About 20 years ago our friends family built a wooden cabin in the mountains of northern Norway. It’s set on the shores of a large lake, backed by mountains and only accessible by foot.

Before my boyfriend Craig and I departed Norway we were invited to go up to the cabin for a night. The distance to hike there wasn’t far, just 3km one way but we were in the dead of winter with over a meter of snow on the ground so the only way to navigate the terrain was by strapping snow-shoes on.

Occasionally we had to cross streams and carefully step down the steep snowy banks to the trickling water. Little did we know that stepping in the water would cause the snow trapped under our shoes to totally freeze and cause it to ice over in a ridiculously heavy block of ice.

We were walking through a winter wonderland, it was a pristine area with no other humans in sight and after two hours we got sight of the cabin.

It was across a frozen lake but our ‘trail’ had come to an end – according to our map at least but at this time of year there was no visible trail. We didn’t want to risk walking the quicker route over the lake incase it wasn’t totally frozen and we fell through the ice so instead we had to navigate our way along the shoreline.

As darkness was approaching – at just 2pm, we arrived at the cabin which was much larger than we expected. There was a smaller cabin nearby which was where the sauna and drop-toilet were based.

The house was beautifully made with wooden walls and cozy rugs on the floor. At the entrance was a collection of huge sheep-wool slippers which were vital when we arrived as the temperature was the same inside as outside, approximately -5°.

There was an open-plan kitchen, diner and lounge with a lovely log burning stove in the centre and enough rooms to sleep 10 people.

While the cabin looked like a normal home it didn’t have any water or electricity so we lit some candles, got the fire roaring and decided to melt snow for water. The alternative was to drill a hole in the frozen lake but it didn’t seem worth the effort as the snow was very fresh and clean so it was a much easier option.

We could just about push the back door open and scoop up a pan-full of snow but it was a rather slow process as a full pan melted down to just a couple centimetres of water.

It was past lunch time so once we’d sorted the basics of heat and water we prepared lunch. Craig had hot dogs heated in the flames of the fire while I had some veggie patties warmed up in foil.

Our next mission was to heat the sauna. It was a nice small one so it didn’t take long to reach 80° and absolutely melt us. When it became too hot we’d jump into the snow. The cold chill was unbearable but we quickly heated back up and repeated the process.

There was a modern stove in the kitchen but we couldn’t figure out how to connect the gas. Luckily the fire had two sort of ‘hobs’ which we were able to put the pans on for a rather slow-cooked dinner.

Craig knocked up some rice and chilli for us and we spent the rest of the evening playing rummy under the candlelight while sitting near the crackling fire.

It was such a cozy place that we decided it would be nice to spend a second night so that’s exactly what we did. We only brought enough food for a one night stay though so we had to ration our food and use some pasta left in the cupboards.

Our second day was cold and crisp with an icy chill to the air. We set off for a little snow-shoeing adventure to the nearby frozen lakes where we got some fabulous views of the mountains and discovered an abandoned hunters cabin, complete with a stove.

When we returned ‘home’ we decided to try and drill into the lake for a fun little task. Craig began scraping the snow away from the surface by using a shovel but he didn’t reach ice, instead he hit a thick layer of partially frozen slush.

We didn’t even need the drill, he could just use the shovel to break apart the slush and scoop it out the water. It’s a good job we didn’t try and walk on any of the lakes!

Craig managed to make a hole big enough to dunk in, which was my plan but in reality the lake was dark and creepy and my imagination was running too wild to be able to submerge into the darkness.

So, I compromised and laid on the snow with my butt dipped in the water, occasionally sinking my body in a little lower until those thoughts of a creature pulling me under the ice creeped in.

While the hole in the lake was open we grabbed a couple buckets of water to use at the end of our sauna session and we were shocked at how much warmer it was compared to rolling in the snow. I didn’t even wince!

Sadly we didn’t get any northern light shows while we were staying at the cabin but we did have a full moon which slowly crept above the mountains in a deep-yellow glow. It was so bright that the light pierced through the forest, creating a beautiful scene. It was quite unusual to see shadows of the trees cast across the pristine snow while it was still twilight.

After two wonderful days without WiFi, electricity or water it was time to say goodbye to the cabin and make our way back down to reality.

Moose and a lynx had since walked on our snow-shoe track which was lovely to see and before we knew it we were standing on the side of the main road, waiting for a ride back home.