I've built my own chargers with minimal 3D printed adapter that connects to the li-ions contact points and use a standard one cell charger from USB. Works well even if it takes some time, but is small, light and flexible. The power bank and the solar panel's built-in battery bank have USB ports. No point in charging anything, the phone and tablet are almost both full and I will get to the car in a couple of days.

After a few minutes it dawns on me that the GPS can't find a single signal. Usually the hiking GPS is so damn fast, and should immediately get some satellite bars even if it doesn't lock. That's not good. Maybe the satellites have been fried in the solar storm, or the storm is still ongoing, so the satellites are shut down or the signals are drowned out by the radio noise. I try the phone's and camera's GPS. Same result. I can't stop my thoughts about the problems a world without satellite navigation will have, there will be huge problems worldwide for aircraft and ships in the next few years until new satellites can be built and launched up with rockets. It's in situations like this that eLoran or similar systems that are ground based and technically simpler should've existed, as a backup to satellite navigation that is more robust and easy to service. Receivers would also have been simple with modern microcomputers and software radio technology, and it would've been enough with coordinates or simplified small world map. But we have good maps so it would work quite okay. Just not with the same precision as satellite navigation. I wonder how the International Space Station and all communications and weather satellites fared?

Well, I know where I am. I have maps and compasses, and more maps in the car. I can find my way back from here to home even without maps, because I know the roads and towns even without road signs. I have a good mind for navigation, and if I have driven a road once, I tend to remember it well enough, and I have driven here several times. Just accept reality as it is and make the best of it. So I turn off the GPS and cell phone, shoulder the backpack, take the hiking poles and look around so nothing is left behind. Then I start walking north towards Låghellerskaret and on towards Rjupehaug and Rjoto. Down to Hadlarskard is an unnecessary detour and elevation I rather not traverse.