Hiking Flekkostind

About a week ago me and dad went for probably the last hike of the season - to Flekkostind, not far from Breitind that we hiked earlyer. This mountain is just a nice pathless relatively easy walk, quite steep in the end but with grass almost all the 700 meters up. Though the nearby mountain blocks much of the view northward, it gives you a nice view over the Northfold-fjord.

Northeastward. Breitind is behind the closest mountain. You can see this is fall - there even was small patches of early snow! Dad was hit by the seasons first snowball.

The flekkos lake, we both saw it for the first time - it's hidden from most other angles.

Above the mountain, there was only masses of bare rock up towards Kråktind, the tallest mountain in the range. At 1200 meters, it stands without vegetation, and as you can see it's allready quite covered with snow. I really hope to get to climb it sometime!

Too bad about the poor light conditions for photos, but i'm sure you've got the picture. A nice trip!

A week in paradise

I'm home after the Ukraine-seminar, and i can truely say i spent a week in paradise. Extremely relaxing hotel in a scenic area with a pool and only nice weather. But far more importantly - with fantasticly great people that really made this one of the best weeks of my life.

Sober Moldovans, Belarusans, Norwegians and Ukranians gathering socially in a scenic place in Simeiz in southern Crimea is the recepy for utmost enjoyment. Beautiful, great, social, fun and even cuddly girls, a suprisingly great guy, new friends of both genders and all nationalities, networkbuilding, exurtion and nature, for once feeling popular, learning things both socially and 'professional'... It was all fantastic.

I'm posting many pictures in my photoblog when i get around to it, but for now, enjoy my most beutifull sights of this trip!

Ingeborg

Nastya & Marina

View from conferance room

Ida & Erling

EDIT: Pictures are here!

Headed for Ukraine!

Holy otter! I'm going to Ukraine on an Active-seminar the start of next month! I just got a phonecall from Ida in Juvente, who asked if i still wanted to go to the Ukraine seminar. "Yes?" "That's good, because you get to go!" I never thought so, i just went to Budapest on a Active-seminar earlyer this year! So, paying not a dime, i'm going to Ukraine for a full week seminar, meeting great Active-people, having fun. I'm happy!

Interrail this summer?

As i preveously announced my crazy plans for driving around the balkans - things makes me realise that i'm evidently not experienced enough for that yet. Nether will i be in one year. A good idea to substitute, as proposed by Mari, is to Interrail! It's cheap, it's nice and it'll be exiting. Maybe combined with some hitchhiking? We could go as many as we want, we could travel where we want and see a lot of the world. I could easily afford two full months of interrail time! Sleeping at stations, seeing the balkans... Brilliant idea!

My dream for the summer

I've been thinking and dreaming and looking at maps and planning for a while now. I've got this dream for what to do next summer, and i'm really, really hoping it will come true! Next years Active summercamp is in Albania. I want to roadtrip there! And incorporate into that a trip all around the baltic. Hopefully go with more Juvente-folk, ether from norway (Maria? More?) or Estonia (Maria? Tiina? More?) or both. 

I've not gotten so far with checking, but my little scetch so far is;

Steigen (Home) - Talinn, Tartu (Estonia) - Lviv (Ukraine) - Suceava, Bucaresti, Odobesti (Romania, where i know some) - Athens (Greece) - Albania (Summercamp) - Sarajevo (B&H) - Beograd (Serbia, Wile. E Coyote from tt-forums) - Budapest (Hungary, fine city), Prèsov (Slovakia, Rasto?) - Tartu/Talinn - Home.

That's according to google maps, 9800 km. With some margin, i have to expect 10 000 NOK in gas! So, now i'm trying the best i can to save up for it, and i'm trying to get others also wanting to go. This of course is my dream, and i'll probably have to downscale it, but i like to shoot high.

Semi-illustrative picture from Budapest. I don't know these people, but they look beautifull together and with the city.

Hiking Breitinden

Breitinden ('The Broad Pinnackle') is the 700 meter tall mountain just above the Tommeltinden ('The Thumb Pinnackle', seen on the right) wich i've climbed earlyer. A week or so ago i went up there with my dad, brother and Aragorn.

First it is a bit of wood-walking, up to the Vetfjell-hut and trough hell street (hellgata). A nice and easy walk. Then the climb suddently starts. There is multiple routes up Breitinden, i know of two and there is probably at least one more. We took the most direct, but rather steep, route. Straight up from 2-300 meters, trough gravel and cliffs and somtimes loose or slippery rocks, straight up to 700 meters.

This is from the foot of the mountain looking towards Leinesfjord (North), and this is some of the climb.

I think this is a rather ugly mountain. Hardly anything green, and it looks so rugged and torn. I sort of get the impression that it looks like an evil mountain. Like one where the fairytale villan has hes dark castle. But! The view is all but ugly. Feel free to feast your eyes!

Eastward, then Northward.

And to demonstrate ruggedness, this is the view up towards Kråktinden, The Crow Pinnacle. Don't you agree that this could easily be the home of a villan? Like, the outskirts of mordor, only with too blue skies.

Wonderful vecation

Though my mind recently has been overshadowed by my cars speedy demise, now that I'm done thinking about that I'll write about my actual vacation.

Because it has been real good. Up and down like always, but in general very good, and as always best towards the end. Since last blogging i spent a weekend on Kirkevik and a whole week in Ransberg, Sweeden.

Kirkevik is Juvente Norways holiday home, idyllically placed on a relatively hidden-away corner of Nesodden in the Oslo fjord. Kristina arranged a pirate weekend, where the idea was to dress like a pirate and do piratey stuff, and the execution was to relax for a weekend in the sun. Like every time i go to a Juvente gathering, i meet new fine people, get hugs and have a nice time. The sun was extreme, and the bathing temperature was simply the best i have experienced outdoors. We watched movies outdoors at night (warming each other as the night gets cold), and bathed in water and sun during the day. A very nice (literal?) warm-up before the Active Summercamp, possibly even better then the actual camp.

Which also was warm. Very warm. Each day was as sunny as the next.

Getting to the camp. I drove there in my car, alone as always, and i just followed my GPS. I typed in Ransberg as the camp is in Ransberg Mansion, and it found a small village south of Karlstad. I drove by the GPS, and 2 hours after Karlstad i was there, but i couldn't find the campsite. And as Rasto helped me with finding some one who could give me directions, it became clear that Ransberg Mansion is in Ransäter, 3 hours in the opposite direction! I must admit i was rather angry with myself. But, eventually, 3 hours later and after nightfall, i was finally there. Put up my tent, met Piia and Kristiina from Estonia again, and Rasto from Slovakia, whom i know from the Budapest seminar.

That night i discovered that i had actually put my tent on top of the water pipeline in the dark (au), and with the morning sunrise it was evident that my tent does not remain cool in scolding hot sun. The next 3 days after i slept in the cooler forest under open sky.

There were activities like games, volleyball, car mechanics, first aid and a little what the scouts call 'hiking trip'. That's a 30 minute walk on a gravel road up to a lake. We had to make our own food every day in our cooking group, which meant we spent many hours on that. I thought that to be nice. Every evening most spent in the night cafè, though i mostly went to bed early. There was also a disco with very, very shitty music. And there was scouts. A lot of scouts. Active had the camp in collaboration with the swedish scouts, and there was about 700 of them there, as opposed to about 300 actual Active-members. Why do scouts always build so much?

I spent most time with the Estonians. They are nice people. I'll miss some of them, even though they talked a lot in Estonian. It's rather rude, really, when there's people who can't understand it around. I didn't talk Norwegian to the Norwegians or sweeds when there was other people around. But i guess that is something you will experience with any multinational group. Also the Albanians only was with other Albanians, and the Slovaks the same. But again, to be expected.

I hardly used my camera this summer for some reason, i think i have only one picture to show you;

Melis, the Estonian hunk who enjoys walking around in hes underpants. He was quite happy that hes name means something sweet in Norwegian. Here on top of Piia. I think i owe him a massage.

Next live concert on the list

I can't really stop, can i? Sonata Arctica, also quite possibly the best band in the world, is playing at Rockerfeller in Oslo 1st of November. Of course i can't keep from buying a ticket. Actually, this time, i bought two. Already looking forward to this! Particularly if i get the person i want to come with me.

Somwhere back in time tour!

I've been almost at the front as Churchill's speech roared across the 23 000 souls, just before Iron Maiden blasted out with Aces High and tens of thousands of voices screamed out with pure pleasure-filled energy. The feeling of a live concert cannot be replicated, and seeing probably the best band in the world live was truly fantastic. I was really hungry before the concert and as the warm-up bands plaid (Steve Harris's daughter and Avenged Sevenfold), but when Maiden blasted loose the hunger was swept away, replaced by a in-the-moment feeling that i seldom get. Jumping, pushing, fighiting my way forward, trying to see if everybody around me is okay... Awsome.

They plaid all their best songs! Starting of with Aces High, continuing with The Trooper, they plaid their most epic song The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Wasted Years was in there, so was Fear of the Dark and The Number of the Beast. And Eddie was on the stage thrice! A small Eddie sitting on the side of the stage in the start, a giant somwhere-back-in-time Eiddie that came out of the stage looking like a 10 meter tall mummy, and another huge Eddie with a lazer gun that came out and walked on the stage, aiming hes gun at Harris and fiddeling with Murrays guitar. And there was pyrotecnics! As the air in the crowd was at its thickest and i most desperately wanted a breeze of cold air, giant fires blazed out on the stage and gave us all a stroke of heat. Just fantastic and perfectly awsome and unwelcome!

This was well worth the 850 km drive. Now I'm just looking forward to the rest of my vecation, and the next time Maiden goes on tour!

Seems i have a job

I've been placing a lot of job applications for next year, so i can defend my car, apartment and schooling. Recently i got a phone call from Coop Mega, a grocery store, who said flat-out that they were interested in me. No talk of interviews or anything, just simply "we're very interested, call us when you know when you can come for initial training." So, scrap anyone that requires a interview unless they are particularly interesting. I've got a job! I'll quite likely be able to go the next year without gravely increasing my loan, and this henceforth is one big step closer to my freedom in living! Training starts 13th of august. 

I've thought about that selling alcohol in stores thing. I've, actually, already done something similar. Though i don't pour alcohol in peoples glass at the restaurant, i've accepted payment for alcohol that guests have already consumed or have requested themselves when i've been tending the register. This is not the active selling part, but more the control-part. This is where i check that they are of age. Though, in the store situation, it also is where the ownership of the alcohol is transferred. But it is not like me not doing this would make a difference to the positive. It could be someone in the register less vigilant about asking for ID. What i would not want to do, and this is a minimal thing that i am sure the store could be able to accept, is to restock the alcohol shelves in the store. That is actively making it more possible to sell alcohol, and something i would not want to do. If the store don't accept this, i'll probably be very displeased.

A summer to look forward to!

Summer plans is pretty much decided now! So far this summer I've mostly worked, but with a lot of niceness in between. In a bit under two weeks, though, starts the part of summer with only sheer niceness!

About the 17th I'll buy my first car. About the 20th I'll be on the road southwards. The 22nd I'll be in Trondheim to see Iron Maiden live at lerkendal stadium! From the 27th to the 3rd of august i'll be at Actives summercamp in Ransberg, Sweden! After that i don't know. Perhaps Oslo for summercamp afterparty? Perhaps visiting some of my family or friends here and there? This leaves time for any spontaneous traveling-urges. School starts sometime mid or late august.

Maiden will be positively orgasmic, while summercamp will be a unmeasurable prolonged pleasure moan afterwards. I'm not sure wich one i am looking most forward to. Just, yay!

Hiking Kvarven

Since i started working here at Kjerringøy, i've been wanting to climb the nearby mountains. It took me a bit over a month before i managed to get so far as to climb Kvarven, but man was it worth the wait! Now i've had two trips up there, one überperfect 9-hour trip and another far less perfect, far faster trip where i also went to the second, taller pinnacle.

Normally the 9-hours trip would have been a 2 hour one. You are free to guess what prolonged it. I'll just leave it at saying that there is nothing more perfectly romantic then a mountaintop view.

The walk up to Kvarven is a particularily nice one. It starts out with a lot of forrest walking on a relatively good path. There is the odd bench to rest on, and after not too long a time walking you reach the first good views, where the forrest has a clearing or starts thinning for good. Perhaps two-thirds of the way up is Kvarvkjonna, the Kvarv-puddle as it translates to, wich is a small but stunning mountain lake. 

(Fullview)

Max, my sisters Cairn-terrier, is stick-crazy; hes favourite thing to do is fetching sticks that we toss. He is not, on the other hand, too happy about water. It's clear though, if it is craving or loathing that wins in hes mind;

Yes, we threw a lot of sticks! Poor Max wanted us to throw more and more, but eventually was so tired that he could hardly manage to get them. The last stick we threw he went underwater with twice before he finally had to give in and let go of it. 

There was a lot of insects. None of the particularily nasty biting buggers, but enough to make a unplesant buzzing at times. But there was one pequiliar thing there, that i've never seen before. Using my human encyclopedia, i found out it was a (in norwegian) Bjørnespinner, wich translates to bearspinner. Cool name, eh? Googleing now i find that the english name is none the less cool - It's called ether a tiger moth or a garden tiger.

Upwards from the Kvarv-puddle was the last and steepest part of the climb to the first pinnackle. No more trees, only rock and heather. But at the top was a soft green patch just in front of a steep plunge, wich provided a perfect spot to lay and rest for three hours.

(Fullview)

The secound day of kvarven the hike went on to the taller pinnacle close by. That meant climbing down a stupidly steep slope, maybe 100 meters, and up another long and steep slope. The top picture is the view from the first to the second pinnacle. I took my sweet time on this part of the climb, it was not possible to rush it or i would have risked a deadly roll.

Finally i reached the top, and it was epic! If the plunge on the first pinacle was awsome, this one was proper ninety degree, and i doubt that i am exaggerating if i propose a height of 400 meters straight down. It's not possible to photograph these plunges and make the scale visible, but this might give you an idea;

(Fullview)

Epic, eh?

There's one more particularity worth mentioning about this trip. The first day as we went down, one of the forrest benches wich we were looking forward to resting on had ben conquered by a herd of particularily giant, feroceous and rugged cattle. I'm used to cows, but most of the time they will run away as you approach. These ones sure didn't! We tried to make them move so we could reach the bench. I had to apply all the guts i have to make my way to it, and when we finally were sitting there the most furious of the cows repeatedly attacked poor Max who had been trying to seem tough towards the giant beasts. Lucky for Max he can run the fastest. Such ill-tempered cattle i have never met before! We had to eventually evacuate and settle for the next bench.

Hiking Sørskottaksla

I recently climbed sørskottaksla. That is the tall mountain under wich i have lived since i was 6. I've thought about climbing it the last year or so, and not long ago i finally decided to take the step outdoors and get on top of things. The first and last part of the climb was particularily steep; Ididn't choose the easyest path but instead went up a steep, loose scree at the foot of the mountain. 

Climbing in screes (that mass of crumbeled rock at mountains feet) is a lot of fun, particularily if it's a rough scree. There's a lot of places to exercise balance, and to climb with leaps and bounds. Climbing in loose scree is significantly less fun. You have to watch each step to see if the rock is loose or not, and you have to move slow not to cause a raze. In places, it's rahter idiotic to climb the scree, because a raze could at worst kill you. But - i should just tell you this sooner rather than then later - i am stubborn! 

Above the scree the climb flattened for a bit, with only a bit of climb. But by then, i had become hungry. I was walking completely in my own thoughts, somewhat in a bad mood for the hunger, when suddently i jumped because something made a loud flapping noice in front of me. It was the mother of these cute little guys, who i unwillingly spooked out of her nest.

Right now i wish my knowledge of species had been better, so i could tell you who this is. I know it's a common bird, so i am a bit ashamed to admit that i don't know. But these little people is pretty freshly hatched. Cute birds! I really hope i didn't scare the mother off for too long. (Edit pr 2. July - I've now found out that it was the very common Willow Grouse, nor: Rype)

The last part of the mountain was steep, but safe and easy to climb. I was getting very hungry, but i was starting to get a splendid view. I tried to eat some crowberry roots, and it eased things a bit, but probably mostly by fooling my stomach to think it was getting some food.

Then came the top, and the beautifull view, and a (significantly hunger-dampened) feeling of sucess. Lookie!

(Fullview)

The most beautiful way to enter Steigen

Steigen, my homeplace where i grew up and where i plan to eventually grow old, is to my knowledge the most beautiful place in the world. It has tall and small mountains, fjords and lakes. I love the mountains. You'll never run out of new mountains to try and climb, and each new mountain is a new experience and has a new view.

I just found the most beautiful way to enter Steigen - by boat from Kjerringøy, directly over the ocean southeastwards from home. After working on Kjerringøy and enjoying the view towards Steigen, I finally got to get into a boat and cross the blue mass. It's just splendid – the majestic mountains slowly getting closer, while the almost still sea is caressing the boat, until they are finally standing tall above me again just waiting to be climbed. It feels romantic, and fills me with longing and dreaming for that special someone sometime to be in the boat with me, sharing the experience.

I would wholeheartedly advice everyone to come see Steigen, and come hike mountains with me!

My path to freedom

As mentioned before, i've not yet reached my "freedom in living". I've got a plan though. First i should tell you about my problems.

My first and biggest problem, one that i can't start traveling as long as i have, is my loan. I ove the state a bit more then 100 000 norwegian krona, wich is about €12 700 or £10 000 - money for education. As soon as i finish schooling, i have to start paying the loan. My secound problem is my need for an education.

What i've so airily dubbed "my path to freedom", is my plan to brake free from these things as best as i can. The plan has a duration of two years. Next year i'm planning to go to school and learn what will at least be my temporary living, doing my best not to increase my loan more then absolutely nececerry. I've got only one year left, before i get a certificate of apprenticeship as an agronomist. That means i can work mainly as a help on farms, with a fixed pay somwhere along the lines of 250 000 NOK before tax. 

Then the secound year, i'll do just that. I'll get a full time job, live at home with my parents so i won't have to pay for housing, and earn enough money to completely kill off my loan. Then i'll do one of the many things i want to do sometime. There's so many things i really want to do, things that won't cost that much but won't be doable if i have a loan lurched on my back.

These two years can easily turn out to be two rather tough years, for varying reasons. The first year i will struggle with economy. I'll get a scollarship at about 3600 nok, whilst housing with food costs 3200 nok. Nothing left for anything! So i have to have a job if i'm going to live at all that year, and to have a job i have to have a car. A car costs, at the very least, 1000 nok a month for ensurance. If i do get a car, but end up not getting a job in spite of my many applications, i will be in serious trouble. If i do get a job, i'll still be living on the economical edge; If i happen to get less hours a month or if i am no longer required at work, i'll end up knee-deep in problems. Or, in other words, i'll end up increasing my loan. The good side to this, however, is that i belive i'll have a socially nice year, studying interesting things and having a generally nice time with many people around me.

The secound year can be tough in the way of lacking social parts. Steigen, my homeplace, outside of summertime is a sort of empty place. Youth my age move to the cities. There is a lot of people older than me, and a lot of people significantly younger then me, but little inbetween. I love Steigen and its nature, but this is a problem. I will move there when i grow old, i think, maybe someday start a farm there. But, it is no place for youth my age.

I'm not writing this to complain about the prospect of my life. I'm in a good place compared to many i know of, in norway, and particularily compared to many i've seen and heard of in the less fortunate corners of the world. I greatly appreciate my place in the world, and i am very happy for what i've realised is my big privlage as a norwegian - i won't have a real problem getting anywhere. I'm planning to use and try to appreciate my luck. Anything else would be mad. My life is good, and i know it. My blogpost simply talks froma a western point of view.

Freedom in living

This is my fourth blog. The last three, wich are all in norwegian, have trivial names; Vaugely translated, "Thinking-thoughts", "Writings" and "Thor's photoblog". This fourth blog will hopefully be my most important and personal blog, and i thought it should have a name that meant something.

My wish for life is to really live it, and to do so freely. To travel where i wish, spend my time where i want, with who i want. Get to know and love more people. Do things worthwhile. See the world, learn new tounges, learn new skills. Hug everyone, flourish like a person and be who i really am.

My life is not like that right now, but i'm trying to make it so. My first thought for a name was "the struggle for freedom", but it sounds a bit dramatic, don't you think? My chains are no worse then a bigish loan and the need for an education. When the chains are gone, i've got tickets here and there to living life. In two years, hopefully, there will be no real chains.

"Freedom in living", as you see, is my vision and my hope, and hopefully in not too long will be something i can live by. The vision is perhaps a airy and idealistic one, and one i would be embarassed with a lot of people reading. If people in real life asked me about this, i would shrug it off and change the subject. But this is my real vision, and what i really want to do. I'm just not secure enough about it yet.