Preikestolen - best hiking weekend ever!

So late Thursday night, I get a call from Michael. He says that a bunch of folks from work are going to Pulpit Rock - leaving from work the next day. Do I want to go? Yeah! How lucky am I to have friends who would ask me to have such an adventure with them? I had to go down to the storage closet to try to find my sleeping bag, but I was IN. A couple of hours later, I'm calling Michael back. "Do you have an extra sleeping bag? I can't find mine, and I've looked EVERYWHERE!" No, he didn't think so. A little googling and remembering my Girl Scout training, and I had this huge bedroll constructed. At least I found my camping mattresses and pillows, and pulled a box of home-made Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies out of the freezer to share. The good news is that there was a spare sleeping bag after all, so that monster bedroll is still sitting in my office.

We drove 6 hours and set up the 7-person tent, in the dark, at 11 pm. The early start we were planning on Saturday morning somehow slipped on by us. Good time at breakfast, here.

Michael cooking bacon, and then clockwise, Mariah, Bjørn, Lene, Chloe, and Yann Ni..

Campsites here are big open spaces.

Let's just say that backing up was not recommended!

At the start! It's about 11 am. Bjørn, Lene, Michael, me, Chloe, Yann Ni, and Mariah. The sign tells us that it will be about a 2 hour hike up that contour.

Here we go. 

One of our Norwegians, Bjørn, mentioned how easy the hike was. Several times! It was hard to hear him over my huffing and puffing. He asked, "Aren't you involved in the company hiking club?" I said, "I'm the leader. But I never said I led from the front."

This lake was about 1/3 of the way up.

Thank you, friends for stopping and letting me catch up and catch my breath after each tough stretch.

Add a rock, and you will come back here.

Yann Ni, Mariah and Lene almost at the goal!

I'm flying over Lysefjord

There's the goal!

No fences or rails, and yet no accidental deaths ever.

Getting close enough to put my feet over the edge was really scary!!!

This is a Where's Waldo puzzle. I'm there, bareheaded, with my green shirt with 3 blue-shirted friends. Hint - NOT near the edge.

V for Victory.

Getting back down took longer than going up. We missed a turn somewhere, but it was a good accident because our wrong trail led us to a bathroom. Once we got back to the cars, around 6 pm, we decided that another night of camping was in order. We figured to camp after the 2nd ferry on the way home. With many smart phones from different carriers, we found a campsite a couple hours north of Stavanger, Grindefjord camping, who said they would be open until 10 or 10:30. We got there about 9:30, and set up the tent very much more efficiently. A) it was still light, and B) we are now experienced. The site was right on the shore of a lake with trees and a picnic table. We got showers or swims, and finished off the night with hot chocolate and Bailey's. Yum...

The day was totally awesome! Unfortunately, the night brought rain. And every one of us got rain in our faces. We each woke up a few times and tried to duck it, but no one got up until after 8 in the morning. Nothing like 7 hours of hiking and some Bailey's! 

The campground had a kitchen, and there was a gas station with more bacon, bread and milk 5 minutes away, so that was breakfast. There was a nice family sharing the kitchen. He was American, she was Russian, and three boys. They had harvested mussels from the lake the day before, and as with most Americans, were surprised that the groceries and cafes are all closed on Sundays. So they ate the mussels and we gave them our 4 eggs that we didn't eat. Michael has the biggest appetite of anyone I know, and could not wait for the last ferry ride - to buy an omelette!

A great trip!

Come on out and help me explore Norway, friends.