When going to bed the previous day, I almost set the alarm to wake in the middle of the night to get some star shots. After a few seconds I made up my mind not to; I was simply too tired. I did set it to 6 o'clock though, half an hour before sunrise. The awesome sunset had wet my appetite, so I thought 'since I'm here...'
When I woke up it was still mostly dark. Everything was still in the cabin, only a faint crackle coming from the heating system. Outside, I could hear a breeze. The sky to the east was cloudy, just as it had been the night before. No coloured sunrise, then. Except maybe there was, but I'd have to get out of bed since the window was pointed the wrong way. I sighed, pulled myself out of the warm bed, and gathered my stuff.
The moon was kind enough to be in the exactly right place.
A hint of color, but not the fireworks of the earlier sunset.
A nice effect of the rising sun. The clouds covered the east all the way from Fannaråken to the horizon.
I went back to bed, setting my alarm so that I wouldn't miss breakfast. I dozed off immediately, which wasn't that surprising. I'm not really a morning person, which is unfortunate for my photography aspirations. After waking up again, the sun was already high up. I put on my clothes and walked to the main cabin for some breakfast. I took my camera along this time, to capture the inside of the main cabin. It is utilitarian, but cozy. The best thing at that particular moment was the food, though.
I even got a lit candle at my table! :)
Namnam, indeed. I don't always eat porridge, but when I do, it's accompanied by a hand-drawn teletubbie.
An assortment of entertainment and breakfast cheeses. If you ever get to try Norwegian brown cheese, go for it. It's weird.
The last angle. And yes, I'm tall, and couldn't be bothered to get the perspective right :)
After the breakfast, it was time to start heading down. The clouds had moved closer to Fannaråken, covering the east and north views completely, sometimes rolling over Fannaråken itself. I tried to get some photos, but the sun was high, the clouds were in the way, and I couldn't find anything I hadn't shot the day before. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to thinking through the picture before taking it. Next time, I'll be more thorough, taking pictures of every nook and cranny.
The way down was, not surprisingly, much easier than walking up. The weather was better, and the view was clear. I decided to take it easy, and stop for photos every now and then. This resulted in hundreds of almost identical images of the valley below, since there isn't really anything interesting along the path itself.
You can see where the path winds down the mountainside. The hotel is at the end of the valley, just over the hill with the road, 1150 meters further down and 8 kilometers away.
I just happened to notice this little fellow not far from the top; it blended in really well with the rocks. After two seconds of staring at me it took off, along with ten others I hadn't seen.
The color difference of the lakes was really clear in this light.
'Follow the path! Undergrowth is vulnerable'. This is a National Park, after all. Also, the path isn't slippery and dangerous, like the moss is.
I made slow progress down the mountain, stopping and appreciating the view from time to time. Although the website for Fannaråken says the way down takes a bit over three hours, I spent almost five; more than on the way up. The progress was much faster, but the photo nerd in me took over several times, prompting me to stop and play with my camera.
Halfway down now. You can see the change in the path and the terrain.
Also, flowers!
Remember those cars from the previous day? I had been wondering where they went. I finally found out. That, right there, is a nice camping spot.
A better view of the glacier stream at the end of the valley. You could clearly hear the constant noise of rushing water.
Me in my super-sexy climbing clothes. At least I'll be easily spotted if I get lost in the wilderness.
The smaller stream, coming down from Fannaråken. It is bigger than it looks on the photo, unfortunately there wasn't really anything available to show the scale.
The path took me right across this small waterfall. You had to be careful where to step; the water is so clear that 10cm of water looks the same as 30cm.
I came here to photograph streams, so that's what I'll do, damnit!
I finally made it down to the valley floor, where I was greeted by a welcoming party. Just after I passed the sheep, I caught something in the corner of my eye. It was an eagle, flying on the top of the valley wall. This was the only time during the trip I wished I had my 300mm; I still got a few decent shots of the slow, majestic bird, but they were a lot fuzzier and further away than I'd like. And of course, all my settings were completely wrong. Spending a couple of days here with proper birding gear would be awesome :)
Norwegian sheep apparently know traffic rules, the filed neatly to the right side so that I could pass.
Yup, that's a big bird.
One of the stream coming down the valley sides. This one was a over a hundred meters high.
There is a strange effect when hiking alongside tall mountains; I found that my brain had difficulties processing the distances correctly. I kept missing focus when looking at the valley walls and Fannaråken itself. My brain simply thought that the mountains were much smaller and closer than they actually were, giving me a bad headache. The second last day of the trip the exact same thing happened in Utladalen. I guess you will get used to it after a while.
The main stream in the valley that I couldn't be bothered to get to on the day before, with Fannaråken to the left. You can see the mountaintop!
This pic is taken a few kilometers further from the last one, just outside the valley. The mountain is still the same size, which messes with your brain when you aren't used to these sorts of landscapes. The houses in the bottom left give some scale, but trust me, it isn't accurate. The houses look tiny in comparison in real life.
Getting close to the hotel now. The valley stream starts rushing down toward the Sogne fjord.
One down, four to go. Maybe next time.
Did I mention that the sheep are everywhere?
My gear; the camera strap was really handy, allowing me to rest the camera from my shoulder but still being able to access it immediately. The whole set weighed about 13 kilos.
So, not a lot to talk about in this one; I hope you don't mind. I arrived at the hotel without any incidents, and without being too tired. My shoulders were killing me, though, and I clearly felt the accrued filth I had gathered during the trip. After a really long shower, I backed up all my photos to my laptop, and started planning the coming days. But more on that in the next installment, where I drive up to Geiranger for a single photo, but find a lot of distractions the way :)