View from Matmora peak
View from Sandsletta campground. End of our first day hiking and our first proper midnight sun.
Invited for beers by the owners of the house on the coast. Didn’t stay for any beers, but enjoyed the view.
Day 2 on the Long Crossing. From Sandsletta we hiked up into the mountains and down back again into the town of Svolvær.
Day 3 on the Long Crossing. Spent the previous night in Svolvær in a small hostel on the coast. Immediately outside of the town we had to climb along a water pipe (in a thunderstorm, not ideal).
After hiking down from a lake with a small hut, we tramped through the rain and bogs for several hours. Hiking in the UK prepared us for this (more than we would have liked!)
After the bogs and ridges, we finally found this cute hut. It was private, but a bit further on we found a public hut we stayed the night at. Met an Italian, Francesco, who we bumped into on and off on the rest of our route.
Day 4 - hitched to the base of our next stage. Picked up a Norwegian, Ann, who had hiked three of the Spanish caminos.
Found another public hut, but kept pushing on in hope of a good view…
Wild camping near the top of Kartstaven (pictured). One of the best wild camps we had.
Day 6 - after resupplying in Leknes, we took a bus to the hamlet of Napp and took a coastal path ending in Nusfjord.
Nusfjord is an old fishing village owned by one landowner. The majority of the smaller fishing villages appear to be owned by one individual or family and passed down through each generation. However, in Nusfjord the bakery is owned and run by a woman who grew up in town and convinced the landowner to sell her the building. The cinnamon buns here were the best we had in Norway.
Day 7 - the coastal path from Nusfjord was rewarding - rocky vistas and fresh sea air. However, the second half of this stage required a road walk into the town of Ramberg. Along the way, Helena and I bumped into a woman who lost her car’s spare tire in the water. We fished it out for the lady, and she introduced herself as Inja. Originally from Sweden, she came over to Lofoten over 20 years ago and works as a nurse in the hospital. After learning about the history of the area, she drove us into Ramberg were we grabbed a quick meal and coffee before hiking towards Kvalvika beach.
Kvalvika beach - a gorgeous beach on the north coast. Made famous in recent years because a documentary about two surfers to stayed her over the winter. There were close to a dozen other tents, but we found a good spot - although closer to rockfall than we would have liked.
Day 9 - after hiking from Kvalvika beach to Horseid beach we were unfortunately rewarded with more rain and clouds. The following day however, we hiked to a small village (less than a dozen houses) called Kirkefjord and took a ferry to this fishing village, Reine. Reine is a touristy spot, with many people coming to visit the picturesque buildings and hike the Reinebringer mountain. We stayed in a communal hotel with yoga and a sauna and met a couple Norwegians, Finns, and Canadians.
Day 10 - after a much needed rest in Reine, we took a ferry to another small village, Vindstad, and hiked up to the saddle of Helvetestinden - a 602m peak.
After making camp, we made our way up from the saddle to the peak of Helvetestinden. The climb was unnerving, with several no fall zones and climbing around the ridge. We made it to the top, enjoyed the view, and headed back down quickly.
Another view of the ridge walk to the summit of Helvetestinden.
Camping on the saddle
Day 11 - the following morning we hiked back up to the top of Helvetestinden to see the view without clouds. Had a rewarding view of Buneset beach (pictured) and the surrounding mountains.
After climbing down from Helvetestinden we hiked a coastal path from Vindstad to Forfjordsen. Path is a very loose term for the section - it took us over four hours to go less than 5km.
After hiking up from Forsfjorden we made camp at the base of the tallest mountain in Lofoten - Hermannsdalstinden (1029m). We had dinner, and at 9:30pm we started our ascent.
At the top we had a 360 degree view of the archipelago. Easily the highlight of the trip - two summits including the tallest mountain in one day.
We cowboy camped at the top of Hermanmsdalstinden with two Swiss Germans. The sun set briefly from around 11:45pm to 2:30am, but while the sun went below the horizon the light stayed - leaving the mountains in a surreal twilight.
Sunrise before 3am.
Day 12 - after sleeping on top of Hermannsdalstinden, we packed up our sleeping pads and bags and enjoyed the view as we descended. The sun was up fully now, but gratefully we had a cool ocean breeze and some clouds.
After breaking down the tent at the base, we hiked up to our final peak - Munken - at 797m. We were exhausted after hiking 3 mountains in just over 24 hours, but the views were stunning.
From Munken, we hiked down to the village of Sørvågen and resupplied for our final day before taking the bus to our final town at the end of the archipelago - Å-i-Lofoten. Å is another old, picturesque fishing village with beautiful red Rorbuer (fisherman huts). Unlike other fishing villages, Å was owned by two families - both of which built manor houses in the center of town. Unfortunately both houses need significant renovation, but are nonetheless an interesting part of Å’s history.