You can find more pictures from this day here.

Alan had a hiking adventure today, but it wasn’t exactly what he expected (hoped). He wasn’t alone.

The hike was described as ‘demanding’, but Alan thought he could handle it from the description, and was certainly tempted by the chance for some amazing scenery in the mountains of Norway. While we knew that rain was to be expected on this trip, it didn’t really register that it would not only affect getting wet, it would also affect footing on mountain slopes, and visibility at higher elevations. All of those things were in effect today.

Our bus was loaded with about 40 Viking passengers, all dressed in layers with lots of clothing and waterproof gear. Our guide was a young woman with a wit, Norwegian pride, and a lot of sarcastic commentary about other Scandinavian nations, irritating children, non-hardy individuals, men, and just about anything else you could think of. She had a lot of informative things to say about Tromsø, the northern reaches of Norway, and the things that we passed along the way.

Our route went from the port across the big new Tromsø bridge from Tromsø island to West Tromsø and wound along the water front and through the mountains for about an hour, 50 km, to our bathroom stop at the community center at Tromvik. We would return there for lunch after the hike. While there aren’t any water closests on the hike, she told us that we were welcome to do the Norwegian tinkle along the way, though there weren’t any trees to hide behind.

Back on the bus for another 5-minute drive up the mountain to the trail head. While there aren’t a lot of trees in this area, we were above the tree line, so we saw rocks, mud, and very low-to-the ground plants and shrubs as far as the eye could see….which wasn’t very far!

Alan finished his outfit by struggling to get his water-proof pants on over his hiking boots while still on the bus. Maybe an award for that is in order!

So, off the bus, and up the mountain….trail? We could all tell that we weren’t hiking on some curated path as we might find in a park in the States. The wind was whipping a bit more than a fine mist around (and it felt like it went right through us). Any illusions that the hike would be a dry one quickly left. In fact, when Alan asked the guide as he entered the bus if we would avoid the rain today, she replied ‘only in our hearts.’

It would be nice to say that it was a beautiful hike, but most of the time was spent looking at the footing to identify which rocks looked steady, which mud puddle was going to slide, and what low-lying bushes were ready to jump up and grab your foot. The visibility in front of us kept changing as the clouds were blown through. At the most, I would guess that it was never more than 100 meters to see relatively clearly, and often less than that.

Our guide had reminded us several times that she only had one emergency form and that Tromso only had 4 helicopters for rescue, and had joked (we thought) that we weren’t allowed to die on the mountain.

The Norwegian youth in the area are challenged each summer to climb 7 of 10 mountains in order to receive a prize. It reminded me of the summer reading clubs at the library growing up, though this was a bit more rigorous than reading 100 books or so. Kira said that it was the attempt to get kids off their phones and outside. After the hike was over, she told us that this particular one graded out at the easiest level. I’m glad I got to read books in the summer!

After about 20 minutes, we reached our first stopping point. The guide showed us several of the different kinds of berries that we had been stepping on. She pointed out that while none of them were poisonous, some didn’t taste so good, and others were likely to not agree with our systems, and would create another kind of emergency along the way. At this point, 5 guests decided to go back to the bus to wait for the rest of us.

So it was off again up the mountain. We walked over even more rocks and the mud we could see was a result of both the rain and the water that was trickling down the mountain. I can’t say they were actually waterfalls, but it was water and it was falling down.

Another 20 or 30 minutes and we were at our next stop. She gave us all chocolate bars for reward or strength, I’m not sure. On the inside of the wrapper were instructions for climbing mountains in Norway. One of them (#8) was that it was never a problem to turn back. I’d be contemplating that one.

The 9 Norwegian Mountain Safety Code Rules

1. Plan your trip and inform others of your route.
2. Adapt the trip according to your ability and according to the conditions.
3. Pay attention to weather and avalanche warnings.
4. Be prepared for bad weather and frost, even on short trips.
5. Bring the necessary equipment to help yourself and others.
6. Make safe route choices. Recognize avalanche terrain and unsafe ice.
7. Use a map and compass. Always know where you are.
8. Turn back in time. There is no shame in turning around.
9. Conserve your energy and seek shelter if necessary.

The wind here was fierce, and it was hard to hear the instructions from the guide. I could see (what little I could see in front of me) that the next section was up the mountain into the clouds (which were even closer now). From the instructions I did hear, I knew that at the top was a section that was quite steep and with slippery footholds. At this point, I decided that the permission to turn back was a good one for me to take. So 5 more of us elected to stop our climb at this point. The second of the 3 guides stayed with us, and told us that we needed to stay with him, as it was potentially dangerous to go back the path on our own, since the clouds could obscure the path in front of us.

He took me over to the edge of the area we were standing on, and told me that this was a similar view to what the others would have above. This reinforced my decision, as you can see below.

While it was somewhat miserable battling the strong winds and the rain, it was nice to not be climbing anymore. My health tracker on my phone said that I climbed 30 floors today, and only about 2 or 3 of them would have been on the boat.

I had brought my Nikon camera with me, but it was buried in the bottom of my backpack. While we were waiting for the other group to come back, I pulled it out and snapped a few pictures, but it was too wet and I didn’t want to risk damaging the camera.

I chatted some with the other folks who were hanging back, and while standing there, in the mist in front of us appeared the silohoute of two reindeer, standing tall on one of the rises. Before I could even find my phone to take a picture, they were gone, back into the mist. It was pretty magical.

Before too long, the guide who hung back with us got word on the walkie-talkie that the rest of the group was on their way back. That was the cue for us to start our walk back to the bus. It was kind of nice to go at a little more leisurely pace, and I could feel a little more comfortable stopping to take a few pictures with my phone.

The reindeer reappeared, and the three of them sort of walked back to the bus with us. We got pretty close to them, probably within 20 yards, but they kept their distance from us.

The other group caught back up to us fairly quickly after we reached the bus. It turns out that they had to abort the end of the hike themselves because the conditions at the ledge were too dangerous. We were all wet and looking to get out of as many of our clothes as we could. (Kira, the guide, said that to be decent, we should be sure to keep on our socks).

We made our way on the bus back to the community center and had a great lunch of a locally made fish soup. It was wonderful! Apparently the locals make it from a secret recipe. It was served with bread and butter, along with hot tea. For dessert, they had carrot cake with a locally-grown raspberry on top, and a chocolate cake with a strawberry on top.

We had about an hour on the bus back to the port, and Kira gave us more information about the area, life in Norway’s north, and her philosophy in general. Along the way, we stopped at the beach that gets a lot of attention on the few real summer days that happen up here. She said she usually challenges guests to get into the water, but I think she thought we may have had enough water for one excursion!

Alan was glad when we arrived back at the boat. He had enough of walking in the rain for one day, and after talking with Joyce about her panoramic tour of Tromsø, he called guest services to let them know that he was opting out of the walking tour. Of course, looking out from the stateroom at the time the tour was starting, it appeared that the rain had stopped!

While Alan was struggling with the elements, Joyce was in a warm, dry bus on the Panoramic Tromso tour. Tromso is the biggest city we have been in so far, with 42,000 city inhabitants, 80,000 in the municipal area, making is the largest urban area in northern Norway. The city sits on the island of Tromsoya, with the suburbs spilling over to the mainland, Tromsdalen. We drove the short distance to Tromso University to the Science Center and Planetarium. In the planetarium’s theater, we were treated to “Extreme Auroras”, shown on the planetarium’s domed ceiling as we sat in seats that reclined for an experience that felt like we were surrounded by auroras, witnessing nature’s own light show. The photographer, a Tromso native, combined 5 years of filming the most spectacular Northern Lights experiences in the Arctic. The colors were vibrant, mostly green, with some blue and purple and rarer red. It was truly awe inspiring, another wonder of God’s creative nature. Photographs were forbidden, so I can’t share the experience.

Instead of using the bridge, we took a tunnel underneath the fjord to our next stop, the Arctic Cathedral, a dramatic white ‘A’ shaped building we were told was compared to the Syndey Opera House. While the Arctic Cathedral is a beautiful building with its own significance, having seen the Syndey Opera House in person, Joyce did not agree with the comparison.

Dedicated in 1965, it is inspired by Arctic nature, with the glass mosaic window, the “Return of Christ” dominating the otherwise minimalist interior.

On the way out of the cathedral was a table of heart shaped containers made of different shades and kinds of glass. We were encouraged to take a small white mosaic piece from the big bowl and put it in the small bowl that represents your prayer for the world. All were good prayers.

After the Arctic Cathedral, we got back on the bus, went back through the tunnel and drove through the historic part of Tromso, with the colorful wooden houses, and narrow streets. We drove past the main shopping pedestrian street, Storgata and the statue of the polar explorer, Roald Amundsen.

Alan was scheduled for an included excursion through the historic part of Tromso on foot. After his morning excursion on the mountain hike, he decided forgo the excursion. He called Guest Services to let them know he wasn’t coming so they didn’t wait on him.

We napped a little, watched the port talk for tomorrow on TV, blogged and worked some on pictures, and then went to the theater for a talk about the search for Qaupalik on Greenland.

Dinner was in the restaurant again. This time we selected Norwegian Fiskesuppe, which was very good, but not as good as Alan’s lunch soup, Grilled Dover Sole with artichokes, and a shared Grilled Duck Magret with parsnip puree, fondant sweet potato and roasted garlic. Alan picked Chocolate Decadence and Joyce Creme Brulee.

Alan decided to go to the show, while Joyce went back to the stateroom. She’s been nursing a cold and is not a big comedy fan anyway. Loyd Hollett, the Comedy Wordsmith from England, was funny and very quick with words. He was a hit with the audience.

We ended the day as we have been, with another episode of Downton Abbey, before turning in a little early for an early morning call on Wednesday.