Finnmarksløpet

Just when the world seemed to be in a tumultuous mess dreading that the snow will never come!....Snowfall, and the world rested with silent content :)

In our ambition we took the guests out on the sleds for the first time this season and it was a success! One of my favorite parts of the first snow are the dogs; the night/day before they seem to sense it and you can feel their pent up excitement with the knowledge that winter is coming and you yourself get butterflies of joy.

Time to dust off the sleds!!!!

 Unfortunately the snow fall was followed by rainfall the next day, stripping and hardening the land so we have closed until the weather has figured out what it wants to do. And the gods hear our cries as we woke to snowfall this morning and it is still coming down in large fluffy flakes.

Something else hit me yesterday...I have not seen the sun in over a week I think? If the clouds are absent, in the late morning you can see a hint of what is assumed to be sunlight grazing the peaks for just a few hours. Early darkness was hard to get used to but now no sun is even weirder!

Ishvonel and Nanuk :)

I regret to say that there are no great stories to recount for this post except for the snow and the continual sting that still lingers in my gut -_- ....In order to make this post worth your read, I will talk about the World's Northernmost Sleddog race: Finnmarksløpet.

Finnmarksløpet takes place right here in the north of Norway and is the longest sleddog race in Europe of a total distance of 1,100km (where the Iditarod distances a little over 1,600 km).  The race starts in Alta and runs to Kirkenes which kisses the Russian boarder and then back to Alta.

Race Map 

There are three classes that can be run for the race: Junior 6-dog class, 8-dog class and 14-dog class. All classes start and finish in Alta varying in route and distance. On the map about the junior route is in green, 8-dog in yellow and 14-dog in black.

There can be up to 180 entries for the race. 180 entries!!!! Imagine all the chaos of dogs and people scrambling to get ready for the big start only to rush into the solitude running across Finnmark where man and beast test their skills and mental strength.

The race starts the second Saturday in March and the leading mushing arrives back in Alta within 7 days.

Thomas (the musher I am living with) has run this race multiple times and last night I was told stories of the trials out on the trail. I  honestly do not know if I could be brave enough to run such a long distance race out in the elements hallucinating in the chill of the winter and never getting sleep.

 Thinking of every musher that has crossed that finish line or the finish line in Nome, Alaska I almost cried with content. The pride and fulfillment these mushers must feel after completing the ultimate journey with their dogs is probably a feeling like none other in the world; a special one reserved for those brave enough to test themselves and their team in the last great races on Earth.

I cannot wait for the day that I get to be waiting in Nome to watch Sofia cross that finish line. It will be a glorious day indeed :)

Cheers to you my little Wild one!

Adventures in the Valley

Today marks one month of my journey! As quickly as it has gone it also feels as if I have been on the road for many months now. I struggle with finding the energy to keep up with this blog, not that I don't want to, but I do enjoy sleep :) And I blame my exhaustion on "The Illness"!! I am quite certain that everyone is sick and tired (yes, pun intended) of hearing me complain about being sick, but this blog is about me and my travels so deal with it!

I had a few days of a raging headache that turned into a relapse of stomach pain that I am still trying to work through today. As existential as this might sound, I HOPE that there is some glorious lesson that arises from this bug.

For the few days I was back on my feet I got a healthy dose of dog time in. One day off, we took two teams out just for training, and of course not without any hiccups. My team decided they didn't want to run on the icy road and took me plunging into the ditch which was actually a hillside leading to the river. There are fantastic battle scares on my knees that help remind me of this run. Despite that, on the way home I had to remind myself where I was and what I was doing. Me. I am running dogs in the North of Norway!

Post falling into river event

"The far reaches of Northern Norway", one must think, "I bet there is a ton of snow and it's really cold!"
O be fooled wise one, we are STILL waiting on snow and continually get a pathetic powdering on the ground. Supposedly there is a lot of snow normally at this time of year, but not this year! We still are using carts, dreamily looking at the shed of sleds that maybe one day before summer will get some use!

This post is all about selfishness tonight, so I will be patting myself on the back and saying that I took my first tourist out on a cart. I feel like I have climbed the ladder of dog sledding professionalism and earned myself a gold bone.

My first tourist!

Aside from dogs it has been nice mulling around and settling back into normal life. Two days ago we went for a nice long hike back in the Lyngen Alps. Always feels good to get your blood flowing even if it means putting stress on the pain you already have, and I am one hundred percent sincere.

Looking back down into our valley

Some nights as I am laying in bed reflecting on my day and my trip I get a surge of excitement and fright. Working with this business I have met so many different people from around the world and learned a lot about different cultures and I find myself taking some of these experiences for-granted.I have to remind myself where I am! The fright comes when I daydream about home. I. Am. So. Far. Away. I can't really seem to grasp the reality of the location on the globe I am currently residing at.

The city I am residing outside of is the northern most city on the map: Tromsø

Guys...I am far away from home. I will not deny that there is a thrill of being so far away but to complete the feeling is that hint of fear.

I have been trying to force myself to take it all in, every iota of every day because that is what I am here for! To grow some roots in the country and really get to know this place. The sickness put a damper on that; when I feel crappy all I can do is fantasize about home. Be here now.

On that note, the wind it swirling around some snowflakes outside my window so MAYBE, just maybe there is snow coming our way!

Closing out with another good day at the office

Where the Sun Sets Early and the Land Feels like Fantasy

I would like to dub myself officially back on my feet *knock on wood*! The past few days I've been able to eat and move around and ACTUALLY participate in life as a human being and not a bag of bones. Still on a teeter-totter of feeling good and bad but I'm on the mend.

My Current Home

We have no snow here, which is unusual for this time of year. The other day we were blessed with what the Norwegians call Blind Ice! A thick layer of ice blanketed the roads and even meadows for a solid 2 days. One of those days I took the ATV out with a team of 6 dogs following on of the tourist groups. Never have I ever felt so out of control. The dogs were sliding, I was sliding; it was Bambi on ice. All said and don, e the fresh air and adrenaline rush helped my immune system beat down "The Illness" a few knocks.

Thanking the Ice Gods I didn't crash the ATV

The lack of snow yields a slow turnover of tourists and not everyday is filled with dogs and customer service. On a day I was still bound to the close proximity of a chair or bed I was taken out on one of the quads and shown the extensive trail system right in this valley. Years worth of a mushing playground is right out his front door! While becoming familiar with the trail system was an exciting excursion, I was all "goo goo eyed" over the land. I am aware of the fact that I keep saying this but I FEEL LIKE I AM IN A FANTASY LAND. I can't get over the green ground cover and the undeniably blue water. It would be silly to only attribute these feelings to just the fresh colors; the air feels like there is a dust of magic, whirling around keeping the ancient land young forever. There was no doubt in my soul that we were driving among little villages of faeries and trolls.

I call this one "Back to the Earth" or "Anna's sitting stump" :)

On our day off Anna and I went for a little walk while we had some sunlight to take use of. The waterfall we walked to was not completely frozen yet, just pools of blue meandering among the pale blue and white ice that took its winter hibernation earlier than the rest. If I didn't know how cold that water was I would have gladly jumped in for a swim in its purity.

Waterfall Hike

A part of me is maturing being here, not strictly in the sense that I'm traveling and getting new experiences as a person, but my wonder is maturing. As I was sitting in the echo of the waterfall and staring up at the mountains jetting from the Earth so sharply spoken, I felt as if I was living my own fairy tale. My spirit is light with the realization that there can always be a magical experience or new adventure if one changes perspective and finds the wonder that is in the world.

The sun sets early....

One thing that is REALLY messing with my head though is the short days of sunlight. With the sun setting around 2pm my body is ready to hit the hay at 5. For those that have never experienced darker days of winter I will tell you it's not something your body adjusts to overnight!
Aside from the sickness, my next hurtle to clear is to not pass out on the couch at 4pm.
God nott!

The Gap Filled

I want to apologize for the tardiness of this post and for its possible lack of coherency (I'm not sure how this will go). I mustered up a least 20 minutes worth of energy to throw some pictures online and update this shenanigan as promised!

Where we left off...Ah yes! I was walking! I ended up moving in with a group of wonderful (and life saving) women for the reminder of my stay in Ísafjörður. Through them I was able to experience the local community through a local choir practice, Icelandic tutoring and recommendations on other hikes to take.

"O Waterfall you look sooo Goood"

I took another walking excursion out to Hnífsdalur (about a 40 minute walk from Ísafjörður) where, hiking back into the farm lands, found water falls and made friends with the Three Musketeers (I swear to god every time I turned around to look at these three horses they looked like a little trio of trouble makers)....they were adorable. 

My Favorite Trio. The one in the back was the sassiest

I want to make a joke saying I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone because every time I looked around or stopped to take in the sights I kept thinking I was in Westeros  or no...Middle Earth? The landscape kept tricking me of my whereabouts in the state of the universe or parallel ones. 

The next day I took the bus out to Flateyri (a town in the neighboring fjord) and climbed to a rock garden plateau (keeping my fingers crossed for troll sightings!)

Troll Umbrella

Worth. The. Trip! This fjord was much more expansive than Ísafjörður's and from this plateau you could see multiple surrounding fjords with the clouds dipping down into them. That day I got a sense of what it is like to be so far north as I was able to watch the sun the ENTIRE DAY briefly flirt with the horizon.

Flattering Flateyri

I was invited to go along with one of the girls and some of her friends to a friends sheep farm for the weekend. Cool! I was nearing my stay in Iceland and eager to see more of it. The sheep farm was about and hour drive away and beautiful one at that. Coming up the pass that lead back down into the fjord the farm was in the sky was pink and blue and the little streams cut through the green basin down to the sea. And the huge cliffs on either side had a hint of snow and it was so beautiful I felt like Little Foot entering the Great Valley after a long battle with the sharp tooths (tree stars, look it up!).

The girls went surfing, I met part of the family and then just as we were sitting down to relax and start making dinner I passed out, and yes I mean completely lost consciousness. Now we come to the part of the story that uncovers the mystery of why I have been gone from facebook and other social platforms for so long.

The Weekend Escape Sheep Valley

To save you all the boring details, many hours of pain and puking later my dream team of amazing ladies called the ambulance to come get me. Problem was my entire abdomen hurt so bad there was no way I could be moved and I was very convinced that I was indeed going to die that night. Couple shots of morphine, excruciating bumpy and long ride back to the hospital (ya that was a good time) I was finally stably out of pain and in a comfortable bed. All the horrible things were ruled out and it was diagnosed as a bad GI infection. I spent most of the day in the hospital but was able to walk myself back to the house.

My lovely Ísafjörður family took such good care of me and then I had (I guess I didn't have to) hop on the plane to get to Reykjavik and make the jump onto my next journey to Norway!

The next wave of the sickness hit when I was headed back to Reykjavik but I had friends to help me :)

I honestly cannot tell you how I made it to Norway. I am still in shock of the fact that I made 3 plane rides and 2 drives being as sick as I am. But I am alive and recovering and finally had the energy to put some words in for the public so that is a start!

Goodbye Iceland. Stepping off the Lonely Planet.

The Cat and I are Checking Out

  

"I went Wandering..."

I will never apologize for the amount of Lord of the Rings references I use in my everyday speech. With that disclaimer, due to my limited transportation, I have put on my Hobbit feet and walked. I have explored the surrounding areas of Ísafjörður with approximately 23 miles under my belt in the past two days and the stiffness in back to hold as proof.

Your feet can take you anywhere. One step, two step, hard step, trip, and suddenly you are in a wonderland far from where you started.  I share this in repetition because I had hours to meditate on the wonders of walking while I was *cue drum roll* yes, walking. 

When I was on a cliff side surrounding the fjords, I was in awe of the place I had come to all by the vehicle of my feet. I felt freedom. I believe that many of us have strapped ourselves to the ease of mobility that the car/train/bus/plane provides us with (and I am guilty as charged). We get trapped by the idea of “distance” and lose the freedom to just go and in a domino effect, stifling our other freedoms. 

There was a rush of relief that when I realized why I had been obsessing over this notion that I could walk anywhere (humanly possible of course, I’m not The Savior and cannot walk on water); it was because I had been re-gifted this freedom that I had stashed away and forgot about. 

If I had not gone walking these past two days, I would have missed out on what I came here for: to see Iceland, to experience Iceland. On both days before I left for my daily treks, I was browsing the catalogue of my excuses not to go: “It’s too far to walk to the trail without a car”, “What if I get lost and spend valuable daylight walking back and forth” etc. Before I even bought the plane ticket committing to this entire trip I was checking out books from my Excuse Library of why I shouldn’t go. In every way, I am glad I put all of them back on the shelf.

Engidalur looking back on Ísafjörður

The bulk of the world’s population lives in misery and frustration, clinging to every excuse not to change in ways that could better our situation. I have come to the conclusion that we are the locks on our own freedom and we are also the only key. 

Icelandic Ponies

Putting aside the existential lecture (but continuing with the awesomeness of my walking adventures), all day today Mr. Johnny Cash was singing to me “I went out walking, under and atomic sky…” and the walking and the sky did not cease to please. Accompanying my sky sights I saw more ponies, some sheep, by the book lush farmland, *cough* waterfalls and a view of the surrounding fjords. Breathe it all in! Wooo!

Rainbow over Ísafjörður

For two hours last night I sat on the water and watched the Northern Lights ebb and flow with tide. The light was not intense enough for my camera to capture a notable photograph but, for those that have been asking, here is one shot to whet your appetite. Fear not! I have a feeling there are many more Northern Lights photo opportunities still in store for me!

Norther Lights

Sentence from video: Eldfjallafræðinger töldu áður fyrr að Kerið væri sprengigígur.

Skál to freedom and an impossible language to pronounce! And if you take away anything from this post take this: “Go wandering”.

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