NPL

Norge på langs - The whole length of Norway - Norwegen der Länge nach.

Norwegen - Peter - Laufen (Jo Schmid)

The book “Norge på langs” by Lars Monsen has been sitting on our bookshelf for quite some time. I received it as a gift about 15 years ago from my wife, but the idea of immediately imitating it did not arise when I read it back then.

A few years later, I saw a time-lapse video on the internet of a hike along the Appalachian Trail — 3,500 km along the Appalachians in the USA. The video showed the trail from a frog’s-eye view. A new photo was taken every day and then strung together into a video. How cool was that? Varied landscapes, changing seasons, different weather conditions (rain, sun, snow), all kinds of terrain — everything was included.

Spontaneously, I started searching for the Appalachian Trail and came across the three well-known long-distance trails in the USA: the Pacific Crest Trail in the west, the Great Divide Trail along the Rocky Mountains, and the Appalachian Trail further east. I read quite a bit, watched a few films — some more, some less good. Over time, the idea of doing a long-distance hike myself became more and more firmly rooted.

The decision to hike in Norway rather than in the USA came gradually. The three long-distance trails in the USA have become quite popular, and although not necessarily crowded, they are still more and more frequented. The USA also has climatic challenges — for example, extreme heat — that Norway doesn’t have. You don’t need to carry water (i.e., extra weight); drinkable water is freely available from almost every stream — and Norway has countless streams. There are no dangerous animals (bears) or poisonous ones (snakes) to worry about in Norway either (yes, there are isolated bears, but they leave people alone). And, of course, it is far more sustainable to hike close to home than to first fly across the Atlantic.

So I gradually returned to “Norge på langs”, a hiking concept either from south to north or from north to south. I say “concept” because there isn’t one single route — people choose different paths depending on their goals. A list of people who hiked "Norge på langs" and additional information can be found on https://norgepaalangs.info

My goal is the wonderful experience. If a (short) more beautiful section of the route leads through neighboring Sweden (e.g., Padjelanta National Park), I am happy to follow it instead of strictly staying in the much duller Norwegian terrain in that area. And if I can avoid walking two hours through a musty North Cape Tunnel by taking a five-minute car ride (it was bad enough when we went through it on our tandem in 2014), then I’m happy to do that as well. I’m long past the age of needing to prove anything to myself or anyone else. I want as much joy along the way as possible — there will surely be enough other challenges.

At some point, you have to get concrete, and I saw my 60th birthday as a good occasion to give myself the gift of this hike. You can make dreams come true as long as you’re still able to (walk); otherwise they remain dreams forever (which ultimately isn’t a catastrophe either). For me, 2026 seems like a good time, so starting in summer 2025, I’ll intensify the planning.

The current state of planning can be seen on Peters NPL planner. During the planning, my very good friend Jo created his own meaning for the abbreviation NPL: Norwegen - Peter - Laufen. I love it!