A view northward from near the summit of Offersoykammen
Reine morning light / Lofoten islands classic / hiking every day
Good point and flowers / exploring local islands / mountains and ocean
Clearing fog reveals / Segla (the sail) and two fjords / a break in the rain
Konstindan flowers / up a steep ridge from Svolvaer / a really nice day
Big walls and damp days / good place to bring umbrella / photo from the beach
We flew to the Harstad Narvik airport and started the trip by driving to the town of Mefjordaer on the island of Senja where we stayed at the Mejford Brygge - the two story dock hotel on the right
The first full day we drove to the island of Senja and whenever we'd get close to a hike the weather would move in. Looking up toward Breidtinden from near Mefjordotn
The Oxhornan rising above the Ersfjord
The first night we drove about 14 km from the airport to the Evenes Fjordhotell. My main camera went belly up and fortunately I had a Sony compact camera along as a backup.
The fjells or the peaks rise straight up out of the fjords as is the case here at Mefjord
We bailed on our first hike and instead headed out from our hotel to a low mountain called Knuten (the knot)
We got a nice view up the fjord toward Segla (the sail)
The different fjords were connected by a series of narrow tunnels through the mountains
If you didn't like the weather in one fjord you could just head through a tunnel to the next
Senja island featured outstanding coastal scenery
A view from Knuten up toward Segla and the head of the fjord
A fishing boat bobs back from the North Sea into the Mefjord
The Peak "Kyle" rises dramatically up above Mefjordaer.
The sun shines on Hesten (the horse) and Segla in Mefjord as viewed from a hike to a small lake in the muskeg
One of those 24 second bursts of sunshine in the muskeg above Mefjordaer
Mefjord sun and shade
Morning fog above the Mefjord
A morning walk from the hotel with another brief episode of glorious sunshine
We drove back over to Fjordgard through a narrow dark and steep tunnel and couldn't help but to notice some white material on the peaks
Hiroko and Junko starting up from a small ski area on the edge of Fjordgard up toward Hesten
We could initially see Segla but the veil quickly closed and it started to hail
Fresh white material on the peak behind Segla
It looked like we might be able to summit Hesten for a bit and then it started hailing in the wind
View back down toward Fjordgard
We traversed over to the ridge to see if it would clear and tried to stay warm
There was some hope that it would clear.
Hiroko patiently waiting for a clearing
And then we were finally able to see the dramatic summit of Segla between the fjords
Our trip to Senja and the Lofoten Islands was in the last days of June and the start of July
There were numerous large waterfalls that would show up from time to time on hikes, drives, and on boats
The next day we drove down to the town of Skaland and hiked up Husfjellet that provided nice views to the beautiful waters of the Bergsfjord.
Of course I stopped to take a photo of a heather-like flower
Waiting for the ferry to Andenes in Gryllefjord
A view from Husfjellet to the Oxhornan on one of those days where it looked like it might clear but it didn't on our hike
We drove over to Gryllefjord where we took the ferry across some rough open seas to the island of Andoya
The weather cleared a bit as we arrived in the town of Andenes and did a hike along the beach after dinner
There were quite a few flowers at low altitude
Hiking up though a forest of scrubby birch-like trees on Andoya
We started the next day with a hike up Matind and had some nice views before it started raining again for most of the rest of the day
After crossing an island to island bridge and driving through an undersea tunnel or two we arrived at the town of Storvagen to a clearing. We were now in the Lofoten Islands
The next day was the first really nice day and we started to hike up Offersoykammen
Offersoykammen had great views to offer
Offersoykammen is almost an island
A small settlement on the other side of the bay
A view across the fjord to what I think may be Himmeltinden, the highest peak on Vestvagoy island
The trail up Offersoykammen was steep and relatively short
Since it was a long day, we couldn't resist to head out for a second hike to Nonstind from the small town of Unstad.
The only hikers we saw on the way up Nonstind were a couple Norwegian surfers who were spending a week at Unstad and took advantage of calm surf conditions to climb the local mountain
Looking over toward the town of Leknes from the summit of Nonstind
Surrounded by water
A view over toward the island of Flakstad from Nonstind
The small community of Unstad and the beach popular with surfers from the top of Nonstind
After Nonstind, we drove back over to the fishing village of Henningsvaer on Austvagoya
An evening view from Henningsvaer down toward the islands of Flakstad and Moskenes
A cod head drying rack in Henningsvaer
Henningsvaer botanicals
The next morning we drove over to the island of Moskenes and started a hike up through flower fields to Ryten
A view back toward Nonstind over part of the town of Fredvang
A view down the way to one of the inter-island bridges.
A flower that looks like Arctic cotton on the route up to Ryten
The view from Ryten down to Kvalvika beach has been popularized by a ton of photos on Instagram of a an overhanging cliff that makes you look like you are flying above the beach. My hiking companions refused to wait in line to stand at the Instagram perch.
There were so many people near the summit of Ryten that we walked over to a neighboring hill for lunch.
The bridge from Flakstad over to Fredvang. Norway has invested heavily in their infrastructure so that there are bridges or undersea tunnels to really small towns such as Fredvang. This is a much smaller town compared to what the famed "Bridge to Nowhere" out of Ketchikan would travel to.
We hiked down out of our way a bit to get another view of Kvalvika beach
The rugged island of Flakstad viewed from near the summit of Ryten
After Ryten we drove down to the fishing village of Reine on Moskenes island
The comically steep peak of Olstinden viewed from one of the small fishing villages in Reinefjord
The peaks in the Lofoten islands rise right up out of the ocean.
Cod drying racks while hiking about on one of the small islands in Reinefjord
Junko and Hiroko hiking up a cable on a slippery and wet slope on the hike up to Munken
Alpine tarn in the mists
Steep creek above lake
It was one of those days where it might clear. It didn't, but at the same time, it never rained too hard.
Alpine tarn along the trail to Munken
Pool with wildflowers
Junko and Hiroko on the summit of Munken
Buttercup-like flowers just below the top of Munken. There is a great view down to Reinefjord from here, but we couldn't see more than a 100 meters in the fog.
A ptarmigan on the hike back down from the top
You know its a steep slope when its not green
Arctic cotton-like morning hair
Fog on the peaks above the rooftops of Reine
Lake and ocean and almost back to the car
Kelp forest in the shallows
Sakrisoya near Reine
Flowers and peaks next to the ocean
A hard day at the office
Boat ride to the Bunestranda trailhead
Toward Munken
Dock view
Little bit of sunshine
Cliffs above Bunes Beach
Bunestranda pioneer
Beach day hike
Bunestranda flowers
Seaweed flats
Wildlife typical of the area
On the edge of the beach
Productive day at the beach
Cliff steam
Below the cliffs
Sand dune flowers
Wet flowers
Bunestranda
Early summer
Reinefjord
Little island exploration
Nice weather anomaly
The UNESCO World Heritage fishing village of Nusfjord
Seagull habitat
Nusfjord window
Local
Reine morning vibe
Tropics or the Arctic
Almost the end of the road
Blue chipper
Morning calm
Fog placement
Harbor
On the way to Narvtinden
Cloaked
Moskenes island interior
Tekoppstinden descent
On Narvtinden
Narvtinden view
The sky is the limit
Up the fjord
Working above the trees and fog
It was even getting a bit hot on this day
Kvasstinden view
We could hear some sheep bells ringing down below
Above the fog on Kleppstad heiau
You can barely see some climbers on top of the Svolvaer-geita pinnacle from the dock in Svolvaer
Near the Kongstindan trailhead
View across Svolvaer past Stormolla Island to the mainland from Kongstindan. Svolvaer was the biggest town we went to in Norway.
Reflection
Henningsvaer is behind that peak
Henningsvaer is behind the mountain on the left
Mountain lakes
Svolvaer was the closest thing we saw to a big city
Kongstindan view
Toward Higravtinden, the highest peak in the Lofoten Islands
We hiked up a little island near the road on the drive back up the peninsula
Our flight didn't leave until mid morning so we drove around found a place to hike around
A view over to the mainland
Kingsminnen was an interesting little peninsula to explore
Up the fjord a ways
We would joke that the blue-green waters were almost Baja quality
I had no idea that the first time I would travel in a Rolls Royce would be in a flight over Greenland