Day 8: After a terrible night on a way to soft mattress (switched to my air mattress as well which was a bit better), I had to make the tough decision to not join the group to the summit of Trolltinden, the largest vertical wall in Europe. Looking on a physical level the decision was easy, mentally it was another story. I had been looking forward to it for a long time, so skipping it was hard.

Whilst the group was going up, I spent the day reading and stretching. The group had a superb day on the mountain with fantastic views. They confirmed it wouldn't have been doable for me, so at least I did not leave it our for nothing.

After their return we drove back to Ålesund, where we celebrated a very nice trip with a visit to a good restaurant and some drinks. Tomorrow we just flew back, so the reliving of the tour ends here.

Thanks for joining me 😀.

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Day 7: On a true #FensterFriday we woke up with blue skies yet again. We said goodbye to our Norwegian companion for the evening and started our descent.

The route followed multiple lakes and had some tricky parts (especially with larger backpacks). We tried to find a good lunch spot, but the wind picked up big time and there was not much to shelter behind.

In the late afternoon we arrived at our pick-up point and were driven to the hotel in Valldal again. The trip is not over yet however. There is a very nice dessert planned for tomorrow. The question is however, if I can join, as my back problems are making themselves known again.

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Day 6: We leave the large hut complex, which we only shared with 3 other people, and start our hike to the next valley, with yet another character. A last view back into the green valley before we hike into a rock and snow valley.

The sun is still shining, but because of the wind over the snow fields, it is becoming cold. Shorts and t-shirts are replaced with long trousers, windjackets and beanies.

We cross lots of snowfields before we arrive at the Danskehytta ("Danish hut"). There is only one other person, who we invite to join us for Dutch pancakes.

The difference in the two valleys so close together was remarkable.

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Day 5: A beautiful sunrise marked the start of another day in this amazing environment. Every time we spoke with Norwegians, they told us we were extremely lucky to have this kind of weather, because the summer of 2022 was particularly bad. Our trip in September basically fell in the only two weeks with good weather.

From a tundra-like valley today we would hike into a more green valley. It was an easy and not too long hike. We showered under the waterfall near the Reindalseter hut, the flagship of huts in this area. Because we were out of the normal season, there were not many people there.

Nice impression video:
https://vimeo.com/361012062

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Day 4: After yesterday, we decided we needed to re-plan our route. The rest of the trails would be better maintained, but we wanted to reach certain points, so we needed to focus on those. We would leave out the highest point in our route (Karitinden), but therefore go to the especially rugged valley of the Danskehytta.

We had breakfast outside and that was the firs time we saw the Vakkerstøylen hut in daylight. What a pretty one.

We had to cross the lake by boat. At the pass to Pyttbua hut we came across the most clear lake you can image (nice cold drinking water). The descent to the hut made it a nice afternoon hike, so we could recover.

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Day 3: We had a good night sleep and woke up in a very chilly morning. Today we had around 7 hours to hike (at least, according to all documentation). We were warned that those Norwegian estimates are really challenging. We would learn how true that was.

The route we were hiking is not used a lot, so the trail was very difficult to find. We lost track several times. At 3pm we were only halfway. As we had all our gear with us, we could always camp, but that would also mean our planning would be done for.

We kept going and at 11pm we finally reached Vakkerstøylen. We ate pasta till we dropped. Still one of the toughest hikes I ever did.

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After traveling yesterday we started our first day of the actual trip on the water. Instead of hiking to the trailhead over asphalt roads, we kayaked from Valldal over the Unesco Tafjord.

At the end of the afternoon we finally started walking towards Tafjordsætra, nothing more than a few sheds. From the fjord to the first real hut (Vakkerstøylen) would be too long for a dayhike, so therefore we chose to camp out there.

First time we took our camping gear with us on a thruhike. Luckily we did not forget important stuff.

The day has been hot, but it became chilly pretty quickly as soon as the sun started to set.

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