The Adventure Run/Hike/Exploration To Remember

I decided to go out for a run this morning to explore our new home for the next two days. We had arrived at the northern tip of the Varanger Peninsula last night and stayed at a guesthouse just outside of Kongsfjord on the Veines Peninsula.

I left our guesthouse amidst a dense fog that had appeared overnight and decided to run north on the tundra to the northern shore of the peninsula and then head east.  Initially there was somewhat of a trail.  I stopped periodically to take all of the following photos with my iPhone.

It was hard to see far in the distance because of the fog and the terrain varied from narrow trails to tundra to rocks.  The tundra was full of different colors and plant life.

I didn’t see anyone on this run and I felt as though I was the last person at the end of earth.  I continued along the northern shore and came across a large wooden wheel.

I examined it before pushing on, stopping periodically to take in the views.  I stayed close to the sea and stopped once when I saw 5 sea lions bobbing their heads up out of the water.  They were too far away for a good photo of them.

I continued on and came across these balls on the landscape.  I suspected they might be from WWII but since I hadn’t read up on the history of this place, I wasn’t sure.

I went closer to get a view of them up close and wondered if they were cannonballs.

I knew I was getting farther out on the peninsula and I started seeing more jagged rocks in the landscape.  At one point, I spotted a large white-tailed sea eagle but it flew away before I could get close enough for a photo.  I had to climb some of the rocks when the trail disappeared.

I then came to what I assumed was the end of the peninsula since I saw a lighthouse in the distance.

I climbed the rocks to get closer to it and decided to keep going until I reached the peak of the cliffs. I turned around to get a view of the land.

Here are my thoughts on a video as I described my run so far:

Views of the Peninsula

I left the lighthouse and found a path as I continued up the mountain cliffs.

I could see on the other side of the cliffs that I would not be able to run along the southern shoreline so I continued with what looked like a trail that would lead me back to the guesthouse.

I came across some mounds in the tundra and then saw some openings and doorways.  Since I still had not seen anyone in over an hour, I didn’t try to climb down into these areas.

I then saw the area below and didn’t know what it was, but I began to suspect that the doorways led to bunkers from WWII with various war remnants throughout the land.

I then came across a bunker that looked safe enough to go inside.  Please click on my video below to see what I explored:

Exploring a bunker

As if all that wasn’t enough on this run, I had a special little (or big) surprise as I continued on my run and came around some boulders.  Please see the following two videos:

Surprise 1

Surprise continued

It was truly a special run and the hours out exploring flew by.  I was a bit relieved but at great peace when I saw the platform in the mist, signaling I was close to the guesthouse.