Hiking the mountain
We followed the trail for a while but when this curved away we cut across country - walking through the deep moss and hoary birch. Our goal was the top of the nearby mountain, rocky and touched by snow.
Ja said it was painful hiking uphill with his broken foot and he lagged behind the rest of the group. So I was ahead of the others when Celine caught up and told me "Ja wants to see you." She seemed calm but it was a strange remark.
I hurried back down the hill and saw him dancing at the base of a tree. He had discovered a viper and was keeping it corralled between his boots, dancing as it tried to get away. "Get a stick!"
I handed him a short stick and pulled the camera out but before I could focus, the snake slid into a clump of thick grass at the base of the tree and disappeared.
Our path followed followed a short ridge towards the mountain and when we broke out of the trees the rest of the hik was among a jumble of lichen covered stone and low vegetation. In some places the stones were lichen free and spilled down the hill in gentle curves like they followed an dry stream bed or were put there by hand. It wasn't too cold or difficult climbing but the wind was strong at the peak and the vegetation grew stunted and twisted by the harsh climate.
The landscape was alien.
Ja joined us at the top from an unexpected direction after hiking diagonally around the peak and we ate some victory chocolate, took pictures, and wandered downwind, hiking and sliding down the icy snow that filled a channel in the side of the mountain.
Before entering the trees again, we reckoned where we left our campsite and started cross country in that direction. I was leading the group again when I stumbled onto a moose antler buried in the moss. Emeliano was frustrated he hadn't stumbled on it first and we scoured the area for the other horn but didn't find anything. The antler was surprisingly heavy and solid. Moose shed their antlers every fall after the mating season to conserve energy and they're normally eaten by other small woodland creatures. This one was lucky to survive the winter.
On the way back to the car, the sun came out and lit up the landscape, illuminating the lichen and letting me take the most accurate picture of the colors of the alien landscape.
