Vestfjord
Vestfjord a few minutes after midnight. The mountains in the distance are on the Norwegian mainland, some 50km away.
Memurudalen – Jotunheimen national park
Photo: Memurudalen panoramic, Jotunheimen national park, Norway
Memurudalen (say that 10 times) is a scenic alpine valley that ends on the northern side of lake Gjende. The northern end of the valley rises into glaciers and mountains, from where the fast and cold Muru river flows.
Photo: Surtninssue rises above Memurudalen, Jotunheimen national park, Norway
Photo: Wild camp above Memurudalen, Jotunheimen national park, Norway
Photo: Cold glacial melt water of the Muru river flows through Memurudalen, Jotunheimen national park, Norway
Norway | Lofoten Islands and Jotunheimen National Park
Photo: Summer twilight over Vestfjord at midnight, Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway
Photo: 1:30 AM summer twilight, Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway
From the end of July to the middle of August I was over in Norway. First two weeks were on the Lofoten Islands waiting out mostly bad weather for an elusive sun. The third week I was hiking among the mountains and lakes of Jotunheimen national park, where I was lucky and had lots of sun. All in all, it was a pretty productive trip.
That’s all for now (figured I needed to post something after 3 weeks of silence…). I’ll try and keep a more regular flow of images and words in the next weeks.
Photo: Lake Gjende from above Memurubu, Jotunheimen national park, Norway
Photo: Lake Gjende from Gjendesheim, Jotunheimen national park, Norway
Twmpa – Black Mountains, Wales
Twmpa, also known as Lord Hereford’s knob, is a somewhat prominent looking, but fairly low peak in the northern part of the Black mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales
Hay Bluff – Brecon Beacons national park, Wales
Hay Bluff is a small (677 meter) peak on the northeast edge of the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons national park.
The English/Welsh border runs roughly through the left side of the peak in the above photo, as well as Offa’s Dyke national footpath which follows the border for the most part.
The bluff is only a few kilometers south of town here, so it’s probably my most visited area of the Brecon Beacons national park and Wales in general. It’s a good place to go for some hillwalking in the late afternoon and provides some scenic views of the surrounding countryside.
Above and Below: Hay Bluff as seen from near the summit of Twmpa. The peak rises into a broad plateau which then turns into a ridge that forms the eastern border of: the Black mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Vale of Ewyas, and Wales itself. The small single lane road skirts the side of the peak and over Gospel Pass (center right of both photos) and down into the Vale of Ewyas.
To Lofoten
If I timed this post properly, it should be 4:30 AM (Norwegian time) Wednesday morning and I’ll just be getting off the ferry in Moskenes after over 24 hours of straight travel. Hopefully it wont be raining and hopefully the 3 hour crossing will have been a bit calmer than the above photo, which was not a very fun ride. Time to go find a nice flat spot to pitch my tent for a couple hours. Next is the walk to Reine to catch the ferry across the fjord and make my way to Bunes beach…
Norwegian Hiking and Backpacking
Photo: Camping above lake Bygdin, Jotunheimen national park, Norway
Photo: Cloudy skies over mountains and glaciers in Jotunheimen national park, Norway.
To put it nicely, Norway is not a ‘sunny’ country. Don’t be fooled by travel guides and brochures showing photos scenic green meadows, waterfalls, or fjords with calm puffy white clouds and blue skies overhead on every page. This is a lie. I can’t count how many times I’ve set my tent up in the rain only to take it down in the rain on the following morning, for days on end. Even during the height of summer one should always be prepared for cold, wet, and windy conditions. This applies even more if one is planning on venturing out in the mountains.
Photo: Camping at Kvalvike beach, Lofoten islands, Norway.
So if the weather sucks so bad, why even go? Because Norway is an amazingly beautiful and friendly country. And because when that sunny summer day does come, you will instantly forget that week of rain and cloud that proceeded and will follow it. And if you are north of the arctic circle and standing on a mountain top at 2 am under a perfectly blue sky, you will already start planning your return trip.
Photo: Mountain snack, above Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway
Here’s my packing list for a 3 week trip which I start tomorrow. The first 2 weeks I’ll out on the Lofoten islands, followed by one week hiking around Jotunheimen national park. Since the main purpose of my trip is photography, I need to keep the weight of my camping equipment and clothing to a minimum to help offset the weight of my camera gear.
Some useful links for traveling around Norway:
- DNT – Norwegian Trekking Assocation
- UT.no – interactive topo map with hiking routes and hut locations for whole of Norway
- YR.no – Norwegian weather
- NSB – Norwegain train line
- RUTEINFO – Regional transport info for whole of Norway: ferries, busses, trains, planes…
- NOR-WAY – National long distance bus company
- OVDS – Bodø – Moskenes ferry for Lofoten Islands, other routes as well
- Norwegian Airlines
Footwear:
I normally only wear hiking boots in places where I’ll encounter lots of snow and or bog/mud, such as Norway. However, I’m trying to keep things a bit lighter on this trip so I’m only going to take some trail-runners. This may be a regrettable decision and lead to constantly wet feet, but I hope not…
Camping Gear:
•Backpack – Golite Odyssey
•Daypack/camera bag – Black Diamond Sphynx 32L
•Tent – MSR Hubba single person
•Sleeping Bag – Mountain Hardwear Phantom 32
•Lightweight foam sleeping pad
•Leki Makalu trekking poles
•Water filter – Katadyn mini
•Petzl Zipka plus headlamp
•first aid kit
•Rain cover for backpack
Cooking:
•Stove – Snow Peak GigaPower
•Cookware – Snow Peak titanium pan & lid
•Spoon Fork combination
•Food
Misc:
•Multipurpose camp soap
•journal & pens
•Hand cleaner
•Plug adapter
•Book
•Maps
Clothing:
•Shell Jacket – Golite
•Shell Pants – Marmot Precip
•Marmot Driclime windshirt
•Lightweight fleece
•MEC lightweight softshell pants
•Lightweight shorts
•3x t-shirts
•3x socks
•3x underwear
•Fleece beanie
•Lightweight camp towel
•Sandals
Photo: Scenic summer view of Lake Gjende, Jotunheimen national park, Norway.
Claerwen Reservoir – Elan Valley, Wales
Claerwen Reservoir and dam on a surprisingly pleasant summer day, Elan Valley, Powys, Wales.
These waters flow some 70+ miles to quench the thirst of the city of Birmingham. Claerwen was finished in 1952 and was the last of the reservoirs to be built.
Wild Welsh Mountain Ponies
Wild Welsh mountain ponies in and around Hay Bluff in the Black Mountains area of Brecon Beacons national park, Wales.
I’ve posted previously about the wild ponies that run around the mountains here in south Wales. There’s several herds that hang out on Hay Bluff, just outside of town here. They make for more interesting subjects than near infinite amount of sheep cruising around.
Seasons On Lofoten Winter eBook
Kungsleden Trail eBook
Kungsleden Trail Hiking Guide