[RD] Hiking through Norway

[warpus]

I wanted to record the exact routes I was hiking for trip reports. Also cool to have a good record of the trip and where exactly you went. There's probably a better way to do that than what I was doing though, and my phone at the time was not great either

I suppose having done 5 day long hikes through the wilderness in other places with just a map and compass, I feel pretty comfortable heading out somewhere with just those items. I'm also weary of bringing even more electronics and their associated batteries, carrying cases, and cables.

On the other hand, in an emergency such a tool could be invaluable..

 

[Cutlass]

I would if I were you. It's good that you have some skills in that department. But they really aren't that expansive. And you hike alone. So if you do get into trouble, no one to help. Some of the expensive models even have a satellite phone in them.

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 10 - A Scenic Detour

I went the wrong way but ended up finding a safe way back to the trail nevertheless. It ended up being quite a scenic detour!

Spoiler :

In hindsight the issue was that the trail looked quite a bit different when walking in the other direction. The landscapes here are just so extreme and unusual to me, that when I turned around and started walking back, the memories of me walking in the other direction did not seem to match up with what I was seeing. As a result I ended up questioning a lot of my decisions and backtracking several times.

Internally I knew I had enough time to screw around and slowly figure out a way back home, so I took my time. Several times in the video you see me pause just to think about my current situation and what to do next

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 11 - Back on Track

With the most complicated parts of the trail now behind me, I made my way back towards the main lookout point with ease. It was no longer really possible to get lost here, although there would be some interesting sections still.

On the way back I reminisce about episode 5, among other things. IMO this episode has some of the best views in the series

It's worth making note of the rain you hear me talk about. I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier. There was a forecast for rain at 9pm, which then changed to 5pm right before my departure. This was on my radar the whole time, and I wanted to make sure to be back by 5pm latest. I did not see any suspicious clouds on the horizon, but the Lofoten islands are well known for unexpected weather changes, such as rapidly rolling in rain clouds..

 

[warpus]

Episode 12 - Return to the Reinebringen Lookout point

 

[warpus]

That last elevated area you see me standing on right at the end of the video is at the very edge of the ridge. It's just off the main lookout area, off to the right. The trail I hiked down goes in the other direction.

I met a local couple up there, possibly the couple you see in the video.. They camped up there overnight a week or so before this video was taken. That was the last time that year you could see the midnight sun. I just missed the midnight sun unfortunately, like I said by about a week. What happens is the sun starts going down but does not ever dip down under the horizon, then starts going up again. It's a neat thing to see, and from that particular vantage point this happens over the water, so you get to see it all unfold in front of you.

All my accommodations north of the arctic circle had thick black window blinds on the windows. Even though at the time the sun was going down beneath the horizon, it was only doing so for a bit. If you woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, you would not know what time it is just by looking outside. You might think it's early morning since it's a bit light out, but it could very well be 1am or 4am. I actually did not see any "pure darkness" anywhere in the country, at any point in time. I didn't pull any all-nighters, but I did wake up in the middle of the night in various places.. and it was never really fully dark. It took some getting used to. By the time I was north of the arctic circle it wasn't bothering me at all... but it felt weird nevertheless

 

[warpus]

Episode 13 - The Descent

Aka the climb back down. It was muddy, slippery, and treacherous. I took my sweet time

After returning to my cabin I ate the rest of the spaghetti, some sausages, took a shower, ate dessert, and watched a Russel Brand comedy special. I did some reading and went to bed a happy man. It was my last night on the Lofoten islands.

 

[Hygro]

Warpus I dunno if you still have me on ignore but your hiking through Norway thread has been awesome.

 

[warpus]

Day 34- Moskenes

I was wrong! It must have been raining because there are no pictures and no other media for day 33, but looking at the datestamps of the photos it is clear I had one more day in Reine. That must have been the day I lazed around on the couch and watched the comedy special and tried to finish off the groceries from the other day.

The day after that I had to wake up at 4am, pack up, and catch a cab to Moskenes, from where I would be able to take a ferry to Bodø. From there a 10 hour train ride to Trondheim awaited me.

I booked the taxi well ahead of time, since from what I was told there was only one in town. My cabbie ended up being a pleasant old man who showed up early and told me he was close to the age of retirement, something he was quite excited about.. Once in Moskenes it was just before 6am IIRC, and I had some time to relax and take some pictures before the ferry arrived.

There are no photos at all from the rest of the day, but I do have some videos from the ferry and train ride. Unfortunately I will be away at a cottage for a week starting tomorrow, so I won't be able to check the media to see if there's anything worth posting until I'm back. After that there is only one day in Trondheim, so my apologies for stretching this out so much, but we are now very near the end.

 

[Cutlass]

You don't have a laptop with all of this stuff on it?

 

[warpus]

No, unfortunately everything is on the PC at the home office, including the software to edit the videos.

 

[warpus]

Day 34 - Train to Trondheim

The train station in Bodø is right beside the ferry drop off spot, making transferring easy. I booked my 10 hour train ride to Trondheim ahead of time and got a great fare ($40 USD)

I was really looking forward to this, and rightfully so, as you will see in the video.. The route takes you through spectacular terrain

The complete trip route now looks like this

 

[warpus]

Train to Trondheim Video

You can watch it here but it's 500MB

Your browser should buffer that properly and gracefully, but FYI maybe don't click that if you're on mobile.

 

[warpus]

Day 35 - Trondheim

This was to be my last full day in the country. I spent it strolling through the streets of Trondheim and checking out some of the city

 

[warpus]

Day 35 - Trondheim (continued)

 

[warpus]

Day 35 - Nidaros Cathedral

Construction of this cathedral began in 1070, on the supposed burial site of St. Olaf aka King Olaf II of Norway, who died in a battle in 1030. It is the world's most northernmost medieval cathedral and is the traditional location for the consecration of new kings of Norway.

I don't know what happened to my camera in this shot, the others I took weren't like this at all. But it's a neat effect so I'm posting it

Construction was complete in 1300 (230 years later), but there have been additions since then. There were bad fires fires in 1327, 1531, 1708, and 1719, and the last rebuild was finished in 2001.

 

[Arakhor]

The red-tinged one looks like it got over-exposed.

 

[The_J]

Or maybe a sign of Ctullhu entering this world, who knows ?

 

[Cutlass]

Or maybe a sign of Ctullhu entering this world, who knows ?

Ctullhu took a good look around and decided he wanted no part of us.

 

[warpus]

The red-tinged one looks like it got over-exposed.

Yeah, you must be right! It's interesting that I took a bunch of photos from that same spot, in the same direction, and that's the only one that came out like that.