I could have died today. Or, at least that’s how it felt, several times, while climbing to the top of Reinebringen.
Reinebringen is a 448 meters high peak, rising basically from sealevel, straight up. The trail is steep, according to the internet with a 40-70 percent incline.
I don’t generally have a problem with heights, but I once had this panicked reaction when reaching the ridge of a mountain in the Olympic National Park in Washington, and I was afraid I might get the same thing here. I didn’t, but still. The view was incredible, like, among the most amazing things I’ve seen, but I could never totally let go of the awareness of how extremely steep the climb down would be.
I can just say, I was lucky I had Juan with me. I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t have him there to ground me and remind me to marvel at the massiveness of the view.
(Let me just say, I now understand why the ‘landscape designer’ in one of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books got a prize for designing the Norwegian fjords. The Norwegian coast really is the geomorphologists wet dream.)
Reinebringen, as seen from Reine.
After the climb, we went to have ice cream in Reine. I can’t believe the luck we’ve had with the weather here, sun and temperatures that encourage ice cream eating. While I hear it’s raining and cold in Stockholm.
Today, Juan and I walked 10 kilometers to Reine, climbed the mountain, then I left Juan at the ferry (he’s going back to Stockholm) and walked all the way back to Å again. I’m exhausted. Like, I might not be able to walk tomorrow.
I was going to go sit out on the pier tonight, but I couldn’t get out of the room after eating dinner. So I’m just sitting here, listening to the seagulls having their evening gossip. This is the good kind of exhausted. I should climb mountains more often.
The view from my hostel room window.
Katja Malmborg 