Lofoten - the Hidden Treasures

22.07.18

Out and about again, this time aiming for one of the classics in Norwegian wilderness adventure. The trip in question is to Lofoten. The only items in our backpacks were a sleeping bag, a fishing rod and some vegetables. Our goal was to live off of the natural resources available as much as we could. Raymond Jenssen was my company for this trip, and he is a so-called "mountain goat" who knows the inns and outs of Bodø and Lofoten. He prefers to be outside as much as possible, and is an expert on using these local environments in his adventures.

We found ourselves safe and sound in Lofoten on a boat that took us from Reine all the way into the depths of Kjerkfjord. We then hiked across the mountain range to Horseid. The skies were grey and it was raining a bit, but we had faith in the forecast that was calling for clear skies later in the evening. We found our tent site in the most beautiful spot, with no one else as far as the eye could see. Who would have thought? It was in the middle of summer vacation in the middle of Lofoten, which is one of Norway´s busiest regions. Raymond had found the perfect place. Time to set up camp, find water and get the fishing gear ready.

I was excited about fishing and we had set ourselves up to be dependent on it. A few vegetables would not be sufficient after 2 hours of intense hiking, as well as to tie us over the following 24 hours before we were to hike back out. We were keeping an eye on the tide, and calculated the approximate time for high tide. We went out one hour before the highest tide. I chose a classic "Stingsild" lure, 50g. There were a lot of green reflections in the water and I therefore decided to choose a lure with green details in it. It didn´t take long. The first fish came on my second cast; a pollock weighing in on 1kg. Perfect size. I cast again and the second fish bit. We were lucky. We gathered enough food spending only 10 minutes fishing.

We started the fire, filleted the fish, chopped the vegetables and had a delicious dinner. After dinner it was time to slow down, get into the sleeping bag and enjoy the view of what is arguably Lofoten's most beautiful beach. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves hitting the beach and birdsong under the midnight sun. The forecast was right, it had cleared up without a single cloud in sight.

We hiked back the next day, and Raymond wanted to show me Munkan, his favourite peak in the area. It was in a more popular area with more tourists. We took the boat back to Reine, and started the hike up from there. This hike is about 3-4 hours, round trip. We went in a nice pace, and enjoyed the view on our way up. The higher we got, the more spectacular it was. We got up to the top and my goodness, what a majestic view! Steep cliffs, mountains, waterfalls, lakes and the open sea with Bodø in the distance. It was absolutely fantastic. We lied down on a ledge in the blazing sun, in twenty degrees heat. This had to be savoured for a few hours.

We hiked down from Munkan and found a new tent site by the famous spot Å, on a little hill with a view directly into the ocean. We were to enjoy the last night of our trip here.

It was a fantastic classical Norwegian adventure; a fantastic trip, with fantastic company in Raymond Jenssen. He managed to find the best of the best. Follow him on Instagram here.

We can arrange a trip like this on special request. To do so, contact us here. 

//Christer Nannestad - Youtube og Instagram: Nansen_Bamsen 

Translated by Bergljot Sindredottir Støer