Preikestolen

[azdesertfather]

Someone just sent me this over email. I watched it and I wanted to be there so bad I couldn't stand it! Many of you probably know what I'm talking about, when you see scenes of an amazing and beautiful hike, something deep inside you just craves being there?!

This place is called Preikestolen, and it's in Forsand, Norway.

[chumley]

Weird! I just got this email too! (Do you know Fred? )
I posted photos from "The Pulpit Rock" in a thread a long time ago. I've been there twice. (I'm Norwegian, so I've spent a considerable amount of time in Norway). Its one of the most amazing spots I've ever been. There's so many cool things about it. Its a very popular spot for B.A.S.E. jumping. From the ferry which runs from the end of the fjord to Stavanger, I was able to witness several jumpers on my last trip there. It was very, very cool to see from below.

But one of the things that impress me most is the engineering feat that is the road which descends the side of the fjord. There's actually a tunnel that is more than 1km long, is only one lane wide, with two "pull-outs" for passing, AND two switchbacks ... inside the mountain! No lights, just natural rock walled tunnel with an occasional road sign indicating an upcoming turnout. Should be featured on Extreme Engineering.

There's also a beautiful observation point/rest area/restaurant along the road called Øygardsstøl ("The Eagles Nest" translated).

The fjord (Lysefjord) is also spectacularly turquoise in color and features abundant wildlife, especially birds and seals. There's also a very impressive hydro-electric plant that drains water from the mountains above the fjord through two manmade tunnels that are gravity fed from more than 1000 feet above. (Another Extreme Engineering episode).

But the funniest thing is the fat horse that blocks the mountain road to get to the top from the "back" side. Seriously. It's a bit of a local legend now that you must bring something to feed the horse or it just won't move out of the way. On our last trip we had been forewarned and had an apple for it. Your car, horn, etc. will not get it to move. Just food. This just adds to the amazement of the place.

[te_wa]

i can see it now... "Extreme Machines - how to retrieve smashed bodies from cliffside rocks" using a crane on a ferry.

[JoelHazelton]

That tightrope

[Grasshopper]

I liked the pic of two kids drinking water off the trail on the way up. Sure can't safely do that very often anymore on our USA trails! ;)

[chumley]

Norway is a pretty clean place. But it has had its own environmental issues too. In the early 80s, many of the lakes near my family's farm were polluted by acid rain from industrial Europe. The fish kill was massive. And it was a huge deal too. Trout was a staple of our diet back then, and to not have ready-access to healthy fish in the nearby lakes and rivers was a hardship to the rural communities. (Potatoes aren't the most exciting meal everyday!) It took more than a decade to get back to normal after new regulations were implemented in Germany and other industrialized nations nearby.

And then there's Chernobyl. Norway suffered tremendous problems from the radiation. Most affected were reindeer, another staple of the food supply for many rural residents at the time. Hundreds of thousands were killed.

Norway is not overpopulated (yet--they have a very liberal immigration policy). It is mostly rural, with small fishing villages on the coast, and farming villages in its lush valleys. There are as many people in the Phoenix metro as there is in all of Norway (about 4 million).

It's come a long way in recent years due to its ridiculous wealth (Oil), but it was in my lifetime that Norway was a very poor, very rural country.

One cool thing I like about the socialist land-ownership policy there is that if you want to backpack across the country, you are free to set up camp wherever you want. Yes, you can camp on somebody's private property. There are rules which restrict proximity to their home, roads and other structures, but if somebody has a nice piece of property on a lake and their home isn't nearby, you can make your camp right there.

[azdesertfather]

so who's organizing this hike, huh?!

[dysfunction]

I'd love to go, but I'd have to learn more Norwegian than just swear words

[chumley]

so who's organizing this hike, huh?!

I'd love to! I don't have a next planned trip back to Norway though! Oh, and despite the incredible natural beauty of this particular hike, you'll consider jumping without a parachute after dealing with all the brilliant people. Makes Squaw Peak or Camelback crowds look like lifelong hiking experts.

[chumley]

Should I actually post an event for this? As if anybody else could actually make it? (PM me...)

Tentative plans: Friday 15 July. Ferry over from Stavanger, and hike up in late evening before sunset (appx. 10pm). Full moon rises 30 minutes before sunset, should be cool. I'll try not to embarrass myself with the photos. Make some dinner, sleep for a couple of hours, be awake before dawn (sunrise about 3:30am). (I use the term dawn loosely as the sun doesn't go very far below the horizon, so the 5-6 hours from sunset to sunrise is actually mostly all dusk/dawn). Anyway, full moon sets 20 minutes after sunrise, so again, that could be nice. Get off the mountain before the throngs of tourists arrive with the first morning ferry.

Of course, this whole sunrise/sunset/full-moon thing is dependent on the normally unreliable Norwegian weather, which makes Seattle look like Phoenix in May.
Anyway, next, hop the ferry to the end of Lysefjord, bus to the top and another hike out to Kjerag (google it) which is on the other side of the fjord from Preikestolen.

From there, the plans are less solid, but involve family visits across the southland and somehow making my way over to Oslo about two weeks later.
So who's in? : rein :

[azbackpackr]

Chumley, my folks took me to Norway when I was 13. It really made an impression on me, and I have often thought it would be fun to live there for a year. We went only to Oslo and its outskirts. (Forever after we tried, without a lot of success, to pronounce Oslo as the Norwegians do, which ISN'T "Oz-low," but more like Oose-low, as I recall. Am I right?) I was quite taken by the Kon-tiki raft museum and the statues at Vigeland Park. The other thing that made a big impression on me was not seeing any real slums. It really looked clean and neat everywhere we went. And my cousin lived there for awhile later on, and raved about the lighted cross country ski trails.

My mother bought me a hand-knitted sweater. I still have it, 45 years later! It still looks new! I haven't worn it very much but since I have lived in the cold country the past few years I have had a chance to wear it, including while cross country skiing. Now all I need are some wool skiing knickers and tall hand-knitted socks!

[chumley]

I just saw this movie of another Norwegian wonder ... this one a manmade feat of engineering known as Atlanterhavsveien, or The Atlantic Road.

I've never driven it, but there are some really cool photos and videos of it.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/4T4vc1QqiP ... r_embedded

[outdoor_lover]

@chumley
Now that is a Scenic Drive!!! Very cool....