We are two friends and a dog who in January 2014 decided to do something a little bit crazy, at least in a Finns perspective. Cecilia had dreamt about this for a few years time and when she found out that Antti would be keen to come along, it wasn’t hard to make the decision. The idea was to walk through Norwegian wilderness, from north to south, from Nordkapp to Lindesnes. Norwegians appearantly
do this all the time, but we had never heard of any Finn going through with it. So in spring 2014 we started planning our adventure. We looked for sponsors and got good deals on Haglöfs equipment and a 2 person Hilleberg tent. Although none of us are very materialistic as persons, we agreed that good quality gear is essential, as Norwegian weather and landscape offer many challenges. The Norwegian Kartverket supplied us with 2kg of maps, for free! The route was not so easy to plan, as we didn’t know the areas and neither of us are very good mapreaders. We looked at where other NPL people (Norge På Langs, a norwegian name for people hiking through the whole of Norway) had walked and planned our route according to that. We decided in an early stage that this was a good opportunity to do some charitywork. We looked for a good cause to support and found it in the Manondroalaproject in Madagascar, funded and run by SLL (the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation). They protect rainforest and plant trees and we thought this is not only an important action but also something that relates to us enjoying forests and nature in Norway. We nned to protect our trees and forests in the world, for nature’s sake but also for our own sake! Our plan was to complete the hike in 4 months in the summer of 2014. But because of various reasons that led to delays we realised that it will be very hard to make it within this timetable. We were also finding it hard to motivate ourselves to walk for such a long time, if we wouldn’t even reach the end, the lighthouse of Lindesnes. We both had work to get back to which meant that we couldn’t use more time than these 4 months. So we decided, although it wasn’t an easy decision, to break the hike into two parts. We would walk for 3 months the first summer and then continue 2 months next summer. This turned out to be a very good decicion. This way we can enjoy the beautiful and pristine landscapes of Norway two summers in a row and plant even more trees on Madagascar. We enjoyed last summers hike very much, all three of us, and we are looking forward to this summers adventure. But we know for a fact that there are many challenges ahead. Because if we learned anything from last summer it is the following:
– Walking in Norway means climbing and descending hills and mountains, all the time, there are no flat parts!
– Yes, there are trails, quite a lot of them and most of them well marked, but the terrain is challenging. Lots of rivers and streams, wetlands, rocks and snowfields.
– Finding food is not easy, as there are few shops in the countryside and the trails seldom go past towns. Also, we are not that fit that we can carry more than a weeks food on our backs, this we also learned.
– Bilbo hates the rain and he also gets very cold when he gets wet. So keeping him warm on rainy days (and happy!) is a bit problematic. Also, very wet or rocky patches are hard for him to walk through. And although he only weighs 5kg, he is still to heavy to carry for longer periods.
– Snow!!! Last summer we had to walk the whole first month (June) on the highway because of big quantities of snow in the terrain. This winter has been equally rich in snow, so this will certainly again be a challenge for us.
– Time. We have to walk around 1100km in 2 months time. No matter what challenges we meet, we need to keep this timetable if we are to succeed. So, time might become an issue. Oh, and why we do this? The most simple answer is that we both really feel like doing it. Testing ourselves, spending a summer out in nature, experiencing the stunning mountains of Norway, being able to support an good cause while doing all these amazing things. And to Antti filming is a great motivation. He is making a documentary about the walk and this is important to him. Well, he has no choice but to come along. He should have guessed what kind of life lies ahead of him when I named him Bilbo :) Actually he is a very curious and strong dog with amazing stamina and he loves being in the forest. His endurance and courage is impressive. His love and trust is heartwarming. He is the best companion one could ever wish for. A true hero.
