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FOOTSTEPS OF GIANTS: NORWAY

Adventure Expedition

Backpack Jotunheimen National Park

Explore Sognefjord

Mountain Bike The Rallarvegen

Sea Kayak Geiranger Fjord

Whitewater Raft Stranda River

With nearly 19 hours of daylight in the summer months, Norway is the perfect place to bike, trek, raft and sleep under the bright skies. But we don't just visit Norway, we cross it. That's right, we pedal, paddle and hike our way past unspoiled fjords, rugged coastlines and stunning mountain vistas from one coast to the other.

In 24 days, we cover some 150 miles, traveling across Norway. From Geiranger Fjord, we head north through the "Home of the Giants" to conquer high mountain peaks and cool mountain streams. Next, we cross Sognefjord, taking on the rapids on the Stranda River before riding the undulating course of one of the most famous bike trails in Norway.

We meet in Newark and travel as a group to Oslo, the capital city of Norway. After a day of orientation, it's, "All aboard!" as we travel north by train to Gudbrandsdalen, past Lillehammer (the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics), and finally, down into Alesund.
We spend six days sea kayaking Geiranger Fjord, paddling 8 to 12 nautical miles per day. The bright green fjord winds through rock walls which soar 5,000 feet. The "Seven Sisters" and other cascading waterfalls dwarf us. Ready to rest our arms, we abandon the kayaks and travel inland to Jotunheimen ("Home of the Giants") National Park. Quite possibly the most spectacular national park in the world, Jotunheimen gets its name from Norse mythology which holds that giants, the original inhabitants of the earth, once ruled this mountain range. Awed by the sheer scale of this incredible park, we are convinced that if there ever was a place where giants lived, this would be it! We spend six days in the park, hiking five to ten miles each day, up and down the myriad snow covered peaks, and along meandering valleys of waterfall; with map and compass as our primary navigation tools, the technical challenge is as great as the physical. At night, we camp amidst the park's 60 glaciers.

For the next leg of our journey, we catch a ferry across the Sognefjord to Gudvangen, making our way to Voss. There we put in our rafts and head towards the Class III-IV rapids on the Stranda River, known for its awesome drop-pool profile. Teamwork is key to negotiating whitewater; for five miles, we work in unison, soaked from head to foot, screaming all the way. At the end of the day, we dry out, trade our paddles for mountain bikes and journey towards the "Rallarvegen," the Railway Constructor's Road. Used as a supply road nearly 100 years ago, the Rallarvegen offers one of the best bike rides in all Norway. The route cuts across open mountains, passing by the Hardamgerjokulen Glacier. With dramatic views around every bend, we wind our way through meadows and forests, coasting down the descents and powering up the inclines along this 80-kilometer road, putting our concentration and stamina to the test.

After retiring our bikes, it's back on the train to Oslo for a giant-sized banquet in celebration of our coast-to-coast journey traversing the footsteps of giants, an incredible feat! After all, how many people do you know who can say they navigated on foot, raft, bike, train and kayak across an entire country?