Tip: when you encounter trail gossip, don’t be discouraged. Listen to what other hikers tell you, but bear in mind that they might talk out of their fears, restrictions, and limits. Their experience might be completely different from yours.

Today, I’ve been one month on the trail. Being alone most of the time, I've learned a lot about myself, what my triggers are for instance. If I'm tripping, falling, losing the trail, or making any kind of mistake, I get angry. And underneath that anger, lies fear. Fear of getting lost, of falling and breaking something.

A steep climb up the mountain led me to a breathtaking view. After almost 4 hours, I was at Treriksrøysa, where the three nations of Finland, Sweden, and Norway meet.

I had to fight my way through branches and bushes, climb rocks, cross waterfalls and avoid fallen trees. The treacherous path led me to a flooded area and what happened next, is almost too painful for me to write about.

Wikipedia says: ‘Nordkalottruta is a marked hiking trail in the Arctic region of the Nordic countries. It has a total length of 800 km and lies along the border of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It begins at Kautokeino and of the 800 km, 380 km of the trail lies in Norway, 350 km in Sweden, and 70 km in Finland. The trail crosses international borders 15 times and ends in the south in Sulitjelma’

It was a warm and humid day, so I was fighting a losing battle against the mosquito army. Just putting up the tent was enough for them to bite me 53 times. I wanted to wear my t-shirt, but the exposed skin drove the little bloodsuckers mad. SKIN! BLOOD! COME ON GUYS, ATTACK!!!

I had my first chocolate today.
It
Was
Amazing!

What a beautiful day! I took a shortcut over the mountains instead of following the E69. It felt so good leaving the road, even though I felt a little insecure because of all the snow. My map skills were tested, and I did brilliantly!

It felt good to finally start walking, it all became very real what I'm about to do. And even though I was quite motivated, there was also this voice in my head saying "What the hell are you doing?"

In the year 1966, a Norwegian badass named Bjørn Amsrud decided to hike all the way through Norway, a trip he referred to as a ‘normal hike - just a little longer than usual’. After him, a lot of sporty souls have followed in his footsteps, and now it’s my turn.