This is going to be our 25th post about hiking on this blog and I don’t think we ever actually acknowledged or explained just how much we enjoy hiking or how much that influences our travel itineraries. In fact, my own sister to whom I talk multiple times a week recently asked, “Wait… You like hiking?” when I was telling her about my approaching Norway trip. So, I guess it has been an unintentionally well-kept secret around here. Well, the cat is out of the bag. Now that we have hiked in Oman, Türkiye, Canada, Cuba, Ireland, El Salvador, Mexico, Albania, Argentina, Egypt, Peru, Iceland, Czech Republic, Norway, and the USA, it’s time to admit it – we kinda love it.
In fact, our latest trip to Norway was mostly all about hiking, especially the five days we spent in the Lofoten Islands. We left our Airbnb at 8 am every day and got back around 10:30 pm, prompting our host to worry about our whereabouts because, as he told us, “None of my guests have ever stayed out of the house for this long!” Well, the sun never sets in the Arctic Circle during Norwegian summer which allowed us to squeeze in multiple hikes each day and never worry about getting lost in the darkness. Also, the sheer number of hiking trails and gorgeous scenery kept us motivated to go out day after day to explore and put off rest until we got back to Chicago.
The sceneries of the Lofoten Islands reminded me of a mixture of Ireland with endless rolling fields of greenery, Canada with rugged mountain peaks and glacial lakes, and Argentina with an incredible variety of landscapes and dramatic skylines. But I quickly realized that there is nothing in the world quite like hiking in the Lofoten Islands, for a variety of reasons.
First of all, the mountains are generally shorter than those in Canada or Argentina, and thus it's quicker to ascend each mountain and enjoy the view from the top. The vast majority of hikes are 2 to 5 hours round trip, making it very possible to do 2 to 3 hikes per day. Smaller mountains also mean that more of these mountains can be summited and the sheer amount of hiking trails available in a relatively small area is mind-boggling.
As I already mentioned, Norwegian summers have long daylight hours, but also rarely get so hot as to make hiking uncomfortable. We have spent many hours being beaten down by scorching sun in Egypt, Mexico, El Salvador, Arizona and California in the USA, so it was quite a relief to not have to worry about having a heat stroke on a long trek. You can always put on more layers if you are cold, but there is only so much you can take off when it’s hot… especially if you are trying not to scare other hikers.
The next reason why Lofoten hiking is so superior may seem counterintuitive at first. The local vegetation is sparse, consisting mainly of hardy Arctic flora. There are low-lying shrubs, moss, and grasslands, but no dense forests like in Argentina or Canada. And that means that you can get gorgeous views all the way through the hike, from the base of the mountain to the very top. In a lot of hiking trails we have done around the world, it’s very common to spend hours walking through the forest without any views until reaching higher altitudes with shorter shrubs. But Lofoten hiking spoiled us with an uninterrupted live stream of incredible scenery, constantly changing as we climbed higher or made our way around the mountain.
The hardest part of hiking in the Lofotens is simply picking out a trail among many scenic hikes, coastal walks, and hikes to summits. The most popular trails get a lot of traffic and while we didn’t want to be stuck in the crowd, we also didn’t want to miss out on the most sought-after views. We balanced it out by going to a few less-known trails and a few from the “Top Five” list. What was interesting is that a lot of these hikes were listed as “easy” on Norwegian websites, but as “moderate” or even “hard” for the European and American audiences. It made sense after watching many tourists struggle up mountains, while elderly locals were just casually walking their dogs up to the summit.
One of the first hikes we did in the Lofotens was also my favorite. Mannen, a small mountain peak overlooking the picture-perfect Haukland Beach had an incredible ratio of stunning views per effort required. While there was some steepness and loose rocks on the ascent, the scenic terrain on the ascent and the breathtaking panoramic views from the summit more than made up for it. It took us about an hour to climb up, including the time we took to stop and say hello to some sheep, an hour to enjoy the 360-degree views at the top, and another hour to get back down. It was a clear morning, and we could see dramatic coastlines and nearby fjords for miles. There were barely any people on the trail, and it seemed unreal that we could enjoy such beauty in relative seclusion.
That same afternoon, after visiting a fishing village, we hiked up a neighboring Offersøykammen mountain. We saw it from Mannen that morning and marveled at its unique shape with the long and gentle slope which almost resembled the back of a crouching animal. The trail did start out with a steady climb through a relatively gentle terrain, but slowly transitioned into steeper rocky paths and muddy climbs. With 2.5 miles trail length and 400 meters elevation gain, the locals use this trail for casual jogging. Meanwhile, we were ascending alongside with four young American tourists, who spent most of the hike complaining of the length and ruggedness of the trail to each other.
“Surely, we deserve to eat out tonight!” one of the girls exclaimed, as I scrambled past her on a particularly muddy patch of rocks, “We’ve been eating from gas stations, and after this, we deserve a proper meal!”
I presumed we would be treated with much of the same views as this morning but I was quickly proven wrong. The evening light illuminated the same mountain ranges in a dramatically different way, and we could see other islands in the archipelago and spectacular vistas of the surrounding fjords. The whole hike took just over 4 hours, and I was absolutely starving for a “proper meal” after the descent.
The next day, we headed to one of the most popular trails in the region, the Reinebringen hike. This has been a very popular and dangerous hike for years, claiming the lives of four people over a seven-year period, until 2018 when the government hired a team of Nepalese sherpas to build a stone staircase, replacing most of the previous muddy trails. With 2000 stone steps to conquer, it’s still a hard, steep, and challenging hike, especially in wet weather when the steps get slippery and dangerous. Lucky for us, we had another sunny day and warmer weather. Still, with more steps to cover than to the very top of the Empire State Building, we were in for a challenging morning. As we climbed and rested, took in the incredible views, and watched other hikers mounting the stairs, we suddenly ran into the same four young American tourists we met yesterday. I didn’t get to find out what they had for dinner yesterday, as they were too busy discussing the snacks they left in their car. Once again, I had to put some distance between me and them as their conversation was making me too hungry.
The panoramic views from the very top were absolutely incredible and we spent over an hour watching the light glittering off the water below and fog drifting in and out. This was certainly the busiest trail we have been on at the Lofoten Islands, and it was clear why so many people braved the endless stairs and dizzying heights to experience the amazing view of the Reine. It’s a real treat to be able to make it all the way to the summit and experience the scenery. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out like that, especially with the unpredictable Norwegian weather. There were days with many successful hikes, and then there were some days with heart-breaking failures.
More about hiking failures in the next post!
