Eagles and Lakes

Section 7 & 8 of the Lofoten Long Crossing

Napp - Leknes - Some dirt road

Audiobook of the day: “Endurance” by Alfred Lansing

Pocast of the day “Kaulitz & Kaulitz”

I miss: A nice fancy fizzy drink

The journey continues. I got up at 6 a.m. to catch the 7:30 bus to Leknes. As I walked past the harbor, I glanced to the left and stopped in my tracks. There it was; the seaweed shop I had applied to years ago when they were looking for a social media manager. The job offered no pay, just room and food. At the time, I had a moment of panic, feeling like I needed a big change in my life and somehow the job had sounded appealing to me. That’s why I applied. Needless to say, they sent me a rejection letter, and maybe that was for the best. Standing there, I couldn’t help but wonder how my life might have unfolded. Would I still be here, harvesting kelp? Probably not, given that I usually tire of things after three months. But Napp was charming, and soon enough, my bus arrived.

In Leknes, I stocked up on food and continued northward. I hadn’t done much research on this section, so I was pleasantly surprised by what came after. Lake after lake after lake. It felt like Finland, but at a higher altitude. It was surreal; each bend revealed another lake, more beautiful than the last. The most stunning was ‘Kringbotnvatnet’, with its clear blue water. I even spotted an eagle, which was pretty crazy!

The day ended with a steep climb up to ‘Dalstuva’. I was moving at glacial speed, but every step was worth it. The view was breathtaking, and I caught my first glimpse of Henningsvær, where my family was renting a cabin. After a steep descent over a ridge, I jumped into a lake and felt completely refreshed. I set up camp and gathered six large rocks to fortify my tent, just in case it got windy that night. While making noodles and snacking on berries, I finally encountered other ultralighter; the first and only ones I’d seen on this trip. They were heading in the opposite direction. We had a brief chat before they started making their way up the ridge.

The night was calm. No sounds. I slept like a baby.

The next morning, after a short hike down to a dirt road, it didn’t take long for a tour guide from Torino to offer me a lift to the next island and the next section. If I had known what was coming, I’m not sure I would have gone through with it…