Spring finally arrived in Norway and we started for our first trip without skies took place. We met on Monday morning at the main bus station in Kristiansand to take the bus to Bygland which was our starting point. From there we paddled with two-person canoes southbound but unfortunately the weather was very windy and unstable the first day with rain from time to time. On the first kilometre Martin took over and showed us how to paddle and steer. In addition, Len gave us the security advice to paddle near the coastline because the water was about 7 degrees. If we capsize this would be able to leave the water as fast as possible because we will not make it a long time swimming in it. Luckily nothing happened and we were paddling with a steady pace of 3 kilometre an hour. After about every hour we had break at a beach for 5 to 10 minutes to eat, drink and recover. At around 4 pm we arrived at the island we were sleeping on but the last kilometre to it we had to battle through hard headwind and rain. Just a few hundred meters before the island the sun appeared again at there was a huge rainbow in our backs from one side of the river to the other. The first thing we did on the island was changing to dry socks and shoes and right after that Len showed us the island and good sleeping spots. After that is was our turn to build a shelter with the tarp and rope we brought. I chose a spot directly at the bay we were arriving at because it was the downwind site and the site with morning sun. To my surprise my first tarp shelter was ready after half an hour and it was cosy and good. I finished my shelter to the right time shower of rain started after I have hidden all my stuff under the tarp. Following I tried to help Michael, Paige, Amy and Stella to finish their shelter so they can also hide from the rain. I collected branches and moss to seal a part of the roof that was not covered by a tarp. After that I collected half dry wood and tried to start a fire with the dry pine needles and ferny I collected in my shelter. It took me a while but in the end I had a fire at the beach and Martynas, Max, Joey and me were sitting around it until 10ish. My night was really good, I did not wake up and I stayed warm all night. The next morning was beautiful but to be honest it is still a little bit cold in the morning. To stay warm I prepared my porridge in the sun while enjoying the beautiful view over the fjord. Between 9:30 and 10 o’clock Len showed us different ways of steering and we had to fulfil different tasks in the covered bay. Following, we headed towards Evje and TrollAktiv were we stayed the second night. The first leg was led by Max and Paige and we all were social loafing for a couple of meters because tied all our canoes to theirs and they did not realize it. The conditions this day were okay, it was sunny but the wind changed and hit us most of the time sideways which created some critical situations because the wind pushed our canoe in a 90 degree angle to the waves. This day I was steering all the time and it turned out that it was very exhausting to keep the canoe in position. Two to three kilometres before our planned ending we stopped for lunch at a jetty of a camping place and while eating the wind increased so much that we decided not to continue due to safety reasons. A trailer from TrollAktive picked us and all our gear up and we spent the afternoon with climbing at the climbing tower which was a lot of fun.

On Wednesday morning we rented bikes from TrollAktiv and cycled from their about 25 km on bike track no. 3 to an artificial rock climbing spot near Kilefjorden. First, Len showed us the area and bivouac possibilities and after that he showed us how to create top rope climbing. For me this was very interesting because I want to start climbing outside and it is very easy to do top rope climbing. Moreover, it is a good opportunity for me in my work as a sports teacher to know how to do it because it is simple, is much fun and I can control everything from the ground. The rest of day we were climbing, bouldering and sunbathing. This was a perfect day with some activity on the one hand and relaxed atmosphere on the other hand. The evening was the perfect culmination of this day because there was a beautiful sunset and we all were sitting around a camp fire until 10ish celebrating Martynas’ birthday. Len told us some stories from his former trips and the one or other story about accidents. In contrast to Len, all our injuries and stories seemed like a children’s birthday. This night I bivouacked under the cover of a big stone and it was my first time bivouacking ever.

The next morning we started at 8:30 cycling back the 65 kilometres to Kristiansand. Before this trip I was very worried about this distance because I never cycled for so a long time and I did not know how my body and especially my bum would react. Luckily we had a steady pace of about 12-15 km an hour and breaks every hour. Moreover the terrain was most of the time flat and the uphill parts where not very steep. All in all, it was a nice ride and it was very nice of Len to show us some spots and feed us with historical information. At around half past two I was back at my dorm and I became really tired after some minutes. First, I thought that it was a very relaxing trip but it seems like it was very exhausting for my body. Maybe I was full of endorphins because it was one of the best trips in this semester and after coming down at home my body was overwhelmed by the depletion.