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  1. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oslohiker View Post
    ...The only problem would be the weather.... you could have rain for the whole duration of the stay. That is the big draw back with our wilderness...
    Another one is the moskitos. Had to learn this the hard way, when "a walk into the bush" (as we like to call a bathroom break) is close to impossible, as your bare bottom gets eaten up in seconds.
    Not to do some Norway bashing, just to give some personal experience.

    BTW, while Norway has really great nature and supposedly great people (never got to know any, unfortunately, maybe because there are so few), the one thing I admire the most is Norway's economy and politicians. One of the very few countries in the world that is really rich but cares to keep the fortune for future generations. Great!

  2. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oslohiker View Post
    The point is having a lighter pack and the convenience of sleeping in a bed. There is food at the huts, so there is really not any real need to carry much food.

    Prices are. If you are a member around 20-27 dollars a night, non-member about 30% higher prices. Membership is about 70 dollars. But you could just tent. That is the route I mainly go..... I like the solitude.

    And yeah, Sweden is great to... not that "wild", but still very beautiful.
    I would feel odd going out without a tent and food. Not only for the solitude, but also the security of being able to be self sufficient in an emergency. I could see taking minimal food and reply at huts. I assume you can get food at huts if you are not sleeping there. Not having to carry much water would be a big weight saving. The Swedish hiking sites I read even say it is not necessary to filter water. I find that suprising.

  3. #43

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    I have a few more years living in the US (RVing full time and hiking as much as possible) before I return home to the UK as my parents get older. At that point I will be hiking more in Europe and seeing stuff I didn't see growing up. Norway and Sweden are the places at the top of my list, and I do have a couple of Swedish friends to see at the same time.

  4. #44
    Registered User egilbe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oslohiker View Post
    Why do you need to learn Norwegian? Every Norwegian speaks English.
    What? Then why speak Norwegian?


    That's interesting. Makes it more attractive to this ugly american.

  5. #45
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    Very cool, those stats on number of hikers over there. I very much look forward to eventually making it to Norway to check out that fantastic hut system!
    ..
    Just one comment probably already mentioned, but you might be confused about the wilderness areas in the USA; they are extensive, much larger than our park system, and to my knowledge free of cost and you are completely free to roam at your hearts content, without having to deal with any cars or other mechanized transportation.
    ..
    You, of course, refer to our developed national park system, a fantastic system, best in the world IMHO, but of course are not free plus our NP's tend to be very crowded and hence, heavily regulated. We love our NP's and are currently re-visiting all 60 of them (plus a couple hundred national monuments, seashores, etc), but we spend most of our time in wilderness areas.
    ..
    So, check out our wilderness areas sometime; Colorado, for example, has close to 4 million acres (1.8 million hectares?) of wilderness, some areas of which you can hike for days without seeing a soul. My favorites are the Lost Creek wilderness (near Denver) and the Weminuche, down near Durango. California has over 10 million acres (14?), an area bigger than the state of Tennessee.

    Quote Originally Posted by Oslohiker View Post
    Well, that is in Norway.

    I decided to not write about my country on Whiteblaze anymore, because this is fact a forum about the Appalachian trail, and it is mainly for Americans. I started a thread about the freedom to roam, and got some interesting answers, and thought I should end it there. But I could just not let this one slide. Personally I think these insane numbers are because we have the freedom to roam over here, and we don’t have to pay to use the Wilderness (I just got back from my last trip to the US paying 50 dollars to enter Yosemite and Death Valley). This may be something to think about:

    Source (in Norwegian):
    https://www.nrk.no/trondelag/ungdomm...let-1.13054610.

  6. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by Odd Man Out View Post
    I would feel odd going out without a tent and food. Not only for the solitude, but also the security of being able to be self sufficient in an emergency. I could see taking minimal food and reply at huts. I assume you can get food at huts if you are not sleeping there. Not having to carry much water would be a big weight saving. The Swedish hiking sites I read even say it is not necessary to filter water. I find that suprising.
    You get used to it. You just have to bring a few emergency items. You have to bring some wool mid-layers anyway. You will have kind of solitude anyway. You will meet other people, but very few trails are even close to be crowded.

    I hardly carry any water at anytime. You don't need to. Most of the time I just have 1 dl or 2, or nothing at all. I just find a stream to drink at (they are never far between). I almost never use (or bring) any water treatment equipment. It is clean and taste fabulous. I know some do it when there are a lot of lemming, but I don't. You get a way with a 4 kg pack, and just food for the hours you walk that day, to the next hut.

    But in Norway you have to have real hiking boots. Very seldom you get away with trail runners.

    Mosquitos are not a big concern. During the day time they mostly don't hassle you. But there are areas that are bad. Inland in Northern Norway can be hellish. Mostly you're not bothered (elsewhere). If you tent at night you need to protect yourself....

  7. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by gracebowen View Post
    Texas is the largest state in the US. It takes over six hours to drive through it. My closest decent hiking is about 30 miles and takes about an hour to get there.

    Theres closer walking trails but yes I find them a bit boring. The distance is why I haven't hiked since November. I did 3 miles then.
    It's 860 miles from the Louisiana border to El Paso, maybe you can drive it in 6 hours if you go 150mph.

  8. #48
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    14 hours driving time at 80mph from El Paso to Texarkana.

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    Quote Originally Posted by doritotex View Post
    It's 860 miles from the Louisiana border to El Paso, maybe you can drive it in 6 hours if you go 150mph.
    I thinks they said it takes over 6 hrs, so technically......they was right.
    Except the part about texas being largest state.

    When you enter texas on I10 theres a sign near beaumont that says El Paso 859 miles or something like that. Just bragging obviously.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 07-25-2016 at 19:46.

  10. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by doritotex View Post
    It's 860 miles from the Louisiana border to El Paso, maybe you can drive it in 6 hours if you go 150mph.
    Fun with Google Maps. Using direct routes on main roads I come up with these mileages:

    The longest drive across a US state is north to south across AK from Homer to Deadhorse at 1072 miles (main roads by AK standards)
    But the drive across Norway from the southern tip at Skjernøyveien to the northern tip at Nordkapp is a whopping 1551 miles

    For TX I get 875 miles across I-10. CA is a long drive. From north to south on I-5 is 797 miles, and to drive across MT from east to west is 702 miles.

    However some of the small eastern states take a long time to drive across due to their odd shapes. Driving across NY from the tip of Long Island to the Canadian border at Buffalo is 538 miles. Driving across MI on I-75 and US-2 is 647 MI (almost as long as MT). Amazingly to drive across FL from AL to Key West is 866 miles (just a few miles short of TX).

  11. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oslohiker View Post
    You get used to it. You just have to bring a few emergency items. You have to bring some wool mid-layers anyway. You will have kind of solitude anyway. You will meet other people, but very few trails are even close to be crowded.

    I hardly carry any water at anytime. You don't need to. Most of the time I just have 1 dl or 2, or nothing at all. I just find a stream to drink at (they are never far between). I almost never use (or bring) any water treatment equipment. It is clean and taste fabulous. I know some do it when there are a lot of lemming, but I don't. You get a way with a 4 kg pack, and just food for the hours you walk that day, to the next hut.

    But in Norway you have to have real hiking boots. Very seldom you get away with trail runners.

    Mosquitos are not a big concern. During the day time they mostly don't hassle you. But there are areas that are bad. Inland in Northern Norway can be hellish. Mostly you're not bothered (elsewhere). If you tent at night you need to protect yourself....
    I really appreciate your input Oslohiker. I've read a lot about trekking in Scandinavia but never had a chance to ask questions. For me, I think that taking a tent would be an important part of the freedom to roam concept. I'd rather not have my schedule restricted by the location of the shelters. I can see using shelters for resupply so I would not have to carry much food. Not carrying water is a big advantage. My tent only weighs 0.75 kg so why not take it? When you are hiking hut to hut in Norway with a 4 kg pack are you still bringing a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and cook kit?

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    How are the shelters resupplied and funded?

  13. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by colorado_rob View Post
    You, of course, refer to our developed national park system, a fantastic system, best in the world IMHO,.
    What makes it the best in the world? I.e. it doesn't have the hut system. Does it not matter?

  14. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oslohiker View Post
    What makes it the best in the world? I.e. it doesn't have the hut system.
    Geography, diversity of geography, acreage.

    The man-made accoutrements matter, but matter less.

  15. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by rickb View Post
    For some years I lead short (1 to 2 hour) hikes the first Saturday of each month around my town's park, conservation and other public land. These were promoted by word of mouth and in the local paper, and typically drew 15 to 20 people.

    One thing I learned very quickly was that a great many of the participants would never dare to explore the woods on their own or with their friends and family. I even had one adult woman who said she had never hiked/walked in the woods before.

    This is in a suburb of Boston with a many places to hike for those who care to find them.

    I believe that the outdoors is simply not a part of many people's lives in this country-- I am not surprised to learn that it could be differt in Norway.
    Plenty of trails in the Boston burbs but not much vertical. Besides, it's been like 90+ degrees just about every day. Too hot to hike right now!

  16. #56
    Registered User egilbe's Avatar
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    Boston is a great city to walk, just not in February or July.

  17. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by rickb View Post
    Geography, diversity of geography, acreage.

    The man-made accoutrements matter, but matter less.
    Yes, the diversity is unprecedented. But I still feel that you just have a different approach when it comes to what a national park should offer for to the public, than what other nations parks offer. I know mostly Norwegian and Swedish national parks, and I don't want them any other way. Free, accessible and untouched, and with a awesome hut system.

    I don't know if I have put this video on here before, but Norway is pretty good... and with a lot of young hikers, as we now know:


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