Scandiroads #18 Farewell mountains, one more time

Alta, the last destination, another perfect winter destination that was not yet discovered for its treasures during the summer, uncovered by the rays of sunshine. It was the highest towards the north I’d ever been, and several characters of the landscape proved that. The mountains were pointy and protected the everlasting snow with the forever chilling mountain breeze, the waters at its feet cristalclear and probably dangerously cold, even during these unique 20 degrees.. Alta itself was considered a city but had a total town-vibe, wooden houses stood by the road and a few little stores, but only the absolute necessary. Norwegians didn’t overdo anything, simplicity was plenty to them. And the joy of simplicity was something they taught me here, as I drove by a gigantic lake basically surrounding the little valley Alta was. There were a joyful amount of little farms with old fashioned haybales curled up on the green hills, plus some cows guarding them. And there at the total bottom of Alta, with a tiny little airfield and the cutest rocky beach, was my AirBnB for a single, comfortable night.

Comfortable the night was, because I had an entire floor to myself with a bedroom, kitchen, living room and bathroom all apart, and even a sauna. Airbnb is a true gift to the traveller, and deserves more credit than its ‘sleeping on a strangers couch in their living room’ reputation. I had only today to discover Alta, tomorrow I’d be going back to Tromso and fly in the middle of the night. Tired as I was, I re-energized myself in the sauna and packed my bag for the 480th time this trip, and mapsed myself to one of the main highlights of Alta; Alta canyon. A 45 minute drive was nothing anymore as with a strange feeling for my last hike, I built up high expectations from the high mountaintops. I curled my way down the only one road in and out of Alta, I could be assured this hike was going to be an upward one because this road was pulling me all the way down. The sun touched my face pleasantly, and I started my hike thinking it would take me to the canyon by crossing a little wooden bridge, surrounded by a purple festivity of flowers. The small path trough the wood was a clumsy one where my somewhat tired legs slipped over rocks regularly. And to test my fitness even more, the path suddenly took a steep turn upwards that seemed to go on forever.

It got so steep that I actually grabbed a few poor tree branches that made some threatening sounds as I hung on for dear life. I had to catch my breath more often than before as despite my little legs having hiking experience, the mountains were a total new challenge for them. I didn’t witness any views as I was totally sucked up into the wood that surrounded me constantly, it was just me and this oasis of green silence. Not even birds put in the effort of flying this high and were probably silently chilling in a tree top, the birds in Norway seemed to adapt to the quiet citizens, just like the birds in my Dutchland were chatty and social. But suddenly a sound I couldn’t place broke through the silence which surprised me, providing me a new boost of energy. As I kept climbing the steep pathway, confused with the sound and by now almost assured I wasn’t near a canyon, my brain made the connection; it was at least one, if not several, amazingly queit waterfalls. It was about to be revealed and suddenly my legs weren’t tired anymore, to me waterfalls are like these mighty kings of the planet, everlasting forces of nature, invincible weapons and admirable beauties, and every time I see one I just get happier.

The curtains of green opened and the trees no longer blocked the sound, and I basically got slapped in the face by the clattering sound as well as a cloud of waterdrops, as I smiled genuinely. But this wasn’t just a waterfall, I had actually never seen anything like this before. In front of me rose what seemed like a massive fountain. Those beautiful ones that are made of a shiny black stone, that makes them look natural. Funny enough you never see a waterfall in real life with actual pitchblack rocks behind them, shiny and slippery. This was the first and possibly last time ever this kind of fountain did arise in front of me, in a real life version. The slippery looking rocks with a strange tar-alike look rose about 8 meters high and just as wide before normal ‘boring’ grey rocks appeared again. I couldn’t really explain why those rocks in the middle were here and how I never saw it before, it was one of these hidden treasures that made sure you deserved seeing it, only visible for the ones willing to climb this mountainpath. No clues were given before or on the way, the ones following were the ones aware that nature was a surprising phenomenon and that Norway proved this most of all. The funniest thing was that the rocks were more impressive than the water itself, it was literally a little stream tripling down the rocks, it wasn’t even powerful enough to properly splash down. The few silver streams coming down were so thin that the fake looking black rocks at the bottom were simply moist, the force wasn’t even enough to create a little puddle or river to be. I felt sort of proud as if I gathered a cool item to my collection, and then I realized waterfalls are indeed one of the many miracles in nature I gathered in my mind, to treasure forever.

I realized this is also where the pathway stopped and the way down went fast, I was grateful yet not satisfied, still convinced to find the canyons. I couldn’t fail my last mission on this trip. Back at the car I put my pride aside and asked a couple who pointed out a gravel road, and the only road if I didn’t want to turn back. Careful but consistent, biting my tongue, I drove upwards, praying my car wouldn’t slip backwards. It seemed to last forever and surprisingly many cars met me halfway which made sweat drip down my forehead as I had to dodge them. At some point the climb ended and the gravelroad went completely straight again, and when the trees moved sidewards, I realized this was not what I thought the canyons would be. One expects a cliff, to stare downwards and get that tickly feeling in your feet. Instead, I was basically on top of a mountaintop, but it was a massive one, and totally flat. Probably you cannot even imagine it like that, so imagine this; an endless plain of grey rocks with very few green diehard plants. As far as the eye allowed it I saw flat, grey rock with a little shift of height here and there. Low hanging clouds (or was this a high mountain?) blocked the sight now and then and an amazingly cold wind made me press my hands against my ears, as I looked around this no man’s land, that reminded me of the moon as it looks on pictures.

I was honestly glad to see many coloured jackets walking around this plain with literally nothing but grey rocks, nothing was alive, nothing happening but freezing mountainwind. This was a strange world, the 384th miracle spotted on this trip. But this one had been more unexpected than any as I didn’t know plains like this existed, on top of a mountain, let alone considered a canyon. I walked around here for a fair amount of time but at some point my freezing face, unprepared for winter-alike circumstances, forced me back to the car. It was time, this was the last adventure, or if I wanted to hold on a little longer, the trip back to Tromso was. And this trip I was going to take now, one last ride in the north before I’d be flying back home tomorrow to share these insane stories with everyone while forcing them to sit down for hours. I was sort of frozen but satisfied when I drove towards Tromso. I was paralyzed by all the impressions I had that were still being thrown at me. I thought I’d seen all Norway had to offer, but deep down I knew this was a joke when the bluest lake I’d ever seen in my life, appeared on my right with a few perfect red cabins by its side. It was literally a tropical place, and I smiled sad for leaving, but happy for feeling in my bones that I was coming back as soon as I could. This trip had been one of the best decisions, memories and experiences of my life and I would always treasure all it showed me, taught me, and especially how it changed me; I now was happier, more grateful and more appreciative than I’d ever been before.

- It's an amazing life