TRAVEL AND PHOTOGRAPHY

Hiking Keeps on Giving

What’s in store for us on our next hike?

All photos by the author. A picture of Gygrestolen in Bø, Norway.

When the world shut down in 2020 due to the pandemic, one of the good things that happened was that we found an activity we could enjoy as a family: hiking. With the borders closed, we were forced to explore Norway and see the country’s beauty with our very own eyes.

Hiking is awesome! My wife likes to travel, so we’d visit places we’ve never been before to hike. Of all the physical activities I recommend, hiking is the one she enjoys the most. I enjoy exercising, and hiking is a great way to switch up my routine.

And, of course, we could bring our kids with us. We could teach them the benefits of spending time in nature and exercising while spending time with each other.

It was a win-win-win.

Gaustadtoppen is the highest mountain in Telemark County. You can see 60,000 km of land at its summit, about ⅙ of Norway. We went there for our very first hike. Although we didn’t reach the top, we enjoyed and got a good workout. My reward was a sore butt for the next two days.

The world-famous Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) is where Tom Cruise and Henry Cavil shot the final fight scene in Mission Impossible: Fallout. Everybody needs motivation to go on a hike, and one of my petty goals was to walk on the same earth as Tom and Henry, so we share something in common, lol!

As incredible as these things sound, hiking taught me one more thing after our last hike.