My usual path that I use for short day hikes has changed a bit. Usually, I’d start out by heading to the trailhead, which is about 10 minutes in walking distance from my front door, then onto a forest road which has a not too steep an incline and then down a section of a mountain trail which drops me about 300 meters in altitude. Just shy of reaching the town and then I head back home along a road that goes right by the house.
That was what I used to do. It’d take me about two hours at a leisurely pace. Now, instead of going along the road that goes by the house I turn around and go back up the mountain path and follow the same route back. It adds about an hour and a few more drops of sweat.
Three hours is just about the right amount of time, it allows me to do it before heading to work and on days that I might not want to do a longer hike for one reason or another.
The goal is to do this hike 3 (or more) days a week or 2 days + a long one. It will help me get fitter, lose some weight which I then can add to my pack when going on multi-day hikes.
My only complaint currently, well not my only one but rather the one that annoys me the most, is that there is not lots of snow yet. We did have a meter or thereabouts of snow when it first arrived, but it has since rained away and not come back. The temperature is fluctuating around freezing¹, in short, I am saying that it is not cold enough yet. I NEED IT TO BE COLDER… which leads to snow and excellent winter adventures and also justifying me buy a pair of snowshoes. I am a weird and lousy Norwegian, I don’t like skiing… snowshoeing, however, suits me fine.
But for now, I will happily use my new routine to get ready for whenever the snow arrives. It is not so bad, not with the views I get even on a short hike…
¹There is snow at higher altitudes but it is slightly wet and will soak through most clothing. -10C and cooler are best for winter.
sindre-almost 