Norway: Trolltunga
Our next hike was a 22km hike to Trolltunga, or The Troll's Tongue. Trolltunga is a rock formation 700m above the Ringedalsvatnet Lake that kind of looks like a tongue sticking out over the fjord. This was easily one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it was also one of the most rewarding. I felt so elated reaching the summit of this hike that I actually started tearing up (I'm a huge baby).
Base camp is 11km from Trolltunga, and there is an ascent of 900m total. Within the first kilometer, you ascend the first 400m by climbing a set of "stairs" made of huge slabs of rock. If you are in NJ or have ever hiked in NJ, I would compare this first kilometer to the Stairway to Heaven trail, only much, much longer and harder. It was very cold outside, so Ebenezer and I came prepared with layers. But by the time we reached the first kilometer mark, we had stripped to our base layers. The first kilometer ends at a huge rock surface where people stop for their first snack, and when we arrived, there were a few groups hanging around. We cleaned our boots off, ate a snack, and headed on our way.
There were a few long stretches of flat land and even more ascents. The worst was ascending this series of steep, slick rocks. I made us take A LOT of breaks, which slowed us down but we got to really enjoy the gorgeous scenery. When we got to Trolltunga, there were a bunch of people waiting in line to take their photograph. We hopped in line and ate some snacks while we waited. It took about an hour to get down onto the rock where Ebenezer met Sergio who agreed to take our photos.
It was incredible walking out onto the rock after all of the hours we spent and kilometers we hiked to get there. I walked out first and sat down on the edge, and this time I wasn't afraid! No jello legs for me!
We tried to get back to base camp as quickly as possible because it started to rain and hiking in the dark is not fun. We got all the way to the final kilometer before the rain really picked up and it got super dark. This also happened to be the toughest terrain! We had to descend 400m of stairs (I call them stairs very reluctantly, btw) in the pouring rain when it was pitch black! The trail was super muddy and we were falling left and right.
Once we got to the bottom, I started crying! It was such an amazing day and I was so proud of what we did. This hike was the whole reason why I wanted to come to Norway, and not only did we get here, but we completed it!
