The view from Finse train station (1222m) looking south towards Finsehytta and the Hardangerjøkulen glacier. The Rallarvegen in the foreground is a popular cycling trail
Moving south, up and away from Finse and the crowds of tourists
The eastern edges of the Hardangerjøkulen glacier, where they filmed the Hoth ice-planet scenes from The Empire Strikes Back.
Talus fields. The footpath leads straight through the middle.
One of the many small lakes connected by Jøkleevla
Footpath...
First camp, below the glacier. Sheltered from the northerly wind by boulders I still had to reinforce the pegging points with rocks in the thin soil.
Cooking with wood, way above the treeline. Supper at 1400m.
Morning brought cloud and a shift in the wind direction.
It's amazing how much firewood you can find in the seemingly desolate talus fields
Five minutes scavenging produced more than enough fuel.
Morning cuppa. None finer.
Heading south.
You can keep your £2 bottles of 'spring' water.
Alpine lake
Aquamarine glacial-fed lake
Until someone comes up with the correct term for these plants I am calling them Old Man's Balls...
The powder-blue waters of the Leiro river are screaming to be packrafted!
Summer-only river crossing
The Leiro river playfully makes it's way south through a series of lakes, waterfalls and gorges.
More waterfalls on the way up to Kjeldebuhytta
Big and bouncy. The way I like them.
Second camp, a few kms past Kjeldebu, on the shores of an alpine lake.
Room with a view...
The evening's entertainment
Candyfloss clouds
Morning exercise provided by yet another field of talus
The early morning's trail
The weather closes in as the trail flattens out
Heading south towards the hytta at Dyranut where I took on a 'second breakfast' of cheese rolls, coffee and cheesecake...
The six hour moor. A trail the traversed the hills above Bjoreidalen in an almost due West direction
Light playing on the hills and moors
Wildlife in the wetlands below Tverrgavlen
Another weather front rolls in
The locals. Be careful with your water sources.
Camp three above Hellebotnane
The view from under the tarp
Massive boulders of a natural quarry provided shelter from the stiff wind. The soil was less than six inches deep.
Water, shelter and a great view. It was in this almost perfect camp where I suddenly started feeling really sick.
Morning of the fourth day epic. Low clouds, spitting rain and feeling like crap.
I need to learn what's safe to eat in the wild!
Typical trail on the fourth day. Slimy boulders surrounded by mud and water
Disconcertingly, there was a pile of new pallets and iron work lying next to the bridge. Did that mean the bridge was safe or what?!
Climbing up Nuhaugane, away from Hedlohytta and the Veig river
The weather closes in. The rain lasted for several hours but was thankfully at my back the whole time.
A glimpse of Hårteigen, shrouded in cloud
Brief sunshine interlude
Hill farm at Finnabu
Falcon or hawk being harried by smaller birds after harrying me in the valley below.
More 'shrooms.
Sheep shit free water source was a welcome find.
Looking back along the cliffs of Hogaleitet
I have no idea how this boat got up here. The lake sits at 1195m and there isn't a road for at least 20kms.
Doped up on ibuprofen and paracetamol I was soon reaching a decision point. Make camp up here in the wind and rain or head for civilisation, another 7.5 hours away.
I kept going...
The trail above the Stavali valley.
Last year I came down over the col in the middle of the picture, earlier in the season when it was a snow field.
Stavali valley with the hytta in the middle right of the image. I nearly stopped for the night here but for some reason I felt like I should just keep going.
Across the very wet Grondal valley, looking north east towards the cliffs of Randinuten (1498m)
Yarrrr! Shiver me timbers!
Looking back down the trail of rocks, mud, streams, rocks, mud, streams, rocks, mud, streams (repeat for several kilometres...)
'Summer-only' river crossing that has decided that summer is now over.
The noise and vapour from Sotefossen waterfalls witnessed from Vierdalen. The foot mashing descent from here drops about 400m in a little over 1km down steep granite slopes. In the rain it was lethal.
Just when you thought the trail was levelling out it dropped over another blind ledge. By now I'd been hiking for 9 hours, feeling like crap and desperate to get off the mountains.
Trees emerge out of the mist and the trail drops away again.
The clouds part for a second to reveal the double falls. Last year I spent hours exploring the river and falls. This time I just wanted to get out.
The camera started to steam up as I finally dropped down into the forest. Maybe just another hour and a half to go...
End of the trail. Feet feeling like raw burger meat, right knee screaming in agony, my head full of cold. 10 hours of hiking had brought me here. Another hour down the gravel road would take me to town and a very welcome hotel room.
Feeling slightly better after a night in the hotel and a huge breakfast I set off for the city. The view across the fjord while I waited for the ferry that would take me to my bus connection.
Leaving Kinsarvik.
Heading for Kvandal.
