Eight Boots Abroad

In the summer of 2022, we spent several weeks backpacking in the enchanting Lofoten Islands of Northern Norway. Located north of the Arctic Circle, this magical chain of islands has provided inspiration to the bohemian-types (artists, writers, etc) for many decades due to it’s deep connection with nature. It boasts mind-blowing landscapes, with remote beaches and dramatic peaks emerging from the sea. Lofoten is situated at 68 degrees north latitude along the Norwegian Sea/Arctic Ocean; offering us several *very chilly* ocean swims along the way. Our visit during July and August also treated us to the phenomenon of nearly constant daylight – which proved pretty amusing while living in a tent for weeks with two jet-lagged kiddos.

Three of the 4 of us agree there was one particularly emotionally and physically challenging event during this trip – the remote summit of Hermannsdaltinden (Howie definitely has a different opinion of this event – which is basically all rainbows and unicorns). What was promised to be a 9-hour out-and-back hike/climb to the summit turned into 84 hours of muddy-mud-mud past our ankles, one kiddo vomiting, a midnight summit push, a 24hr rainstorm, tumbles down the slippery mountainside … and the MOST BEAUTIFULLY INSPIRING scenery you could ever imagine.

The breathtaking Hermannsdaltinden summit view (at midnight!) included mountain peaks stretching as far as the eye could see down the spine of the Lofoten peninsula, rising straight out of the arctic ocean! Not surprisingly, we had the hard-earned summit completely to ourselves.

Luckily, this ambitious summit was at the very beginning of the trip. We returned to the trailhead, and found a quaint hostel in the local fishing village of Å and spent a night there drying out all of our gear, hand-washing impressive amounts of mud from our clothing, and treating our kids to some mango smoothies and avacados (the kids only 2 requests – which were fun to try to locate in a town with a population of like 30 people).

The quiet town of Å, filled with small fishermen huts on the water’s edge:

We fell in love with the small villages of Å and Reine and spent the next week exploring the area; taking small water taxis to access remote trailheads.

We eventually moved north through the Lofoten peninsula and hiked Måtind, and the summits of Hesten and Segla on the island of Senja. We also spent several quiet, rainy days in a lovely hostel in the beautiful town of Henningsvær.

We made a video of the adventure for friends and family to enjoy:

And here are some more of our favorite pictures of this extraordinary corner of Norway: