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Adventuring in the Alpine: My 5-Day Trek Through Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park
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We left from Oslo and it took us nearly the entire day to get to our first hut. I’m one of those people who can’t stand a day of just travel, but sometimes you just have to make it work. Our bus was at 8:00 AM from the Oslo bus terminal, which was actually good in terms of fighting jet lag. It made us get up and ready, but it wasn’t a crazy day. We dropped our luggage off at the luggage lockers in the train station and headed off with just our day back packs. The bus terminal was across the street and had a small cafe where we grabbed drinks and food for the road. The bus had a bathroom, outlets and trashcans, but most bags had to be stored underneath. They were small seats though and wouldn’t have been comfortable with a big bag. About three hours in, we stopped at another bus terminal where you could switch buses if needed, take a bathroom break, or grab water and a snack. After a quick stop, we headed to our final bus destination, the Bygdin hotel.
It was incredibly rainy, so we waited inside the cozy lobby. There was a cafe with food and drinks for purchase, although we did not buy anything. We waited here for about an hour until the “ferry” arrived. Ferry was an optimistic term and it was more like a small boat with seating underneath and a covered (not enclosed) place for gear above. There was the option to stand above deck but it was quite chilly with the rain. The boat had a small bathroom as well and dogs were allowed. There is one stop before the Fondsbu destination, which they will skip if no one goes there. My favorite part about this experience, or a warning to others, was watching them load luggage for the transport service. When they moved a bag being used as a stopper, one of the other bags rolled into the water and the captain had to fish it out. Otherwise, the ride was really pretty and it was fun to meet others/hear the captains stories. After about 2 hours we arrived in Fondsbu. You can technically drive here, this was just our best public transportation route.
After about a 5 minute walk from the pier, we finally made it to the hut. There was a mudroom out front where everyone leaves their shoes, gear, and wet clothes as a courtesy. Pro tip – bring inside shoes or risk going barefoot. Check-in was at 3:00 PM and very easy. We paid for a 2 bed private room and were placed in one in the basement. There were single bathrooms and single showers, and our room was a bunk room with a sink and mirror, disposable cups, light blinds, reading lights, and an outlet. We left our shoes and jackets in the mudroom, but brought our bags down stairs. We did rent linens which we found warm and clean, but we were expected to make the bed and clear the sheets at checkout. Unfortunately the bathroom made the hallway smell a bit, but our room did not. The only other complaint was that it was rather cold. We hung out upstairs and read/played card games until dinner. You can order food at the cafe restaurant which has vegan/vegetarian options, but we did not. For dinner, they assign you seats and you get to meet a lot of people around you, but remember to be on time. They will let you know dinner time at checkin, but it was 7:00 PM for us. Each meal starts with a soup, then an entree and dessert. We had a warm pumpkin soup, pork chops with vegetables, and a delicious creme brulee. There were vegetarian (today ended up being vegan too) options as well and the food was amazing. We noticed this particular hut had more of an older crowd, but we were sat next to a college kid which was nice. After dinner we read a bit more, and headed back to our rooms for bedtime!
We slept decently well last night, but it was a little noisy being right next to the bathrooms. The linens were also very warm, and it was hard to leave the comfort of bed. This was the first day of our actual trek and we woke up at 8:00 AM to eat breakfast and pack lunch. Breakfast was more like a buffet and had a variety of meats, cheese, oatmeal, pastries, and yogurt. For lunch, you get 4 slices of bread to basically make two sandwiches using the meats, cheese, and spreads out for breakfast. We packed ours in a paper bag they provided, then checked out around 9:00 AM and headed on our way. We were heading to Gjendebu which was about 10.5 miles away. It was very easy to stay on trail through town as long as you kept your eye out for the signs, which were very well marked. The first three miles were very flat and very muddy, but maintained well with boards to keep the trail somewhat dry. The trail became slightly harder to follow, but there were plenty of cairns and Alltrails was pretty accurate. The trail is also along the lake or slightly above it for most of the time, which makes for a good reference point. Finally we split off from the main trail to head up into the mountains. The hike became pretty steep here – about 700 ft up in a mile – until we reached the top of the plateau. This was where we ate our first sandwich before continuing along the route. Turns out, that was the bulk of our elevation gain and the rest of the hike was a relatively mild uphill. Reaching the top of that incline threw us into the main park and we headed deeper into it for the remainder of the route. It was absolutely stunning back there and we saw so many glaciers, lakes, and peaks. The terrain was very alpine, with no trees and very durable plants. Once we were up there, the plateau felt more like a valley surrounded by many mountains than the top of somewhere we had just come from.
We slept decently well last night, but it was a little noisy being right next to the bathrooms. The linens were also very warm, and it was hard to leave the comfort of bed. This was the first day of our actual trek and we woke up at 8:00 AM to eat breakfast and pack lunch. Breakfast was more like a buffet and had a variety of meats, cheese, oatmeal, pastries, and yogurt. For lunch, you get 4 slices of bread to basically make two sandwiches using the meats, cheese, and spreads out for breakfast. We packed ours in a paper bag they provided, then checked out around 9:00 AM and headed on our way. We were heading to Gjendebu which was about 10.5 miles away. It was very easy to stay on trail through town as long as you kept your eye out for the signs, which were very well marked. The first three miles were very flat and very muddy, but maintained well with boards to keep the trail somewhat dry. The trail became slightly harder to follow, but there were plenty of cairns and Alltrails was pretty accurate. The trail is also along the lake or slightly above it for most of the time, which makes for a good reference point. Finally we split off from the main trail to head up into the mountains. The hike became pretty steep here – about 700 ft up in a mile – until we reached the top of the plateau. This was where we ate our first sandwich before continuing along the route. Turns out, that was the bulk of our elevation gain and the rest of the hike was a relatively mild uphill. Reaching the top of that incline threw us into the main park and we headed deeper into it for the remainder of the route. It was absolutely stunning back there and we saw so many glaciers, lakes, and peaks. The terrain was very alpine, with no trees and very durable plants. Once we were up there, the plateau felt more like a valley surrounded by many mountains than the top of somewhere we had just come from.
