Mom's here... - A Sunday hike to Høgkampvatnet.

June 21, 2016

"Søndagstur" (Sunday Hike) is a common word you hear in Norway. I wonder

when did we start to use it?

In 1918 was the first time in Norway you could use the word, save time. Instead of being imprisoned at work and only being let out to go home and sleep. You got 8 hours of work, and the rest of the day, you could do what you felt was needed. Like chores at home, hiking trips, cinema, the beach or café.

But I guess we started the term sometime during or after World War II. The Germans had set some restrictions, like no travels outside the country. So we got better at hiking and tent trips, or visiting our families in our spare time.

I think about Sunday hikes as a time to get away from the intensity of electronics. A moment to relax and not think about the time and stress. Spending moments and making memories with family. Having actually face to face talks. A time to get up, breathe in the fresh air and exercise. Because your body will thank you for it. And at the end of the day, you will feel much better and happier.

Even though, I love the nature, I do love my bed too. Getting out of bed early is getting harder and harder the older I get. My mind was arguing if I should get out now or in ten minutes. The longer it takes to get up, the less time we get on the hike. It did seem like my mom was juggling the same issue, but when she finally got up, I decided to drag myself out of bed too.

As I was packing lunch and water for our Sunday hike. I was eeny, meeny, miny, moe, which one of the dogs would be the lucky one joining us on our Sunday hike.

I need to make sure that it is equally changed up, who gets to come on a hike. All parents out there know how siblings can get jealous of each other, if someone gets more then the other one. Trust me, even though my kids are dogs. They become so jealous, they complain all day. Which my neighbors wouldn't like. Especially if they see me taking a hike with one or two in the family, and they don't get to come along. To keep the jealousy at bay, I actually have to bring the dogs in the car and drive away. Even if it is perfectly nice to start the hike straight from my doorstep.

There is a parking space maybe 500 meters from my house. Both hiking trails in summer and skiing tracks in winter start from there and go up in the mountain.

My mom might be an asthmatic but she never lets that stop her from joining me on a hike. And I didn't exactly ease her into the hike either. The hike starts with a steep upward hill. It takes part of my breath away, can't imagine what it does with mom's breath. Normally I'm the one keeping the pace down. But for once, I could be the one waiting, recharging the breathing mechanism.

From birth, Nala and Kovu have been playing with each other non-stop. They are inseparable. I have taken hikes with them before, but not together, it turns out to be quite a challenge. They take every waiting moment to play with each other, or maybe they take the opportunity to rip my shoulder off. Can't really tell!

You don't have to go too far to get a really nice view. As soon as you get over the tree tops, and the steep hill evens out. You have a nice fireplace, with remarkable

handmade wooden benches and one amazing view. We took a short water break so we could take some pictures and actually enjoy the view.

I hadn't thought about it last time I took a hike, but it was actually luxuriant here. The birds were singing and you could see the sheep bells ringing in the distance, making Nala and Kovu curious about where they could be.

We got to a nice stream which we needed to cross. But you felt like staying, because nature was singing to you. Besides it was structured with benches so you could have a lunch break here. It could even be a nice place for young kids to play in the water. Maybe a morning bath, if you felt like sleeping over.

We had been really lucky with the weather so far. With the sun shining high up on the sky, warming up the chilly mountain air. I decided to give the dogs the opportunity to play in the water and drink a bit before we continued. We were about to get a new steep hill before reaching our destination for the day.

Waiting for mom, gave me the opportunity to take some pictures of the view. As we were heading higher up in the mountains, I could see further than I could on lower ground. If you do get to the highest top in Synnfjellet, Spåtind. You can see the mountains of Jotunheimen "Home of the trolls". Or the mountains of Rondane, The oldest national park. It's amazing how far you can see on a clear sunny cloud.

As we finally reached our destination, Høgkampvatnet. We could finally sit down and enjoy our lunch, being entertained by Kovu and Nala playing wrestlers, trying to knock each other to the ground.

Ever since I was born, mom has always been making something out of wool. Mostly it was felting or knitting. It's what I grew up with. I have always liked something that is handmade. It is more soul in the garment, then the one that is made by machines. Even though my mom thought me how to knit and felt, I never had the patience like mom. Lately, mom is into knitting and she is knitting everywhere. She even brought it along on our hike and was at the moment, knitting with a fantastic view. You don't get that home on your sofa.

Since mom had a long drive home and had to get up early for work (3 am) It was time to turn around and head back home.

On the way back I noticed these nice flowers, I just had to pick some on the way home. While mom continued on her way down, I was picking flowers, but after picking one kind. I found another variety that looked beautiful. I guess it took me a lot longer to get down than up the hill. As my hand was filling up with colorful flowers in different shapes and sizes. I asked mom if she could drive the car down to the house, while I'd walk the rest of the way. My crazy young dogs were still full of energy that I decided to take the opportunity to give them a little bit longer hike.

With colorful flowers brightening up the living room it had been a nice Sunday hike. Even though it was reported rain, it didn't stop us from going on the hike. It was good too. It turned out, no rain wanted to fall down from the sky after all.

Maybe I should invite mom for a new Sunday hike with a knitting view?