TROLLTUNGA
One of Norway’s most iconic hiking trails, the round trip is 27.5km with mile markers along the length of the trail and approximately 1000m of ascent over the 14km to the rocks itself, 400m of which is encountered over the first kilometre up a steep, demanding staircase of uneven rocky steps, it is a tough trail. You have to get here early, the route starts at a car park in Skjeggedal close to Odda, and if you aren’t on the trail by 7 or 8am you could be waiting hours for a photograph at the end of the rock, for every Instagram post of the lone hiker overlooking the valley, there are 200 waiting in line behind them. Trolltunga is a busy trail and can take up to 10 hours so be early, and never attempt the hike in the winter.
ARRIVING IN NORWAY
Four of us arrived at Stavanger airport at midnight on the Thursday of a bank holiday weekend. One of us had never hiked before but given that he and I were spending almost 3 weeks in South America and 4 days on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu the following month, plus a few days trekking in the Amazon, he had to get some training in.
We had hired a car and had a 6 hour drive to Roldal ahead of us, due to arrive at 6am. I’m afraid I have no idea how much anything cost on this trip, a friend Declan planned everything for us and we had booked both flights and accommodation almost a year in advance, I seem to remember it being very cheap until we had actually touched down in Norway, where a single slice of pizza cost £5, honestly it is so expensive in the Nordic countries, Copenhagen really shocked me, a single Gin and Tonic cost £11 and in Iceland a chipped windscreen cost £500, also in Hawaii, one loaf of bread cost £5 too.
Driving in Norway is stunningly beautiful, the country itself is stunningly beautiful and one of Norway’s greatest virtues was that there were so few people around. There were no other cars on the road albeit late at night and mid-week and it was like being in heaven, and having heard how peaceful and secluded parts of Norway can be I was very much looking forward to a little isolation amidst nature. This was secured early on in the trip as we had to stop abruptly at a complete congregation of approximately 200 sheep stood happily in the middle of a narrow road with rocky hills to each side. We flashed lights, revved the engine and hit the horn a number of times and of course the only reaction we got from the sheep was a casual look. After some time I had to get out of the car in the middle of the wilderness and physically push a number of sheep out of the way before the rest of the flock began to clear.
Unfortunately after 3 hours of Declan driving incredibly well on the right hand side of the road it was my turn, he was too tired to continue. Young Dale didn’t have a driving license and he and I had been sleeping on the back seat resting on each others shoulder whilst John had been keeping Dec awake but he had reached his limit. Dale woke up and none slept for the next 3 hours, I had never driven on the right side of the road before and I was dangerously bad at it, I am now a complete expert after having driven more often on the right over the past 2 years than the left but the first time will haunt me for the rest of my life, and the lives of those that were luckless enough to have been passengers. I almost crashed off of the road, into mountains, down gorges and off of cliffs 1000 times in the dark, and with the constant abusive screams of my three passengers, some of the worst combination of words I have heard to this day. None in that car slept again whilst I was driving. I also very almost ran out of petrol, if not for downward motion, the hill scattered countryside and quaint and tiny towns.
Kilometer 4
WARM UP HIKES
We finally reached the mountain lodge, Haradalen Cottages and Hostel, in the early morning, as the only residents, the lovely owner even went home for the weekend so we very much had the place to ourselves. Sleeping for 3 or 4 hours we woke and travelled into Jondal where we spent the day climbing a mountain over looking the Fjords. The weather was awful, it was incredibly windy up there, we were consistently sprayed with rain and the fog was so thick that it was hard to see anything in front of you that was further than an arm’s length away. John was feeling increasingly unnerved as we made our way further up into the fog taking the steep trail carefully. I cant quite remember how high we had climbed to the top of that mountain or what it is called but with the constant ‘We have to turn back, we can’t even see up here. We have to turn back’, from John, it felt like it took a very long time to reach the summit. We didn’t turn back, we signed the book and I ran down mountain in the wind, jumping the rocks, running through the trees and splashing through the waterfalls. I actually destroyed my knee and was in real pain that evening. Don’t run down no matter how excited you get, take it slow and don’t rush. I really learnt the benefits of taking it slow on the Inca Trail, suffering from altitude sickness quite badly, although the porters did say between them that I was like a bird and flew up the mountain, no big deal. That was worth the mountain sickness as those guys are like well oiled machines, the Inca Trail is just over 26 miles long and the fastest time is within 4 hours which is utterly insane given the extreme elevation.
We didn’t see one other person during the hike and being lost in the wind, rain and fog was an amazing feeling. I would definitely recommend a warm up before attempting The Devil’s Tongue, it is a tough hike, especially if you are doing it all in one day, of course some camp along the way and do the trek over 2 or 3 days which is a good option but it ties you to this part of the country if you only have a weekend to enjoy the various elements of Norway’s wonderful landscape. Although we had nothing else planned we did find time to hike across a glacier, ice climb a little, follow waterfall trails and explore the Fjords during our time here.
Kilometer 8
HIKING TO THE EDGE OF THE DEVIL’S TONGUE
By 5am the next morning morning my knee was a little better and I was incredibly excited at the thought of hanging ten on the edge of The Devil’s Tongue. Dale was wearing lycra again which dulled my mood a little every time I was forced to look at him head on, I tried to avoid this at all costs for the entire day. We put on our hiking boots that were almost dry from yesterday’s adventure (Dec told us to put screwed up newspaper in our boots to dry out the inside, try it, it works), and sat waiting in the car for John, who had a perfectly reasonable excuse for making us all wait for him, for some time.
We drove North for just over an hour up to Skjeggedal car park in Odda, to the Trolltunga trailhead. You should be pretty fit for this hike, the first section is a 400m ascent over 1 kilometre and it is certainly an early way to gauge the pace of the other hikers starting off on the trail. Dale and Declan ran up the steps as I followed a little further back with John bringing up the rear. John was not prepared for this trail, he did redeem himself vastly whilst climbing mountains in South America later that year but I don’t think he will mind me documenting his struggle here (He helped me greatly when climbing to over 4215m on Dead Woman’s Pass in Peru, I’ll share this story very soon). I felt the pain that John felt on Trolltunga wild camping in Dartmoor a previous year, the hills where constantly up and down and I carried a 12kg bag on my back the entire way. Everyone felt the pain on The Inca Trail, everyone.
The steps at the start of this trail are completely uneven, sometimes knee high, sometimes waist high. They are slippery, jagged, sloping, sharp and unsafe. There are ropes to hold onto at sections, use these and use the trees to balance, or even your hands when the gradient gets a little too much. There will be a great number of people scattered up the rocks here panting, sweating and taking a breather. Take your time and rest if you need to, you have another 13km to go.
As I was catching up with Dale and Declan who were chilling at the top of the climb, John was not far behind me. I don’t race, I am not interested in events like The Three Peaks Challenge, I want to enjoy climbing mountains and racing to the top and then racing back down isn’t for me. The other two are fast, both very fast actually and inexhaustible. On this occasion, John was not. The next few kilometres are much easier, the ascent is slow and steady, a combination of hard rock and marshland with a number of wooden planks to help you cross the wetland and plenty of waterfalls to cross, climb and fill your water bottle from (We use chlorine tablets to kill any germs). We did this hike in late August, a great time to visit Norway and although at times it rained, it was cold and some heavy clouds rolled into the valley once we had reached the tongue, the sun was shining down on us for most of the day.
As you follow the mile markers it does get steeper, crossing a mountain pass still slightly covered in snow and up a scree ridden track that can be quite taxing for the unfit or inexperienced, the views are absolutely stunning in every way. The sun hangs low in the sky, the surrounding mountains roll into the horizon, when climbing, always remember to look back at the landscape you are leaving behind. The tarns scattered across the peaks are a humbling sight and should not be missed, you don’t have to follow the path.
I have broken this story into parts, it was getting far too long and although I doubt you will even get this far, if you are still with me, check out the rest of this post continued in Norway, Trolltunga – Hiking to the Edge of The Devil’s Tongue Part 2.