Journey to the Far North: Miracle Stone Kjeragbolten

Sep 20, 2023

The main purpose of flying from Oslo to Stavanger is to climb the miracle rock Kjeragbolten.

Norway has three major strange stones: Trolltunga (troll tongue, or Giant's Tongue), Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock, or Pulpit), and Kjeragbolten (Kjerag Bolt).

Among the three strange stones, the Devil's Tongue is the longest and farthest (27 kilometers round trip), the Miracle Stone is the most difficult and tiring, and the Altar Stone is suitable for people of all ages.

Before we left Norway, we flew from Oslo to Stavanger, a large city in southwest Norway. The main purpose was to climb the Miracle Stone and the Altar Stone.

The boulder commonly known as Miracle Stone (Kjeragbolten, Kjerag Bolt) is located in Kjerag Mountain (Kjerag) at an altitude of 1,020 meters. It is an ellipsoidal glacial sediment of about 5 cubic meters, sandwiched in a large crack in the mountain, hanging high. On the beautiful Lysefjord.

According to official information from Norway, the net climb from the trailhead to Miracle Rock is 460 meters, a round trip of 9.8 kilometers, and a one-way trip of 2.5 hours. It is an intermediate level trip.

After the Norwegian summer vacation (8/15), coupled with weather factors, mountaineering activities have entered the off-season. Therefore, the bus ( Gofjords ) to the Miracle Rock trailhead only runs on weekends. Since our stay in Stavanger was not a weekend, we booked a guided package tour with Lysefjorden Adventure .

gather

The day before climbing the Miracle Rock, the weather was hazy and drizzling. When I got up that day, the sky was gray and did not seem to be clearing up, which was even more worrying.

Firstly, I haven’t seriously climbed mountains for several years. Secondly, I have done very little exercise this year and my physical strength is not as good as before.

The original meeting time was 7 o'clock, but the guide Ken didn't arrive until after 7:30. In addition, he was not familiar with the road. Although he had a navigation, there was no signal in the heavy fog in the mountainous area. He missed an intersection and had to turn back. Finally, he arrived at the trailhead at 10:30.

Fortunately, when we arrived at the trailhead, the clouds cleared and everyone was happy.

The parking lot at the trailhead was full when we arrived.

The guide Ken is a young man, and the other three team members are mature ladies. They all have oriental faces and their accents may be American.

Seeing that they were all old ladies of the same age, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. I was worried that my physical strength was too weak and my pace was too slow, which would drag everyone down. Sure enough, it’s not that a good girl can’t have a miracle, the team members who are fashionably dressed are all good guys with special skills.

Interpretation sign near the trailhead. It can be seen that there are three steep slopes to go up and down. It's estimated to take about 2.5 hours one way.

Set off

After everyone got ready, we set out to climb up. It started with a few stone steps, then a gentle large stone trail, and soon started to go uphill; after that, I was left behind all the way.

Starting from the climb, there are a few stone steps, then a stone trail, and then there is an endless uphill climb.

Before going uphill, look back at the Øygardstølen restaurant on the cliff next to the parking lot in the distance (open in summer only).

There are few road signs along the road, and only a simple red T indicates the direction.

I was still laughing, and I took out my phone to take pictures from time to time.

It’s only been less than 30 minutes and I want to turn back. It's actually steeper due to the higher shooting angle.

To climb over this smooth stone mountain, have you seen the little hikers on the mountainside in the distance? !

It rained the day before and the mountain shade was still slippery. One teammate had excused his hiking shoes to stop slipping and went down the mountain to drink coffee.

The old girl stopped to take pictures, and I took the opportunity to catch my breath. Next, I had to pull the chain up this unreasonably steep slope.

There are rocky slopes along the road, some of which still have wet water stains.

The first slope passed the highest point and it was finally going downhill! There are still two hills to conquer in the distance, and I really want to go back and drink coffee.

Going downhill is not easy either, so you have to take steps step by step.

Go down to the beautiful and open valley and quickly chase the two teammates in front.

After climbing the second slope, the other two teammates were nowhere to be seen.

Thanks to the guide Ken and my sister for sticking with me. Ken said that it had been many years since he last climbed Miracle Rock; being tall and fat, he would occasionally slip or stop to rest.

The second slope is also littered with rocks of various sizes.

You can see a beautiful pond in the gentle place, reflecting the blue sky.

There are occasionally beautiful ponds in the gentle places, reflecting the blue sky.

Climbing to the mountain house on the second slope, I was almost exhausted. I didn't have enough time for breakfast, so I quickly added a multigrain bar.

Signpost next to the refuge hut. It's been nearly two hours, and we're still less than half way there, and we're still 2.8 kilometers away from our destination.

Not long after going downhill on the second slope, you will see a beautiful river.

The river water is clean and you can see the bottom clearly.

The boulders are still very jagged, so I have to rely on iron chains for help.

Finally we reached the top of the third slope. Thank God, there were only 300 meters left.

Climb the stone

After a lot of hardships and countless breaks, the old lady spent three hours and finally arrived at the Miracle Rock (next to it). Thanks to the guide Ken and the old lady for their persistence. The other two teammates had been waiting for a long time.

We handed our phones to Ken and walked around to the boulder on the left, preparing to line up to go up to the Miracle Rock.

Climbing the Miracle Rock is not as difficult as you might imagine, because there is a gap about 2-30 cm wide behind the boulder on the left, and there is a small space to turn around. As long as you make a brave jump, you can jump onto the Miracle Rock.

The old girl climbed over first and stood handsomely on the Miracle Stone. When she came back, she told me not to look down.

I walked through the missing corner like walking on thin ice, and when I saw the abyss beneath my feet, I lost all courage and strength, but I was unwilling to look back, so I had to crawl and kneel down to sit on the Miracle Stone, forcing out a smile and pretending He gestured calmly. When I climbed back to the boulder on the left, my hiking boots were still stuck in the crevices of the rocks and I couldn't get them out. My blood pressure soared to the highest level in an instant.

Encountered a group of friendly sheep grazing around, licking the bare hands and feet of tourists to get some salt.

Walk into the large gap between the mountain walls.

There are large and small boulders in the gaps, with a large drop, as well as small waterfalls and running water.

I had to find my own way out, and I had to dodge passing hikers. I fell into the water on two legs!

cool! This is the miracle stone. There is an abyss ahead. People on the rocks should be careful, and people taking pictures should also be careful.

He crawled and knelt down to sit on the Miracle Stone, forced a smile, and struck a pose pretending to be calm.

The beautiful Lysefjord under the Miracle Rock.

Go down the mountain

After resting and eating next to the Miracle Rock, we got up at 3pm to prepare to go down the mountain. At this time, the guide Ken and the four team members finally arrived. It was still steep up and down without any shelter. Under the bright sun, everyone's drinking water was quickly exhausted.

When I was going down the mountain, I met a Taiwanese mountaineering team. They were fully equipped and most of them were carrying trekking poles. Unfortunately, they were too far away. I only heard familiar words, but I couldn't run to say hello.

At nearly six o'clock, we finally returned to the parking lot at the trailhead, tidied up a bit, got in the car and headed home.

On the way back, the sunlight was already slanting and the scenery was more three-dimensional.

The pond we encountered on the way back.

Looking back, there are still climbers in the distance.

I am always lagging behind and I have to speed up!

Only the Taiwanese mountaineering team packs their bodies tightly and uses sun protection so strictly.

I’m so happy to finally be back at the trailhead!

unexpected episode

Less than half an hour after getting on the bus on the return trip, we encountered a flock of sheep migrating. The road was filled with hundreds of sheep. Sheepdogs, shepherds and relatives and friends worked together to drive the sheep from one exhausted grazing area to another. A grazing area. After waiting for about an hour, we also watched a sheep herding show for free.

The sheep were first driven by the shepherd dogs to the exit of the grazing area, and then onto the road. The sheep were captured from a video shot with poor resolution.

The shepherds and sheepdogs were driving hundreds of sheep on the road, some of them running around in disorder, which was really not easy. Shot from a distance in the car, the resolution is not good.

At ten o'clock in the evening, we finally returned to Stavanger. Eat whatever you want for dinner, go to bed early, and have to climb the altar stone the next day. (As a warning, you must have a full breakfast tomorrow.)

postscript

I recall buying a Coke at the Øygardstøl restaurant before getting on the bus and telling the hostess about the hard work of climbing. She said I was lucky because it rained the day before and it was sunny today. Many people climb Miracle Rock in rainy weather. I think she's right.

I also remembered what Ken said, if it were not for being a guide, climbing the Miracle Rock once in a lifetime would be enough! I think he is right too.

It’s a miracle stone that makes people both love and hate it!

Note: The photos in this article were all taken by the author himself and his roommate.

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0