Changes in Latitudes

Friday we headed up to Stranda from Oslo and had some great weather. Pancho had torn his toenail on a run last Monday, so we didn't go on any extensive hikes since he decided to limp because he didn't like the bandage on his foot. The views as we got closer to Stranda were full of steep mountains. We stopped by Trollveggen (The Troll Wall) and Trollstigen for some pictures before I checked in for the race and got my kit. Trollveggen "Look at how pitiful I am with my paw wrapped in a bandage. Give me attention" A troll hiding out at Trollstigen Saturday I ran the Stranda Fjord Uphill Race in a part of Norway called "Sunnmørsalpene." The course was originally planned to be a 10 km uphill race ascending 1300 meters; however, due to unexpected bad weather (mainly high winds on the mountains), the course was rerouted to be what they thought was 13 km and still an elevation gain of 1000 meters. The race route and elevation I did n...

We drove out from Lake Wanaka and past Lake Hawea towards Tarras. Tarras was put on the map in 2004 when " Shrek the Sheep " was found in a cave, having avoided being sheared for six years! He became quite the sensation, being taken on tour before eventually being sheared in front of 200 people and on live television. There we stopped in the little store for some small souvenirs and an ice cream. Continuing on we stopped at a town called Twizel to get some information on Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and the dark sky reserve. This part of New Zealand has the world's largest dark sky reserve, which boasts the best stargazing...we decided to not stay the night though since we had some amazing nights before that. When we got to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park we got some advice on how to not take too long of a hike but also get some great views. The little known trail, Red Tarns, was recommended to us and we were happy we did it. From the top we had a great view of A...