I’d like to call this wild camping experience a microadventure. It has the same level of excitement, planning, and satisfaction as a bigger trip but only on a local-scale. Hopefully, this will inspire you to take a microadventure of your own and explore your backyard or somewhere close to you.

With a pandemic happening around the world, my travel plans have been somewhat derailed. Like many of you, my boyfriend and I had all these lush plans of travelling so many different places, alas we shall postpone those to next year. What was I suppose to do during a pandemic to feed my adventure bug?! I decided to strip it back to basics, by exploring my backyard. It was Oz’s first time visiting the all popular Preikestolen, so I thought to add on wild camping to make it a more memorable experience.

COVID-19 note: we did this trip as responsibly as possible. My boyfriend travelled to Norway when the borders were open and cases were low in both UK and Norway. While travelling in Norway, we used the antibac provided, avoided shops as much as possible, socially distanced from others and stayed away from the crowds.
To follow the lastest on Norway’s COVID-19 rules and border closures/restrictions, check this governments website and your local embassy.

Wild camping – Allemannsretten

Let’s start at the very basics – wild camping. Is it allowed? What are the rules? Can we do it?

Well, in Norway, we are very lucky to have something called allemannsretten, which means freedom to roam. It is an established law and a right that pretty much most Norwegians exercise. Of course, there are some rules that we have to follow but they are pretty basic and easy to follow.

1. Be thoughtful! Don’t damage your surroundings and leave the wildlife alone.
2. You can camp anywhere in the forest, mountains, or countrysides as long as you’re at least 150m away from the nearest inhabited house.
3. If you’re camping on someone’s land, it’s only polite to ask for permission.
4. Campfires are prohibited in most places between April and October. It is your legal obligation to ensure it says contained and it is completely extinguished before you leave.
5. You’re free to forage for berries, wildflowers, and mushrooms.
6. Leave no trace! Don’t leave anything behind. Take all your trash with you and try to leave the place better than you found it.

Okay! Now you’ve understood how to wild camp in Norway, it’s talk about the different options for Preikestolen. I would say there are three options if you want to wild camp up near the top. At the start of the hike, there is also accommodation if you don’t fancy roughing it!

Note: you are not allowed to camp on Preikestolen itself. It would be a pretty uncomfortable sleep since you’re really exposed, anyways!

The First: Tenting

The only issue here would be the extra weight of the tent. We saw several lightweight tents being used and as we had great weather, it would’ve been a great option. It would offer the best protection from wind and rain. You would be able to change out of your sweaty clothes in privacy and do a pretty cool tent unzip to the views of the fjord!

The Second: Hammock

Along the trail, there are a few potential spots to hang up a hammock. But the best and closest to the top is around the last kilometer mark of the hike. There are a few small lakes scattered around, surrounded by plenty of trees you could use for shelter and hammocking. This seemed to be the most naturally protected area as well so definitely an option! There were also a few people camping in this area while we walked passed them.

The Third: Bivouac

Lastly, the way we did it. We didn’t fancy bringing up my tent, it would’ve just been too awkward for us. After obsessively checking the weather forecast for the next 24hrs (hour by hour) to best ensure that we wouldn’t be caught in the rain, we decided to commit. Definitely a riskier decision especially in Stavanger. Of course, if you had a bivouac or a swag, that’ll definitely be a better option but we opted to sleep directly under the stars in our sleeping bags. Especially since I’ve never actually wild camped directly under the stars like this before.

Microadventures are about new experiences!

The Hike

I’ve written this post that extensively covers what to expect, trail information, and what to bring on a day hike so, check that out if you’re planning on hiking up.

The hike is no different in the evening. Aim to get to your campsite before dusk, which in summer, you’ve got until about 2300hrs, depending on the time of year! Over the years, it has become increasingly more popular to wild camp on Preikestolen – at least compared to when I first did it.

As expected, there’s definitely less foot traffic, which is the main advantage to do a wild camping + hiking combo. There is something soothing about having the entire trail to yourself, or at least, it felt like it. Stop to smell the roses. Take things at your own pace. Another positive is that as Preikestolen is one of Norway’s most famous attractions, you’re able to enjoy the view, minus all the people, especially during the weekend.

The hike itself is a doable 4 km hike, one way with a few steep inclines. The path has been done up by Nepali Sherpas who completed the trail in 2014 and have been maintaining it every couple of years. Considering how close the hike is to Stavanger, you get the feeling you’ve been transported to another world, high up in the mountains.

The Wild Camping Experience

I’ve wild camped on Preikestolen before, in a tent. It was definitely a different experience sleeping under the stars and being exposed to the elements. Luckily, we had good gear with us. If not, it might have been an unsuccessful trip. The sleeping mats I had were comfortable enough and we managed to find some soft-ish ground, which helped a lot. The sleeping bags we used were rated to about 5 degC. It may sound like overkill but considering our poorly chosen campsite, it was worth it.

Unfortunately for us, we made a mistake with where we decided to camp. Admittedly, I was more concentrated on the view than the practicality of our campsite. The patch of grass we chose wasn’t protected from the wind at all. So it was truthfully a mostly sleepless night with the howling wind keeping us awake. We did manage a couple of hours of shut-eye so it wasn’t all that bad! If I were you, I would camp at the lakes and hike the 1 km to the viewpoint and back instead of being right at the top. I would strongly advise against camping on the rock features, especially with an inflatable mat, the rocks have a sharp surface, it might poke a hole in the mat.

Despite the poorly chosen site, we had an amazing breakfast view over Lysefjord and Preikestolen only a minute’s walk from where we slept. We found a place overlooking the viewpoint where there were no grass or dried surroundings to enjoy our breakfast and were able to boil some water for our morning tea and coffee. It was very calming, enjoying the site before all the day hikers arrived. But we also spoke too soon! It had already gotten quite busy by 7 am considering that the weather was and other couples had the same idea as us.

What was in our packs?

My boyfriend and I tried to only carry the essentials while wild camping. These were some of the things we brought with us on our microadventure:

• Sleeping mats – provides insulation between you and the cold ground so you won’t be as cold. We have self-inflating mats so we didn’t need to waste our breath trying to blow it up! I found these much more comfortable than the traditional mats because of how stiff or soft you wanted the mats.
• Sleeping bags – ours were rated to at least 5 deg C. It insulated us from the cold wind despite it howling all night.
• Camping stove and pot – we lit the stove on the rocky features, far from any grass or combustible patches. Don’t leave it unattended and we protected the stoves with ourselves and natural rock structures and kept a close eye on it – only boiling water enough for our needs and keeping it immediately after.
• Playing cards.
• Breakfast – bread, cheese, and cold cuts were our go-to’s. We went for food that would’ve been easy to prep, lightweight, and easy to carry.
• Thermals/a jumper/wool socks/beanie – summer in Norway still gets cold! The mountain weather can be unpredictable so carrying warm layers to keep us warm throughout the night should definitely be on the list.
• Enough water – unlike most places, where you can drink stream water, there aren’t many places you can drink the water. I personally only drink moving water (no stagnant water) but the location is a bit hard to find those.
• Headtorches – it was twilight at approximately 2330hrs and the sun was up at 0530hrs when we were there. So you could get by without a headtorch but it’s mainly for your safety, especially at night.
• Toilet paper and a waste bin – don’t leave any traces! As gross as it is if nature calls, you shouldn’t dispose of your toilet paper randomly. Put it in a plastic bag and throw it when you get back to the parking lot. Speaking of which, if you do need to go, aim to be about 100m away from the trail or a water source. Just courtesy!
• An adventurous spirit – come on! It’s supposed to be a micro-adventure so enjoy the time you get to be in nature and away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Even after a slightly restless night, I still had an amazing time spending the night under the stars, out in nature, feeling like we were the only ones there. While COVID-19 may have postponed all our travel plans for the year, it can’t take away the feeling of adventure after spending such a long time inside despite being a microadventure.

Where would YOU go visit or do for a local microadventure? Maybe you’ll do that activity you’ve always wanted to try.