I'm currently chilling in San Clemente and I'm still jet lagged. The waves are huge right now. It's extremely overcast and humid. We're getting heat wave rain. California is feeling like Florida at this second. I don't hate it. Rain is good.
Tee up Says by Nils Frahm.
This song stacks with the best of em when it comes to the soundtracks of big epic nature. One for the spirit. It cuts. A slow build with 2 minutes of pure power -- eagerly waiting to fuck your brain with inspiration. This song is power at its best.
In Norway, I had an amazing two day hike on LSD through a beautiful and massive fjord called Trolltunga. It took very little time to really appreciate how truly epic this was, the landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen. This song set the tone for the entire experience. On cycle throughout those two days. Pulling every ounce of inspiration from the mountain. Peak life moments.
Trolltunga
Trolltunga is a 20 mile hike, doable for a single day of hiking, but not ideal. We decided to backpack in, which proved to be the single best decision we made on the trip. The two day, one night, backpacking-light excursion is my new favorite thing. I loved being able to break the hike into two days. It allowed us to really experience the terrain without a clock or strict timeline. A big win.
We packed all our gear into one bag. One tent, three sleeping bags / pads, jetboil, ramen, whiskey, and a backpacking disc golf basket. The essentials. One thing you are quickly reminded on a big camping trip where you're always moving -- you don't need much. You pick your luxury items carefully. Disc golf basket was a must for obvious reasons. The JetBoil was also clutch -- so easy and fast. A hot meal is a big win at the end of a long nature day. And obviously whiskey.
The route up was fast, with a desire to see the full scope of what the hike had to offer. Generally the steeper the hike, the faster and more aggressive I am to boogie. It was ~3k ft of elevation gain over 10 miles, so I was in full fledged boogey mode. Headphones in. Moving fast allowed me to get the full picture of the landscape in one big push. Trippin' buckets. Loving every second of it.
When we got to the peak of the hike, it was obvious -- this is the spot. We had hours to really soak it in. A magical land at the top of the Fjords, you could feel the fairytale energy. It was a dimension beyond normal, although that could have been the LSD. Compounded dimensions.
The ground was all soft moss, making it easy to walk around barefoot. No shoes -- well shit -- how about no clothes. I went on a naked stroll through the hillside once our camp was setup. Soaked my feet, soaked my butt. Up top a massive Fjord with a towering view. Very tight.
But it wasn't all fun and soaking butts.
In the tent that night I learned a valuable lesson in the power of reference points. Before Trolltunga I was kinda over the tent thing. Dealing with the tent setup every night, and tent breakdown every morning, was a challenging aspect of the trip. Morning dew would be a tricky dynamic, we were always on the move and tired. Tents are kind of annoying, especially when they're purely a utility on a journey where you don't slow down.
That one night on Trolltunga we shared one 2 person tent with three dudes. It was very uncomfortable.
After Trolltunga, I quickly became very appreciative of my tent. The fact that I had a whole tent to myself, where I could sprawl out, fart freely, or just have a minute to myself seemed like a super luxury. My appreciation and stoke levels on the tent situation shifted dramatically with a new reference point.
If you shift your reference point, you can very quickly change your perspective.
We decided to take LSD going up the mountain, but then also decided to do it again going down the mountain. A tad overindulgent but I don't regret that for a second. A top tier nature experience warrants over-indulgence. The trek down was a blast.
We went VERY slow, playing object golf the majority of the time. Object Golf is the shit. On a long hike, you just pick random rocks, signs, or trees, which become your disc golf basket. It's a variation of disc golf, very causal. Perfect for a long hike. Even better on a big epic hike like Trolltunga. ~10 miles, ~36 holes, endless fun.
We celebrated with a bottle of Norways finest hard cider. It was beautiful.
General Musings from Norway
The disc golf in Norway rules. Disc golf courses are also a great way to meet cool locals. We played the first night we arrived in Norway and played with a couple dudes who kept rolling us spliffs. That was a great omen and highlight of the trip.
The food in Norway sucks, partly my doing. Lots of gas stations, hot dogs, and bad farts.
Norway had a ton of big public access fire pits which made camping very easy. We also got a ton of free firewood everywhere we went. They really appreciate and embrace their wood. I'm a big wood guy. One day I want to own my own firewood shop. The best small businesses in America are firewood shops.
Norway is a slow country. It's an earned reputation. Nothing is opened on Sundays. The work day is like 10-4. No one is in a rush. The US should be taking notes. It's a higher quality of life. You can feel it.
If you ever land in Norway, this would be my top four picks:
-- Hike Trolltunga, ideally do a 2 day one night
-- Jorpeland was my favorite town, a magical mecca of fun, boats everywhere, with an island in the middle of the city full of sheep, grills, free firewood, and disc golf
-- Rondane National Park, Route 27 North from Oslo, high elevation plains, very sick.
-- Krokhol and Overas were both incredible disc golf courses. The South of Norway had the best mix of courses overall.