Living like Cavemen in Leikanger

It is July 2016.

THM has reunited in Bergen on a Friday afternoon. Meyer is definitely ready to start the roadtrip to Leikanger… just after moving out of his current apartment. Which needed a full wash down. And the furniture given away on Finn. And all his stuff carried through the city center of Bergen.

Easy. Happy I arrived early.

…but I am getting ahead of myself here. You don’t visit Bergen without climbing up Fløyen.

Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #01
Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #02

And finally, we hit the road! First pitstop: gorgeous clouds.

Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #03
Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #04
Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #05
Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #06

Huke’s legendary cabin can be found not far from Leikanger. It sits on top of a firm foundation made of rocks. This ensures airflow, making the cabin cold – and the oven with its broken tube ensures the smoke stays inside, suffocating any living soul. Absolutely perfect! (I am not just mad because I awkwardly fell off a chair and hit my head badly.)

Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #07

What a gloooooorious sight to behold! 🙌

I figured a heading was needed.

Meyer had brought his drone for the occasion, and we used it mostly to spy on some sheep in the far distance. Very useful. As night settled in, a fog rolled up the mountain side and tucked us all in for the night. Readers of this blog probably already know I am quite the fan of fog when it comes to photography. This time was no different. #foglove #fogweek #neverforget

Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #11

I simply love the overly saturated look you get from a soaking-wet environment. Full screen!

Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #12
Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #13
Sogndal // Hukes hytte! #14

That was it, my first throwback Thursday. Not that my regular posts are so very “up to date” really.

Made me think… eeehhh… how blissfully ignorant we all were back in the days.

Bathing in the Great Wilderness

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0001

University was over, early summer upon us, and a road trip north seemed mighty intriguing. What better time to… freeze for an entire week in the beautiful Upper Peninsula?

To be fair, the trip was not my idea but came from my new homies Sverre and Martin whom I met at Michigan State University (MSU).

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0000
Mackinac Bridge as seen from UP

The first part of the trip went to Tahquamenon Falls, past Mackinaw City and over Mackinac Bridge that separates Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0002a

We set up camp and hiked upstream to find the legendary, yet unpronounceable falls:

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0002b
Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0002c

From here, the road trip went onwards to Munising and Pictured Rocks situated next to Lake Superior. Simply stunning with its dark pastel tone palette, mirrored in the crisp cold freshwater.

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0003
Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0004

We walked barefoot East along the waterside from Mosquito Beach, after crossing Mosquito River… cold… and slippery. The caves at the end were well worth it!

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0005
Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0006

The rock here is quite special: it resembles the butter dough that goes into a croissant – tons of razor-thin layers – except the butter is petrified sand that crumbles easily if applying medium pressure. Here are three images at various distances:

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0007
Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0008
Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0009

After a couple of days of camping, and a moment of unknown influence where I decided to check out how cold the waters of Lake Superior really were (with my entire body) we got back on the road. Yes, images exist. No, they will never reach this blog.

Next stop: Marquette, the westernmost city we got to visit. Due to its location next to Lake Superior, the fog can set in very quickly. We heard stories of people disappearing… so we decided to stay on land – or molo (breakwater), while enjoying the thick mist. Here at Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light looking towards Lsi Dock:

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0010
Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0011

We found back to land – now floating in the mist as a conjured mirage

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0012
Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0013

Some days later, at Kitch-iti-kipi:

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0014

My memory is sadly failing me, even with the help of Google Maps. Safe to say we camped by a lake… (it might have been Big Knob State Forest Campground ?!)

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0015
Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0016

Upper Peninsula has a bad reputation for its nasty black flies. Luckily for us, the cold weather had delayed the “hatching season” to accommodate our travel plans. However, everything didn’t go as planned; on the last day they hatched. My freaking God if they hatched. We had to run away from an old farm after waking up a dark-looking cloud, taken straight out of LOST.

Anyway, let me leave you with a peaceful and quiet moment of Lake Michigan.

Upper Peninsula, 2016 #0017