What to pack for the 28km hike to Trolltunga!

At the end of last month I flew to Norway with Aled and some friends, and hiked Trolltunga! You can read more about the hike itself here. Trolltunga was my first black-rated hike, and so I took a lot of time reading blogs and doing my research before I left. Something that I thought would have been really useful was a packing list, so if any of you are planning to tackle to Troll’s tongue (or any longer day hikes), hopefully this is helpful!!

Good Waterproofs

Whenever you’re in the mountains, the golden rule is to be prepared for RAIN. I was wearing my fleece and wind/waterproof jacket, but I also packed waterproof over-trousers, a backpack cover, disposables ponchos and lots of plastic bags to protect any electrical equipment.

Thermals

As you reach higher altitude, or if the weather turns, the temperature in the mountains can drop suddenly. I always have a wooly hat with me (which is actually the easiest thing to pull in and out of a bag). I also make sure I have gloves, a spare thermal top, and a foil blanket in my bag for if things get really chilly!

Suncream

Keeping with the theme of unpredictable weather, often there’s little shelter along a trail. That was certainly the case for Trolltunga. I’d recommend making sure you have suncream with you – I put SPF20 on and my nose got burnt 😦 (oh heeeey rudolph pics)

A second pair of socks

Your feet will love you for this. Trust me.

Spare bootlaces

Because if your ones snap…. whatcha gon’ do???

Tissues…. LOTS of tissues. And antibacterial hand wipes

Because there are no toilets! Also, make sure to pack a rubbish bag. I used a ziplock bag – don’t be that a**hole that leaves your tissue on the mountain.

Mobile phone and portable charger block

Pretty self explanatory…. but we have used our phone’s GPS before when we have accidentally lost the trail. And it’s also worth investing in a good charger block.

Compass, map, and torch

If you have no signal, then you have to go old school. Although I packed a compass for Trolltunga, it’s not really necessary if you go during peak season. The trail is really well marked and there are other hikers around.

A well stocked first aid kit

In general, my first aid kit always contains

Lots of plasters (including blister plasters)
Antiseptic wipes
Bandages
Wound Pads & Micropore tape
Hand Sanitiser
Paracetamol
Ibuprofen
Anti-histamine
Immodium
Anti-migraine
Anti-travel sickness

Trolltunga is the first hike that my first aid kit has had significant use. I needed SO MANY BLISTER PLASTERS and anti-septic wipes at the top of Trolltunga. I also had to take paracetamol on our way down because I was dehydrated and hadn’t eaten enough, and so had a terrible headache. Which brings me onto my next point….

Water and Snacks

We took SO MUCH water with us on our hike. It’s also totally safe to fill up your bottle at a the streams nearer the summit. We also took a lot of food. It’s so important to snack along the way – I didn’t eat enough because I don’t usually have an appetite when I hike, but I got really really dizzy on the way down. Our fitness tracker said that we burnt nearly 3000 calories from walking the distance alone – without taking into consideration that it was uphill! So, we packed sandwiches (pesto and cheese hold up well), granola bars, crisps and dried fruit. I also packed some sugary sweets which were a life-saver when my blood sugar took a dive!

Photography Gear

Because you NEED photographic evidence that you walked all that way!!! I packed my camera, spare batteries, spare SD cards, and my gorillapod.

You can watch my video diary from our trip to Norway (including our hike to Trolltunga) here: