Great Scandinavian Road Trip: Day 2: Jax drowns in quicksand (almost)

Today started with what was billed as an easy hike up to Preikestolen rock outside Stavanger.

This turned out to be more of a 4hour halfday hike than a quick walk up and down. Up at the top, the view was beautiful and you could see quite a distance. It was also one of the windiest places I've been. I had to lean into the wind just to stand. It had been raining on and off so on the way back there were a lot of slippery rocks on the trail. At one point, the path was made up of rocks leading through a muddy area. I slipped on one of those rocks and had to stumble onto the mud at the edge of the trail. No big deal I though, I'll get some mud on my boots, but that's it. When my foot hit the mud, it didn't stop, I just kept falling without resistance. Instinctively, I threw myself forward and grabbed whatever firm-ish ground I could find, but not before I had sunk hip-deep into this mud. Thankfully, when I fell forward my leg popped back out, otherwise who knows what would have happened. The downside of this was, I was now covered in mud. Fortunately, the visitor center at the bottom of the trail had showers in the bathroom. The bad news was that my boots, rain pants, and rain coat were very muddy. The amazing news was that the insides of my boots, my shirt, and my pants (with the exception of the cuffs) were clean and dry. I guess that's the benefit of good clothes. So I put my boots, and rain gear in the shower and washed the mud off as best I could. I washed them again back at the hotel, but for the moment, I am without a raincoat, which is going to be a problem. I'm hopeful that in the morning the jacket will be dry and presentable enough that I can keep wearing it.

From there, it was a drive to Odda, past many many waterfalls. Only a few of them were marked by signs, but there were plenty to be seen, all in close succession. Here is an example of non-noteworthy waterfalls

and waterfalls that actually had a sign.

And then from there to the hotel. This is the town the customs guy told me to visit. The guy at the hotel reception was equally friendly and wanted to point out the must see sights around the area. Then he upgraded my room just for showing an interest in the area.

Maybe my luck is turning for the better now.

The rest of the pics are here.