The Arctic Hike

I could almost sense the change in the air and the stillness before I opened my eyes. The slight temperature change transformed the rain into a magical powder and the wet autumn into a sparkly wonderland. The snow covered the trees, the frozen fjord and the mountains around. The skies cleared, promising a day of adventures, sending an invitation for a morning hike. The natural choice was Ryten, the local jewel and a walk long enough to fill the lungs with fresh air. The only nuisance was the other fellow humans with precisely the same idea. Still, watching the crowd heading to summon the wintry peak was quite an intriguing and entertaining ordeal.

The more insecure humans followed a guide, patiently stumping behind in clumsy, rented snow shoes. The brave and reckless decided to boot-pack the steep mountain, devoted to taking that one viral Instagram post. The everpresent chase for recognition manifested as fashionable performance enthusiasts wearing pricy logos from head to toe. The graying boomers embarked on a mission to overtake any bypasser, relentlessly competing with everyone. The hippie motionists tore the mountain on a humble pair of touring skis and the company of a fluffy dog. The snowboarders were already on the way down, proudly putting the first lines in untouched snow. The others, took on the wintery uphills with a strenuous herringbone style, making us question their sanity. However different, the people silently unified in the same purpose: to soak in the joy of the first snow.