The view of Bryggen (the pretty-colored old harbor buildings) from our hotel room.
The view of Bryggen (the pretty-colored old harbor buildings) from our hotel room.
The view of our hotel (the pinkish building) from the Bryggen!
Our hotel room also overlooked the fish market.
Very important instructions!
This picture of the rooftops in Bergen was taken at 10:30pm!
We rode the train from Bergen to Finse. By the time we arrived at Finse the weather had turned markedly overcast, windy, and cold.
Our first night camping was freezing. Huddling over the hot stove didn't help much!
But the views the next day soon made us forget the temperature!
A short stop for some preventative blister care.
We had to cross numerous steep slippery snow fields ...
but the scenery was always spectacular!
Preparing dinner. Mmmm, noodle soup.
The next day was very wet, rainy, muddy, and still cold. We passed very close to the
Hardangerjokulen glacier. The lake is mostly glacial meltwater, and has a murkey grey/green appearance, very different
different from the crystal blue of the other lakes.
Our third day of hiking brought us to Fossli. Here is Wendy just before we began our descent into the Bjoreio valley.
We ate our lunch overlooking Voringfossen (1000 ft waterfall)
The drop into the valley below was awesome!
The waterfall was so large that it occasionally generated a cloud of mist that subsequently drifted up the valley. Numerous other streams also tumbled into the deep valley.
Two kilometer's walk from Fossli is the village of Garen. We stopped in a campground here so that we could get a shower, dry our gear, buy some fresh supplies, and some more fuel (Rodsprit) for the stove.
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Following the trail in Norway consists of walking from 'T' to 'T'. Here we are following the T's
from Garen to Hedlo, approaching the farm at Skissete. In the background are the Grytehorgi cliffs.
A grass-roof hut at Berastolen
Our first view of Harteigen (the flat-topped mountain in the distance), said to resemble a silly hat.
View into the valley at Fljotdale. The tiny red structure in the field at the bottom is a large farm house. The other lumps are giant boulders.
This picture is taken from just inside the edge of the Hardangervidda national park. Harteigen visible in distance.
Our campsite beside Kjeseshovden (close to Hedlo). After setting camp here we discovered evidence that we were situated on a track used by either moose or reindeer (probably reindeer judging by the antlers we found).
On the path from Hedlo to Rjoto.
Wendy consults the map on the way up through the Hadlaskard valley.
Late afternoon sun on Harteigen
The trail from Hedlo meets the trail between Hadlaskard and Sandhaug
These tiny purple flowers seemed to grow everywhere
Night-time view from our tent looking southwest over the Hardangervidda
The morning ritual. While the coffee is filtering, we warm up a steaming hot
face cloth on top of the stove. Awesome luxury!
Wendy makes a tentative crossing over the raging Vieg river via the bridge at
Hadlaskard. Of all the bridges we crossed, this was the best made and easiest to use. Nevertheless, the whole structure shimmied and swayed from side-to-side as we crossed it, and the rushing water below added an unnerving vertiguous effect!
Later, Steve goes barefoot at the designated vadested (wading place) where the trail
crosses the Sandhaugo river near Viersdalen. Facial expression reflects near-freezing temperature of water.
Warming up and drying out in our tent, camped beside Solnuten.
During our trip we saw far more sheep (over 100) than people (about 10). These sheep were particularly curious about us, as we clung our way up the steep trail on the side of Solnuten.
The beautiful lake nedre Solvatnet (altitude 1268m). A nice spot for rest.
An easy river to ford... followed by a steep snow bank to climb.
Wendy contemplates the next watery/icy obstacle on our path.
Torehytten: A perfect spot for lunch. In the shadow of Harteigen, beside
the icy ovre Solvatnet (1322m).
The hut at Torehytten. This has been the best day of hiking so far. To top it off, we bought some delicious cookies (Bixits) at the hut here.
This part of the trail took us past views of numerous lakes.
This is Veivatnet
A somewhat tricky steep bit on the trail near Kinsekelv.
A slightly easier bit on the trail near Kinsekelv.
Another fresh mountain stream to drink from.
We set up camp by the waterfall that feeds Holmavatnet.
This is Holmavatnet viewed through our tent doorway.
Washing hair...by this point, we realized we had plenty of fuel left, so we began using WARM water instead of barely-melted snow!
Biodegradable camp soap is hardly Herbal Essences!
Ahhhh.... that's better!
Our campsite just past Stavali. This was taken during the only time it wasn't raining that evening!
We descended from 1100 meters to 10 meters on this day. The guide book mentioned that the steep granite on the trail down to Kinsarvik can get slippery when it is wet — and that we should hope it's not raining. Just our luck, this was one of the wettest days on our trip. Despite the slick descent, the clouds occasionally cleared to reveal truly spectacular waterfalls, steep sided valleys, and cliffs that are thousands of feet high.
Our first sight of the Sotefossen, viewed from 1.5 miles. The river simply drops 300 meters into the valley below.
A close-up view. Just after we took this picture, a sight-seeing helicopter flew up over the falls. It looked like a tiny speck against the oversized surroundings.
This picture fails to show how steep the trail was.
After slipping down the rocks for three hours we finally reached a cart road just below Nykkjesoy that took us down the remaining 400 meters to Kinsarvik at sea level. This picture shows that we found a flat spot to enjoy during a break in the weather!
We took the ferry across the Hardanger fjord to Kvandall.
It was cloudy but it didn't rain!
Back in Bergen we took a stroll up Floyen, where we found this friendly-looking troll!
Trolls use their long noses to stir porridge.
The view of Bergen from the top of the hill made the long hike worthwhile.
Back down on the harbor, we explored the fish market.
We were going to buy this monster ugly fish to eat back in our hotel room, but the woman in front of us bought it before we could.
The shrimp and prawns looked tasty.
But we're not too sure what this stuff is...?
We won't bore you with pictures of the inside of the airplane!
Overall the trip was spectacular! We can't wait to go back. Next time — we'll hike in the Jotunheimen!