Climbing the mountain

If there's one thing I'm not, then it's your A-4 idea of an avid outdoorsman. My father tried his best at teaching us to appreciate fresh air and the hard-won satisfaction following relative exertion of muscular strength. 


He didn't fail entirely. I do love nature and its spectacular variety and beauty, but hiking in the mountains fails abysmally in qualifying for my top ten list of the most popular spare time activities.


But since the grave task of fatherhood weighs constantly on my mind, I am happy sometimes to indulge my wife, and simultaneously see to it that my two daughters and one son do get an opportunity to experience Norways grand scenery. So, this October, during our Autumn holiday, while visiting our mountain cottage, the five of us set out to climb, or, rather, walk to the very summit of Gaustatoppen, a nearby mountain towering almost 5000 feet into the air.


Weather was very favourable that day with a blue, inviting sky above us, and the deep, pervading scents of autumn enveloping this company of five. Obviously, we had a measured stock of food and drink with us in our rucksacks, as we knew that this endeavour would really try the patience of some of the smaller ones. And sure enough, after having covered little over a mile, my son started whimping ever so innocently that his feet we're beginning to hurt. And so we halted, enjoying the first of several dozen stops on our uphill climb.


We never had to emulate the raw, fearless Viking spirit on our slow, laborious progress amid the rocks and boulders that lined our path.  As is the case in most mountain plateaus in Norway, hikers can rely on the ever-present luxury of red-painted rocks that guide them, and guided us, in the right direction. And encouragement came in liberal helpings as we passed by several family groups on the descent, groups that consisted of children much younger than ours. If they had made it to the top, so would we. And after three long hours in the arid and barren stonescape, and following endless confessions of defeat and misery, we dragged our tired feet along, eventually to conquer the last steep incline.


On a clear day, visibility is daunting and stunning up at Mount Gaustatoppen, allowing for free visual access to a sixth of the entire surface known as Norway. We were probably not able to scan all of that on this day of October, but we still reaped the full benefits of this time of bonding, excercise and - yes - relaxation to boot.


It was my fourth time up there, the second with Olaug in tow, but for the children it was a first. But no one suspects it will be our last hike. I'm game for another attempt - if not soon.