Norway One

Duration: 5 days | Distance: 100km | Jun 12 2025

Walked on Rondanestien from Lillehammer to Ringebu. Mixed weather with sun, showers, and some wind a times. Had a wonderful time.

My focus on this trip was to carry a lighter pack than I usually do.

Photos

TODO

Gear

On the lighter side. At least relatively compared to many of my other hikes. My bag was about 10kg with 3kg of that being food. But then I also had another smaller bag at about 2kg (with 500ml of water) that I carried separately for the flight. So all in all about 12kg when I left home. I did buy more food (by mistake) and a gas canister when I arrived in Norway.
Tarp — see notes below.
For ground sheet I used my rain poncho — this is the first time I have tried that and it worked out really well. (I came up with the idea on my last rainy overnight trip). I used the rain poncho a bunch as the weather was quite unstable. And it functioned fine as a ground sheet, as well as something to sit on when the ground was wet.

Notes

Tarp camping in the mountains can be quite a challenge.

I’m not that experienced yet so I had my struggles. I avoided sleeping above the treeline so it wasn’t that bad. Even though I had rainy and windy nights I managed to stay dry and sleep relatively well. But I spent a lot of energy and time making sure I would end my days in an area where I would not be exposed. I also longed a bit for a tent to go into after long hiking days — it just gives me a feeling of safety having a fully enclosed shelter at the end of a long day. But on the other hand I like that I’m really out in nature with a tarp — it may be a bigger challenge but so are the rewards.

Carry less food

I brought too much food on this trip again. One reason was that I messed up and forgot some things in the fridge at home. Then I went to buy replacements but discovered later that I had actually not forgotten as much as I had though. So I had double of a few things. Maybe without this mistake my food supply would have been more accurate.

Going lightweight is awesome!

For some reason I have not cared much about weight the last few years hiking. I think I just saw it as a challenge. And a challenge it is! But going lighter opens up new opportunities and removes a lot of ‘backpack struggles’.

My pack wasn’t super light as I carried food for 5+ days. But as the days progressed I felt lighter and lighter.

Two things I like about this:

A) A lighter pack means I can challenge myself in other ways. With a heavy pack the challenge is simply to carry a heavy load. That is enough. But going lighter I can move faster and further. That’s awesome. And I think it may allow me to move my focus more and more away from my pack. Going out in nature isn’t about what I have in my bag, and so I want to put that in the background as much as I can.

B) Less stuff means less clutter. I really enjoyed the minimalistic setup I went with on this trip. I knew where everything was as it all had a clear place in my bag. And packing/unpacking at camp was much easier with fewer items.

Cooldown

As I have written about before, I really enjoy going on a trip followed by a few days of idle time. I often feel inspired and generally just on a high after an adventure. And with no immediate plans afterwards I have the opportunity to capture some of that inspiration. At least that is my working theory. But this time I do not have that. I went down from the mountains, spent one day in a hotel getting cleaned up and then I flew back home. I’m writing some of this trip report the morning after getting home and in just a moment I’ll go to work.

I was thinking a bit about this when I was out hiking and I would have loved knowing I had a few days after my hike before going home. But it’s hard to tell if this is just me wanting more free time (I always want that) or if it is really worth it to stay around capturing some of the ‘post adventure magic’.

I already do know that the entire trip felt a bit stressed out. I did not have any idle days before or after. So the trip was all hiking. Which may be fine. Idk. We will see once I’m a bit further away and know if my inspiration was lost this time or if I’ll be able to capture it while also going straight back to work.

Phone battery

I was a bit worried about my phone battery as I would be out for 5 days with nowhere to charge. I had a power bank with me but my phone is getting old and needs to recharge often.

But it turned out to be no problem at all. I put my phone in power saving and flight mode most of the trip. I also turned it off completely at night.

With these settings the phone used much less power than usual. I was able to use my phone to navigate, listen to downloaded podcasts, and take pictures. And I had plenty of power left in my power bank when I ended the hike.

Air vs foam mattress

I have gone back and forth sleeping on air vs foam. Both types have upsides and downsides and I’m not sure I know which one I prefer more.

On this trip I slept on an air mattress (Thermarest Neoair). I like that the mattress can fit inside my bag. It makes it easier to cover the bag in a rain cover. I also like the higher R value. And finally, I think I sleep a bit better on an air mattress.

But I dislike having to worry about punctures. I like the sturdiness of a foam mattress. With an air mattress I feel like I have to be careful how I sit/lay. A foam pad can take much harsher treatment.

I like using foam to sit on as well — almost nothing beats sitting with a foam mattress against a rock in the morning. I also like not having to inflate foam — makes setting up and taking down camp easier.