A spontaneous trip to Preikestolen
What do you do when you suddenly realise that both you and your cousin, who also happens to love hiking, have one and a half day off from work at the same time? You throw all your gear in the car and go on a spontaneous trip to hike one of the country’s most iconic hikes even if the forecast is predicting rain.
No..? Only us then.
After work on Wednesday we hopped in the car and drove to Stavanger. Or more specifically Preikestolen Basecamp at Jørpeland, where we had booked accommodations for the night. There are several options for accommodations at Preikestolen Basecamp. We chose the more “adventurous” and affordable option, the Hikers Nest. The Hikers Nest basically looks like an oversized tin can cut in half. Inside you have two mattresses, a tiny heater, a fan, lights and two USB-plugs. You also get access to a fridge and freezer, as well as a firepit and wood.
The Nest was quite cosy, and we slept comfortably. You do need to bring your own sleeping bag and I would recommend bringing a sheet as well. Especially if, like me, you tend to get warm during the night and crawl halfway out of your sleeping bag, as the mattress covers are made of a rubbery material. All in all, we really liked the Hikers Nest and I would recommend it if you are going to stay at Preikestolen Basecamp. However, running 200 meters up a steep hill to get to the toilet in pouring rain isn’t the most fun, and we missed having some hooks or a clothesline to hang up our wet jackets inside the Nest.
After a comfortable night’s sleep and a big breakfast consisting of eggs and bacon in tortillas we set out on the hike. The hike to Preikestolen isn’t a particularly demanding hike if you’ve done a bit of hiking before, but it should not be underestimated as there are some steep sections and you are walking on stones most of the way which can be seriously demanding for the feet. The trail has been quite heavily upgraded over the last few years to protect the terrain. Stone stairs have been made on many sections. There have also been laid down stones through most of the forested areas, and the wetter sections have gotten bridges and walkways.
One of the many nice things about the hike is the varied terrain. You start out in the forest, then you cross through some beautiful bogs before reaching some proper mountain landscape, and then the incredible view over Lysefjorden. The hike went smoothly, and even if the forecast predicted a potential for lots of rain, we ended up only getting a few small squalls with only a slight drizzle of rain. Most of the day was overcast, with the sun ever so slightly peeking out behind the clouds from time to time.
When we got to Preikestolen most of the view was obscured by clouds, but after sitting down for a bit to eat lunch the clouds lifted a little and we got a really cool view with low clouds hanging down over the top of the mountains and the clear fjord below. After having enjoyed the view for a while we started heading back down and was promptly greeted with some hail. The hail only lasted for a couple of minutes before it stopped, and for the rest of the hike the weather only continued getting better until it was mostly sunny as we got back to the parkinglot.
On the way home we chose to drive the scenic route through Sirdal instead of the “borring” highway. Which I would say was an excellent choice and when we got home it felt like our mini vacation had lasted much longer than just one and a half day. In sum: this trip was an astounding success and I would most certainly do it again.
