Besseggen Ridge — Daniel & Kimberly

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Lake Gjende from the Besseggen Ridge, right before the descending rock scramble

When I first met Daniel, I realized very quickly that if I had a chance at winning this handsome guy’s heart, my farmland Northern Indiana roots would need to also fall in love with the mountains. I grew up pitching a tent in the backyard under the stars, but when it comes to elevation, I joke that the biggest hills in my hometown are highway overpasses.

I didn’t even own a pair of hiking shoes.

Six years later, we find ourselves in Norway, home to some of the most magnificent landscapes in the world. The enormity of the mountains is so powerful and the sense of adventure that they create is so great, that we couldn’t leave without wandering above the treeline.

We chose the Besseggen Ridge in the Jotunheimen National Park to hike, promising an aggressive uphill climb, beautiful views of Lake Gjende, and a panorama of Norway that couldn’t be beat. In the same park is Galdhopiggen, the highest peak in Europe north of the Alps. It is surrounded by three different glaciers, so for obvious reasons, Daniel wanted to hike it instead. His eyes were big, but I convinced him that Besseggen was too majestic to miss.

We started the trek at 11am... a late start that, for reasons I’ll get to later, proved to be more problematic than either of us anticipated. Clouds wandered through the sky, but none looked more threatening than some light rain at the top. Rain jackets, layers of warm clothes, gloves, waterproof packs, plenty of food and water, and two pairs of fresh legs made us ready for the day. On the ascent, we could see the lake to our left grow longer and more grand, and once we hit the ridge after an hour or two, I was anxious to find the incredible look-outs that persuaded us to this point. Then the rain began. We got our rain jackets out and put my virgin rain cover on my pack. The clouds were too dense to see out, so we hiked forward with, unfortunately, nothing to take our focus away from our feet. The rain let up, allowing our first view of the lake and the distant mountains to open up. Stunning.

A lunch break, quick rest, and some photos later, we moved forward. Hikers passing us from the other direction were soaked. I looked at Daniel knowing there was no option but forward, so I zipped up my jacket and smiled. As we braced against the wind and rain, we followed the cairns through green moss-covered rock fields that glowed in the rain. We continued to pass larger groups of people hiking the opposite direction, making us momentarily thankful for our bit of solitude along one of Norway’s most popular hikes. (We could have either hiked “out and back” or taken a ferry “out” in order to only do a one-way hike “back”. Our 11am departure meant that we missed the morning ferries).

We eventually made it to a steep descending rock scramble, the rain let up, but had already made the rocks viciously slippery. Imagine doing a hundred pistol squats on slippery rock while Norway’s beauty is in your peripheral and battling for your attention. Maintaining at least three points of contact with earth at all times, we reached the bottom and came to a smaller lake with the clearest natural water I have ever seen. Daniel filled up his empty Nalgene and we re-hydrated with Norway’s finest, no filter needed. I hesitated at first, but just couldn’t argue the pureness.

A gap in the rain and a part in the clouds exposes the beauty and grandeur of Norway

The rain began again. The red “T” trail markers continued, and as we approached each peak, we hoped we’d see Memurubu, the end of the trail in this direction. We were running into fewer and fewer people and we were so soaked that when I shook my hands, water spit out like a wet dog shaking off. Around this point, I started to think that this is how hikers get into very dangerous situations, and that nature should never be underestimated. Thankfully, we packed plenty of food, there were still some people within a few miles of us, and I married an Eagle Scout who continues to teach me how to conquer these situations.

Eventually, an inlet housing a cluster of red cabins with slate-grey roofs came into view. One more rocky descent and we were there. With the knowledge that the last returning ferry had already departed, our expectations for what would happen next were either A) expensive, or B) going to make for a long afternoon. Option A was to spend $200 staying in the cabins, waiting for a ferry ride at 8am the next morning back to our car; not having a proper change of clothes and leaving everything in the parking lot overnight was not ideal. Option B was to hike back along the shoreline, which was expected to take 3.5-4 hours and require minimal climbing. Option B it was.

Daniel hiking through a rock slide during our shoreline return

It was already 5:30pm, so we didn’t want to waste any time and risk nightfall hitting while we were on the trail. I usually lead our hikes to set the pace, and with the adrenaline to finish combined with a temporarily dry pair of socks, I was on a mission to break the return-hike record. We swiftly climbed over open rock slides, slopped through water and mud, and knocked through overgrown foliage that drenched us to the point that we both had shoes full of water, again. About half way in, the sky cleared and lit up the mountainsides. As the sun began to set, we had a rose-colored finish line and beautiful light that made us both stop to peer at the open lake, now at our backs.

The end of our hike, with ironically beautiful skies, very muddy pant legs, and big smiles knowing that shelter is about 750 meters to our right

We reached the parking lot just as night fell, and were greeted by a camping area that had come alive since our 11am departure. The cozy fires surrounded by families and friends added to our desire to get dry and off of our feet. Thankfully, the cabin up the way had a double room still available for our 9pm check-in, complete with heaters and hot showers. With that, we could call our day on the Besseggen Ridge complete.

In planning the day, I had expected us to complete the 8-10 hour out-and-back circuit. Perhaps it was my desire to challenge myself to a hike longer than I had ever done (exceptionally longer, in fact, at 18-20 miles); although, I was not expecting it to also become the most physically demanding in my record book. Daniel has summited Mt. Rainier, hiked the Whites, and conquered many mountain miles, so when a hike nears the top of his “most challenging” list, I know we’ve accomplished something.

Exploring the mountains has thankfully become a significant part of our lives together, and a significant part of our trip this year. Each time we explore, we are reminded to appreciate, respect, and enjoy the adventure the world has given us, both in sunshine and in rain.

I’d say those hiking shoes are pretty well broken in.

P.S. There would be many more photos accompanying this story if either our camera were waterproof or my poor iPhone hadn’t become a casualty of the rain. Sometimes mental pictures are the best ones captured anyways...