Several Nice Surprises
Updated: Aug 26
Usually I have slow Sunday mornings where I brew some coffee and do a write-up about the weeks metaldetecting adventures before I do anything else. Today was different. The GirlfriendWife and I wanted to find a small cluster of five bunkers up in a mountain side. These bunkers had been built by gebirgsjägers, pioniers and Soviet POWs towards the end of the war to be a part of the so called Lyngen Line which was supposed to halt a Finnish/Soviet push into Northern Norway.
We had no luck in this endeavor though as the bunkers were nowhere to be found. Probably missed them by some meters in the difficult terrain.
Other things were found though. A collapsed bridge once erected by the gebirgsjägers. And berries. Lots of berries! After having checked nearly all the forests down in the valleys, not finding any of the tasty autumn fruits, it was here above the tree belt they had been spending all their summer.
For many hours we filled bags with big and tasty blueberries which are on the stove becoming jam as this is being written. And we are soon going back for Cloudberries :)
On our journey home we met Jimmy. He had been for a quick sweep with his detector and found an Iron Cross in a burn pit.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday morning, I woke up to the sound of rain, and wanted for a moment to stay under the warm blanket. But then I realised that my desire for finding pieces of buried metal was greater so I made my feet meet the cold floor.
Two hours later I placed my backpack under a tree. Already soaked after the stroll from the car.
I tried to shelter from the rain by searching around trees but soon had entageled myself into shrubbery and sapplings which just made me more wet.
Here I got the first "good" find. A very damaged and partly melted EKM. Later when I was home and could clean it up it was fun to discover that it belonged together with another half tag I dug up earlier this season.
I didn`t find anything interesting for many hours. Only a Klauenbeil (pionier axe), some cream tubes, a pocket knife and spent rifle casings, but under a rock I spotted something worth checking. There someone had stuck a small primus of the type the gebirgsjägers were issued.
Suddenly I heard rumbling from the mountainside. I got on my feet and was treated a fantastic view of a little rock slide. Several huge rocks came rolling and jumped off a cliff, catching some serious air before they exploded into the mountain farther down the slope. That was a nature show if I ever saw one.
Klauenbeil. Hidden primus. The primus was in good condition.
Next to some piled up rocks that had been the foundation of a hut I got a good signal. The find of the Day had been waiting there the whole morning, plus another 80 years. A beautiful Infanterie Sturmabzeichen! The second one this summer. Around it were other good signals so I became excited. Would there be a whole bunch of medals here!?? Nope, I wasn`t that lucky, it was only scrap in good alloy.
Everything had become so wet, and icy winds began picking up, that I decided I`d rather be under blankets again.
I opened a final signal and found another half erkennungsmarken, and a second later I had the other half. Both pieces looked blank but I stuck them in my pocket anyway. I am so glad I did!
Later, after dinner I emptied the find bag and gave the items a rinse. Then I discovered that a small alu scrap I had collected was in fact a tiny luggage tag with rank, name and unit punched in: "Obgfr. Jllen 4./141".
The last blank EKM I had found got a rinse, and suddenly I saw text on it! What a great surprise. A real bonus! It was another gebirgsjäger tag for the collection: " 2./ Geb.Jäg. Ers. Rgt. 139 ".
Luggage tag stamped with OBGFR JLLEN 4./141 2./ Geb.Jäg. Ers. Rgt. 139
I had a plan to get out there again the next day, but my Mister KittyCat put a stop to that as he felt my digger clothes drying on the floor resemled ground so much that he peed on them, so instead of digging I washed clothes and floors.
The bad luck didn`t end there though, coz when I finally got out to the woods again with fresh and clean digger gear, ready to find treasures, my trusted old Fisher detector died on me! I think moisture had gotten into the housing and fried it. Luckily one have other detectors laying around so my next trip will be with the Nokta Legend which I almost haven`t used yet. It will be fun.
Now it is off to bed, so thanks for reading and enjoy your week :)
A very deteriorated tag from Gb.Jg.Rgt. 139 A great find. The needle and catch intact. Cream tubes. Large shovel. Barbed wire A MG34 bolt laying on the surface Crowbar Half blank tag Finding awards. More barbed wire Spectacular views Fallen bridge The old gebirgsjäger bridge Bridge from above.
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