Adventures from Week 1

Hey Everybody!

I can finally say that I feel settled in. Most of the legal paperwork is out of the way, and I have finally found an alarm clock (that was surprisingly hard). I've spent a lot of time walking around to learn the city. It's really easy to get disoriented when it's hilly and none of the streets are straight. One afternoon, I went to see Nidarosdomen. It's the largest cathedral in Norway that was built in the 13th century. Trondheim used to be the capital of Norway (before Oslo). So pilgrims used to trek here from all over to see the grave of St. Olav. The cathedral was then built on top of his grave. The church is gorgeous and very similar to many French Gothic cathedrals from the same time period.

This past weekend I had quite the adventure. I decided to go on a solo hike to one of the huts. Norway has an awesome trail system with over 400 huts spread throughout the country. Some of them have full time staff, while other just offer people a place to sleep. It's very nice because you can go for multi-day hiking or cross-country ski trips and not have to worry about carrying sleeping gear or tons of food. This makes for a pleasantly light backpack. To get to the trail, I had to take a 2 hour bus ride from Trondheim. The hike to the hut was about 14.3 miles and took about 8 hours. The ground was really soggy, so it felt like I was walking on muddy foam most of the time. I did get to see tons of wild reindeer for the first time along the way.

The hut (hytta) itself was so cozy, I loved it. The first floor has a common room, dining room, kitchen and dog room (kennels for people who bring their dogs). Then there are rooms upstairs with bunk beds (pillows and down comforters provided). All people need to bring is a sleeping bag liner to keep the blankets clean. I could have gotten a 4 course meal there, but I just ate the food I brought. I met a guy there, named Knut, who is hiking the entire length of Norway (south to north). Norway is long! If you pivot Norway 180 degrees around the southern point, the other end would reach the bottom of Italy!! The next morning I ate breakfast and started the hike out. I picked a shorter way home (~10 miles).

It all went smoothly until the last mile of the hike. The trail I was on was supposed to intersect a trail called Pilgrimsleia, which would then lead to a parkinglot and dirt road. I found the markers for the Pilgrims route, but it certainly didn't lead to a dirt road. I followed it for almost a mile until I could clearly see that it would certainly take me over the next ridge. So I started cutting down hill back the other way, hoping to intersect the road. The ground was so soft that I was sinking all over the place into the mud. At that point, I could feel my survival instincts kicking in. I found a creek and decided I followed that. Water always flows down! The creek got narrower... and steeper... and soon I was knee deep in water. Then I saw an area that had been clear cut for lumber. There was an obvious track from all the machinery, so I followed that. That led to the road and eventually the bus stop I needed. Thank God. I still had 3 hours to kill (partially in the rain) before the bus came. Let's just say I got some weird looks from everyone driving by.

Take Care,
J