Seeing Norway – Part One

For the fun? For the sport? — because whilst I had been training for this trip, including a hike at Mt. Longonot, which was quite a disaster – seeing besides trailing the group, the sun shone rather too radiantly.

Mt. Longonot, a stratovolcano located South East of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. It is thought to have erupted in the 1860s

If you have attempted hiking Longonot, you will know that whistling thorntree filled interior, even in its abudance does not really help shelter the frailing hiker from the sweltering sun. I was panting like a horse, while sliding through the loose black volcanic soil, occasionally picking my strength to marvel at the depth of the crater, that formed as a result of this volcanic activity. It is thought to have erupted in the 1860s. Having hiked this stratovolcano, to its peak of 2780m, I was convinced that a Norwegian mountain rising to a peak of 1780m would be a walk in the park. Wrong! But it was wonderful to experience the freedom and to behold the scenic valleys across the floor of the Rift Valley from such a vantage point is a truly awesome reward.

I have been to Norway a couple of times now, first time had a chance to go to Bergen and take a boat trip to Flåm and back to Oslo. The breathtaking scapes, the large fjords, the calm and clean waters (I won’t mention the cold- for the weather was gracious for what is the norm in that part of the country). This convinced me, that despite my non-sporty nature, for the love of fun –may be I should sign up for Bessegen hike when the chance arose! I somewhat feel that the Longonot training, and the occasional Karura run was insufficient preparation for this demanding hike. So, Twende!!! I am here for the experience.

Bessegen is one of the most popular hikes in Norway, and is approximately 7 hours across! It is also categorized as a demanding hike, but seeing as I was in pristine health–and my ankles had recovered from Longonot disaster, I was upbeat.

We left Oslo on 2nd September for a 4 hour trip to Bessegen, and if you haven’t been to Norway, this is worth considering.Whilst I dozed off while on trip, most of my awake time was spent gawking and loudly marvelling at the beauty of the Nordic Country. Norway has lots of trees, more trees, lakes, more lakes and mountains, and then–more trees and lakes, and when you get to the mountains, rocks, and more rocks. It’s really amazing! At some point it feels like you are looking at a repetitive piece of nature, until it strikes you that there is nothing else in the world you would rather be looking at. So I marvelled at the woods, and the long lakes, and the woods and the lakes — before the mountains appeared.

It is about 6pm, and we are ordering Pizza at Peppes Pizza. The sun doesn’t set until way past 8pm, so there is enough natural light to look around. I am sighting the mountains from a far distance, my eyes narrowly closing, as I size them up, a ploy to beat the building apprehension within me–will I manage to hike and come back alive? My memory drifts to Three Cups of Tea, as Greg Mortenson narrates his failed attempt to summit K2, instead getting separated from his porter and getting lost after taking a wrong turn on the trail, eventually wandering to some village whereforth he became a humanitarian. It is common to die in the mountains, a colleague reminds me as much, adding that I may not be the first casualty, and I quickly debunk the building fear that while we don’t determine how to die, at least for most people, I didn’t plan to travel all the way from Africa to die in Norwegian mountains. I am here for the experience. I am here to push my limits. I am here to possibly be awestruck, then live to tell. And should I wander into some Norwegian village and get lost, perhaps I will start herding reindeer, and if the biting icy cold spares me, then I will write, and write–and be a kick ass author. See, it might end well.

We take an offroad from Beitostølen and the road snakes down to a cabin. I swear at this point I can’t even tell whether am more afraid than apprehensive. I know cabins can range from a century old log cabin to something modern and I had quietly asked what to expect because I don’t do well at camping. The last time I camped at Naivasha, half night I was half awake wondering how long until the hippo from Crayfish camp overturns our tent! Some of my colleagues set up for the night, and whilst the next morning I sighted some snails–even I could have camped out!

Tent 1

 And so imagine my thrill and wonder when we arrive, and I swear this cabin(bottom below) exceeded my expectations.

Cabin

Cabins

‘Home’ for the night

Besides being modern, the warm feel and smell of Norwegian wood is the most comforting thing after sheepskin( I bought one at IKEA, so that’t why:-). Now I know why they grow all those trees! Bring it on Besseggen, I won’t even read more about you in the night as I had intended–but will have an early night and face your mountains tomorrow!

If you would like to know more about the hike, keep it here for the next post.