Explore more of my hiking adventures! • Spectacular backpackin...
Hello and welcome to a new day in the mountains with yours truly and just an iPhone SE for recording video and audio. This time, the journey starts from Rjukan and straight up the slope towards Selstali, then we follow Gausdalen on the "backside" of Gaustatoppen before heading up past Hovdenuten and towards the summit.
You could call this a spontaneous trip - the night before, I had camped at Stavsroi (where the usual trip to Gaustatoppen starts) with Ali (who is featured in several other hiking videos), Sosan, and little Amir. After a night with a lot of strong winds, we took down the tents Sunday morning and drove down to Rjukan to have breakfast together right by the abandoned train station.
Initially, the plan was just to hike a bit into the terrain to make the most of Sunday with a trip before returning to Oslo. However, as I started covering kilometers, I became more and more determined to hike to the DNT cabin located at 1830 meters above sea level.
This route is highly varied, passing through various types of terrain, and it can hardly be compared to the most common route starting from Stavsro. Here, you get a proper day trip and a good workout as it offers about 1700 meters of total elevation gain according to Garmin Fenix 7x (the cabin is at 1830 meters, and the starting point from Rjukan is at 300 meters above sea level + up/down through Gausdalen). The start can be challenging as you ascend steeply from 300 meters to 940 meters before losing a bit of elevation down to Trolltjønn. At the beginning of the hike, you can quickly burn a lot of glycogen and potentially ruin the rest of the trip if you're too eager, especially if you don't have enough food.
This hike is recommended, but remember to bring enough food and drinks, be prepared for bad weather, and be ready for some scrambling in technical scree. Follow the clock and remember the mountain safety rule "Turn around in time, there is no shame in turning back." It's not fun to walk down to Rjukan in the dark without a headlamp;)
The video of an overnight trip to Gaustatoppen starting from Stavsro can be watched here: • Spectacular backpackin...
(the hike was done on 20.06.2022)
00:00 - Start
00:08 - Start of the hike from Rjukan station
00:31 - Map description of the hike
01:42 - Steep climb up Såemslian
02:45 - Climbed over 600 meters in elevation
03:20 - Nature's sounds, bird songs, and lush area
04:04 - Reached the scree
05:21 - On the "flat" at about 1600 meters above sea level
06:23 - View from the cabin... into snow and fog
07:12 - A day in the mountains!
07:49 - Soon on a better trail after the scree at the top
09:50 - Fantastic beautiful mountain birches
10:26 - What do I suddenly see in the scree..?!
11:15 - Into the enchanting forest
11:42 - Past Fikstjønn
13:02 - Don't miss the beautiful fauna!
13:29 - From here, it goes straight down towards Rjukan
14:38 - The bench
15:53 - Down!
#hikingalone #hiking #mountainhiker #exercise