Legendary Besseggen Ridge Hike in Jotunheimen National Park 8/31/17 –
Length: 15.72 km (9.77 miles) (note: Online research shows much less 13-14 km)
Time: 5 hrs 50 minutes (note: we were pretty conditioned by this point and we were on a tear!!! – online research shows 6-7 hrs + rest time)
Weather: Coldest hike of the trip, weather hovered around 55-65F
General Logistics:
We arrived to the Gjendebaten parking lot approximately 45 minutes early. Parking is not free (cost 120kr per day).
Ferry cost is one way: Adult 150kr. They have about 15 spots reserved for people who show up on the day of the hike. Get here early! It was a zoo late in August. A group of approximately 200 kids showed up in additional to the normal hikers.
Park here:
The ferry left sharply at 8:01am, and took approximately 20 minutes before we hit our stop half way down the lake. We exited off the boat and turned on our olympic speed-walking switch and raced for the start of the trail in order to get in front of the 200 kids. Mind you, we already amassed approximately 50 miles of hiking on our legs so we were very conditioned by this point. The start of the hike was similar to others, beginning with stair climbing through alpine terrain with streams and muddy ground. After a few kilometers we started to see the terrain level off. As we continued we arrived at a mountain wall where we climbed on all fours straight up. Daunting and equally mentally challenging if you have a fear of heights. Little known fact, I have some height anxiety issues but was able to overcome most of this by focusing on the challenge in front me. It was not easy but if I can do it anyone can do it.
This hike was the coldest hike that we faced in our week long adventure in Norway. So come with layers and windproof gear so you can stay warm. As we continued up the terrain we saw green colored signs that showed elevation and distance back to the parking lot. The trail was marked with rock pyramids and red paint. It’s a Norwegian tradition to take a rock and throw it on the pile to form a pyramid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairn).
The views in front were equally as stunning as behind us. About 2 hours into the hike, I noticed I put on my socks on inside out. I said, “no problem, let’s hike on!”
Once we got through the challenging spiderman crawling climb portion, the terrain leveled off at the ridgeline. We followed the trail for a few more kilometers until we started to descent. Typically the way down is more challenging on the knees, but this was nothing compared to the Romsdalseggen ridge hike – that was just brutal!!
Enjoy the views and pictures!
