Hardangervidda NP crossing

Beautiful nature, inflamed feet, rivers and ice fields, Norway at its most beautiful, but also at its toughest!

So there I am after six days of hiking in the Hardangervidda, legs up, ice on my feet, and pain with every step. I’ve been to the doctor, thankfully nothing broken, but my feet are severely bruised, inflamed, and have enormous, imposing blisters. So, how did this happen?

Fleur and I are standing in front of a river, wondering how we can cross it without getting too wet. We walk back and forth along the bank, but there’s nowhere good to cross. We’re going to get wet, so we take off our shoes, put on our sandals, and go. The two of us, holding on to each other, across the fast-flowing river. We make it, not even four minutes later, another river. I cross, Fleur pulls on me, a massive cramp in my leg, and we burst out laughing. This river has passed too. My shoes are now very wet and starting to come loose. I’m even losing bits. Hmm, not great.

Back home in Groningen, we were still debating which shoes to wear: my trusty old hiking boots or my new, lighter Iowas. I ended up taking my old hiking boots, but unfortunately, they were completely worn out. Especially because they (and my feet) got soaking wet on day one, and quickly they startet to fall apart. Apparently, this happens often, because at every hut, they have tape—and good gorilla tape at that!

We went hiking in Norway, from Finse to Haukeliseter (Hardangervidda area). Fleur thought it should be doable in six days. Mom is super fit, and we only have to walk between 17 and 25 km a day. I thought so too.

We arrived in Finse by train, which is located on one of Norway’s largest glaciers. It’s truly beautiful, and it can be reaxhed only by train. We slept overnight and then started the hike in high spirits; we were really looking forward to it. Soon we encountered the first rivers and marshland, which wasn’t pleasant, of course, but we kept going. We had to walk 24 km that day. We walked for a total of 11 hours, and the terrain was tough, with lots of rocks. There were no pleasant trails like in the Alps.

Finally, after 11 long hours., we saw the hut. We were so happy, the best moment of the day! My shoes were already worn out, but we figured we’d tape them up and everything would be fine. The hut was beautiful and the scenery amazing, but we were exhausted and also a little afraid of the next few days, because we hadn’t expected it to be so tough. Ambitious, but doable, we thought. Fleur had said it was a plateau, but unfortunately, it was a plateau with mountains, valleys, ice fields, glaciers, rocks, rivers, marshes, and so on.

Day 2

On day 2 my feet started to hurt, I could no longer walk properly. We had expertly taped the shoe, but it kept coming loose because we had to go through swamps and rivers so often.

The surroundings are beautiful: snow, tundra, no trees, amazing views, raw, empty, and we had fantastic weather. Lots of sun, although on the first day there was a slight threat of thunder (scary, what should you do then? Tips: throw away your sticks, stay together, stay away from water, don’t sit on the highest point, don’t hold on to rocks, don’t walk on). While we were there, a well-known Norwegian athlete died in a thunderstorm! But after day one, we had nothing but fantastic weather, with only a little rain on the last day, but that was it.

Day 3 en 4

I started walking slower and slower and the pain increased. Fleur and I agreed that she would put on my shoes the next day and I would put on her new hiking boots, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to keep up. Every kilometer felt like at least 10 km; it was very tough. I had very little balance left in one foot, so I had to watch my step with every step, which wasn’t easy. Fortunately, with Fleur’s help, I once again managed to conquer many rivers.

Another problem is that we sleep in huts, but the toilets aren’t in the huts themselves; they’re in a separate cabin. I could barely walk anymore, and then you start dreading going to the toilet. Not pleasant at all.

Anyway, we started day 4, with me strapped in tightly in Fleur’s shoes, which went pretty well; I now had support and stability. Fleur in my shoes, but after 4 hours, Fleur was completely done with it. „I’m going to wear my sandals, this is impossible.“ And brave Fleur finished the rest of the hike in her sandals, so 2.5 days, yes, even through large ice fields!

Day 5 en 6

It was heavy and painful. I had my feet completely taped (by a handsome Norwegian man) and then tightly in my shoes. A physiotherapist even gave me some tips. Everyone was super sweet and helpful.

And finally, the last hut, the best moment of the day! But unfortunately, how could it be otherwise, a very steep descent, wet and slippery, because it had just rained, and then at least another hour of descending. Fleur fell, simply from exhaustion, but thankfully nothing happened. We were so glad to be there! First a shower, and then we enjoyed the fries!

What was really funny is that Floris’s best friend (Jules) works here, and since we had no internet for days, the men (back home) were very worried about the women out in the wild, without a compass, little sense of direction, and the challenging terrain. Floris knew from Jules that we would arrive that day, so that was at least reassuring. The men had looked up the route in the family whatsapp groupchat and it also said „code red,“ a difficult mountain tour. Fleur and I hadn’t seen that, oops!

But in short, Fleur and I are incredibly proud of ourselves. We did this and enjoyed the nature, meeting lovely and kind people in the huts. You’re capable of so much more than you think. At one point, Fleur said, „Mom, your feet can do it, it’s mainly the mental part,“ and that’s definitely true! WE MADE IT!

Alt kjaerlighet

Fleur en Hetty

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Warning: The north-south crossing of Hardangervidda National Park is generally considered a very challenging route. You can usually expect the trek to take 7 to 10 days!

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Want to see more Scandinavia? Then check out our Land Rover Defender tour of Sweden here:

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