All good things come to an end, it is unlikely we will walk back to trollfjord hut again, but who knows, maybe one day we will brave the hike to Lofoten’s highest peak and glacier, Higravtinden at 1146m, from here. We already got close, in our adventure climb yesterday of Blåskavltinden at 975m. Doesn’t sound that high, but then the peaks here are not that high, just awfully steep, slippy and with mainly unmarked paths, so that one has to either use a map and gps to pick a way to the destination. This is what we did in our marvellous ascent yesterday, to a lofty alpine view of peaks and fjords and ocean and lakes, as far as the eye could see. Époustouflant.
We have spent 4 nights, 3 full days in a palatial luxurious mountain hut, ‘Store (big) Trollfjordhytten’. Access was exclusive, by RIB, Norwegian for speed boat, with a tour of the fjords en route with numerous sightings of the white tailed, enormous eagles, swooping down for the frozen fish lures amidst tropical turquoise waters and rocky outcrops.
A little back story, Trollfjord itself is a small narrow and very deep fjord, but famous for its crazy high cod population, most people travel with fishing rods, as we did. Success at a catch is quick, you cast and you catch. There have even been cod wars in this fjord in the early 20th century between local fisherman and big enterprise new steam boat fishing, the government had to step in to protect the rights of the little guys. A heartening end to the affair.
The hut was a sunny hot sweaty boggy slippy steep walk up to 500m altitude. Arrival is extremely rewarding, you are first hit by the breathtaking view, and then you enter the hut.
These Norwegian huts are nothing like the French refuge. Here a full kitchen is at your disposal, dining and living rooms complete with every home comfort. The huts are always immaculately clean and incredibly well maintained, considering the passage some of them attract – like this one – and the fact that they are unsupervised, relying on the honesty and trust of all users. So here we can adopt a more luxurious cooking régime, involving something more complicated than one-pot tenting meals. A bit of indulgence for us all.
We especially chose this destination as a place to celebrate Sascha’s 18th birthday. We arrived on the eve of his birthday to a party atmosphere, as more and more walkers arrived till the huts reached their capacity of 20. A group of 4 arrived before us and then a group of 5 young folk, armed with beer and sausages.
It was a motley mix of people but we all gelled really well and spent time in different groups at different times. The weather has been sunny, showing off the amazing views from the hut. We all stayed up in the midnight sun ushering in Sascha’s 18th playing Ligrettro with a bunch of folk, on the cabin’s spacious deck, with views to the glacial lake below, our swimming lake at cabin level and the towering Higravtinden across the deep cut valley. We also made good use of the sauna from day 1, doing the Scandinavian thing and cooling off in the lake.
The 17th morning was a late start! Celebrations started with crepes accompanied with bananas, maple syrup and whipped cream, a first surprise for Sascha, who expected mountain living rationed meals. The day continued in this vein with a trip to internet hill (to read birthday messages), lazing, sauna, lake swimming, fine dining and games. It was a perfect birthday, I wouldn’t mind one like this myself! Maybe next year….
We have spent a glorious time here, view to the surrounding mountainsides and glacial lake breathtaking, the numerous swims in the warmer lake closer to the hut, wonderful and refreshing on the sweltering days we’ve had here, moody and mysterious post sauna on the foggy day today. Yes, there is a sauna up here!!! These Norwegians do things properly, really properly!
The crowning joy of these travels has been making new acquaintances and friends, it was lovely to connect with Tuva, Mikael, Max and Kiki over such a short period but everything feels more intense and rich in such a setting!