A hike in the Norwegian Mountains with Lucy Clarke

Submitted: 24th May 2023

A Hike in the Norwegian Mountains

When you think of hiking or walking in the mountains, you don’t normally think of Norway do you? Well, I don’t and so this was a FUN surprise as I got to experience some very fun, but dangerous trekking whilst seeing some stunning scenery.

BookTrail locations in The Hike

This is one of the mountains in the book. This is the very place Lucy travelled in real life when she decided to write a destination thriller. She and her husband James went to the Nausidal Gjengedal national park. As surfers and beach lovers from the South of England, the landscape was very different to what she was used to. The wilderness and the rawness of it all was something she wanted to explore in the book and in real life.

BookTrail locations in The Hike

Ortnevik was the setting for the first part of the hike as this was their first destination from Bergen where they arrived. A very different setting from the big and bustly city of Bergen to be right at the heart of the mountains…

BookTrail locations in The Hike

Ortnevik is on the banks of Sognefjorden. In the Norwegian wilderness there are some 550 cabins where you can stay, operated by the Norwegian Trekking Association. Tou come across them in the remotest parts of the country. Each cabin has basic cooking facilities, a roof, more warmth and comfort than you would have in the woods.

Brydalseter is the cabin Lucy and her husband decided to head to that one…..

A hike in the Norwegian Mountains with Lucy Clarke

Brydelseter cabin

BookTrail locations in The Hike

The hike to the cabin is probably when the nature and feel of the novel really started to seep into Lucy’s mind. There was nothing but dark woods all around, damp and dank, the earth carpeted with moss and a whole manner of other things. They headed to a river whichm in the summer, would have been an easy obstacle. However, Lucy and her husband were there in October so the river was rough, fast and swollen. Considerably difficult to get across…..

Bjafell Mountains

BookTrail locations in The Hike

The hike after that was a series of obstacles and difficulties with a few falls and some very heavy rain and trecherous walking conditions. All of this has seeped into the novel and you can feel the nervous steps, the rain on your face and see the fog up ahead. They say you have to expect four seasons in a day in the mountains and this comes across in the novel.

Next cabin they found shelter in was Longevasshytta

Longevasshytta

BookTrail locations in The Hike

The fog must have been very disorientating in real life and this comes across loud and clear as you read. The pace of the novel is deliberately slow to get across the sense of despair. You are waiting for the next obstacle in this difficult and tricky landscape.

When all is said and done, there are plenty of moments to stop and admire the scenery, However, what you think is going to be a lovely meander in the moutains soon becomes anything but. Very like Lucy’s personal experiences. Relive the real mountain experience with added fear, thrills and bad weather.