A thousand pictures

Do you know that feeling when you’re really clod, the warmth of a cup of hot chocolate firmly clenched in your hand, which start relaxing and then you feel how your inside slowly relaxes and warms as well. That’s what I feel right now.

I’ve been watching the beautiful fjords draped in dramatical fog for too long. The feeling of the fresh wind stroking my cheeks and my hair wildly whirling around makes me feel revived. Feeling both revived and warm again, listening to the monotonous sound of the roaring engine of the boat my thoughts go back to the HM Queen Sonja’s hiking trail overlooking the Hardanger fjord.

I zip my tent open and pleasantly freeze. The sky is bright, deep blue. The long fjord is beautifully exposed with the tops of the mountains covered in snow and the sunshine gives the green-blue water a silvery shimmer. I suck in fresh morning air, listen to the silence and then quickly get dressed. Layer over layer to not only keep me warm at take off, but also to protect myself from the fierce wind and cold at the top. I feel totally ready for my full day hike. Soon I’m faced with today’s challenge; the track is not clearly indicated.

I had briefly considered, the evening before my departure, maybe slightly late for this consideration, to buy a GPS device. It ended up being nothing more than a brief look. Holding different devices, pushing buttons, looking puzzled at screens that did not make any sense at all to me, made me conclude quickly I would need more time and practice to understand the GPS working principles otherwise the GPS would most probably make me lose my track.

This time fortune is however at my side as I bump into a lovely German couple, fully equipped with GPS (and familiair with its use). We continue our trail together. I do feel a bit embarrassed as I’m totally out of breath and soon take off the first layers but still get soaking-sweaty-wet on the 1100 meters climb to the top. When I discover they are into participating in triathlons and the full Ironman I feel slightly less ashamed for my seemingly poor physical condition. The temperature at the top is around 0 degrees and there is fresh snow. It’s August! The sometimes quite challenging trail takes us over a rocky trail, along mountain lakes and over the 1100 meter high cliffs. The views over the Hardanger fjord, waterfalls, lakes and a part of the Hardangervidda mountain range are all breathtaking. Every photo feels like a disgrace to the magnitude of this country. I take at least a thousand mental pictures. After 8 hours of pure natural beauty we’re back to civilisation. Cheeks are red. Smiles on our faces. What a country!