Turtagro to Leirvassbu
We arrived at Turtagro, a mountain hotel along the Sognefjell road on the west side of Jotunheimen, on a glorious summer afternoon, with Store Skagastolstind peering demurely out through the clouds. This mountain range, Hurrungane, is said to be the most Alpine in Norway, with peaks, including this one, that require at least elementary climbing skills to get to the summit. We left our car here and set off across Jotunheimen on foot.
We stayed in this old building with ornate woodwork. The old main hotel building burnt down in 2001, and has been replaced by an elegant modern structure (not pictured) with big windows that look out over Hurrungane. The new building has a great mountaineering library (as did the old structure) and a fine reading room with a fire. Definitely a place to enjoy after a long hike.
Rick went for a late-night wander and took this picture of Ringstindane, perfectly reflected in a tarn, at nearly 10:30 PM.
First day of the hike, and the clouds started moving in. Our day's destination was Fannaråkshytta, at 2068 m the highest hut in Norway, right on the summit of the Fannråki, the rounded mountain over Zoe's head.
Here's Fannråki on a nice day and seen from the north along the Sognefjell road during our drive home. The hut is on the highest point of the ridge on the extreme right side of the picture.
It started raining when we were about halfway up, then changed to snow -- in July -- as we gained elevation. We kept meeting Norwegians who had decided to turn around the weather was so rotten. They would look at us, look at the two innocents we were dragging into the cold bad weather and cluck their tongues. The mountain remained buried in cloud the whole time we were there, the only guests at the hut. This was a bit of a disappointment because the hut is perched right at the edge of this precipitous drop down to a huge glacier -- supposed to be a spectacular view, but we never saw it. This was also an important piece of information to keep in mind for those midnight trips out to answer the call of nature. You definitely didn't want to head off in the wrong direction!
The soaking rain and cloud lasted the next two days, as we made our way down to Skogadalsbu and then up-valley to Leirvassbu. Most huts have a few designated places where you can stay if you have a dog, in this case (at Skogadalsbu) in an outbuilding with rather substandard doors.
This picture reminds me of one of Molly's jokes: Why do (insert your favorite ethnic group here; Swedes are the usual butt of Norwegian jokes and vice versa) always open milk cartons in the store? Because it says 'Open here' right on the top!