Stavanger Roadtrip: Preikestolen and Kjeragbolten

Travel

It’s a thing I like. Turns out, that’s a little more difficult that summer than normal. That is, until you take into account the prison I’ve chosen for my foreseeable future. You see, Norway is f***ing beautiful.
Not only that, but I’m lucky enough to have a girlfriend that shares in my sense of adventure, and we’ve decided to spend the summer exploring what we can of Norway. This first excursion of which, takes us to Stavanger.

Day 1: Train fra Oslo til Stavanger

Our journey started in Oslo with an 8 hour train, 650nok for a roundtrip ticket. The views and snacks made the long journey pass fairly quickly. I personally love long train rides, and Norway has the most scenic. I know that’s not a rare sentiment, but it was honestly something I’d been excited about since we had planned it all out.
Originally our goal was to camp somewhere outside the city, but with an arrival somewhere around 20:00 my gf thought it best to grab an airbnb for the night. For 300nok I was easily convinced.
Speaking of camping. One of the many benefits of residing in Norway is something known as the right to roam. In short, this law allows for the respectful access to land in regard to exploring and camping. Don’t litter, start fires, or otherwise be a nuisance, and you’re free to experience nature to its fullest extent.

Day 2: Snow og Kjeragbolten

To get the most out of our short time in Rogaland, we decided to rent a car. The price was incredibly reasonable given the freedom the car would afford us. Maybe due to a dip in tourism and our early start to the season, 1300nok was the price levied on us for 2 days, along with a free upgrade to an automatic.
After a night of a bit too much drinking and a rushed morning to pick up our rental, we were off to our first stop…
But only after we picked up, what I was told was a Norwegian road trip necessity, bolle from a local gas station.

Kjeragbolten!

Not to be taken lightly, this seasonal trail opens in June. Featuring a series of chain-assisted ascents. Though, if you come early in the season, you won’t get to use all of them because they’ll be buried in several meters of snow.

SO, BRING GOOD GEAR. Decent shoes are a must to make this trip less than a nightmare.

Note: parking will surprisingly cost you 300nok.

5 hours later, shoes ruined, feet soaked, and minds blown, we slid our way back down the mountain and into our car.

We set up camp in a nearby site down in Lysebotn. Surrounded by cliffs and waterfalls, the showers at Lysebotn Camping were just a bonus for the 260nok we paid to stay.

Day 3: Lysefjord og Preikestolen base camp

We had some time to waste before the ferry, 309nok, taking us across Lysefjord to Forsand would arrive. So, we did a little catch and release fishing on the docks after a quick hike along the river further into the valley. Then at 15:30 we were on board, taking what time we could to marvel at Kjerag and Preikestolen from the fjord below.

A short drive off the ferry and we’d made it to the Preikestolen base camp, where parking will cost you 250nok, but we weren’t planning on staying here. We wanted a unique and more difficult experience. I mean, we brought this camping gear for a reason. A couple hours before sunset, after some failed fishing attempts in the lake nearby, we headed up the path in search of a place to settle in for the night. Nestled between 2 small ponds a little more than halfway up the path, we found the perfect spot, suggested by another camper we stumbled into while doing our own searching.

Day 4

Time: 3:00

Visibility: 10 meters

3 hours of sleep is all the night could afford, but it would do. Packed, and ready we set off, but it didn’t seem the weather would align with our goals this morning. Only an eerie path greeted us. Guided by stakes and crimson marked rocks, we stumbled through the thick fog.

The atmosphere was as memorable as I could hope. Alone at the edge of the abyss with Lysefjord below. We waited in vain for a break in the weather.

No luck. So, we took in the view around us and took the path down. Rain meeting us along the way.

We were soaked by the time we made it back to our car, grateful for the efficient climate control.

Time: 6:00

With a good half day left until our train was due to return us to Oslo, we didn’t have much left in us to explore too much, but we took the time to see a few more highlights with our time left, namely Sverd i fjell and Gamle Stavanger, both worth a quick trip if you have a little time to waste.

We rewarded ourselves with a few treats and free wifi from the local Kanelsnurren and boarded the train home.

Total Cost for 2 people: ~4000 nok.

Overall: A pretty dope trip