As a kid I was not keen on hiking, at all. Totally the opposite. Won’t say I am super keen on it as an adult either, but if the hike is short and steep, I am in! Meaning a short-lived “pain” is rewarded with impeccable views 😉 With this newfound “hobby”, calling Senja home is perfect! An Arctic island filled with mountain tops to be scaled. So while I was back home visiting family, my childhood friends and I decided to give Segla a go. Rumour has it, it is one of the best hikes on the island – so what’s there to think about. Well, that’s what I thought prior to knowing what the mountain looked like… After seeing what we were about to take on, doubt came creeping in… Going up the 639 masl mountain, turned out to be more of a challenge that we thought. A nice work out though 😀 The climb is steep, with boulders to pass, smaller rocks getting loose, finding myself holding on to small trees, to drag myself upwards. And in the middle of this, one of us realised they were afraid of heights… With the other two not able to hold back a smile – so sorry about that 😀 But to her, and our, delight we made it to the top, in little over an hour. And the reward, stunning views, so worth the ordeal!! We were even above the clouds at one point. But with fog coming in below us, after a short breather, we thought getting back down would be the best idea. Don’t want to be stuck on a mountain or in a forest with nothing but white around you…
The starting point for this hike is the village called Fjordgård. Could be others, but this is the one we used. As public transportation is not the best on Senja, I’d say a car is a must. Driving from Silsand, the gateway to the island, to Fjordgård takes approx. 40 minutes. Happy hiking!
I love to hike and this sounds amazing! Reminds me of a recent hike I did where we had no idea that we’d basically be rock climbing and holding onto branches to propel us up, as you say. It was both exciting and terrifying! Thanks for linking up with #farawayfiles
Yes, you don’t know if you should be happy or scared 😀 But I’d do it again!