[RD] Hiking through Norway

[Cutlass]

@Cutlass the fresh erosion was sign posted.



Here in the UK trails are not often improved unless they are heavily used and they it is to protect the hill or mountain rather than help people. So if a path is starting to form a gully and widen something will be done. People view that they are trying to get away from the town. I assume they have similar views in Norway. Maybe its because we have plenty of paved footpaths in our towns and between some.

As regards to signs that is what a map and compass are for.

Parks I've been to have done things like this.

Spoiler Not warpus's pictures :

The point to these is only partly to make it easier on the visitor. And in some places, it's about safety. But in a lot of these places it's about preserving the environment against excessive wear and erosion caused by the human traffic. Because what happens over time is that in even moderate traffic areas, that traffic damages things too much.

Where trails aren't improved at all, that's commonly where they are far enough out in the boonies that there is not enough human traffic to be damaging. So this trail is odd, at least by my experience, in that you can see that it's getting quite a bit of traffic, as there's enough traffic to damage the ground, and you can see how many people warpus encountered. Yet it's not protected against that, and it's not marked enough to keep people on the trail in places, and it hasn't got anything for safety in the most unsafe places.

Now different country, different standards. So they certainly don't have to do things the same. I'm just saying the difference is noteworthy.

 

[warpus]

It's probably because this is really a trail to nowhere. It does get you to another lookout point of sorts, but parts of the trail are sketchy so they probably don't want to put up markers, since then they'd have to maintain the whole trail and make it "official". And since this part of Norway gets so much rain that'd probably be a lot of work. As of now the only advertised part of the trail that I saw was only the climb up to the initial lookout point. Mind you I'm guessing about all of this, but I think officials in this case want people to climb up to that first lookout point, and then to turn back around. All the other trails I walked in the country were marked and looked to be regularly maintained.

This trail is also very remote. Reine is the nearby settlement and not many people live there. I bet if this was near a larger settlement it would be easier to maintain more trails and find locals who live there who would help out

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 3 - Altitude Check

Spoiler :

In the third episode you will see several encounters with other hikers, some rain, an altitude check, and some incoherent mumbling

 

[Cutlass]

I like how out in the middle of nowhere the one guy you talk to sounds like an American.

 

[warpus]

I like how out in the middle of nowhere the one guy you talk to sounds like an American.

It's fun having random stuff like that happen to you while recording. I also find that American accents can make my videos sound more presidential, so I don't mind including them in my videos. Almost makes it seem like I had enough money to hire a bunch of actors to make this video happen

 

[Cutlass]

It's fun having random stuff like that happen to you while recording. I also find that American accents can make my videos sound more presidential, so I don't mind including them in my videos. Almost makes it seem like I had enough money to hire a bunch of actors to make this video happen

Do you meet many Canadians on your trips?

 

[warpus]

Do you meet many Canadians on your trips?

Yeah occasionally, although I can't exactly remember any Canadians on this particular trip. The nationality I run into the most on my trips are Germans. Other select European nationalities like Poles and Swedes also seem to love to travel, as do Australians. Americans and Canadians are more rare, but I do run into all sorts of (usually) Western tourists on my travels. While travelling through Asia it's also common to meet people from places like Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. In Norway I mainly met other European nationals, such as Poles and Danes.

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 4 - Those Damn Boots

In episode 4 I have a small disagreement with my boots. The terrain also continues to keep me on my toes

Spoiler :

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 5 - Time for a break

In this episode I take a short break. No subtitles in this one, as some stuff was impossible to decipher and a lot of the rest seems clear enough.

Spoiler :

 

[Lillefix]

You see that island far away in your picture?

I'm 99% sure that is Værøy and I will go there in one week.

This is a closeup:

We will then go on to an island even further out called Røst. It's famous for it's birds



We'll take the ferry from Bodø. It'll take 6 hours or something. Plane or helicopter(!) is possible and not that expensive but ferry seemed to fit the schedule nicely.

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 6 - Incoherent Blabbermouth

In this episode I encounter more challenging terrain and have another dispute with my boots. There is a lot of blabbing but you should be able to figure a lot of it out

Spoiler :

For those wishing more context, earlier in the hike I saw some people in the distance hiking down this trail with their dogs. You might remember the picture from a couple pages ago. I ended up running into them and they gave me some tips for this part of the trail. Some of the blabber in this episode is related to those hikers and the advice they gave me

 

[Cutlass]

I don't think that was actually a trail...

 

[warpus]

Not an official trail, anyway! Parts possibly maintained by people who live in the area

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 7 - Insulting Slartibartfast

While on an incoherent rant about various things I forged ahead and shortly reached the end of the ridge. The beautiful views in all directions overwhelmed me with emotion

Spoiler :

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 8 - Just one type of cheese

After a 20 minute break I began the hike back to my cabin.. with food on my mind.

Spoiler :

 

[warpus]

Reinebringen Episode 9 - The one with the intermission

In this one I get a bit confused about the exact way back

In a situation like that it's important to remain calm, move slowly, and backtrack if needed

 

[Snerk]

Nonsense. Panic, get naked and run for high ground. Build a shelter out of lichen. You'll sustain yourself with reindeer milk. Your endgame is becoming king of the herd.

 

[Cutlass]

You don't carry a GPS with backtrack display on these little jaunts?

 

[warpus]

You don't carry a GPS with backtrack display on these little jaunts?

No, never.. but after meeting that German guy on the Romsdalseggen ridge hike who had such a thing with him.. and after the clouds moved in and visibility became very poor.. it made me wonder whether I should have something like that with me when I'm hiking.

On my very first hike in the country I tried to use an app to record my exact journey.. but it ended up draining my batteries and stopped recording 30% into the hike or so. For that particular hike I also had a somewhat detailed official DMT map with me, which I was keeping safe in a plastic cover that I had hanging from my backpack. On the first day especially that map came in handy, as there weren't many people on the trail. There were small lakes along the way, and that really helped orient myself and figure out where I am on the map. The second day the map was almost useless for navigation purposes, as you could almost always see people walking in front of you. I used the map to check whether I was halfway yet, and how much distance is left to the top, etc. but never to help me get back on track

Most day hikes I did in Norway were popular enough for you to not really need a map of any sort. Although Kjeragbolten (the rock I stood on) had less people on the trail, and a map was helpful because there were other trails in the area. Most people were walking to the same destination, but not everyone. That map though was just a touristy one I grabbed from my hotel. Nothing too detailed. I also had all of Norway pre-loaded on my phone in map format, but IIRC I never ended up loading that up on the trail. For the mountain I climbed near Hellesylt I also just used a small 1 page touristy "Hikes in the area" type map that was not to scale. It was almost always clear where to go though, but the map helped me go the right way at points where different trails intersected.

For the Reinebringen lookout point hike, which you are now watching in these episodes, I didn't think I would go any further than the first lookout point. That is the main attraction and that is what I had in mind as my goal. Somehow it was not on my radar at all that there is a trail down the ridge.. I think the first time I realized that there is a trail was when I was climbing up (Episode 1) and saw people hiking on the ridge in the distance.

Overall I feel I'm pretty good with a map and compass and don't need a GPS unit.. but.. I am considering getting one for a hike I am planning to do in southern Patagonia that is especially remote. So if I end up getting one, I will be bringing it with me everywhere for sure, as I've seen firsthand how handy these things can be when the clouds roll in in unfamiliar terrain

 

[Snerk]

A good topographic map app is a great tool for me if I'm out and about in mountainous terrain. Tracking does indeed drain too much battery but I don't find I need it.