Yes, I know
that's not how the quote goes but just bear with me. This happened
several years ago when I was still a part of the 'Night Journey'
team. The 'Night Journey' (that's the best translation I could come
up with) is a hiking event that takes place twice a year – in the
Fall and in Spring – during the night. Basically, you assemble a
group, register on a trail (the shortest is around 20 km, the longest
around 40, depending on the year and area it's being held), get some
flashlights and gear and head to the starting point. There are three
trail and certain checkpoints you must pass during the night – in
many of there checkpoints you have different challenges where you can
earn points (like paintball, trivia, an obstacle course and so on) and
also rest and refresh yourself with coffee or tea or anything you
brought along on the trail. Usually the whole event starts around 4
pm and lasts until 10 am the next morning. The teams that choose the
longest trail are usually the last ones back – I've heard that some
of them even take little power naps in certain checkpoints.
I've never
actually been on a trail myself but for a few years I was a part of
the team that was organizing the event. My part wasn't all that big
and usually consisted of me sitting in a checkpoint with some of my
friends, welcoming the groups and giving them assignments. The first
time I did this me, Terje and Anu had to give out trivia questions
while spending the entire night in a little hut in the middle of a
swamp. It was actually pretty cool: we got to build a fire and
roasted sausages and marshmallows. Every once in a while a group
would come along, answer some questions and move on, leaving us to
tend the fire, play cards and just hang out. For most of the night we
just had to chill in this ancient looking hut while eating snacks and
doing whatever came to mind. As soon as the last group had reached
our checkpoint and left we could head home. We really liked hanging
out in that swamp for the night, so that when the management team
asked us if we wanted to be volunteers for the Fall event we were all
up for it. Little did we know...
The first
time we volunteered was during the Spring event – it was sometime
in May, I believe – so the weather was nice, warm enough,
everything was green and the forest was so alive during the night. It
was beautiful, peaceful... and I felt like I was getting in touch
with my primal roots... if that makes sense. Probably doesn't. The
next event took place in October. I think it was around the 10th
or 11th of October. Not very late in the Fall anyway. So
we did not expect it to be too cold... Oh, how naive we were!
It started
snowing. On the very day of the event. That's... not unheard of but
not very common either. 'It's going to be okay' me and my friends
thought, 'At least we won't be the ones going on the hike. We can
just sit in one spot, light a fire and spend the night huddled around
it. Just like last time!' So we headed off, got our assignment from
the organizers and headed off to our checkpoint. When we arrived...
we were less than impressed.
It was a
swing... on top of a hill... in an open field... That was it. No
house, no fireplace – nothing. Just a swing... sitting in the
middle of a snowy field. Was this really the place we had to spend
the entire night? We called the organizers and asked if they were
insane.
'Oh, don't
worry about it. Some guys will be over in a moment to set up a tent
for you guys.'
Okay, a
tent... well, that wasn't perfect but at least it was something. At
least it would... shield us from the wind? Because it was getting
pretty windy outside. And did I mention we were on a hill? Where it
was even windier? Because we were... We unpacked some of our snacks,
wandered around a bit and waited until a van showed up and some guys
from the management team brought us... chairs?
'We thought
you guys could use these.'
'For what?
Building a fort? I mean, thanks but... this wasn't what we asked for.
Where's our tent?'
'Oh, it's
coming. Don't worry, just sit tight.'
And we did.
We sat in our freezing chairs in the freezing cold and watched the
sun go down. The first groups reached us, we gave them...
something... Honestly, I don't even remember what our assignment was.
I know it wasn't trivia. Something with maps? Maybe. I guess I had a
really hard time concentrating while I was slowly dying of
hypothermia. I almost feel like I might have hallucinated seeing
northern lights in the sky... and all of my food was half frozen...
and the coffee I brought in my thermos? Yup, cold as ice. Just like
my fingers and toes and most of my body, really. That's just how cold
it was... Also, I have to mention that sitting in the middle of an
abandoned field in the dark is just... a tiny bit creepy. I mean,
this was Estonia: we have bears and wolves and angry beavers! There
was also an ostrich farm closeby and those beasts are just horrible!
A few times I thought I heard rustling in the trees on the edge of
the clearing but that was just snow falling off trees. Which was
pretty sad, to be honest. It was still October, for crying out loud!
A few hours
after the sun had set we were getting sick and tired of waiting so we
called again. 'Yeah, yeah, the guys are coming. Just wait for a bit
longer' was the answer we got. Okay then... we were half frozen but
sure, we could wait for 'a bit longer'. Except that an hour later
there was still no tent and we were still slowly dying. By that point
we had pretty much given up on the tent. It obviously wasn't going to
happen so we resigned ourselves to our fate and just did the job we
were supposed to, hoping that the groups would hurry up and pass our
checkpoint as soon as possible.
I think it
took about another hour and a half, during which we tried to make
another phone call to the organizers and got the same answer. We were
about to rage quit and just head back to our car when we got a
phone call. 'The last group is heading your way. As soon as they're
gone you can head back.' Great! It wasn't the tent we'd been promised
but it was even better: we could finally escape this hellish cold and
head to civilization. We basically threw our stuff at the last group
and ran off as soon as we could, heading toward the little farmhouse
where the rest of the organizing team was staying at. We were cold,
tired and just wanted to get a little rest before heading back home.
We didn't
really want to drive in the middle of the night – not in this
weather – so we decided to stay the night because there was plenty
of beds. Or so they told us. After reaching the house, getting some
warm tea and coffee and a little bit to eat, we headed to the
bedroom... only to discover that there was only one king-sized bed...
that was already occupied by two people. 'Oh, don't worry about them!
There's still room!' one of the organizers said and gave us some
pillows. Well... it wasn't perfect but it was still a bed, so... good
enough, I guess?
All three of
us crawled into bed, trying not to trample anybody else, and fell
asleep as soon as the lights went out. I woke up about three hours
later, after the sun had already risen. There were seven people in
the bed now. Someone was sleeping on my legs and I had a face full of
hair that wasn't mine. But at least I was finally warm, so I had that
going for me. Me, Terje and Anu got up before most of the other
people in the bed and even though we felt like death, we decided to
slowly start heading back to town. As we were leaving the house one
of the organizers walked past with a happy smile and asked: 'So, you
guys have fun out there? Coming back next year?' Yeah...
sure... Dying of hypothermia was a blast... Can't wait to do it
again...
The snow was gone a day later. Thanks, Estonian weather! Love you too!
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