Six Months Minimo II

I figured I needed to be on the mountains for a while and hike some kilometers so I charged the credit card to Hamevan, on the Lapland area of Sweden. The fifteen hours will have to pass by quickly so I pulled again the 'Italian Grammar' book thinking that I could be entertained by it. 'The DaVinci Code' was a quick reading but I thought I was reading a movie script. I liked the facts the author wrote but not too impressed with the story, too perfect, too Hollywood.
I started on train but at the first stop in Umea I had to change to a bus. There are plenty of seats on these buses so it is not that bad after all. I saw a girl with a big backpack so I decided to talk to her and ask her about the hiking trails. I wanted to walk from Hemavan to Amarnas but she quickly told me that was a six day trip. I only wanted to do two days. Another girl heard our conversation and asked me if I had reservation for a hostel. When I told her I didn't she offer to give me a bed at the hostel she and her boyfriend run in Tarnaby, the town twenty minutes south of Hemavan. I decided to get off the bus with her. Her boyfriend Matt, an Australian who moved to Tarnaby for this business, was waiting for her so the three of us went to the hostel. Lindy was her name. She and Matt had one more guest, Quincy, who was on a fishing trip. Quincy and his buddy Lars were back at Tarnaby and were about to cook what they caught. I was invited to dinner with Lindy, Matt, Quincy and Larsh. Very nice salmon with rizoto, bread and some ham. Larsh is a chef and after several glasses of wine and some boysh talk until five in the morning we went to sleep. Next day was my day to hike. Alone but wishing to meet somebody on the road I was dropped by Matt in Hamevan and started my journey at three pm. Before, we did a quick stop to get a rain coat, some fruit and water. The pictures on this entry describe a lot better what I may write. Peaceful, quiet, distant and perhaps loneliness is what I felt on the hike but nevertheless it was quiet a sight I had in front of my eyes. A couple was with their kid walking. The little girl, around eight years old, was also with her small backpack. At six fifteen pm I made it to Viterskalstugan. Three ladies running the cabin told me there was a hut 500 meters short from the top of the mountain if I didn't want to pay the 240 krones (around $30 US). I thought it was still early for me to hike up to that hut and spend the night there without spending a penny. Reason number one. Reason number two: I would be really close to the peak of the mountain to wait for sunrise and take some pictures from the very top of Norra Storfjallet at 1,766 meters (5,793 feet)above sea level. I continued my journey and soon I started to see the valley down and far. It was a foggy and cold day and the hike was very steep. There were orange dots painted on some stones showing the route to take to the top. Soon I couldn't see anything down below. I was wet from sweating and the fog. It then became dark due to the fog and I was getting tired. I think I was climbing for about two hours and I couldn't find the hut. I admit I started to get a little nervous. I was getting tired and walking down would have been too dangerous since the slope was very steep and I had to use my hands sometimes to get my balance or avoid falling. I reached the top and still couldn't see the hut. I couldn't see more than 30 yards in front of me. My compass showed i was in the right direction to the hut according to the map, south. I gave up and decided to walk to the next cabin. I knew it would take me about three more hours and I had to rush to get there. As I kept walking I saw the hut. I saw the silhouette of it and I thought I was watching a horror movie when castles or people appear from foggy empty places. Once inside I took my wet clothes and changed for dry ones, a T-shirt, a long sleeve shirt, shorts and a pair of socks. There were two wooden benches and a table, a box with some pencils, matches and paper. I tried to sleep but everything was very cold. I could hear the wind blowing and I didn't dare to walk out. My feet got very cold, the bench got even colder and I was getting sleepy. I decided then to start moving my arms and do some small jumps to get my blood flowing.I didn't want to over do it because it meant to sweat and have wet clothes again and I didn't have anymore. My mind started going really fast, I knew it was too dark to walk, besides it was on the way down. It was even dangerous and my legs were weak. I thought to myself this is the craziest thing I have ever done. I have been called cheap bastard in many languages by someone on this blog, this is an opportunity for that person to call me that again in Swedish. I thought it was very irresponsible not to have a sleeping back with me. At the same time I have to say that the idea of not giving up climbing the mountain was stronger than saving thirty dollars for the room. But once I was up there, I said: "Now what? Now that I am here, what? Now that i am very cold, alone and just following my instincts as my next move,what? just to say I spent the night on top of a mountain?" I thought, my life is more valuable than bragging about this night. I Kept moving and rubbing my hands against each other while I looked and waited for sunrise through the hut's little window.