Lofoten III

Hugh and I had planned to catch the morning bus heading to the Reinebringen trailhead. I got my still-wet muddy hiking boots that I stuck in the bathroom heater, hoping for some semblance of dryness but looks like I was going to start the day with wet socks.

In the start of the trailhead, we were greeted by Tibetan prayer flags. Seems like the path going up to the summit was built by Sherpas. Hugh and I started our climb up taking a few breaks every now and then until came the dreaded portion. Looks like what the others were saying was true, ice and snow all around. There was an older couple who went up and since I saw they were going up, I went ahead and followed them with Hugh trailing behind me. It was a treacherous and slippery trail with not much room for error. One wrong slip and it would not be good. After awhile Hugh chickened out. "I think I shall head back down, I think I'll shit myself" he says. My shoes weren't exactly in the best shape as well, years of hiking had pretty much turned the whole sole flat so I didn't have much traction at all yet I perservered. It's too late to turn back now. I put my foot in the foot prints of the older couple before me and eventually, we made it to the top.

The views were well worth it, the expansive views of the islands, connected by the meandering bridges was exactly the views worth risking for. But I wasn't finished. This wasn't the real summit yet, the others were satisfied with the views here but the actual summit required just a bit more effort. From there, I could see the fjords and the lake, with this Reinebringen was conquered and completed. I had waited for a bit to see if anyone was planning to go down as I was also a bit afraid to go down, the same older couple started to head back down so I followed suit. The woman found me to be quite fast and insisted I go ahead, and I reluctantly did so. In the end, I got down pretty quickly and safely and started the hike back down. I ran into some other people who sat by the stairs, dejected and having given up the trek up. They asked me for some photos and I airdropped them what I had. Dunno why they would be satisfied with that even if they didn't actually put in the effort and seeing it themselves but at least it made them happy. I encountered a ranger as well who had warned me against climbing up butit was already done.

I then explored the village of Reine, having another scrumptious lunch inside while resting my legs. I began the long walk going to Sakrisoy which involved another hike up through marshy wetlands but the views were once again well-worth it. Instead of the red rorbuers, Sakrisoy had orange, and the waters here were turquoise, reminiscent of the tropical beaches, which made for an incredible contrast with the snow covered summits surrounding the village.

From Sakrisoy, I walked further to Hamnoy to capture the classic postcard shots. I sat here for a long time until the cold started to creep up on me. I stopped by a supermarket to grab a bit more instant noodles for dinner and took the bus back to A. It was great to see Hugh again and we caught up on things before I said my farewells to him as we were both going our separate ways the next day.Read more