Today is day one of the pilgrimage

Today is day one of the pilgrimage. It’s a 3 day walking journey through the rolling hills of Dovrefjell National Park. And then the final day we end up in Trondheim, a major Norwegian city. I packed bread this morning and then we went on the bus.

The drive was so beautiful. There was a massive rock wall called Trollveggen with tall sharp peaks that we took a break at. There was also a turquoise river along the road that had the greenest water I have ever seen. I could also see so many trees that were turning into fall colors. The brightest yellows, reds, and oranges.

The pilgrimage began in a church where someone prayed and we sang songs. We were horribly off tune since no one knew the songs that well but we were just laughing it off.

It was very cold, between the clouds and the rain all of us were freezing! As I started the hike I felt better but when we stopped for a break I got freezing again. We had a 30 minute silent reflection about what we are grateful for (had a paper with questions on it) which was peaceful.

It was cool to walk along the line where trees could no longer grow. Above us was barren hills and below was a forest bursting with warm colors. I’ve never seen that before.

When we got near to the camp people started to play music on their speakers, Norwegian and upbeat songs and after a few hours we set up lavus (tents).

I decided not to use my sleeping mat since it’s such a nuisance to blow up and pack (took literally 15 mins to cram it back in after I changed my mind to put it away). It didn’t help that my fingers were completely numb either 😟. So hopefully the ground won’t be too cold… or wet.

We cooked salmon and rice for dinner. The rice took FOREVER to boil but when it did it was perfect. I don’t know if the salmon and rice tasted delicious because it was genuinely good or if I was just absolutely starving (probably both). After dinner I was so cold that I went into a little cabin kitchen (I think 30+ people also had the same idea 😂) just so I didn’t have to be outside.

Fingers crossed for keeping warm tonight and let’s pray for no rain on the trip 🤞.