Up to Ryphusan

When hiking back at home, we always carry a headlamp.  Although we plan hikes to be finished before dark, having a headlamp just in case seems like a good idea, so we brought headlamps with us. Here, with sunset at 11:30pm and dawn arriving before it gets too dark to see, we won't need them hiking (they are a godsend, however, for hotel rooms with energy saving 0.01 watt led lighting).

So we have no deadlines to get there, as there simply isn't an end to the day: we can just walk for as long as it takes.

Except for Ryphusan. We had to get there by 6pm (I'll explain later).

So off we went, leaving Kongsvold at 8:am sharp!  The trail started off as a narrow single track along a steep traverse, with lots of rocks, roots, streams, and dense dripping undergrowth. After 2 hours we'd advanced less than 2.4 miles!  Our 6pm deadline didn't seem so easy-peasy after all.

Then we ran into the "kings road", the old medieval cart path over the mountains. Although rocky and appallingly steep, we were able to pick up our pace.

Once we climbed back above the tree line, the trail flattened out, and we really made tracks, in an alpine meadow that seemed to go on forever.

We passed an old herder shelter

and once we got to the top of the ridge, it was an easy three miles downhill.

We reached our destination, the Ryphusan hut at 3:30pm after 13.4 miles, with way too much time to spare.

So, we sat around until 6, waiting for our taxi ride to Opdal, down in the valley.  See, we travel to Europe for these hiking trips so we can hike inn to inn - a nice shower, meal, and bed at the end of each day.  This hut, the only stopping place for miles around, has only a 2'x6' spot for up to 7 people, first come first serve (and no cell service). No shower, meal or comfy bed.   If we wanted a backpacking experience, we could stay close by and do the PCT - we go for the "glamping" version instead.

So we pre-ordered a taxi to pick us up and drive us to the nearest town, a shower, dinner, and real bed waiting for us.