Gaustablikk, day 2
| Date | Trip |
| 22.06.26 | Sedalsbrotet |
| 23.06.26 | Gaustatoppen |
| 24.06.26 | Heddersfjell, Toreskyrkja |
| 25.06.26 | Store Åråhovde, Ørnenipa, Skipsfjell |
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 23.06.26 | Gaustatoppen | 1883m | 958m | Tinn, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Tuesday: It’s hard to get motivated for a hike to a mountain towering almost 1900m above sea level, when you’ve had hardly any sleep and have a headache that just don’t seem to let go.
But the main motivation was to get Anne to the top of Gaustatoppen – for the first time. Not that she needed me to get to the top, but maybe she would not have chosen to go if I decided to stay in bed.
So, after breakfast (and a good dose of pain killers), I was ready to go with Anne to the top of Gaustatoppen.
We drove to the Stavsro trailhead and were ready for hiking 10:09am. It was a good decision to start this early.
I didn’t remember much from the trip in 2001. I imagined Troll walked for a little while, then sat down – like he used to. Then he entered the backpack (sticking out on the side) like so many times before.
But Anne was still walking…
Across the road, we had view towards Heddersfjell and Toreskyrkja, which I would be visiting the next day.
I seemed to remember the path switchbacking up to the café and then I remembered the ridge up to the high point. I also remembered big boulders. It would be fun to get up there and see if the route was close to what I thought it would be.
Anne appreciated the gentle start of the route. She kept a good pace and I let her lead the way.
There weren’t many hikers on the mountain this early, and we were gradually closing in on the hikers ahead of us.
It wasn’t sunshine and blue sky like the day before, but at least it wasn’t raining and there wasn’t any fog on the mountain (knock on wood)
Anne found motivation in the markers, telling us how far it was up to the top. I didn’t care. The headache was under some control and I enjoyed just being outdoors.
There was a little snow left. Anne chose to follow the tracks in the snow, I chose to avoid them.
At 1650m, we sat a direct course for the top. Only 200 vertical meters up to the café.
We had agreed that we would visit the high point before visiting the café.
We could see a few hikers ahead of us, but most of the hikers were satisfied with reaching the café – and the platform below the tower.
The ridge was fun. It was easy in the beginning.
There was even a little bit of snow left on the ridge.
Anne wasn’t aware of the long ridge towards the high point, but enjoyed herself a lot.
I could see a father and his son ahead of us, but they turned around. I asked them if they wanted to join us, but the father said, “I’ve been up there before, and it’s not worth it”. I wasn’t sure what he meant by “not worth it”. If he had been there before, then maybe his son wanted to reach the top? Or maybe the son was scared and turned around. I don’t know, but they got my offer.
Another couple – with a dog – and behind us – also turned around. It wasn’t hard to imagine that getting a dog to the top was quite cumbersome.
I enjoyed myself so much, trying to utilize all the balancing skills I had acquired since I began hiking in 1998. Anne was taken a little bit by surprise by the ridge and decided to stick with the safest route. I had to challenge her to take a few chances.
And then we were at the foot of the summit!
A minute later – on the very top!
We had only been up there for a few minutes before fog rolled in over the mountain. Talk about good timing!
We had a good view towards Gaustablikk – our “base camp”.
It took us 2h:05m to reach the top. In 2001, I reached the top in 1,5 hours – carrying a dog! Those were the days…
After a few minutes, we began our descent.
We caught up with the couple with the dog. I told them, “I see you are moving elegant in this rocky terrain, but what happened to the dog?” They told me they were from Austria (Innsbruck), very used to hiking but the dog got afraid.
Understandable. But if it was Anne, me and Karma, we would have taken separate turns for the top, leaving one person with Karma. Not that Karma got afraid in terrain like this. But it can get too cumbersome. But maybe the top wasn’t all that important to them…
When we got to the café, we enjoyed coffee and waffles.
A few minutes later, we began our descent down the mountain.
On our way down, we played “the game” of “making no sounds when moving on rock”. The idea is to hike fast, but don’t step on any loose rock that makes sounds”. It’s a brilliant “game”, which makes you a better hiker, if you learn from your “mistakes”.
Then it started to rain a little. Not much though. And it didn’t last long.
My headache was now like it was in the morning. Bad. Anne had some business down in Rjukan, but she drove me to the hotel so that I could get some rest. When she got back, I felt a little bit better and was able to attend dinner. I didn’t have much of an appetite and went for “Spicy Burger”, just like the day before.
The 2026 summer vacation was now officially on, and we got a good start with Gaustatoppen. In the evening, we planned the hiking activities for the next 3 days – from Gaustablikk – and then reserved a room at Iungsdalshytta (Hardangervidda) for the next 4 days after that. And after that – maybe a trip abroad…
Trip statistics: 10,3km, 760 vertical meters, 4h:08m
