August 28, 2014
The Troll's Tongue - a tiny rock ledge jutting out high above the glacial lake 2,300 feet below. With that description and some evocative pictures, Trolltunga was another of the must-see destinations for our trip. Getting to the rock ledge isn't easy, requiring a roundtrip hike of about 8-10 hours, so we checked the weather forecasts and determined that this Thursday was our best bet for clear blue skies and sunshine, so we left Bergen at 5 am and hit the road, winding through some beautiful fjords (and many tolls roads) before getting to Skjeggedal to begin the hike.
The hike begins with a very steep ascent for the first kilometer or two. Originally, this part of the hike took you up a never-ending set of stairs alongside an old cable car track for some workers in the area, but this stairway has been closed off at the bottom, with the official trail winding in and out underneath the track. Still, many people opt for the stairs, so just a few minutes into the trail, we did the same and got onto the exposed wooden stairs, heading up the very steep track with just a tiny cable serving as a handrail. Though it was a tough climb, we preferred this option to the set of switchbacks, and after about 45 minutes of hard climbing on the stairs, we made it to the top, took a quick break and then pressed on. The next part of the trail took us through some small lakes, huge rocks and a few mountain cabins before moving on to the next hard climb from kilometer 3 to 4.5. Fortunately, the trail is very well marked with red T's and kilometer markers the whole way, not to mention a pretty obvious string of tourists. As this is also above the tree line, it is simple enough to find your way, though if there were any snow, that would be a completely different story.
After the second steep part of the trail, the remainder was mostly level with mild inclines and declines. Although the highlight of the trip would obviously be Trolltunga itself, the hike was much more scenic than we expected, with wonderful view of the steep valley and deep blue lake below. Craig and I were both quite excited to get to the rocks, so we made great time and made it to the end of the trail in about 3.5 hours. We had heard stories about how crowded it can be at the end, with lots of tour groups and intrepid hikers also arriving at midday. So we certainly didn't have the place to ourselves, but the other tourists cooperated, and everyone took turns taking pictures on the ledge with some onlookers having lunch and taking a break on other rock ledges nearby.
Looking down over the valley and lake 2,000 feet below, we each gingerly walked out on the exposed rock platform, posing for a few pictures and then taking in the spectacular view with the deep blue water, valley walls and snow capped peaks in every direction. We spent an hour or two enjoying the area before heading back down the trail, finishing the 22 km (13 mile), 8-10 hour hike in 6-6.5 hours, plus the 1-2 hours of enjoying the view from the top. As we had a little bit of extra time, we relaxed for a bit by the lake and then moved on to Odda, a pleasant little village at the end of one fjord and made it down through the narrow, verdant valleys to Latefoss, a double waterfall that flows just under the main road and finally to Langfoss, one of the larger and more impressive waterfalls in Norway. We stopped just a half mile short of the falls, as we decided to pull over and walk the rest of the way to avoid another of the expensive tolls, but it was a simple, flat walk to the falls. At nearly 2,000 feet high, it's hard to grasp the real size of these falls from the base, but it was an amazing sight, though you do get a little desensitized to it all in this area, as it is inundated with the epic scenery of tall, green fjords and high waterfalls around every bend.
The Troll's Tongue - a tiny rock ledge jutting out high above the glacial lake 2,300 feet below. With that description and some evocative pictures, Trolltunga was another of the must-see destinations for our trip. Getting to the rock ledge isn't easy, requiring a roundtrip hike of about 8-10 hours, so we checked the weather forecasts and determined that this Thursday was our best bet for clear blue skies and sunshine, so we left Bergen at 5 am and hit the road, winding through some beautiful fjords (and many tolls roads) before getting to Skjeggedal to begin the hike.
The hike begins with a very steep ascent for the first kilometer or two. Originally, this part of the hike took you up a never-ending set of stairs alongside an old cable car track for some workers in the area, but this stairway has been closed off at the bottom, with the official trail winding in and out underneath the track. Still, many people opt for the stairs, so just a few minutes into the trail, we did the same and got onto the exposed wooden stairs, heading up the very steep track with just a tiny cable serving as a handrail. Though it was a tough climb, we preferred this option to the set of switchbacks, and after about 45 minutes of hard climbing on the stairs, we made it to the top, took a quick break and then pressed on. The next part of the trail took us through some small lakes, huge rocks and a few mountain cabins before moving on to the next hard climb from kilometer 3 to 4.5. Fortunately, the trail is very well marked with red T's and kilometer markers the whole way, not to mention a pretty obvious string of tourists. As this is also above the tree line, it is simple enough to find your way, though if there were any snow, that would be a completely different story.
After the second steep part of the trail, the remainder was mostly level with mild inclines and declines. Although the highlight of the trip would obviously be Trolltunga itself, the hike was much more scenic than we expected, with wonderful view of the steep valley and deep blue lake below. Craig and I were both quite excited to get to the rocks, so we made great time and made it to the end of the trail in about 3.5 hours. We had heard stories about how crowded it can be at the end, with lots of tour groups and intrepid hikers also arriving at midday. So we certainly didn't have the place to ourselves, but the other tourists cooperated, and everyone took turns taking pictures on the ledge with some onlookers having lunch and taking a break on other rock ledges nearby.
Looking down over the valley and lake 2,000 feet below, we each gingerly walked out on the exposed rock platform, posing for a few pictures and then taking in the spectacular view with the deep blue water, valley walls and snow capped peaks in every direction. We spent an hour or two enjoying the area before heading back down the trail, finishing the 22 km (13 mile), 8-10 hour hike in 6-6.5 hours, plus the 1-2 hours of enjoying the view from the top. As we had a little bit of extra time, we relaxed for a bit by the lake and then moved on to Odda, a pleasant little village at the end of one fjord and made it down through the narrow, verdant valleys to Latefoss, a double waterfall that flows just under the main road and finally to Langfoss, one of the larger and more impressive waterfalls in Norway. We stopped just a half mile short of the falls, as we decided to pull over and walk the rest of the way to avoid another of the expensive tolls, but it was a simple, flat walk to the falls. At nearly 2,000 feet high, it's hard to grasp the real size of these falls from the base, but it was an amazing sight, though you do get a little desensitized to it all in this area, as it is inundated with the epic scenery of tall, green fjords and high waterfalls around every bend.
(Typical fjord along the way from Bergen to Odda/Trolltunga. The narrow road made for a few close calls with passing trucks, but most of the drive was quiet enough that we didn't have to worry about it.)
(The 8-10 hour trek to Trolltunga begins with a very steep climb from the lake below. While the old stairs are officially closed, many still opt to use them going up, instead of the switchbacks of the trail. We pushed on for 45 minutes on the stairs and reached the top of the mountain, just the beginning of the long hike.)
(Looking down from the top of the mountain at the green and blue lakes below.)
(Once on top, the trail leveled out for a while, passing by grasslands, huge boulders and a few small lake cabins.)
(Craig continues on. While the viewpoint was spectacular, the entire hike was much more scenic and enjoyable than we expected. At 22 km (13 miles), it's far from easy, but after making it through the initial steep climb and another steep part from km 3-4.5, the remainder of the trail was fairly level and not too strenuous.)
(After 3.5 hours of fast hiking, we made it to Trolltunga, the Troll's Tongue. This precarious piece of hike juts out above the valley and lake 2,100 feet below.)
(Craig from another angle at Trolltunga. As one of Norway's more popular hikes, there were a decent number of people here at the top, but everyone was friendly and orderly about letting others have time to themselves on the rock for pictures and admiring the view. Maybe socialism DOES work...)
(There's me, standing near the edge of Trolltunga. Some tourists sat on the edge of the rock, but I decided a few feet was close enough after looking over the edge and the steep drop below.)
(A far off view of me, posing on Trolltunga.)
(After taking some pictures on the actual ledge, we walked around the side and enjoyed some time taking in the beauty of the lake and fjord-like valley below. As this doesn't connect directly to the ocean, I think it's technically just a lake and not a fjord, but it looks almost exactly the same.)
(To document our first trip together, Craig and I had to take a picture with both of us, so we passed my camera off to a friendly Japanese tourist (for whom we also took pictures) and practiced our jumping skills. We were actually able to do this in just one take, which was a good thing because our new friend literally took just one picture of the jump.)
(Sitting above Trolltunga, a few of the groups stopped for lunch and to admire the view below.)
(In between people hanging out on the ledge, I managed to get a picture of the Troll's Tongue without anyone, for that purely natural look.)
(Craig heading back along the trail.)
(About 2 miles from Trolltunga, the views of the lake are still amazing.)
(Craig attempting another cartwheel, slightly more successful than the one on top of Reinebringen.)
(A panorama of one of the better views along the hike back from Trolltunga.)
(After our long hike, we headed further South through some narrow fjord valley and made our way to Langfoss, the waterfall in the middle of the picture, pouring down nearly 2,000 feet. One of Norway's top waterfalls, it was quite impressive, though hard to grasp the true size and power from the road that passes right next to the falls. If you look closely, you can see the small bridge at the bottom of the falls, just above the waterline.)
(Latefoss, a powerful twin falls that sprays down next to the main road running South from Odda.)
(After our long hike and making it down to Latefoss and Langfoss, we headed back up to Odda, making it to a small restaurant in time to get dinner before finding a campsite on the edge of town. This was a Mexican pizza, and it was surprisingly good.)
(Our rental car at one of the stops along the way from Odda to Voss. While our car in Lofoten was a bit old and beat-up, this was a brand new VW and was pretty nice...though underpowered.)
