Besseggen
Another day's hike brought us to Memurubu, a fjellstue mid-way along the length of Lake Gjende. Besseggen, Norway's most-hiked trail, connects Memurubu to Gjendesheim by going over the mountains above the lake, including the airy ridge left of center in the photograph above and dominating the photo below.
The ridge separates Gjende and the smaller and 400 m higher Bessvatnet, one green, the other blue. Despite the close proximity, Bessvatnet does not empty into Gjende -- the outlet is on the other end! That's Nancy and Zoe climbing up one of the steeper parts, where you want to use your hands or plummet to a messy end.
The way is steep and extremely airy, but not really very scary -- for some of us. The night before, Nancy was nervous about the hike, being prone to vertigo, but when she met some American hikers who had come over the ridge that day and who told of meeting two hikers in flip-flops who had made the traverse, she figured it couldn't be that bad. It wasn't. Tens of thousands of tourists of all descriptions day-hike this trail every year, taking the boat that goes the length of the big lake to close the loop. But there's a trick: you want to go from Memurubu Hut up over the ridgeline to Gjendeshjem Hut -- not the other way round. Otherwise you have to downclimb some steep stuff that you can scramble up with big handholds and footholds going the uphill way.
At the summit of Veslefjellet is a big communal cairn built by passers-by. Much of the area around it has been picked clean of portable rocks. Rick did his part by lugging a big'un right to the top.
Last day on the trail.