Thorsmork to Skogar

“Are you doing the hike to Skogar?” I asked the girl who was glancing through the information in the posters on wall. “Yes”, was the answer from Carmen, following a short conversation we decided to do it together. I halted at Thorsmork that evening and dropped the plan to go to Basar.

After checking in to the cabin, we walked up a small hill (I do not remember the name) which took about an hour and half, a perfect warm up for the next day’s walk. Back in the cabin and I started making the sandwiches for the next two days, meanwhile there were people checking in to the dorm and some conversations were going on.

Josh joined in the conversations and learnt that we are walking to Skogar, he gave considerable thought and decided to join us. Couple of more people were thinking about it but it was 3 people (Carmen, Josh and I) who decided to walk to Skogar. It was quiet wet in the morning at 8:30 when we left Husadalur. The weather did not bother any of us as we had to move to Skogar. Ilze (One of the persons who contemplated walking to Skogar) decided to take the bus later in the afternoon to Reykjavik and joined us for the short walk till Basar. The hike from Husadalur to Basar in mostly on the valley and there was not much ascent throughout the walk. The trail went through some green areas with short trees and bushes which took us to Langidalur Hut; this is where we are supposed to ask the Warden in the hut about the point at which the River Krossa could be crossed. There was tractor with a trailer, the man and the woman offered us to cross the river. (Presumably they are the wardens I saw the man in Lanmannalagaur at the reception). Time to say goodbye to Ilze as there was no bridge to cross the river and she had to return at this point.

Couple of tricky jumps across some some streamlet´s, we managed to cross the entire Krosse and came out with a dry feet. A tractor trail along the other side of Krosse, lead to Basar around 10:00. We met the warden in Basar and enquired about the hut at Fimmvordhals and make a reservation. The accommodation at Fimmvordhals was confirmed and there was some protocol to communicate in case of an emergency and acknowledgment about reaching safely at Fimmvordhals which Carmen understood and took note of it.

Then we started walking up the trail following the marks. The initial part of the trail was green and the weather was a bit overcast. As we walked up Thormork valley looked more and more beautiful, black sand crisscrossed by small streams in the valley combined with green hills offered wonderful views. Walking further more you get to the beautiful canyon with lush green vegetation. These are not big trees but little shrubs and wild flowers.

We stopped generously to enjoy the spectacular views and photo sessions. Every time we saw a scenic place, there used to be generous photo session assisted by the tripod carried by Josh. Some parts of the trail was a little steep and difficult, but there were adequate ropes to assist in climbing them safely.

We were surprised that there was no one on the trail apart from the 3 of us. Around afternoon we saw 3 people following us while we were halting close to a glacier tongue. By then the clouds started clearing and it was possible to have a better view of what was hidden behind the clouds. We were now close to the volcano Eyjafjallajökull located in between 2 large ice caps Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull.

Watching the lava field was more like watching a monochrome television. The colors that caught the eyes were black lava field and grey sky. The shear amount of substance that had come out below the surface of earth was mind boggling. This lava field is a little more than a year old (from the 2010 Eruptions), and probably the brand new earth on which we were walking on. We could see the team that came after us on top of one of the craters from the edge of the lava field. On the way back they suggested to climb up the cone to get on top the crater. We left our bags at the bottom of the crater and walked up the crater snaking the black sand/ash.

Though the crater was located in the middle two vast glaciers and the place was warm, of course with the pungency of the sulphur. By now the sky had opened up and view from the crater was the best. The crater was surrounded with different colored substances that got spewed out by the volcano. We spent good amount of time taking pictures and enjoying the landscape surrounded by lava fields, craters, glaciers and some greenery in the far. One benefit of walking slow with lot of breaks was we were at the craters when the weather turned good.

About an hour from the volcano is Fimmvordhals hut. We reached the hut at around 6 ‘o clock in the evening. Fimmvordhals is small hut in between Basar and Skogar. It had no electricity and no running water. Snow in the neighborhoods needs to be melted for the drinking. So we have to forget about water for a shower and toilets. The cabin was crowded with many people and crammed and congested with backpacks, dirty shoes, wet and smelly jackets. In spite of these the place was cozy and comfortable after a long day walk. We went out for a stroll to see the sun set and brought in some snow for melting. Later had some hot tomato soup and some tea and went to bed. Thanks to Josh who was carrying his heavy 20 plus kilo backpack that contained a lot of food.

Next morning we woke up and started walking towards Skogar at around 8:30. It was raining when we started and heard from the warden that the forecast was not good either. The warden told that it was an easy walk to Skogar and there are about the 20 plus water falls on the way. It was raining all thorough out and after we crossed a bridge we lost the trail and ended up on a jeep route. This meant we had missed a few water falls, but no regrets as it was a wet day we wanted to get to Skogar as soon as possible. We saw the tarmac roads and houses down at Skogar at one point on the way and decided to straight in to the civilization by walking a path not taken through lush green meadows, to realize there was a fence on the way, after exploring we found a locked gate of farm area, which we trespassed and went through the farms and reached Skogar. We knew we haven’t seen the important landmark yet, the Skogar water falls. A short walk up to the bus stop along the motorway we saw the Skogar falls.

We had plans to have a drink after the hike at Skogar, I had painted Skogar to be a small town with a bar, pizzeria, little streets, a church etc. in my head. But it was only a water fall and a bus stop. We changed and dried our clothes at the facilities at the bus stop. The bus to Reykjavik arrived at 4 pm and after saying goodbyes to Carmen, I and Josh checked in at the Hostel in Skogar and called it a day.

Images from the Hike: Krosse River Crossing, Volcano, Spectacular Views, Great Company (I was very skeptical walking all alone, thanks for wonderful company)

Thorsmork to Skogar

Haircut.

Noticed No Difference!!!! :)

Haircut.

7-Fjellsturen

After an arduous 13 hours and getting punched the entire 7 hills on the report card, I reached out for the Marlboro in my Jacket pocket, that I bought the previous evening, for a celebratory smoke, but to my disappointment only found sweat soaked broken pieces of filters, tobacco and paper, that were not fit for lighting. The message was clear ‘No Smoking’ even as a token of celebration. More than half a day ago at around 7 AM, the bus from Marken reached Gravdal. The place where the bus stopped doesn’t look any closer to the hills. Being a new place I got down from the bus, took the time to look around, and to my surprise some people got off the bus and started running. I followed the crowd for over 15 minutes on well laid asphalt road to see the sign ‘7 fjellturen Start’. That’s when the Indian in me kicked in and said ‘That’s poor organizing, can’t they get the bus all the way till the starting point?’ Some more walking on the asphalt led to the trail. The weather was alternating between rain and sun. The rain was good enough to make the soil under turn muddy and slippery. During the first hour, I was trying hard to avoid the swampy areas, but only till few ounce of water got in to my shoes and stopped avoiding the muddy areas before I fell on my bum in to the mud splashing some on the by-walkers, that gave a different color to my pants and jacket and left an impression on the hills. There is nothing to lose and the walk became more fun and less stressful and took one hill at a time. After reaching the summit, I expected to proceed to the next by going up and down some hills but had to come all the way down to the civilization to go up the next one. First four of them are connected to each other only by streets. After getting on top of Ulriken, there was good temptation to take the cable car and get down and go home in time. Then came the an advise from one of the volunteers clipping the cards, and told me that the next 3 won’t take much time. I took the advice and continued walking. At the end of the walk received a Diplom (Certificate), that I have not received in many years now. Probably the last one was my graduation 9 years ago! I also got the T-shirt that looked like a billboard from the sponsors’ logosJ. Apparently there was a badge I forgot to collect. I reached the airport and boarded the flight well in time. I got to use the sitting mat for the first time in the flight to avoid rubbing some of the dirt on the flight seat; well it was of some use finally.

PS: 7-Fjellsturen as it is called is an annual walking event held in Bergen covering 7 hills around the Bergen city. Some 8000 people do this hike every year. I promised myself that I will do this one in 2011 if I am in Norway, when I did the Stavanger 7-Nutsturen last year. Yes, these two events are on the same day on the last Sunday of May. I was very skeptical about completing this 35Km+2400m, but quiet content that it was completed. Next year if I am hanging out in Norway will do this again, after all its good fun and gives a kick!

End Result: A Red T shirt, diplom, Sore legs for couple of days, waxed legs due to sports tape :)

7-Fjellsturen

Recap!

I was all excited before my first ever Ski Jump! Just a few seconds after the excitement, I had to face the reality. Ended up with a bruised back and made a wise man out of me. J

- Learn to ‘Crawl’ before attempting to ‘Sprint’.

- Being sensible is never a bad option!

- Now that the worst is known, the experience will make success taste much better!

- Next time it would be done in a much better fashion!

Recap!

Ski Lifts

If skiing is an experience, I would say first time on different ski lifts are nothing less. There are several types of them which could surprise in many different ways sometimes pleasant and sometimes not so. However, they are wonderful experiences which could be cherished and brings back a smile when reflected upon.

You will experience a wide range of physical and mental phenomenon ranging from being relaxed, panting heavily, high pulse rates, stiff and painful arms and feet, blissful viewing the snow clad pine trees, entertained by a adventurous skier, etc. If you think that tumbling down the slope is more embarrassing than to ski down in a ugly and clumsy way. I would say there is nothing to be embarrassed about tumbling down the lift as its equally difficult for the first few times. :)

My experiences with ski lifts mentioned here don’t necessary order the lifts in the order of difficulty, as it is very relative and differ from person to person.

T-lifts: These are very tricky ones, as a first timer its quiet tempting to sit on the T-bar, soon to realize that you are tangled and immobilized and the lift is stopped for a while to clear the debris :) (Skiis, Poles, Hat etc). One positive thing about sitting on them is, you do it right at the beginning and the lift man is there is to help you. Now that you learnt your first lesson, you manage to go up holding the bar so tight as if it decides life and death. The stress is even more if there is another person on the same T bar (Its designed for 2 people), as you have to have more control on those veering skis, not to come in line of the person next to you.

Button-lifts with rope: These are definitely in view are the friendliest lifts. There is a sort of equilibrium and you are the master of things, well most of the times. As long as the button is exerting a force on your bums you are happy, suddenly there could be flat surface, and when you feel that the button is off your body, while actually it is not and you panic and the inevitable will happen. After a few times on these lifts they are your best friends. These are the best ones when the lift stops (probably some one tried sitting on the button and tripped off) half way at a steep point on the slope, as you can hang at an angle to the slope and stare at blue skies happily.

Button-lifts with spring: By now you might have concluded that button lifts are cool and don’t have to expect the unexpected. But there is another variant of this; they look pretty much the same and even friendlier as the bars are waiting patiently for you, unlike the button-lift with a rope which is always on the move. So you tend to be little casual in getting them between you legs, and there comes Spanking on the bums!!! It starts off with a sudden force and shoots up. Yes, for the first timer that’s a shock, but if you survive, the rest of the ride is smooth.

Chair-lifts: These lifts are all about getting on and off, leave the closing and opening of the safety bar to the others. You have to wait for your turn patiently and if you don’t and miscalculate the radius of curvature of the oncoming lift or mistimed, you will get run over by it. While sitting on lift occupy only one seat if you land up in between two seats, pray that handle of the safety bar does not hit the thighs. Though there is an advantage that you get a longer rod to rest your skis its not worth it. Once you are up in the lift sit back and enjoy the view of the hills and the skiers criss-crossing the slope. Getting off is same technique, right timing and moving quickly out from the chair. This is no place for an elevator pitch.

Conveyer-lift: These are found on the bunny-slopes and have to just stand them and rest is taken care-off. Very rarely if there is a lot of snow on the belt you slide a bit backwards, but no damage done just make you little nervous.

Bunny-Slope lift: Don’t know the official name of this lift, but they are for tiny-tots, which means its low lying and a plastic stick to hold on to, pretty much safe, but very tiring to hold on to the plastic stick.

In all these lifts, there is one common problem which is your poles. Half the problem is resolved if you are not clumsy with them. Happy Skiing !!!!!!!! J

Ski Lifts

Stockholm Syndrome

The New Year had just arrived and not even a week had passed by, and my phones, wallet, and jacket stolen from the gym locker. What a wonderful start. But what’s important is, when the police read through the usual questionnaire to me, while lodging the complaint, one of which read ‘Do you wish the person who stole your articles punished?’ I answered ‘No’. That answer came without a second thought in mind. For person who always wanted the guilty to be punished (Though I am always against capital punishment) to bring order in the society, it’s a sure change in the way of thinking.

May be I thought these petty thefts are no big deal, while looking at the bigger crimes that happen around the world? Am I disillusioned with the fact that punishments can be deterrent for potential wrong doers? Am I influenced by the media and human rights groups who oppose the death sentences of drug trafficker and woman accused of adultery in certain countries? Yeah, but a combination of many such things might have had an effect. It’s obvious that in some societies punishments are seen as a deterrent and in some it’s to rehab the convict. Both of them has its pros and cons and debatable.

Whatever it is ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ has certainly struck me. J This was not the first time, but there was a genuine case when I felt sorry for the thief, who stole my 5 year old shoes in a pathetic state, at the skating rink, which I am sure is shear misjudgment by the thief. Probably he would have given up stealing after looking at this catch. J

However, I am recovering quiet well from the loses, which helped in thinning down my wallet by getting rid off those unused bank cards, those old business cards, few receipts that got stuffed in to the wallet for several years and a telephone with a blank phonebook, which will help me get in touch with friends out of touch and new jacket. J

Stockholm Syndrome

Waiting....

Undoubtedly the most mind numbing thing to do is to wait for few hours at an airport before the flight. There are a few ways to get away with this agony. ‘Grab a Beer’ is the most common one! I could understand why a beer is priced so high in the airports because that’s an easier and old fashioned way to kill time but not the best way. Have you arrived early at the Airport, to start with leave some liquids in the hand baggage to be detected by the X-ray machine, which will give the airport security to get on to his job while he/she ransacks your hand baggage. You can stand there with a dumb face till the whole thing ends. If one don’t mind getting frisked leave your apartment key in your pocket, this could help with couple of minutes. Then its the duty free section! Go around till you get dizzy due to a cocktail of fragrances in the air from the test perfume bottles and tipsy gazing at the liquors. Hmm!! Another few more of minutes lost. Now it is time to look for your gate. You don’t have to be selfish by looking for only your flight. But can look for other flights and destinations, airlines flying to destinations, check if they are on time, if not sympathize for others. More importantly this improves ones geography knowledge. Long automatic walkways are another good way to kill time. Just stand on them which moves at snails pace. Don't be bothered about that brisk old lady who walks past you, thinking what a lazy bum you are? All this is not enough, when you have found the gate and reached there before an hour. There will be few people conducting surveys, smile at them to get their attention, answer a few silly questions. (They can have some interesting ones every time, I answered the same one twice). Now select a random person and start hating him/her for whatever reason, believe me it’s so easy to hate random person. If you have recently watched a crime/thriller flick image yourself to be a sleuth, secretly observing a terror suspect, while your mind voice asking “What has he got in his bag? Why is he moving around suspiciously” “Why is he going to the wash room quite often!!!”

Now if nothing is enough, ‘Grab a Beer’ J

Waiting....