I have very fond feelings for Tromsø. This Norse city, located honderds of kilometers above the polar cirle, is build beautifully on the narrow island Tromsøya, surrounded on all sides by fjords and islands and mountains. This city feels remote, nature is always close and yet it has every comfort you could wish for. A few years ago, I travelled to Tromsø in March, still full winter season so far up north - a very memorable trip, as it was my first try at winter camping, the first time I witnessed the northern lights, and also I got absolutely blasted by a blizzard. The city of Tromsø, with its restaurants, hotels, museums, cosy lights and supermarkets, was a most welcome refuge. During July 2022, I again travelled far up north by bus and train to explore the area around Tromsø in summertime: I went hiking and wild camping for two weeks on the beautiful yet quiet islands of Kvaløya and Senja.
Setting out entirely on foot is often a bit of a planning challenge if you're not on a established long distance trail or within the borders of a nature area criss-crossed with hiking paths. I found the number of hiking trails on both Senja and Kvaløya a tad lacking: there are stretches on these islands where there isn't any trail present. With the help of a good hiking map, I still managed to patch together a nice hiking tour, crossing both Kvaløya and Senja roughly from east to west - combining on- and off-trail walking with the occasional road stretch and bus or ferry ride, but still very much enjoying beautiful views, quiet seaside villages and remote tent pitches during a time of year during which knows no darkness. A collection of my most memorable experiences from this trip.
A small off-trail adventure in the rain
I began my hiking trip with a short bus ride out of Tromsø onto Kvaløya, a mountainous island right before the coast of Tromsø, connected to it by bridge. I walked down a quiet road for a while in the rainy late afternoon, decided to divert into a narrow valley and pitched my little green tent there amidst soaking wet, long grass. All the while, I did not have the slightest idea if I would be able to hike up the mountain ridge I was camped beneath. There was certainly no trail. Would the route not be too steep? Too heavily vegetated? To slippery in the rain? It is one of those moments of doubt every hiker experiences from time to time: what exactly have I gotten myself into? Yet the soft sound of rain of my rainfly was a familiar and soothing sound. I slept well and just carefully went on my way the following morning. Soon I felt completely at peace, immersed in the wide views and fresh air and the joy of just wandering about in nature. Hiking, despite challenges like encountering miserable weather or tough terrain, is in a way so very easy.
Climbing to the most perfect wild camping spot amidst stony peaks
How often do you remember a specific night spent in a hotel, no matter how luxurious and comfortable? I will however remember the night I spent wild camping in this special place. I followed a tiny, very tricky trail that literally ended in boulder fields, a sharp peak looming high above me in the clouds, but then was rewarded by the most perfect place to pitch my tent. I slept that night on a perfectly level grassy patch beside an icy little stream, in a valley surrounded by the most impressive rocky mountain peaks. There was no one else there. What a beautiful experience.
Animal encounters high above the fjords
A lemmet loudly whistled at me when I crawled out of my tent very early in the morning. I also repeatedly found myself surrounded by reindeer, amphibians and all kinds of birds while cross-crossing through scenic, green central Kvaløya. Animal encours like that are always memorable.
Above the treeline in west Kvaløya
Above the arctic circle, you don't have climb that high to reach a high alpine environment: bare, stony, and with open views to all side (weather permitting, of course). I just love these barren tundra places that feel so rugged and remote yet often quite easy to explore. In more southern mountain areas, you'd have to climb up to to 3000+ meters to reach similar terrain - if you even can reach such attitudes without having to resort to technical climbing.
A gorgeous sunset on Senja
The sharp peaks of Senja at midsummer midnight. What a sight.
An impulsive sidetrip to a quaint little harbour
I ended up in this small harbour simply because the bus I hopped on to skip a stretch of road walking had this seaside village as its final destination and I impulsively decided to remain seated. I pitched my tent at a campervan parking lot at the seaside and enjoyed an evening exploring this quiet place with its flowers, café, fish factory, mountain views, sea birds, boats and lighthouse. It was a welcome change to my earlier remote camping spots.
A few days on the Senja på langs trail
Once I had reached the west of Senja, I was able to follo part of an official trail: Senja på langs, through the Anderdalen national park. Though, it has to be said, trail is a bit of an overstatement. This hiking route consists of barely more than a track, barely visible, narrow and muddy. It was here I most missed the beloved boardwalks so common in Sweden or Finland. The nature in this national park, however, was rugged and lush and I was witness to some spectacular light during the evenings.
Exploring Senja's most western fjords
The weather wasn't favourable until right before I left on this rugged corner of Senja, battering me with rain, wind and mist. Sometimes, however, it isn't so bad to spend some time in your tent, just relaxing and writing and reading.
Visiting Polarmuseet in Tromso
It was raining rather terribly by the time I took the ferry back to Tromso, so instead of climbing one of its surrounding peaks, like I had originally in mind, I spent my last day there visiting the polar museum. And I was glad I did, for they have quite an extensive collection of arctic and polar-related items in this small museum and I learnt a lot. I had to stretch my knowledge of Norse, though - as nothing was translated into English. Camping one last night in Narvik before catching the night train back home
On my journey back home, instead of booking a hotel room, after eating a pizza I wandered around the industrial city of Narvik to look for a possible camping place. I found a nice park right by the fjord where several other people had already had pitched their tents. Everyone stayed up very late, enjoying a drink or even a swim while watching the sun setting across the fjord. There were public toilets, fireplaces and picnic tables, and everyone was considerate of each other and cleaned up after themselves. Much love to Norway (and other countries with established public access rights) for being able to do this. So many opportunities for connection with nature and other people have vanished with the privatisation and fencing off land, and it makes me sad to think of how much we have lost.
And that was another hiking trip completed! I quite enjoyed exploring these two islands on foot, yet I found the quality and quantity of the hiking trails somewhat disappointing, so I don't know if I'll return sometime soon. I know I missed some of the most scenic spots because they required walking on a road for a long time, or climbing steep, exposed, non-maintained trails with a heavy backpack, which just isn't much fun. I wonder if the hiking possibilities on the Lofoten are better? I guess that more popular travel destinations do have their advantages!
Comments
Post a Comment