Preikestolen

July 20, 2023 to July 21, 2023

After two solid days of rain, the clouds might have been lifting as we started off up the Preikestolen trail. Rob and Kathleen had joined us in Bergen and this was the day, the big event, that we had planned months ago. Breakfast at the base camp lodge was hearty and tasty but we wanted to get ahead of the bus tour hikers, so we hit the trail in the morning mist at 8am. The route wound steeply up, including a long section of stairs that had been built by Nepalese Sherpas, and soon we were hot enough to take off our unnecessary raincoats. Making our way through lush forest, open meadows and over rocky outcrops we were caught up in the sense of competition that comes when hiking a somewhat busy trail up to a popular spot.

Around the half way mark we came onto a plateau, the sun brightened the sky and our optimism, almost burning through the couds and we could finally see some the surrounding mountains. Then, suddenly, there was a view down almost 700 to the fjord below and we rounded the corner to see the famous Pulpit Rock, or Preikestolen, a huge slab of granite protruding out from the edge of a cliff, hanging out over the water. Wow. There we were, having hiked a hard hour to get up this amazing place that looked just like the pictures, but better in that one could take in the entire scene, and also not quite as perfect without being able to really see the full fjord below. The misty clouds blowing in and out added to the ethereal vista, but detracted from our photos. Still, we waited our turn to be at the edge for the classic pose while Ann beckoned nervously to get back from the edge. Amazing that there are no barriers at all protecting us from a deadly fall.

Not content with the 'ordinary' experience, we pushed on, higher up the cliff for better views and then all the way to the peak behind. Getting down wasn't so straightforward. First we followed the red trail blazes painted on rocks but these became ever more faded and further between and eventually there was really no path and we were going in the wrong direction. After winding our way back up we found the All Trails route and, despite a few challenging sections, made our way back to the plateau. Munching our sandwiches we marvelled at the number and variety of people doing the hike and realized why we had stayed overnight and started early to 'beat the crowds'. We joined the column for the long, slow hike down and enjoyed the sense of accomplishment, the warm sunshine and the joys of being outside in one of the world's most spectacular places.