Gaustatoppen

Hi!

I'm going to catch up with blogging about another few days.

By the way, my plant identification test this morning went well! I have a few pictures of what it looked like studying for it in the chem lab at school on Sunday night.

OK, now we'll go back in time to...

Sunday Sept. 12

I went on a hike up Gaustatoppen, the highest mountain in Telemark (1800m). It's very, ummm, rocky! Apparently you can see 1/6 of Norway from the top, but it was cloudy on this day. (We actually didn't go all the way to the summit because the trail was in slippery condition and the view would be the same- white.) But the view on the way up, before the cloud, was great. It was also a great feeling, when going back down, to get out of the rain and into the sunshine below it!

Near the top of the mountain was a cabin serving waffles and hot drinks, and the entrance to an elevator-thing that comes up through a tunnel in the mountainside. In the winter it's popular to take the elevator up and ski down!

There were lots of people hiking there today, including lots of children, and dogs of all sizes! I think it took about 2.5 hours to go up, because you can drive to the trailhead at more thn 1000m. So even though it's a very high mountain for this area, it doesn't feel like it with a relatively short hike and waffles near the summit!

Friends with whom I was hiking.

Norwegian hikers with a tiny dog. ("We're going as far as he can make it!")

...And a large dog! (Or a character from a Dr. Seuss book?)

Going up into the cloud.

Terri and Kirsten.

The cabin near the top.

Afterwards we quickly checked out the town of Rjukan (which I have mentioned before from on the Alpine Ecology field trip) because it's cool and right near Gaustatoppen.

View of Gaustatoppen from Rjukan, the summit is finally getting out of the clouds!

The hydro power plant / museum.

Monday Sept. 13

I had my first Ecotourism class on this day, so now I have a better idea of what ecotourism actually is. (The program that I'm taking here is Ecotourism and Sustainability, so that's helpful...).

Ecotourism is a constantly evolving idea with 85 definitions. (Kind of like trying to define sustainability). But to summarize, it is an alternative to conventional (mass) tourism with aspects of nature, conservation, culture, education, and/or local benefits.

I promise to update about Sept. 14 and 15 tomorrow.

Good night!