6/16/16

Group: Monica, Alejandra, Shawn & Emily

The hike we had all been anxiously waiting for – Trolltunga!  We had come across this recently popular tourist hike in our online research, and I could not wait to get to the top of the fjord and see the view.  The forecast called for rain, but we had already booked our hotel (we had a 4-person suite at the Trolltunga Studios) and made the trip to Odda, so there was no turning back now.  We prepped ourselves over a pizza dinner in town the night before, packed our rain jackets, and set our alarms for 4am.

Trolltunga Studios & the view from the window

Our hotel was a 20 minute drive from the Trolltunga parking area, and we were one of the first cars in the parking lot when we arrived at 5:30am.

There was a pile of hiking sticks at the bottom next to a little building, so we each grabbed one to borrow for the day.  Then we started up what was the most challenging section of the day.  The first kilometer is a very steep climb, but luckily it’s only a kilometer and we reached the top of this part in a little over 50 minutes.

After that, the trail evens out and flows over an amazing river/waterfall and runs past several hillside cabins.  There was another steep section at the third kilometer, but no where as difficult or as long as the first.

There are markers at each kilometer of the entire 11k hike, which gave us plenty of practice at trying to think in kilometers instead of miles #USAproblems.

We reached the Troll’s Tongue at 10:30am, a bit over 4.5 hours after starting the hike!  Luckily, getting an early start that morning not only helped us to beat the rain but also the crowds.  We had heard stories of people waiting over an hour to get their picture taken on the Tongue – we only waited for one group, and that’s because we were taking a picture for them.

We enjoyed lunch at the top, and then began the descent back to the car.

All in all, this was an amazing day.  It was no where as difficult as we expected it to be; however, we saw many unprepared groups starting too late in the day, not dressed for the weather, or bringing young children who barely seemed old enough to walk.  This hike is a long day – 22k and 10.5 hours.  Bring lots of food, water, and different types of clothing.  We were glad to have gotten an early start, too.

Skal!