Yesterday I took a hike to the Steindalsbreen together with my friend C. and her husky. I’ve been there last year at almost the same time of the year. The previous days of this year however have been colder. The mountains are coated with snow and the ground is covered with frost.
What I really love about this hike is the different landscapes you cross. First we follow the rising forest path.
We can see the river Gievdanjohka below. After a while the path leads back down until it meets the river.
We pass the cabin Steindalshytta, follow the path a bit further and the valley Gievdanvággi opens up to a broad U-shaped valley. Reindeer are grazing on one of the slopes. While we are taking a short break the sun vanishes behind a mountain. In an instant it gets colder and I put on a woollen cap and gloves.
After the break we continue the path. We ascend a stony slope and leave the birch trees behind. A quarter ago the landscape looked more like “The hills are alive ♩|♩🎵𝅗𝅥 …”, now it appears grey and harsh.
And then we get a great view on the glacier and the glacial lake in front. We continue until we reach the lake’s shore.
The lake is frozen. In the icy pattern on the surface the snowy mountains and small cumulus clouds are reflected.
On the northern side of the valley it is possible to pass the lake until we reach the glacier. It looks quite different then last year.
This year it is easier to walk around for taking photos, because the soft sand you can sink in is frozen. And creates its own visual world.
We take photos from the glacier and the surrounding landscape. I took the following two images from almost the same place. It is just two different directions. (For the photographers: the white balance it the same on the following two images.)
After a while we decide to return to the car. It will be eight more kilometres to go. The edge of the stony slope provides a view on the levels of the landscape. In the bottom the branching river in the shadow. Above the wooded hills, now in autumnal colours. In the background a chain of snow covered mountains. They are already on the other side of the fjord Storfjorden. At half past five we are at C.’s car.
I feel privileged that I may live in Tromsø and have such a gorgeous landscape within reach for a day trip like this.
Takk for turen C., thanks for the tour!
Appendix I
In the evening the sky was still clear. At a quarter to ten I went on the balcony of my rented apartment to check for polar lights. I was not disappointed and got my first aurora of the season. I just took a photo from the balcony.
Appendix II
Today I compared the tracks from last year’s and this year’s hikes to the glacier. The satellite imagery on the screenshots is old. I do not walk on glaciers without guide.
On both hikes I approached the glacier until I could touch it. The glacier is in the west (or left). You can clearly see that I came further west this year which means, that the glacier has shrunk within the last 12 month. Where will the glacier calve next year? In five years? In ten? When will it be gone? Depressing thoughts after a wonderful tour.
