Sunday, December 31, 2000

Preikestolen

Hiking to Preikestolen was on my must-do list for this trip but when I got pneumonia, I just didn't know if it would be possible. I tire easily and at my best this hike is a challenge for me. We started from our apartment about 10:00 to walk the 1/2 mile to the pier where we took the ferry to Tau. The bus met us at the docks for the half hour drive up the mountain to the trailhead. It was 11:45 before we hit the trail. There are several very steep climbs, walking on rocks most of the way. Every step is deliberate over the 1100 foot climb. The views are incredible and aren't reflected in the photos. We took a lot of breaks and just kept hiking and made it to the top, well worth the trip despite the crowds.













Reaching the top was awe inspiring for me and anxiety producing for Roger. As much as I wanted to hang my head over the side (carefully!!), Roger was so uncomfortable that I just took photos and walked away from the edge. The fear is so real for him that I just couldn't mess with him.


















The hike back was tougher than I expected. With fatigued legs, all those rocky, irregular steps were a different challenge.

We took a wrong turn on the way back and ended up at a parking lot about 1/2 mike from the bus stop, and we missed the bus ending up with a 90 minute wait for the next bus. There are two companies servicing the area and we bought our round trip ticket when we boarded. The other bus company showed up about 45 minutes later so we paid an extra $30 to get back 45 minutes earlier. It was worth it. We were that tired. A little Aleve and a good nights sleep and we were ready for our next adventure.



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