Hooray for the fact that one of us didn't fall to a crevasse today on the Steindalsbreen glacier. And climate change is real 😟
We woke up to rain - shocking! And an awesome breakfast, again. We packed all of our gear a little different when we checked out of our lodging because today was glacier day. Our backpacks were packed with a rope, ice axes, harnesses, helmets and winter gear. Before we could hit the trail, we had to drive from the furthest tip of Senja to the Lyngen Alps.
Freshly baked bread every morning
So many protein options
Lots of add-ins for yogurt
Breakfast with a view of Sukkertoppen
Dan filled his plate more than normal (to power him through a big adventure), but my breakfast still rivaled his
Sweet views on Lyngen Fjord
We found the trailhead without a hitch and began the hike up towards the glacier. Not long into the hike, it started downpouring, but we have come to expect this in Norway. The hike out to the glacier went through a bunch of different ecosystems.
Dan on the "resting stone" which Nature placed there on top of a small knoll
The glacial stream - note the turquoise color from the glacial silt
A small hut (hytte) part way up the hike
An interesting outhouse
A well designed lean-to, perfect for rainy weather
A cool birch forest
Pastures where sheep graze in the summer
The trail gate keeper
A U shaped valley carved by the glacier
Hiking up the glacial moraine
As we got closer to the glacier, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. There were markers showing how much the glacier has receded recently. It is so sad and scary. Even over 300km north of the Arctic Circle, the glaciers are melting. Climate change is real!
Check out that glacial tongue
This sign shows where the glacier was in 1998 - it has receded about 1/2 mile
This sign shows where the glacier was in 2008
Dan eating lunch behind "Peanut Butter and Jam Rock"
Hooray! I'm at a glacier!
Even though this looks like rocks, it is actually all ice below us
Then, the moment of truth - should we get onto the glacier or not? We have very little experience with glacial travel, but we had the gear and mostly knew what to do. I was WAY more nervous than Dan, but I was willing to try. Despite being nervous about getting swallowed up by a crevasse, it was super awesome to travel on the glacier. The blue colors of the ice were striking. We went up until it got much steeper and then I waved the white flag - time for Kara to turn around. It was really fun and beautiful to be on the glacier, but I was looking forward to being on terra firma.
Check out the blue colors
An enthusiastic group of Polish women were having a blast taking pictures in long flowy dresses. For comparison, we were in all of our winter gear.
Polish women taking fun photos
Checking out the cool icebergs
The hike out back to our car was lovely. We picked blueberries, chatted with the grazing sheep and enjoyed the scenery.
Hiking down the valley that has been carved by a glacier
Blueberries were everywhere!
We checked into our lodging It was very informal - we just had to pick up our keys from a plate. It was here that we met Anton. He was staying at the same place. We ended up having dinner with him at the Go2 Arctic Grill. He grew up in Spain, now lives in Switzerland (in Zermatt), his mom is Austrian, his dad is German and he speaks Spanish, German, Italian, English and some Norwegian. He is a doctor and working on specializing in anesthesiology. When asked, he says he is European and considers wherever his family is home.
At dinner, we talked a lot about skiing and his family. When we asked him if he could ski anywhere in the world, he answered the Lyngen Alps (and he lives in Zermatt and has skied all over the world). Apparently, the backcountry skiing here is second to none. Dan is already scheming a spring ski trip here. Anton loves it so much here, that he bought a fixer upper home here.
We said goodnight and headed off to catch some zzz's. Not very many days left in Norway...hope to make the most of them.
Our lodging was super chill. We just checked ourselves in by finding our name on the list and took the corresponding key
Our room was so spacious and looked out over the fjord and mountains
A fish burger for me at the only restaurant in town
Our transportation to Alesund, Norway from home could not have gone smoother if we had tried. From the Woburn Express to our short layover in Copenhagen to getting our rental car in Alesund - everything was perfect. A Norwegian diving board These seats were incredible but...they were too far apart and had giant armrests between us The flights were easy. In the long line to get through customs in Copenhagen, we ended up standing in front of a couple who told us that they live in a small town called Plainfield, NH! We ended up figuring out that they even have Angela (my sister) as her doctor. Go figure. In the Oslo airport Our first view of Alesund as we flew in SAS plane from Oslo to Alesund. When we landed in Alesund, we were surprised that it wasn't raining. The plan was just to get adjusted to the time zone, maybe do a short via Ferrara and then head to bed. But we found out about a cool hike on the island of Godoya. It was a loop hike around a mountain lake that sum...
It was a slow morning because heavy rain was kept us from hitting the trail early. Our plan was to do a ridge hike called Romsdalseggen, but there are exposed sections that sounded like they would be challenging in the rain. So, we ultimately decided to do a via ferrata in the rain - maybe our logic was a little wonky. To start the day, we found a yummy bakery called Walderhung Bakeri and stocked up on baked goods for the day. I have a weakness for bakeries and all of their treats. Once I enter and get a whiff of bread baking, I lose all sense of reason and buy way more than I can eat. I held back at this bakery and we only purchased what we needed. Maybe I'm learning some self control or maybe it's because everything is very expensive here. The pastery on the far right skilpadde - it is a traditional local treat. We were surprised at how light and airy it was (and not too sweet). It was still raining when we arrived in Andalsnes. We chatted with some people at the Nordsk Tind...
In Norway, it is quite difficult to narrow down what hike you are going to do because there are SO MANY options. Today the forecast was for clouds with only some rain, which is actually a good forecast, so we decided to go for a hike near Oye. Dan originally picked out a hike for the highest mountain in the region (Slogen), but we changed that to a slightly milder hike because it was described as an expert trail (rated Black) by Norwegian standards with many exposed and scary sections (needing "a good head for heights") with a fair amount of vert and we were starting late. So, Mount Saksa (rated Red: demanding by Norwegian standards) turned into the destination for the day's adventure. First off, I would like to welcome back some long dormant muscles who had to wake up yesterday to help out with the via ferrata. Today they are complaining a little bit about having to rise from their slumber. The morning began with a drinkable yogurt and banana in the car as we settled in ...
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