Week 269 – Lilletop (instead of Trolltunga)

Upon more research and texting with local guides I found, the 10-12 hour hike for Trolltunga is in summer when a road is open to the top and most of the steep part of the hike is avoided. In May, that road is closed so the hike time is closer to 14-16 hours – the guide said “after you get to the plateau, you then put on your rented snowshoes (that you carried up the mountain) for a 5 mile each way hike to the view point ” – we read a review that the prior day was a 45 minute wait to get the “picture” on the Troll’s tongue. We all were quickly losing interest. We already had rented the AirBNB near the starting point for Trolltunga in Tyssedal (near Odda) so we stayed anyway with the goal of visiting the national hydroelectric energy museum where you could get a decent view of the fjord. But the museum didn’t open until late so were conflicted until we checked into our AirBNB where the locals confirmed that Trolltunga was overrated and we could have a better view point by driving to a spot near to the top and then hiking over to the hydro museum trail (which was open to the public at this spot in the hike) and a 2 hour round trip hike to Lilletop and get a better view. So, remember the effort to Trolltunga is all about being in the picture – not the experience and view once there.

Nice dinner in Odda – evening of 17th of May and town pretty much asleep at 9pm. We did meet a local physics teacher who Jake bonded with over kababs. Unbelievable sunset – purple sky at 10:30pm was like a painting.