Let's first be clear about one thing: Besseggen certainly rewards the visitor. Spectacular scenary, challenging climbing and a feeling of being so far in the wilderness that you leave the cell phone at home even though it works up there.
The trip starts on Gjende. The lake situated beneath Besseggen. A wonderful place this day. No wind, no rain. the sun is rising behind the misty clouds. THe boat takes no more than 20-25 minutes to get to Memerubu. The old boats used to take 1,5 hours i am told. Needless to say, 20 minutes is preferred. After all it is walking we have come to do.
The first rise gives a hint of what is to be expected. It doesn't look too challenging but after 2 months of more or less lying down after my Motocross crash, my heart is doing its breakdance routine in my chest after 5 minutes. And this routine would continue for yet another couple of hours.
Besseggen is steep! And not for the faint hearted or of lesser condition than myself. Up, up and ooopps, here we need to climb, and there we need to walk on a ridge barely 2 meters wide with a 3-400m drop on each side... and up i continues. We rest at Bessvatn which is fantastic in its splendor. It lies about 300 meters above Gjende, and the only thing separating the two is a mountain ridge. So on the left side you have the water at your feet, and on your right side you have the water 300 meters below.
All the way up on top of Besseggen and we take a break at the "varde" (no idea what it is in English but a huge pile of rocks built up over time by people passing. Sort of a guide saying "walk here") on the top. A lady resting there has a Nokia cell phone with everything in it, including a step counter and altitude meter (Apparently it can even make phone-calls) and the meter shows 1880 meters. Probably wrong and more likely 1800. But still... 900 altitude meters rise from the lake.
And then hell starts. After the break my right knee refuse to cooperate. It simply hurts like hell and do no approve to me bending it. Which can be a challenge when you walk... And we are about to start our descend. Downhill for at least an hour. Pain is nail-biting and since i cannot bend the knee i limp on my left foot always placing the left foot higher than where i am about to place my right foot after moving it. By doing this i bend the knee as little as possible. Still., 100 meters and then a break is needed. All thos people we passed on the way is now passing us. The talkative bunch of women we had at least an hour behind us, are passing us just before we get down to the car. Enoying would be a careful word to use.
After using more or less only my left leg for about 2 hours, it also start considering a strike as an option. Luckily it determines that its working conditions are not so bad and leave it at a small and silent protest until we reach bottom.
Lying down has never felt so good :-) After a rest in bed, dinner is served, 3 courses with nothing to write home about, but oh so nice that we did not have to deal with food ourselves.
Its early to bed and i guess we both black out at 22.30 or so. I have never slept so hard.
The morning reveals that the knee is really not in good shape at all. I had expected the pain to be gone completely, but its not. So the result is no more trekking, but rather liming around the hotel for a while, and then we decide to get in the car, drive home slow, stop for many breaks and also visit Hedalen stavkirke.
After apple pie in Beitostölen, burger and chicken next to Tyrifjorden and a visit at the amazing church in Hedalen we come home at around 4pm.
After all a fantastic weekend. Will i do i again? No. But only because there are so many more places to visit and hikes to take that one place can warrants no more than one visit.
Jotunheimen will see us plenty more :-)
