Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis in night sky behind Olstind mountain peak, Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

10 Best Landscape Photos 2012

Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Night comes to Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  February

-10˚ C with not even a hint of wind, the end of an absolutely perfect winter day on Lofoten.  This was the first clear night after a week on the islands, so I was waiting around the Reine area in hopes of seeing some aurora’s later that night, but first, I was presented with this scene as an extra gift.  Perhaps my favourite image of the whole year, as well as the coldest day of 2012 on Lofoten.

Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis in night sky behind Olstind mountain peak, Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Aurora behind Olstinden, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  February

I had been waiting a week for the right conditions to hopefully make this photograph.  To me, the pyramidical peak of Olstinden, as is rises out of the cold waters of the Kjerkfjord, is an icon of the Lofoten Islands.  The Aurora wasn’t as big as I was hoping for, but it’s a start to an image that I hope to refine over my next journeys to the islands.  I think the clouds make it almost look like an erupting volcano.

Å I Lofoten, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Approaching storm, Å, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  February

My last full day after two weeks on the islands was one of winter storms sweeping the lands.  One of those days when you watch the snow heading towards you, take shelter for 20 minutes, then rush out again between flurries to hopefully grab a few photo.  The cliffs here, past the village of Å, and looking west towards the end of Lofoten are one of my favourite winter locations on the islands.

Lofoten Islands winter, Norway

Photo: Ice flower, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  February

Warm temperatures brought snow melting rain to the islands.  My hope of ‘snowy mountain landscapes’ was lost and I was left searching for other interesting elements of winter to photograph.   Here, in a small tidal bay near Eggum, a rock had created a ‘flower’ like shape as the ice receded.  Now that the snow was gone, this added an element of interest to what would otherwise have been a fairly flat and mundane scenic.

Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Olstinden winter panoramic, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  February

In the cold and the calm of this evening the surface of the fjord began to freeze over.  With the inner waters still, Olstinden reflects in near perfect symmetry.  I wish there had been a bit more interesting light to work with, but I think the subject is still strong enough for me to like this image.

Mount Whintey, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Photo: Camping beneath mt Whitney, California.  April

I like the contrast of my yellow tent and the deep blue of the evening sky while camped at Iceberg lake on the mountaineers route to mt. Whitney.

Horseid beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Horseid beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August

Horseid is a brilliant, Isolated, beach on the northern coast of Lofoten.  I hiked several hours through rain and whiteouts that at first I thought I had made a mistake heading there.  But by the next morning, the rain had stopped while the dramatic skies still hung over the mountains.

 

Summer evening twilight, Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer twilight over Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August

Even in late August, Lofoten’s sky still glows at 1am as the next day quickly approaches.  I took an evening stroll up the hill behind the hostel to check for auroras but found this scene instead.  I just stood there for a while in the stillness, glad to once again be in the north.

Kungsleden trail, Lappland, Sweden

Photo: Autumn on the Kungsleden trail, Lapland, Sweden.  September

I can feel the cold in this image (as well as remember it).  The bright reds and oranges or the small scrubs in the sub-Arctic tundra of northern Sweden’s mountain, combined with snow covered peaks and grey skies are what the Kungsleden trail in Autumn is.

Offersoykammen, Vestvagoya, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Afternoon light on Offersøykammen, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  October

After an unsuccessful afternoon of chasing light around the islands, I finally decided to head up the small peak of Offersøykammen and see what cards the weather would deal me.  As the sun neared the horizon, clouds began to rise around the mountain.  But before I was enveloped in a gray so thick I could hardly follow the trail back down, the mist lit up in the sunlight shining a golden light across the Autumn mountain landscape.

Time for another year to draw to a close, though truthfully, I can’t say it comes too soon.  2012 was a difficult year for me,  one of more setbacks than accomplishments.  A few dreams have fallen through the cracks or been put on the the back burners indefinitely, with little hopes of revival.  I also didn’t get out photographing nearly as much as I’d planned (as I write this now, I haven’t touched my camera in almost in 2 months.).  If it wasn’t for a few trips to Lofoten, I’d basically have nothing to show for the whole year; 8 of 10 images here being from the islands, although maybe that speaks more about the brilliance of Lofoten.  I felt I was often stuck in the paralysis of inaction, unable to make any decisions or move myself or my career forward.  Maybe I put myself under more pressure to return with something ‘good,’ and ironically, chose locations to travel to where this is less likely to happen.  Or maybe I’ve simply raised my standards to something that I can only rarely achieve; and thus that lack of apparent achievement continues the cycle ad infinitum.  Who knows.

On the positive side, I do think there are a few good images here.  Maybe even a couple that I’d say are some of my all time favourites.  Although I’m not sure if this isn’t more based on my memories than of the actual photo.

In a couple more days I head north to Scotland to bring in 2013 on a small little island at the edge of the world.  So here’s to a good start of the new year; one that hopefully I can find some focus and kick some ass in!

Hebridean New Year

Luskentyre beach isle of harris

Photo: Dawn at Luskentyre beach, Isle of Harris, Scotland.  January 2011

December already…

In what seems to be quickly turning into an annual tradition, I’m making plans to head up to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides to bring in the new year.  More specifically we’ll spend New Year’s eve in the tiny, cosy thatched roof hostel on Berneray, where I’ve brought in the last two years.  After that, the schedule is open, with a week to explore the Uists, Harris and Lewis.  And on the 12 hour drive back to Wales we’ll probably take a night or two in Glen Coe to break up the drive a bit.

I’m a bit worried about a repetition of last year’s festival of wind and gales, which if you asked me to describe in one word, I would say: shit!  Two words: Total shit!. Three words: well you get the picture…  So far the weather has been a fair amount calmer and colder (which is good), so hopefully conditions are closer to two years ago where there were at least a couple calm days to be had, and some snow on the islands, which makes for nice photos.  But being the north of Scotland at the darkest time of the year, just about any type of bad weather is possible.  On the bright side, at least I wont have to worry about midges…

Large winter waves crash against cliffs at Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Photo: Winter storm crashes into coast at Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Scotland.  January 2012

Callanish standing stones lit by light at night, Isle of Lewis, Western Isles, Scotland

Photo: Callanish standing stones, Isle of Lewis, Scotland.  January 2011

 

Photo: 12 hour drive to the north, then a ferry

Lofotens Best Beaches Travel Guide

Kvalvika beach panoramic lofoten islands norway

Photo: Kvalvika Beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 2012

I’ve written a new article over at 68north.com about the best beaches on the Lofoten Islands. If you’re interested, they are: Kvalvika, Bunes, and Horseid.  All my personal opinion of course, but I’ve you’ve been there, I think you’ll agree.  And if you haven’t been to any of them yet, head over to the website for more detailed info about getting to them and a few more photos…

–CLICK HERE– to check it out.

Horseid beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Mountain reflection on Horseid beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 2012

Leaving Germany

Steinerne bruecke regensburg germany

Photo: Steinerne Brücke, Regensburg, Germany.  Oct 2012

I’m heading to Berlin this afternoon for my last night in Germany before flying to Wales tomorrow morning.  Hopefully my bank account still has enough money left to make the UKBA agent happy when I tell them I’m planning on staying until March (not counting a Lofoten trip, probably sometime in February).  After being on the road for 10 weeks, I’m tired and looking forward to being in one place for a while – though I’m sure I’ll be bored after two weeks and head up to Scotland or something.  Orkney and Rackwick Bay has been on my mind a bit lately.  The thought of waiting out winter storms all alone in a small stone shelter with no electricity that sits on the edge of the sea surrounded by cliffs seems to be a nice one.

The last two weeks have seen me criss crossing Germany; east to west to east, and south to north.  After a long weekend in Regensburg, even getting a little snow, I headed north to Bonn to stay with a friend whom I’ve traveled with on Lofoten several times.  And having the good timing of showing up for halloween, I even got to cook some pumpkin seeds (one of my favorite foods that I can only get once a year) and attend a pretty good party which didn’t see my head hitting the pillow until 6 am.  I guess I’m not getting too old after all.  Although a few nights later in some Cologne disco at 2 am and surrounded by 19-20 year olds all seeming to have the same haircut I knew I was a bit out of my element.  For the last week I’ve been up in Rostock staying with another old friend.  A good place to relax and focus my thoughts on what lies ahead in the next months.

My first priorities are to get the blog slightly back on track.  I’ve never been good at the blogging while traveling thing, which is probably the reason that even after 7 years, my readership is still abysmally low.  I’m always amazed at the people I see blog about going on their first trip and 6 months later they are making a living off it.  Perhaps if I were some cute blond chick posting pictures of myself in a bikini while partying on the beach, or, if I actually had even some minimal talent at writing I could be doing better.  Though I’m supposed to be a photographer anyhow, or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

Speaking of writing, I also have a number of articles to write for 68north.com.  Hopefully I can get one done per week, which will see new content added until sometime into the new year and possibly even until I’m back on Lofoten again.  While on the Kungsleden trail in Sweden I also took some footage and shot a few time-lapse sequences.  Hopefully this will turn into a short video clip, but it’s sort of a low priority behind all the images I have to process.  Not to mention that I have to re-learn how to use Final Cut and edit video.  All and all, hopefully I can keep myself busy and finally get some shit done!  I think I’ll have some pretty good images to show…

And finally, my fingers are crossed for a cold winter in south Wales.  My ice tools are are ready for some action and I need to get in a bit of training before heading Lofoten.  I don’t want to be stuck pulling on plastic in the climbing gym all winter.

Budapest – Vienna – Alps – Heading West

Vienna opera house

Photo: Vienna Opera House.  October 2012

Sometimes I think I have bad timing in life.  Leaving Lofoten on Oct 8th, I was sailing across the Vestfjorden while watching the best northern lights I’ve seen in my life.  6 weeks above the Arctic Circle and the lights finally show up when I’m on a boat and can’t take any photos! I could have cried.

Though upon arriving in Budapest, I was happy to hear the news that a few friends I had met last year while traveling through the Baltic would be in town.  A couple more late nights were to result.  Budapest as a whole was better that I remembered from 6 years ago.  I look forward to returning again.  And though I thought that the city had been cleaned up quite a bit, it was good to know that you might still need to bribe some people to help you out:

I show up at the train station in Budapest about 30 minutes before my train to Vienna is supposed to depart. I walk into the office for ‘international’ tickets and take my number to be served; 408, currently serving 379. After 10 minutes they had gotten to 381. The 2 old ladies selling the tickets made the DMV look like a model of efficiency. It wasn’t looking good…

I begin to chat with an Aussie couple also in the same bind as me when a security guard comes up and asks where we’re going. After telling him he states the he might be able to help us as walks away. A minute later he comes back and offers that if he were perhaps to receive a little ‘tip,’ he could help us get on the train. with only 10 minutes to the train, or facing a 2 hour wait until the next, we figure why not.

So he points us to another office that also sells international tickets, but isn’t marked at all and had no line. We quickly head over and get the tickets as a few minutes before departure. Split 3 ways, it cost about $2 each for the help of the guard and at least we all got on the train…

The last few days I’ve been in Vienna, my 3rd (or well really 2nd) time in the city.  I like it here, but as last time, I haven’t really been out shooting much.  Perhaps the streets are just a bit too crowded for my liking.

Tomorrow (Friday) I’m on the train to Munich and then renting at car and heading down to the Alps.  Mostly I’ll just stay in the foothills around the German – Austrian border and try to find some nice light and color.  I’ve been wanting to take a trip like this for some years, so it’s nice to finally sort-of be able to afford it.  Though I’ll pretty much have to sleep in the car the whole time as I can’t yet afford both a car and a roof over my head, so hopefully I can avoid any grumpy German police who don’t like me sleeping in some parking lot on the side of the road.  I might try and make it up to a mountain hut or two though…

After a week in the Alps I’ll be heading to Regensburg for a few nights.  My favorite city in Germany, I haven’t been there since 2009; long overdue for a return…

Vienna opera house

Photo: Vienna Opera House.  October 2012

budapest chain bridge

Photo: Chain bridge, Budapest, Hungary.  October 2012

Budapest

Overlooking the Danube river, Budapest, Hungary

Photo: Parliament building, Budapest, Hungary.  January 2007

I’m in Budapest for the week.  Was last here over the New Year of ’06/’07.  Not sure what to expect, but I’ll probably end up doing my normal wandering around the city all day looking for photos.  Hopefully I at least end up with a few better photos than last time.

From Budapest I head to Vienna, and then onwards to a rather busy social schedule that will see me crisscrossing Germany from south to north and east to west and east again.  Better pickup a good book for all time time I’ll be spending on trains…

Budapest

Photo: Budapest.  December 2006

Last Days on Lofoten Islands

lofoten islands norway offersoykammen

Photo: Autumn light over Lofoten from Offersøykammen, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct. 2012

My time here on Lofoten is soon coming to an end.  Today is stormy, making it a good day for rest and a bit of reading and writing.  Overall, it’s been a good Autumn; pretty dry, with some good calm days.  On a few occasions I’ve found myself arriving on mountain peaks in just a t-shirt; though this is mostly due to the amount of sweat I create under the burden of all my camera crap.

Unlike previous trips, I’ve tried to be a bit more focused this time.  One of the main reasons is that I want to add more content to my other website I have about the Lofoten Islands: 68north.com  Once I’m done traveling in mid November, I’ll have quite a few updates to make and a lot of new content to add.  It should keep me busy while hiding from the rain in what is forecasted to be a pretty crappy winter in the UK.

And despite having now spent nearly six weeks north of the Arctic Circle since late August, I’ve only seen one small display of the Northern Lights.  They’ve been occurring, but I seem to always find myself in a cloudy location.  Or on the few clear nights that I have had, the sky has been quite.  I have a few more days left for my luck to change, we’ll see what happens.

Two days ago, Tuesday, I finally hiked up Himmeltindan, the highest mountain here on Vesvågøy.  I was racing an incoming layer of high cloud as I made my way up the 964 meters (it may not sound high, but the parking area was at a beach) to the summit.  Like normal here on Lofoten, or at least with my luck, the clouds won.  Still a good day all and all.  I met some soldiers at the top, who’d taken the elevator – there is an elevator build inside the mountain to service the radar station built on top.  I half joked if I could get a lift back down, ‘No, sorry. That wont be possible…’ came the response.

Yesterday was one of those frustrating days where I was always 1-2 minutes too late.  The light was nice and stormy, as it should be here in Autumn.  But I found myself just driving in circles, never able to put light and subject together to create a decent image.  Finally, and partly out of a little bit of frustration of having spent 400 nkr of gas, I decided just to hike up the small peak of Offersøykammen and try and wait until sunset to see if anything would happen.  Well, the clouds decided to descend over the summit about 45 minutes before sunset.  There was some nice light in the process, but I then headed back down to the car, only to notice that I had chosen one of the few peaks in the area with cloud cover; most of the other summits remained free and clear.

In final thoughts, and as much as I like being here, after six weeks in Norway and Sweden I can hear the cries and protests of my bank account every time I enter the supermarket or pull up the the gas station.  It actually makes having 250 Euros stolen in Germany seem like not all that big a deal.  I think I prefer Norway in shorter amounts of maybe 3 weeks at the most – with at least half that hiking and sleeping in a tent so I don’t spend anything.  Now I can feel myself being too cautious with money; not renting a car if I don’t think the weather will clear up (I have a sort of deal worked out with one of the rental car guys that I can take a car only on the days I want it, but that still costs me 250 nkr/day + gas at 15.5 nkr/L – $10.26 gallon), so I’ve missed some good light on a couple days I didn’t think would amount to much.  And then when I do go with the car, I can sense that I’m putting myself under pressure to create something good.  And up here, it doesn’t work like that.

On Tuesday I fly to Budapest and see if the place still looks the same after six years.

Thieves In The Night

Festival-Mediaval campground, Selb, Germany

Photo: Campground at the festival, Selb, Germany.  September 2012

Selb, Germany.

1 AM Friday, Sept. 7:  I say my goodbyes for the night and leave the campfire and head back to my tent.  The hour was still early for a night camped at a German music festival, but my body was still short on sleep from the last couple days of travel.  I entered my tent and zipped the door shut to the cool night air.  Earphones in, sleeping bag cozily around my head, I was tuned out to the noise and festivities that continued on late into the night.

4 AM:  I stir from my sleep to the sounds of a few shouts and some distant yelling.  I don’t think much of it, probably just some people with a little to much to drink doing something stupid.  I’m soon asleep again.

7 AM:  I awake to the lightening sky on my second morning camped in the farmers field turned makeshift campground for the 3 day music/medieval festival that would be occurring over the weekend.  I unzip my sleeping and look to grab my pants to get dressed.  Hmm, they’re not there?  Maybe under my backpack? Nope.  Hmm.  Then I look up at notice my tent is slightly unzipped.  Hmm, I don’t think I would have left it like that, but did I?  Then I start to get a feeling of panic as both my wallet and passport were in the pockets of my pants.  I hop out of my tent into the frosty morning air and look around.  I spot my neighbor and tell him that my pants are missing along with my wallet and ask if he’s seen anything during the night.  Nope, he had gone to bed early with his kids.  Shit I think, not only is my wallet gone and passport gone, but that was my only pair of pants.

A few moments later I’m looking around a see a dark shape in the bushes about 20 feet from my tent.  My pants, minus my wallet.  Shit.  As luck would have it though, my passport and cell phone remained.  But still, shit!  My cell phone battery was almost dead, but I make a quick call to my brother to contact my dad to cancel all my credit cards, but as it was 11pm in California, there wasn’t much that could be done at the time.

I walk to the entrance booth and in my bad German explain what happened.  Yes, they already know, and there were several others standing around that also had everything from cash, cameras and cell phones stolen during the night.  A group of thieves, 3 or 4 of them had come across the field during the night and raided the campground full of unsuspecting festival goers.

The screams that had woken be up during the night were from a woman who’s tent one of the men entered.  This alerted others which led to a chase through the campground.  A tackle and swift elbow to the head led to one of the thieves being knocked out and taken into custody by the police.  Unfortunately he didn’t have anything on him.  The man was from [insert name of eastern European country starting with an S which borders Poland and Czech Republic] so he didn’t speak German for the police to try and interrogate.  At least they got one of the bastards, I though.  Too bad someone didn’t give him a few more kicks though.  And my wallet was still missing, which didn’t help my situation much.

Later in the morning one of the police inspectors showed up and I stood in like with nearly a dozen other campers who’d also had stuff stolen and gave my report.  They didn’t offer much hope that anything would be recovered.  I heard some comments that they had supposedly located a car associated with the men some 40km to the north, near Hof.  But of this I heard nothing further.

Now some hours later and my mood thoroughly soured I sat talking with my neighbor about the night’s events.  Then I saw one of the festival workers walking by with something that looked my my wallet.  ‘Mein Geldbeutel!?’ I ask. Yep!  He says to try not to touch it much as the police want to come back to try and collect some evidence from it.  I opened it enough to confirm to my great relief that all my credit cards, drivers license, and other items are still there.  Missing, about 250 Euros in cash.  But at that point, after thinking about how difficult it would be to try and get my credit cards and drivers license again (I’m traveling and won’t really have an address to ship anything to until mid November), I was actually relieved to ‘only’ have lost cash.  Still, I wouldn’t have minded if the police let me give a few comments to the bastard they had.

As it turns out, a woman found my wallet in her tent.  When one of the men came in she let out a scream, maybe the one I had heard during the night.  Perhaps at that point he tried to quickly get out of the tent and must have dropped my wallet in the process.  Or perhaps he had everything in a bag and it simply fell out.  All I know is that I’m glad I got it back.  It’s one thing to loose money, and it sucks.  It’s an entirely bigger pain in the ass to try and replace documents while traveling.

Friday afternoon the festival begins and I try not to let any bitterness get to me as I listen to the music and enjoy some good food.  As I go to bed that night, I make sure that my wallet is securely in my sleeping bag this time.  Not that the thieves would be back again…

Saturday morning as I’m walking out of the camping area to go to the bakery I see a few people standing around the entrance.  Then, one of the men with whom I’d had some contact with told me that the thieves had been back again during the night and stolen more stuff.  Shit I think….

Saturday night I had a party to go to about an hour away.  I packed up most my belongings in my backpack, leaving only my sleeping bag, mat, and a few other worthless items.  I wished my tent a safe night, but I can’t imagine that the thieves would be back again.

I hear the news from my neighbor while arriving back to my tent late Sunday morning.  They had been back again during the night…

Going to bed Sunday night I tie a few objects to the guy lines of my tent to make a bit of noise where they to be moved.  Unfortunately I had a rather early train to catch, or I would have liked to stay up a bit and wait.  Early in the morning I see the lights of a flashlight flicking off my tent.  I yell out and ask what’s going on.  Men had been spotted again trying to get into the camp.  Four nights in a row? Fucking Hell!

Now, the fact that the police were unable to catch a group of men who raided the same small area with limited access points for 4 nights in a row leaves me quite disappointed.  I understand not being prepared for the second night, not imagining they would be bold enough to return again.  But on the third and fourth nights, they should have been there.  And being a fairly small town, I doubt they had any other pressing matters to attend to.  When I’m back in Germany in a few more weeks I’ll give them a phone call to find out if anything has developed since, but I kind of doubt it.  And I wouldn’t even be surprised to hear that the man they have in custody had been released with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.  Probably using my 200 Euros to by a big screen TV from Saturn…

Being so used to travel, I think I’ve let my guard down a bit.  Prior to this, I considered the inside of my tent while I was in it as a ‘safe place.’  When sleeping in hostels or elsewhere, I’m always sure to keep my valuables well hidden, but I guess I was a bit lax in my tent security.  Also, as I’m usually a fairly light sleeper, I’m not sure why I didn’t hear anyone enter my tent.  Possibly because I had my iPod earphones in as well as having the sleeping bag fully zipped around my head as it was a rather chilly night.  And with other campers in such close proximity, it is also hard to distinguish the distance of various noises from within in the tent.  So perhaps if I did hear the sound of a zipper in the middle of the night, I would just have likely associated it with my neighbor opening his tent as opposed to imagining someone entering mine; something that was not anywhere on my mind as I went to bed that night.  From now on, I’ll trust nothing as safe…

Omnia Live at Festival-Mediaval 2012, Selb, Germany
Photo: Omnia Live at Festival-Mediaval 2012. Selb, Germany

Leaving Lofoten

utakleiv lofoten islands camping campfire

Photo: Campfire at Utakleiv beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 2012

If there was any chance the islands were trying to hold onto summer, it’s now gone with the first autumn storm of the season spreading across Norway.  This morning I was still planning on taking the Hurtigruten ferry from here in Stamsund to Bodø tonight.  But as the hours passed, the weather worsened; with near gale force wind forecast for later this evening.  I called the Hurtigruten and they were not sure if they would be able to make it into port in Stamsund tonight, and with a 7 am flight to Germany tomorrow, I decided to play it safe and book a flight from Leknes.  It also means I’ll arrive not too late and thanks to the hospitality of some friends in Bodø, I’ll actually have a place to sleep instead of a few hours on the floor of the ferry building.

Over the last two weeks I think I’ve had a few more good days that I was expecting and I managed to visit and get some decent photos of most of the places I was wanting to.  A few more hikes will have to wait until I return in a few more weeks.  Looking back, it seems to have been a pretty cold and stormy summer overall here on Lofoten, without any long periods of stable weather.  In the last week, the trees have definitely begun showing colors of autumn.  Hopefully the color waits for me to return in roughly 3 weeks.

For the next week I’ll be in Germany and then it”s back north of the arctic circle for 10 days on the Kungsleden trail in Sweden.

First Days on Lofoten Islands Norway

camping at Horseid beach Lofoten Islands Norway

Photo: Campfire at Horseid Beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 2012

I’ve been back on the Lofoten Islands for almost a week now.  For the first two nights I camped out at Horseid beach.  Had the place pretty much to myself and got lucky with some decent weather on the second night.  The first day hiking in was horrible rain and crossing the pass from Kirkefjord I was in total whiteout, only knowing that I was going in the right direction when I could finally hear the faint sounds of the ocean in the distance.  Then dropping back down below the clouds, I could see the beach in the distance.  I wasn’t planning on starting out this trip with hiking in full rain gear, but that’s how things work up here…

After two nights at Horseid I then hitchiked from Reine to Stamsund where I’ve been the last two nights.  I was told the forecast for Friday was rain, but it turned out to be a pretty good day and I probably should have gone into the mountains for Thursday night.  Today is bad rain however, so I’m glad I have a nice fire to keep me warm and endless cups of hot tea.  The weather should improve in the next days and hopefully I’ll get a bit more time in my tent.

It’s only a week away from September now and the days have been quite cold, below 10˚ C most days, but the days are still amazingly long.  Even at the darkest period of the night, 1 am, there is still a glow on the horizon in the north.  But as each week passes, the days become 45 minutes shorter, so when I return in a month the nights will be long.

Summer night Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: 1 am twilight in late summer, Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 2012