This hike started off crooked. I hiked with my family in a remote area called Sarek in July, and I was tired of packing lists, dried food, and everything related to preparations. My backpack weighed 14 kg with food for 6 days, approximately 3.5 kg more than my spreadsheet had predicted. Irritating.

Furthermore, since I hiked with 22 kg (49 lb) on my back in Sarek, I thought I was fit enough.

The evening before my train to Oslo at 05:48, I was at a wedding. I didn’t drink much but only got to sleep for 3 hours.

I arrived in Laerdalsoyri around nine in the evening, and I had planned to set up my tent at the beginning of the trail up the mountain, but I changed my mind when I saw the mountain. In Norway, the mountains are more mountainous. Their Kit-Kat, “Kvikklunch,” had 8 mountain rules on the wrapper. I just felt like sleeping and checked into a motel.

Here are my notes from the hike:

Day 1

Ascent to the mountain plateau and Hoganos, 1520 (5000 feet) meters above sea level. Didn’t think about the fact that in Norway, when you start in a fjord you’re at sea level, the ascent is 1520 meters, not like in Sweden where you need to climb about 400 meters (1300 feet) to reach the tree line.

The first part felt okay. Legs were sore, but I had lunch on the mountain plateau. I began to feel my runner’s knee on the left leg, but thought it would probably resolve itself. The view was fantastic.

30 minutes later, my leg hurt badly. I decided to set up the tent at 16:30 by Fjellvatnen, 1197 meters above sea level. I foam-rolled my legs and took an Ibuprofen.

Sad. I know it’s possible to complete this hike with runner’s knee, but it won’t be as fun. There’s no desire to explore or take detours.

Feels like a repeat of Abisko-Nikkaloukta from 5 years ago that started with runner’s knee. That time, I aborted and went to a mountain hut and made my way home via Kungsleden.

Please make the leg feel better tomorrow.

And for heavens’s sake, bring enough medication to last 24 hours the whole duration next time!

Day 2

Woke up feeling cold with a lot of condensation in the tent. Put on my quilt and slept well until 07:00. Five years ago, I had no quilt and a tent with worse condensation issues. Then, I woke up with the foot end of the sleeping bag feeling like cold porridge. This feels like a replay of that hike but with better equipment.

No problems with mosquitoes here. They seem less aggressive than Swedish mosquitoes. Less of a ‘get rich or die trying’ attitude.

A lot of pain today. Decided to take a detour via the northern side of the plateau for the sake of the view. Worth it. Followed a contour line at 1200 meters above sea level around Dogerskar. It went well until I reached a rockslide on the eastern side. Felt symbolic. A cliff too small to appear on the contour lines but enormous for me, always appearing when I’m almost there.

Had a long lunch at the inflow to Dyrebottsvatnet. Dried my sleeping bag and foam-rolled some more. Saw another hiker 300 meters (980 feet) away crossing another pass. I could have traded all my chocolate for 10 Ibuprofen.

For the next time:

• Take every solo hike seriously!
• Just because you’ve completed longer hikes in more remote areas doesn’t mean you can handle this. Hubris is life-threatening.
• Start more gently
• Train your legs more throughout the year

Set up the tent around 17:30 near Geitenosvatnen.

Day 3

Woke up with a lot of condensation. It rained all night, and I think I sweated. Maybe not entirely well. Not eager to start the day.

Around 12:00, the rain stopped, and I took the opportunity to eat. Put on my down jacket and my quilt over my legs. The wind shifted, and it started pouring rain in 5 seconds. Furious! Abort-clumsy. Two of the three things keeping me warm are soaking wet.

Very steep descent from the pass at Graveggi between peaks 1566 and 1491. Stepped on gravel behind a big rock and sank down to my knee. After I pulled up my leg, water started bubbling up from the hole. Never experienced anything like it. Was about to take a photo, but came to my senses and quickly moved to the side in case I triggered a landslide.

Thought I would get reception at the gravel road and made a decision: if tomorrow’s weather report at least included a sun, I would continue; otherwise, I would seek out if the road led somewhere I could dry things or abort.

Down below, I had no reception. Further along the road, there was a steamroller with the engine running. Inside was young guy speaking difficult to understand Norwegian. He knew nothing about the weather, asked me to talk to the excavator driver a bit further ahead.

He was somewhat more accommodating but couldn’t help me. Reception was 5 km away, but he only worked here and knew nothing about the area. They were here to repair the road after the storm Hans.

Continued a bit disheartened. Checked the last weather report I had taken screenshots of. There, from 14-16, was a rain cloud with a sun above it. That would have to do.

Started looking for a campsite near Samfellevatnet when I saw a cabin on its northern side. With a chimney! Walked slowly around the lake. My leg hurt so bad now that I could barely bend it. Prayed to the mountains that the cabin would be open and have firewood. In the worst case, there should at least be a good tent spot near the house. When I finally arrived, the cabin was locked. It was raining, and I set up the tent a bit away.

I have nothing to use as a pillow because all my clothes are wet. Worried about the night. Will take a decision tomorrow.

Day 4

Slept okay. Woke up at 03:30 feeling cold. Made another warm bottle and slept until 06:00. It was around 3 degrees (37F) when I woke up. Not raining! Took a morning pee and hung out my quilt and down jacket. Started raining again after an hour.

It’s possible to sleep like this, but I’m not sure if I have enough gas left. Already made 4 hot water bottles to foam roll my leg. I don’t think I’ll abort.

Morning tasks:

• Foot care
• Write down route description
• Fix holes in the garbage bag liner
• Try to secure neoprene sock around the knee

Evening:

Managed to dry most things in the morning. Laid everything out in a circle on rocks around the tent, and watched. Formulated a plan at the first sign of rain: sleeping bag into the tent, then the quilt and down jacket, and then the rest.

Set off around 10:30. Wrapped my buff twice around my knee and think it helped a bit.

At the glacier around 1600 meters (5300 feet) above sea level, the sky cleared up. It was incredibly quiet. Just the clinking of the poles hitting rocks and the muffled creaking of the backpack. The leg hurt less. Just wish I could keep moving like this forever. Glad I didn’t abort.

After that, navigating was tricky. Lots of slopes and ravines. Worst before Jonsvatnet, where the path I had planned ended in a cliff at the lake’s outlet. Had to go back and climb up slippery rocks that moved unusually much. Mean rocks.

Got tired around 19:00 when I reached a steep slope, and it started pouring rain with gusts of up to 15 m/s. Spent a long time looking for a tent spot that wasn’t soggy and finally found a fairly narrow ridge with shrubs.

Tried to hit the only reasonable sleeping spot with my tent 4 times. Screamed with anger and hatred at my tent’s geometry.

Had a fantastic day despite it all. Walked, looked, navigated. Didn’t think.

Day 5

Woke up to rain. Packed everything in the tent and got going around 09:30. Reached the dam at Berdalsvatnen quite quickly. Pain, screaming pain at the beginning. Tried to find the path around Eldegardsnosi, but there wasn’t one. Didn’t feel like navigating in this rain and wind so close to the fjord’s cliffs. Decided to take the road instead.

Then it was just about covering ground. Thought I’d try hitchhiking but changed my mind. It was nice to walk even though the leg hurt. Arrived at Øvre Årdal around 14:00, and after a pleasant conversation with the woman at the tourist office, I took the bus to Årdalstangen and checked into the hotel there.

The sauna was divine.

Gear

Weighed my gear after the hike to figure out if anything had happened. My base weight is 6440g (14 lb, 3 oz), and I discovered an error in my spreadsheet. I had a bit too much chocolate and cheese, but nothing strange.

New for this year:

• OMM Trio Map Pouch 4. Started with one hook coming loose in Sarek. Got a replacement that I had to receive through an address in England. During the trip, a button also broke. Because it sits so high on my backpack, the only really useful part of the map was the upper half. Won’t bring it again. Planning to write route directions and use the phone more next time.

• OMM Core+ Hoodie. Bought it because I was cold in my Patagonia R1 on my last trip when it was raining, 5 degrees (41F) and wind speed around 12 m/s. Didn’t feel cold when I moved with this one in similar conditions. Plus, it’s lighter. Can recommend.

• Opinel No. 7 knife. 31g useful knife. Nice to be able to cut pieces of cheese and sausage. Feels a bit reassuring that you could make splints and sticks if you had to make a fire. Might bring it next time.

Other things

• Tent Tipik Pioulou with a custom inner tent. The inner tent is fully covered with extra mosquito netting for the door (similar to Hilleberg tents). 881g without poles or stuff sack. Works well but difficult to place correctly and tension the inner tent. Especially, the bathtub floor is difficult to lift off the ground if you pitch the tent low.

• Montbell trekking mitts. Favorites! Had a pair of Sealskinz rain mitts for a long time, but they used magnets to hold up the finger and thumb covers. Replaced them after a cold and foggy day when I had to choose between wearing the mitts or using the compass.

• Combination of a rain skirt and chaps. Good rain protection that is quick to put on and take off, and it doesn’t get too sweaty.

• My synthetic quilt from GramXpert. Incredibly good for picking up condensation that would otherwise stick to the top of the sleeping bag when the temperature is near zero. Comfortable during longer cold lunches. Attached a narrow elastic cord that allows me to wrap the quilt under my shoulders like a big towel.