Adam i Norge

Because of the nature of my research I am constantly on the move - new parts of Norway, new towns, new hytter.  Somewhere along the way I decided to keep track of all the different places I have stayed for a night. After  67 days in Norway I have stayed in: 21   hytter 10   Airbnbs 9    hostels 3    locations where I camped in a tent 1     hotel 1    cabin at a campground,       and  1    teepee That's a total of 46 different places where I've laid my head to rest in 67 days, or a different location every ~1.5 days! Also, with me doing so much hiking during that period, it has been difficult to book lodging in advance; I always try to have contingency plans and factor in flex days to deal with bad weather or just tired legs.  That means many mornings I wake up without being sure of where I'm sleeping that night. This type of planning has allowed me to be incredibly nimble - fo...

After completing my solo backpacking trip south of the Lysefjord, I hopped on a bus back to Oslo. I took the slow route, stopping at several towns - Kristiansand, Arendal, and Tvedestrand. Close to Tvedestrand, I took a taxi boat out to a hytte on an island, Seilerhytta , where I spent a few relaxing days. It was a fun experience, and for the majority of the time I had the whole (tiny) island to myself. For more information on Seilerhytta, check out the link in the hytte credits at the bottom of this post. Seilerhytta, the only structure on a tiny island Once back in Oslo, I met my up with my friend Taylor who had flown in from Seattle. From Oslo we took a flight to the city of Bodø - way up north within the Arctic circle. Then from Bodø we took a five hour ferry to the town of Moskenes in the Lofoten Islands - the starting point for our hytte adventures. Once in Moskenes, we went straight to the tourist information center to pick up the key for the hytte we planned to stay a...

Remember Allemannsretten , Norway's "right to roam" law? Part of that law states that you are allowed to pick berries anywhere on uncultivated land, even on others' property. However, there is one interesting exception - you are not permitted to pick cloudberries in certain parts of northern Norway. Naturally, ever since finding that out I have been obsessed with finding some! Well - guess what? About a week ago, I struck gold! A hytte I stayed at on the coast (Guvåghytta in Vesterålen) had some canoes available for guests to use. I canoed out to a tiny island and was pleasantly surprised to find that the island was COVERED with cloudberries! some (not very ripe) cloudberries! What are cloudberries? Cloudberries are raspberry-like fruits that usually grow in marshy areas within the arctic circle. They can be found in the northern reaches of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Canada. The berries start out orangey-red and lighten to a more golden color when ...

After a couple of days back in Oslo, Federico departed for the U.S. and I hopped on a train to the southwestern coast and Norway's 4th largest city, Stavanger. I explored Stavanger for a few days before taking a ferry down the Lysefjord to the town of Flørli - the starting point for my next hytte-to-hytte trek. Upon disembarking from the boat, I was immediately (and unexpectedly) greeted by the Flørli 4444, the world's longest wooden staircase. Yes, it's 4444 steps, and it goes straight up the side of the mountain for a total elevation gain of 2,460 feet. the Flørli 4444 with the Lysefjord below only 1444 to go... It. Was. Grueling. Especially with my backpacking pack on. From start to finish, the climb took about three hours. Afterwards I was pretty exhausted, so I decided to end the day early and camp in my tent. The following morning, after an enjoyable hike through rocky rolling hills, I arrived at Skåpet . Skåpet Skåpet was designed by KOKO Archi...