Wet, cold and tired on Hornelen via ferrata, but still smiling
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Alright. There might have been some poor decision making by us today. The weather forecast predicted heavy rains all day, especially on the coast with a moderate flood warning. I had found Hornelen via ferrata online, but we couldn't find much infomation about the difficulty of the routes or tracks. Between the weather and lack of information, we probably should have made a different plan. But, we don't always make the best choices...
Again, our breakfast was included with our guesthouse, so I ordered the same thing - avocado toast with salmon. We fueled up and hit the road for the 2.5 hour drive to the coast. There were a few sites along the way that we planned to check out including a waterfall (Tvinnefossen) you could walk behind and a traditional sawmill, Sagedammen.
At the old sawmill
The traditional aquaduct for supplying power to the sawmill
The restored sawmill
The walk out to the waterfall, Tvinnefossen
Meterologisk Stein: weather stone
There used to be a road that went behind the waterfall that allowed both people and animals to pass through
Tvinnefossen drops 110 meters
It was loud and wet! At least we were already wet from all of the rain.
Our route took use on a ferry. Ferries are everywhere.
An advantage to taking a ferry - you can make progress while you sleep
A fish farm in a fjord
Most of the roads that we have been on are the width of one car, but regularly there are pull-offs where cars can figure out how to pass each other - sometimes it involves going in reverse
The scenery along the way was beautiful - not sure how the sheep grazing on the small island in this photo got there
This sign at roadside toilet is clear
This was our first view of the mountain where the via ferrata is - it looked frightening
When we finally reached the trailhead for the via ferrata at 1:30pm at the end of a dead-end dirt road, it was deserted (maybe that was a sign). Undetered by the rain and flooding or desolation, we geared up for the via ferrata adventure. At the very beginning of the trail, the culverts were overflowing - that was probably also a sign. At the first stream crossing, it was unclear how to safely cross. My boots were already soaked from all of the water on the trail, so I just gave up and waded across, boots and all. Dan tried to keep his boots dry. In retrospect, that's funny.
Anyway, there were waterfalls and streams everywhere (maybe another sign)! The trail was rough. It fact, it did not seem much like a trail. I became doubtful if there was even going to be a via ferrata. However, after about 1.5hrs of hiking, we arrived at some cables - woohoo. We put our gear on and started to make our way up. The first part was the via ferrata was fairly easy.
A funny cartoon explaining some safety at the beginning of the via ferrata
Then we reached the "Wall of Witches" which is rated as a C/D (without getting pelted by very cold waterfalls running down the mountain). It scales Europe's highest sea cliff - just dangling you high up over the sea. Unfortunately, there are no photos of Dan because it was so wet and I had enough to manage with just myself. Water was pouring into us (despite wearing Gore-tex) and I started to get cold. The via ferrata was enough of a workout with the climbing that if I kept moving, I could maintain some body heat. It was actually a sweet via ferrata with gorgeous views and fun overhangs. The shivvers set in, but I locked in knowing that I had wool clothes in a dry bag to put on. Dan was wet, but was warm enough. Every time I thought we were close to the end of the via ferrata, it just kept going.
Eventually, we hauled ourselves up over the last cliff. There was a glorious lean-to where we stripped off our wet clothes and put on dry layers. I did some jumping jacks and penguin struts to warm up from the inside. Between the dry layers and movement, I warmed right up. We took some victory photos and headed back down towards the car. The trail was still soooooo wet, but we made it back to the car in one piece. Once again, we stripped off our wet clothes and beyond soggy boots once we got to the car which wasn't until after 7pm. We had a 2.5 hr drive to get to our hotel, so it was another late night.
Lucky for Dan, I stop talking when I am hypothermic
Thank goodness for this lean-to. It was the perfect sheltered place to put on dry clothes.
Checking out the awesome view at the top of the via ferrata
I felt like a new woman once I put on dry layers
There were so many stairs to go down (and they were slippery)
Checking out the location of the via ferrata from a distance - it looks so badass!
It's hard to believe where we were
Dinner: gyros on the road
This trip is an experiment to see how much fried food I can eat in 2 weeks
Hornindalsvatnet: Europe's deepest lake at 514 meters
Sheep in the road
We checked into our fancy shmancy hotel at 10pm and promptly hung our wet gear everywhere. The TV served as a great place to hang wet clothes 😄I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
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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