It was supposed to be just a short vacation in central Norway. I wanted to climb Snøhetta and experience autumn in the mountains because this time of year in the Norwegian wilderness is simply breathtaking. The trees and, most notably, the mosses glow in such stunning colors that they take your breath away.
I had a truly wonderful time in the national park. Most of the time, I was alone and could fully enjoy the incredible nature and tranquility. Climbing Snøhetta was also a great success. It was very windy and cold at the summit, but the spectacular view over the landscape made me forget all about those hardships.
On my last evening in the national park, I even met a hunter. He was hunting moose.
Such a hunt is quite demanding, as everything must be earned through hard work. It wasn’t as simple as driving a vehicle to the hunted animal and transporting it away. The hunter had to carry everything in his backpack through the park all the way to his car. Sometimes, he even had to walk the same path multiple times. In this particular case, it took him an entire day just to reach the edge of the park where his vehicle was parked.
I told the hunter that I was leaving the national park the next day to return to my starting point and showed him my planned hiking route. He told me that I was indeed taking the correct path—it was the official hiking trail—but he also pointed out that I could take a shortcut.
The shortcut he showed me would save me about half a day’s worth of hiking. The only problem was that this alternative route led through a military training area used by the Norwegian army.
I told the hunter that taking a path through a military training area sounded a bit dangerous. He assured me that everyone walked through it to shorten their journey. So, I decided to take the shortcut.
When I set out the next morning, it wasn’t as quiet as usual. I was used to hearing only the wind and water, but on this day, there was also a faint mechanical noise in the distance. I couldn’t determine where it was coming from, so I ignored it.
Before long, I reached the training area. I read the warning signs but still trusted what the hunter had said, so I entered the area.
Despite the muddy ground, which regularly caused me to sink up to my ankles, I made good progress and was pleased with the time I was saving.
But suddenly, a jet flew overhead with a deafening roar, extremely low to the ground. It startled me quite a bit. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone again.
Before I knew it, it returned—this time even lower. I watched it in amazement and was shocked to see that it seemed to be dropping something. I quickly realized it wasn’t losing something by accident—it was releasing something on purpose. It was most likely bombs because, as soon as they hit the ground, there were violent explosions, and the earth beneath me seemed to shake.
It didn’t take me long to understand that continuing further into the area would be a terrible mistake. So, I immediately turned around and tried to get out of there as fast as possible.
As I desperately trudged through the mud, more jets kept flying in, dropping their payload. With each explosion, I felt more uneasy.
Eventually, I made it out of the training area—probably just in time. It seemed that they were now dropping the heavier stuff, because even though I had already placed a hill between myself and the danger zone, one of the shockwaves hit me so hard that I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if I had been closer.
I had to sit down for a while to process what had just happened. Even though I hadn’t felt fear at the time, I certainly didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin now. It took quite some time before I was able to continue my journey.
As I continued my hike, it almost felt as if something was trying to make up for the shock I had experienced. The sun broke through the clouds and bathed the entire landscape in its golden light, making the moss, grasses, and trees glow in their magnificent autumn colors. I must admit, this sight made me forget my recent ordeal—if only for a moment.