HIKING HUT TO HUT IN NORWAY: JOTENHEIMEN MTS TO AURLANDSDAL FJORD July 7 - July 17, 2008 $2100 Mary Hong Loe, Trip Leader You’ve seen pictures of Norway’s stunning peaks, waterfalls and fjords. Now imagine yourself in that scene, hiking through what many think are the two most spectacular hiking areas in Norway: the high alpine trails of the Jotenheimen Mts. “Home of the Giants” above glacier-fed Lake Gjende, and Norway’s most beautiful mountain valley trek down to famous Flåm on its deep, narrow fjord, as dramatic as those in New Zealand. The last part of the hike traverses Norway’s medieval trade route, east to west, an area that sent many immigrants to the U.S. in the 19th c. This guided hike takes advantage of what some call Europe’s best mountain hut and lodge system, which means we’ll enjoy home-made meals, comfortable lounge areas, and showers. Mountain bunk rooms are usually for 4. An Oslo hotel and a pension in Flåm on the fjord provide other lodging. We’ll use boats and minivans to make some trail connections. Most of the sections of this hike were very successful with my previous ADK groups, so I have selected this Jotenheimen Mts to Aurlandsdal Fjord trek as the best hike to introduce ADKers to what Norway offers. If you’ve already been to Norway but not seen or hiked these areas, you’re in for a treat! Level of Difficulty & Climate: This is a light to moderate backpacking trip—depending on your experience— that requires hikers to carry 18-22 lb. packs. You should be used to carrying a good-sized day pack on several sequential days of hiking, if you haven’t done actual backpacking in recent years. You need to be in very good shape, with good knees for ascents and descents of up to 2500 ft., but the most important thing is how well you exercise on a very regular basis, not how much backpacking you did last year. This is not an aggressive, strenuous mountain hike, but hiking with a pack of modest size for 7 days in a row requires everyone to be prepared. We have a light day near the end of the hike (4 hrs.), and on the first and second days of hiking, individuals could opt to take a lovely boat ride instead. I anticipate that 1-2 may want to do this on the second day, if they don’t like the rather dramatic, high section of edge trail that day. Everyone can lighten their packs those first two days and send the bulk of their packed belongings by boat.   Parts of the trails are steep & strenuous, but no one day is very arduous. No peak climbs are involved, so altitude is not a problem. Like trails in the Adirondacks, sections of trails can be steep and rocky--sometimes with scree-- requiring careful foot work. The climate in early July is usually very nice for hiking, with day temperatures between 50 – 70, and fairly dry weather. We should expect clouds and some rain, but the rain rarely lasts long. I’ve had excellent weather for several trips now, so I may be a bit spoiled. Daily Itinerary See http://www.turistforeningen.no/english/ for additional views and information provided on the DNT website. Price Includes: Lodging for all 10 nights: 2 nights in the Hotel Spectrum in Oslo, 7 nights in DNT and private mountain lodges in the Jotenheimen National Park, and along the Aurlandsdal hiking trail, and 1 night in a pension in the fjord village of Flåm. All transportation during trip from our start and end in Oslo.  This trip involves more bus, train, boat and minivan travel than my previous trips. We’ll take the bus from Oslo to Gjendesheim and then boat to DNT’s Gjendebu Hut at the far end of the lake. On day 5 we use a boat to a trail head. On day 7 we use a minivan to get from the Jotenheimen mountain region to our starting point on the Aurlandsdalen valley trail. On day 10 we’ll take a famous scenic fjord boat excursion, use minibus transport to the isolated village of Undredal, and then the famous Flåm train to link up with the train back to Oslo. Membership in the Norwegian organization like our Sierra Club, the DNT  ( Den Norsk Turistforening) which provides our guide, handles special travel arrangements and runs most of the mountain lodges we’ll use. All breakfasts in Norway, plus all other meals once our hike starts except the two days when we’re on a bus or train to and from Oslo. The breakfasts are wonderful smorgasbaard spreads, from which we also make lunch packs. Not Included in the Price: Air travel to Oslo, and cost of  bus or train to/from the Oslo airport into Oslo. Dinner your first night in Oslo, when we’ll first meet each other and our guide, and any meals obtained when we are on the bus or train leaving and returning to Oslo. Items bought at the mountain huts, such as alcoholic beverages, suntan lotion, etc. Adirondack Mountain Club membership For more information and to register contact Mary Hong Loe, 278 W. Lake Rd., Oswego, NY  13126, 315-342-3179,  loem@oswego.edu Please note:  Prices and trip arrangements are subject to change due to circumstances beyond ADK's control. All registration fees are non-refundable. Details including cancellation policy will be supplied to all those requesting trip information. MEMBERSHIP IN THE ADIRONDACK MOUNTAIN CLUB IS REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION  MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION