We stayed on the beach until about 23:00, when the sun is still up but it disappears behind Vengsøya. The light was so pretty on the way back to Tromsø that we stopped several times to take some photos…

At Eidkjosen, Lance (the research ship that Paul spends a lot of time on) was also reflected in the calm waters – beautiful!

One final stop on our way home, on Tromsø island looking towards Kvaløya.

The next day, on his actual birthday, we kept changing our plans. We were going to eat sushi at our favourite restaurant, but it was warm and sunny so we decided to go for a boat trip to Hekkingen. But by the time we were ready to put the boat in the water, it had clouded over. We’re a bit spoilt, so we decided not to go. Instead, we tried to reach Torsnes beach near Sommarøy. It looked like an easy trip on the map, but it turned out to be a nightmare Lots of marsh and too many small trees, terrible amounts of mosquitos, and finally we couldn’t cross the ridge as you had to climb nearly vertically on huge boulders. Never mind… at least we got some nice views of Sommarøy…

Next time, we’ll follow the beach at the bottom of the ridge instead of trying to cross it

I also finally installed a carrier on my mountain bike, and I bought a set of panniers. The weather looked ok for the weekend, so a plan was quickly made: we were going to cycle to Finnsnes! We left on Saturday morning, and cycled towards Sommarøy. Here is a map, with our route for day 1 in red, and for day 2 in blue.

The part I dreaded most was crossing Kattfjordeidet, where the road climbs up to nearly 200 m – a loooonggg climb. But by going slowly in the lowest gear you eventually make it to the top – and of course the best bit is the downhill reward

We cycled to Brensholmen, and took the ferry across to Botnhamn on Senja. Guess what happens when two people who’ve been cycling all day in grey/windy/rainy/cold weather get inside a warm ferry that makes gentle rocking movements?? ZzZzzZzzz….

From Botnhamn it was about an hour to our destination for the day: Fjordbotn Camping. A great location, and a fantastic view from our cabin – but we did think the campsite was messy and that our cabin was really expensive for what it was (we paid 800 kr for a very worn cabin with a kitchenette and bathroom, without bedding or towels!).

Total distance for the day: 57 km from Tromsø to the ferry, 12 from the ferry to the campsite, making a total of 69.

We were really hoping to wake up to a sunny day, but unfortunately it was even worse than the day before. The weather forecast called for “mainly dry” but the first part of our day was “mainly wet” Still, it was a pretty ride along quiet roads, with nice views of the coast.

We only had 45 km to cycle that day, so we had more time to take photos

From Finnsnes we took the fast ferry back to Tromsø, it only takes 1 hour and 15 minutes! We had never been on one of those, but it was very comfortable, with scenic views. A great way to come home

The first part was steep, but we quickly made it to the ridge – with very festive markings and a fantastic view towards Nordtinden, Skulsfjord and Bellvika.

We had about 5 hours to make it to the top and back, which was definitely doable but it did mean I couldn’t stop as often as I normally do. Which in turn meant that I didn’t take that many photos But luckily Hannah is a lot faster than me, so I could leave the photo-taking to her: the results are here.

We were slightly disappointed when we got to the top, as it’s a plateau where the ridge actually blocks a lot of the views – we couldn’t see Grøtfjord for example, nor the valley between us and Orvasstinden. But hey, the view towards the open ocean was still impressive

On the way up we avoided the snow, but on the way down we actually followed the last remains of snow – it’s much better for your knees than loose rocks. The snow didn’t always hold us though, and I even managed to scrape my leg open by falling through the icey snow – who knew that was possible?!

On the way down we went down a steep valley instead of following the ridge all the way. This was an attempt to save time, but it was a bit of an overgrown jungle which slowed us down. Still, we made it back to the car with about 10 minutes to spare It was a great hike, in fantastic weather – which left me quite severely sunburnt though (in spite of applying sunscreen several times). I can never decide if hikes before work are a good idea – on the one hand I am very happy I went for a nice trip while the weather was good, on the other hand it makes for a very tired person on duty

Here’s a map and a height profile of our trip…

We left late, as Saturday was a rainy day and we had some things to do at home. We arrived at the beach shortly after midnight, and by then it had cleared up almost completely. The beach looked straight towards the midnight sun – beautiful

It’s been unusually warm in Northern Norway since Mid May, and we are weeks ahead of schedule – everything is green already, and even the cloudsberries are flowering! They were beautiful, backlit by the midnight sun. With views like this, who wants to sleep??

But finally at two in the morning we went to bed. It was so beautiful to fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves and singing birds, and we slept soundly until 11! We enjoyed a lazy breakfast on the beach and afterwards we decided to climb to the top of the island, at 427 m. The views down to “our” beach were amazing…

We followed a ridge that also gave us views to the east side of Sandøya (where there’s a small village, but only 2 permanent inhabitants I believe!) and towards Rebbenensøya, with some very pretty clouds…

We then went straight up to the top of the island, on a very steep slope. It wouldn’t have been doable on a rocky slope, but it was covered in small bushes which give more grip. We first reached the (radio?) mast on top of the island, and from there you can look straight down to the beach we camped on – it made me dizzy! From the mast to the actual top is a huge almost-flat plateau which is great fun to walk on and the views are incredible, here towards Sørfugløya (Southern Bird Island).

We didn’t meet a single person all day, the only signs of life we saw were some boats passing by. In the cairn on top we found the usual “guestbook” where people write about their experiences – and here we found out that 5 people had been to the top earlier that day Such a small island, but we never saw them.

There are some really steep drops near the top, with views to more sandy beaches. I think you can guess where the name Sandøya comes from We could see all the way from Rebbenesøya to Ringvassøya, Kvaløya, Senja and even Andenes!

We were getting hungry so we were keen to get back to our camp – there was a bbq waiting for us

Coming down the steep slope was hard on our knees, but we made it back safely and we enjoyed a well-deserved bbq on the beach

It was getting late so we decided to make our way back home. We had originally planned to have a look around the small village, and I have also heard there is an impressive remains of a church on the south side – but this has to wait for another visit. I wouldn’t mind coming back, it’s such a beautiful place

When we reached the top (after about 1.5 hrs), we had a bit of a “halleluja” moment – as this was our view….

There is a large plateau around the top, with views towards Kvaløya, all the islands on the outer coast (Sandøya, Sørfugløya) and Rebbenesøya. Fantastic views!

I’ll have to come back here in summer, and walk all the way to the westernmost tip of the plateau to have an even better view over the sea and all the islands. Would be great during the midnight sun season

We were hoping the sun would eventually come below the cloud layer and give us a nice sunset. It looked like it was just going to disappear behind the next cloud layer however. But just when we gave up hope and decided to turn round, the sun briefly appeared – how nice! Luckily it was also finally clearing up, and the wind calmed down.

It had gotten quite late (sunset is after 22:00 now), so we made our way back to the car. The snow conditions were variable, there were areas with very icy snow, lots of bare rock, crusty snow and some soft snow. I actually managed to fall over THREE times – I didn’t think that was a risk on snow shoes

It was a great little trip, and a mountain to remember for the summer season

Especially the view towards Ersfjorden is beautiful. In the other direction you can see part of Tromsø island. The top was partly bare, partly covered in windblown snow ridges.

A couple of reindeer kept me company for a while, and they didn’t seem bothered by my presence. They would sometimes look up when my camera was beeping, but they seemed too busy with their dinner to walk away. When I turned around, the lights had suddenly turned on in the city, what a view!

Towards Ersfjorden the moon was sinking and reflected in the fjord… I could hear the call of ptarmigans all around me – they have a very special sound which made the evening even more magical.

I was there for a couple of hours, enjoying the solitude and the views, taking lots of photos. Suddenly I heard voices… “Where is the top, where that man is?” “Yes, a scary man with a chainsaw!”. Erm? It turned out to be 3 British tourists with a guide, all on snowshoes. As soon as they reached the top, the guide made them dress in bright orange sleeping bags with only their heads and feet sticking out – they looked like Tibetan monks My solitude was broken, especially when they got out their iPhone and read aloud who liked their latest photo on Facebook… sigh.

Just like the tourists and their guide, I was hoping for the northern lights to show up. A big show was expected that evening, and I figured it would be one of the last nights where it’s dark enough to see them – especially since the weather forecast for next week is rain, rain, rain. But when it got to half past midnight, without a single sign of the northern lights (quite rare!) I gave up and walked down. When I was almost back at the car, I suddenly noticed something green in the corner of my eye…

It didn’t last long, and most of it was very weak, but it was a nice ending to my night hike. When I got home at 02:30 in the morning, dawn was breaking already… We’re approaching the midnight sun season rapidly, and even though that means no aurora for about 4 months, it’s so exciting. We still have a lot of snow, but spring is in the air and summer is on the way – I can’t wait (yes I know we are still far from summer but I always get impatient this time of year )

On the day before our trip, we drove from Tromsø to Abisko Turiststation where we spent the night. This is a mountain station owned by the Swedish Trekking Association, and basically a combination of a youth hostel and hotel. The atmosphere was very nice, people were there either for ski trips or for watching the aurora. That night the aurora was active, but we decided to ignore it and go to bed, as we had to get up early…

Day 1: Katterat station to Hunddalshytta – 10.5 km (5 hrs)

We got up at 06:30, as we had a train to catch at 07:45. We just about made it to the breakfast room to grab the lunch packets we ordered, no time to sit down and eat breakfast. We hurried to the train station, only to find out our train was 15 minutes delayed. This delay just kept increasing… until it was long enough for us to decide to have breakfast after all. To make a long story short: the train was eventually cancelled, and we had to wait for the next train at 14:05. That’s a 6.5 hour delay!!! It was very boring to wait around nearly all day, when you were ready to go so early in the morning… but finally, there it was: OUR TRAIN!!

After a scenic train ride, we were the only ones to get off at Katterat station. We watched the train leave with mixed feelings – now we were on our own. It was 15:30 by the time we started our trip to Hunddalshytta, and the sun had already left the valley that we were following. We followed a few old tracks from skiers, snow scooters, dogs and even someone on foot. It was a beautiful day, especially when the moon came out as well.

Our progress was slow though – we lost the route a couple of times, and the snow was icy and hard. The route was also a constant uphill.

At some point we could smell a wood fire and we knew the hut could not be far away. And there it was, Hunddalshytta in the moonlight…

There are actually several cabins here: one for a warden (which was empty while we were there), one big one, and a tiny one. The big one was very full, there was only one bed available. So we knocked on the door of the small one, where we found 2 Dutch men with snowshoes. They just about had place for us, and were soon feeding us Baileys – mm, what a welcome After a quick dinner, we went to bed early.

Day 2: Hunddalshytta to Oallavagge – 6 km (3.5 hrs)

The Dutch men left early in the morning, as they were catching a train all the way back to Stockholm from Katterat. We had a lazy morning, and watched the people in the other hut build an igloo which they were planning to sleep in that night. They were Dutch as well

We left just before noon, we weren’t in a hurry as we didn’t have very far to go that day. We did have a steep climb however, very tiring when you have to herringbone your way up. We were happy when we made it to the top of the pass!

There was a nice downhill section afterwards, but it was one of those whiteout days where you don’t see any contrast in the snow. This makes it hard to estimate how steep a slope is, and as a result you don’t dare to speed up too much. There were also some old ski tracks that had turned to concrete ridges, hidden underneath a layer of fresh snow, as an extra hurdle… We were relieved to reach Oallavagge and find it empty – it’s a tiny emergency shelter, with only two beds. Not many people choose to spend the night in it, but even one extra guest would have been a squeeze!

We spent a very cosy evening in the tiny hut. When we arrived, it was -4 inside, but the wood stove quickly raised the temperature to about 30 degrees! We had some soup, then made dinner. It was nice to have the place to ourselves and get some rest. The wind was very strong, during the night I woke up once fearing that we’d be stuck there for an extra day!

Day 3: Oallavagge to Cunojavrihytte – 12 km (4.5 hrs)

The wind had calmed down a bit by the time we got up. It was still windy though, but luckily in the right direction for us

It was a grey day, though the sun tried to peek through the clouds every now and then, but made good progress with the wind in our backs. We didn’t meet anyone all day…

One big disadvantage of strong wind is that you hardly feel like sitting down somewhere to have lunch. We tried to shelter behind various rocks and once behind at a surprise cabin that was not on the map. The cabin was mounted on huge skis and had probably been dragged into position for temporary use  by people working for the power company. (lots of the lakes in this area are used for hydroelectric power). When we got closer to our destination, we came across this small private cabin and a rickety suspension bridge over the river …

We thought it might be busy at Cunojavrihytte, as it was now Saturday and ski touring is very popular in the weeks around Easter. To our surprise, we found the place to be deserted! Here too, there was one big hut and a small one. We chose the small one as it would warm up quicker. Not long after we arrived, 4 skiers turned up at the large hut. They were the first people we had seen since we left Hunddalshytta two days earlier.

Day 4: Cunojavrihytte to Unna Allakas – 4.5 km (2 hrs)

We had a very lazy morning at Cunojavrihytta, as we only had 5 km to ski to the next hut. Here are some photos of the hut we stayed in at Cunojavri, to give you an impression what they are like…

As you can see there’s plenty of duvets, so you only have to bring a sleeping bag liner. Both Cunojavrihytta and Hunddalshytta have  solar panels and there are some low-voltage reading lights, but otherwise you need to bring candles with you. We cooked on the wood stove in this cabin, as for some reason the gas cooker was placed outside the living room, next to the front door, where it was freezing cold!

It was still windy, and the snow was blown into nice patterns around the hut. Unfortunately also inside the hut, as there was some problem with the outside door not closing very well and lots of snow got into the hallway!

Reluctantly, we left the warm cabin and braved the cold wind outside. It was rather flat and grey so we only stopped to take one photo at the border marker. We made it to Sweden in just a couple of hours!

Unna Allakas was our first experience with the Swedish mountain huts. We weren’t sure what to expect, we had heard they were not as cosy as Norwegian huts. They’re just quite different: Unna Allakas is a big building with 18 beds (divided over 3 rooms) and one huge living room. It’s more communal in a way. The one thing I didn’t understand is that there were more beds than seats in the hut! But there were also some huge advantages: there was a warden who ran a small shop – it’s so nice to buy a few items you would never take with you (beer, Pringles…) and of course being able to buy dinner instead of dragging it with you in your backpack for several days. They also have a recycling system, which means you can leave all your waste behind. We had the hut to ourselves when we arrived, but while the warden came over for a chat, two Swedish men arrived from the other direction (Abisko). It was nice to have some company and share route experiences with them. With only 4 people, we had plenty of space in the cabin.

Both the Swedish cabins we stayed in had a well organized system for getting water from the lake or river, and some solution for waste water collection. But while Norwegian cabins usually give you ready-chopped firewood, here you had to first saw a huge logs into smaller bits, and then chop them up with an axe – quite hard work!

Day 5: Unna Allakas to Abiskojaure – 21 km (7.5 hrs)

We got up early as we had a long day ahead of us: it was 21 km to the next cabin! I had been dreading this day for a long time, as so far the furthest I had skied in one day was about 13 km and I am really slow. According to the Swedish men it would be even more windy today than yesterday, but luckily AGAIN it was in the right direction for us

Quite a lot of fresh snow had fallen during the night, and the skitracks of the Swedish guys were gone. In Sweden, the marking is quite different though: they use wooden poles with crosses, and there are sooooo many of them that it would be impossible to lose your way. I actually quite liked it, even though I can see it’s a bit of an “attack” on an unspoiled landscape. In many places you can see a snake of red crosses stretching out miles in front of you, but it means you can just ski without having to check your map/gps all the time, or discuss your route choice. After a while, the snow showers cleared up and it actually got SUNNY!! We had our first lazy break in the sunshine (an important part of easter skiing), what a difference with the previous days! The route was downhill all the way and I started to relax and enjoy the day…

At some point (about halfway) we met a group of snow scooters coming from Abisko, which meant we could ski in their tracks. That made the rest of our trip a lot easier. They are smelly, noisy machines, but sometimes they are quite welcome As we made our way down the valley and into the birch forest, we finally saw signs of life: some reindeer, a couple of birds… finally some groups of cabins – we were coming back to civilisation it seemed

I was so happy when Abiskojaure came into sight: we made it!! I was very proud, but also really exhausted and my feet were sore. I stumbled into the cabin, following the cheerful warden who was showing us where to sleep. The cabin was huge and very full, mostly with a big group of German teenagers. It was a bit too much to suddenly be in such a cramped hut (bunk beds were 3 high here!) after the solitude of the last couple of days. But it was fun talking to other people who were just starting a long trip and the Germans were very keen on chopping wood and getting water so we hardly had to do anything Another luxury of this hut: it had a SAUNA. No showers of course, but some ingenious system of mixing hot water coming from the sauna with cold water from the lake, so you could wash.

Day 6: Abiskojaure to Abisko Turist station – 15.5 km (5 hrs)

We hadn’t planned to get up early, but the Germans had breakfast at 6 am and it was hard to sleep after that. We had breakfast as soon as they had left, and by 09:30 we were ready to go

Of course we first took a few photos around the hut. There were 3 wardens at this hut, who put up Easter decorations everywhere and they were very chatty. The place is more like a youth hostel than a mountain cabin!

The route back to Abisko was easy but quite boring (crossing the long lake in grey conditions was not very exciting). Later it got sunny and we followed a gently undulating roller-coaster path through the forest.

We got a bit lost in the end, as Abisko Turist station was not on our map and we had just guessed where it was on the GPS. As a result, we ended up at Abisko East (we had no idea there were 2 stations here ) and we had to follow a scooter trail next to the road for half an hour to get back to the Turiststation. We picked up the key to our room, and rushed to a much needed luxury: a hot shower!! Clean clothes!! And finally a 3 course meal in the restaurant

It was a fantastic trip, it pushed a lot of boundaries for me, and now I am keen to do some more trips like this

I really loved Bryce Canyon, I think it was my favourite national park, even if it was busier than most other parks. The so-called “hoodoos” (the colourful rock spires that the park is famous for) are just fantastic!

It was the cloudiest day of our trip, but we still saw some blue sky as well…

And even though the skies were threatening at times, we didn’t get rained on!

The light kept changing, which made the rock appear different as well. Endlessly fascinating

After our hike, we drove further into the park. Along the road, we stopped at the viewpoint for Natural Bridge…

At the end of the road (Rainbow Point) we followed the short Bristlecone Loop Trail, less spectacular (no hoodoos here), but with fantastic views.

And fantastic clouds, a paradise for a meteorologist

On our way back, we stopped at Bryce Point around sunset. Bryce Point looks out over the whole amphitheater, a really impressive view! There were many showers in the distance, which made the sky look dramatic, and we took a few panorama shots…

We were very lucky that day, with all the showers surrounding us, we didn’t get a drop of rain. But as soon as we drove out of the National Park, we were hit by a strong thunderstorm

We had a great day in Bryce Canyon, even though we didn’t venture far off the beaten track. There are some nice long distance paths under the rim, that would be great to explore if we ever visit again.

We left after work, and it started getting dark by the time we left the parking lot in Tønsvik. At the same time, a couple of snowscooters took the same route – they belonged to a rescue organization and they wanted to practice getting lost in bad weather. However, the weather improved drastically that evening – until the skies were clear and beautiful northern lights were dancing above – which made us regret not taking a tripod! We were very grateful for the scooters who drove almost all the way to the hut, leaving an easy to follow track for us. They stopped to talk to us on their way back, and told us they saw ski tracks around the cabin and that there was probably one other person there. No problem, we thought

We arrived at the cabin just before 22:00, and noticed 2 pairs of ski’s outside the door. No problem, there are 4 beds… but when we opened the door, we had a bit of a shock, as we were greeted by FIVE pairs of eyes – all looking just as shocked as us Three sneaky Belgiums had come on snowshoes… Oh well, there was 1 extra mattress and 2 of the Belgians were willing to share a bunk. After a delicious cheese fondue dinner we tried to sleep sharing a single mattress which was placed half under the sink… I had just settled in my sleeping bag when I heard voices outside… I poked Paul, who refused to believe me. But soon the voices were right outside the door and there was no doubt that more company was on the way

Another couple arrived, and sadly the only place left was underneath the table on a woolen blanket. The next morning we all had breakfast together and laughed a lot about the record number of people in this tiny cabin! Outside, the sun was shining and although some kind of animal had stolen the lunch packet of one of the women in the hut, everybody was in a good mood. Our only plan for the day was skiing back to Tønsvik, so we took it easy and left the cabin around 10:30.

You first have to make your way down to the river and cross it by a narrow wooden bridge. After that you climb up to the wide plateau, which was beautiful in the sunshine

We really enjoyed the blue skies and great views, and lots of unspoiled snow.

We had a nice lunch break on the plateau, before descending down through the forest. It took us about 3 hours to get back to the car. Here’s a map and a height profile of our trip…

It was a fun trip, but I think we’ll bring a sleeping mat next time – just in case We didn’t sleep very well on the floor and having stiff muscles doesn’t help much the next day. It was good to have a “practice run” though, and find out how to improve things before our longer trip (next week!).

But luckily for Edwin and Aline, the weather started improving as soon as they arrived. I was working for the first couple of days, but I had the weekend off so we could go sightseeing together. Saturday was a very sunny day, and our first stop was Håkøya. Edwin is a keen photographer as well, so it was fun to spend some time taking photos of the beach and the sea ice. I have never seen so much sea ice as that weekend! It’s not uncommon for the sea to freeze at the shallow beach at Håkøya, but this time there was ice cover as far as I could see. I found it a bit puzzling at first, as it had been so warm for the past week. But I asked my personal oceanographer and the explanation is that all the rain that fell on the sea stays at the surface and freezes easily.

When we walked back to the car, parked next to the bridge, we noticed a horrible traffic warden writing us a fine. NOOOO…. We quickly walked over to him to find out what was going on. Turns out you can’t park next to the bridge, even though there is lots of space there. Yes, there’s a sign but I hadn’t realised that it applied to a 100-200m stretch of road, not just the space right next to the bridge. According to the guy, you can happily park on the opposite side, where you actually park on the road and block the way, but hey – there is no sign there. I’ll never understand the logics of parking fines, especially in the middle of nowhere where there’s plenty of space. But he let us go with a warning, so we didn’t argue much more

We drove to Grøtfjord and went for a walk on the beach. It was very windy there, and COLD. We didn’t last very long.

Our goal for the day was Brosmetinden, but when we got to the parking lot we got doubts when we saw how strong the wind was, and how much the snow was blowing around – it looked like the North Pole. We wrapped up warm, and gave it a try, thinking that we could always turn back if it got too tough.

Once we started walking, we found that it didn’t actually feel that cold, and the wind wasn’t always strong, it came in short bursts. It was beautiful to see the snow blowing around, even if it wasn’t always very comfortable

There were quite a few people on snow shoes, something I also noticed on my last visit. Perhaps the snow shoe rental people advise their customers to go there? (You’ll very rarely see a Norwegian on snow shoes!). I actually walked up in boots this time, the snow was so wind blown that it was almost like walking on concrete. We decided to continue to the top, which was definitely worth it…

We only had a short break on the top to take some photos, the wind was so loud here that it hurt our ears! The views were spectacular though…

I took another panorama, similar to one I took last time (see here). If you compare the two, you can see how much little snow there was at the coast last weekend…

We made our way back to the car with a backdrop of a colourful sunset. Another great trip, Brosmetinden is becoming my favourite mountain

The next day Paul joined us, and we drove to Ringvassøya. All the rain/wind of the previous week, followed by cold weather, has resulted in some skateable lakes – too bad we didn’t bring our skates! These photos are taken at a lake with the strange name Peder Sørensenvatnet – wonder what this Peder Sørensen did to have the lake named after him – or perhaps he just owns the land?

The bubbles in the ice were fantastic we had another stop at a little island near Skarsfjord, but it got so cold when the sun disappeared behind the mountains that we decided to drive back to Aunegården for cake and hot chocolate

After our cafe stop, we walked around the centre a bit. It’s beautiful at dusk, when Tromsdalstinden is almost glowing in the last bit of twilight.

It was a great weekend, and on Sunday evening even the northern lights made a spectacular appearance. I was very tired and decided to stay home, but Edwin and Aline stayed out for hours and came back with fantastic photos. I’m glad they got to see Tromsø at its best