Fjords of Norway third chapter part one.

Part 3 – Back to the North: Winter’s Last Grip

On 24 March I started my journey back to Brottøya in the north to restart my adventure of exploring Norway from border to border and paddling our 10 longest fjords.

This time I chose to return the same way I went home last summer: bus, train, ship and then ferry, finally arriving at Brottøya two days later. On my way i stoped by to say hello to Vanja and Amanda as i always do passing Bodø

I spent a couple of days on Brottøya enjoying the northern hospitaliy. Ymir had a good winter sleep, and I actually managed to get everything packed on the first attempt. My new Tentipi is up, and it already feels like a great choice. The further north I go toward the Russian border, the harder it will be to find hammock spots, so a solid tipi is the way to go.

Warming Up Around Brottøya

On 29 March the sun finally came out, so I slid back into my kayak and took a lap around Brottøya to make sure everything still worked and my body remembered how to move with the sea.

To see day to day videoes take a look at ShibbyTraveler on instagram and to see my route chack out my garmin map. https://eur-share.explore.garmin.com/SHIBBY

30 March was Day 1 + 261 as I officially started Part 3 of the “10 Longest Fjords of Norway” project.It felt amazing to be back, but the north reminded me that winter was not done yet. Temperatures danced between –2 and +2 degrees, with a mix of calm sun and biting cold. After about an hour of paddling, the northern wind picked up. I spent a while scanning the sky for the rocket launch that crashed and burned, and then found a beautiful spot for the night at Kjærringnesøya.

Cold Mornings and Slow Days

Day 2 + 261 started with another magical but icy morning.

I first woke up at 4 a.m. refilled my hot water bottle, grabbed some food and fell straight back to sleep. When I finally woke again it was around noon, much later than planned. I took a short drone flight, packed camp and paddled to Sortland for shopping. On the pier, a familiar face appeared – good to see you again, Gull Erik! I stocked up on food and treated myself to a huge upgrade: a Jervenduk. Then I moved north, met a couple of eagles along the way and found a nice landing spot on Reinsnesøya. With strong winds in the forecast, I decided to set up camp there for a few days.

The next days I didn’t do much.There was lots of beautiful but cold weather, so I mostly chilled in my tent, stayed warm and ate well.

A Cold Swim and a Lesson in Respect

Day 7 + 261: the snow came back, and motivation to pack down camp was low.

But the idea of a grocery store was tempting. With five hours left before it closed, I started the 20 km paddle to Risøyhamn. A fresh tailwind built up, and I had a feeling I should head in, but I could see my goal and kept going.

As the water got shallower, the wind and waves increased to around 10–15 m/s with snow. Suddenly a big breaking wave hit me from behind and slightly from the side. Most of the kayak went underwater, and I capsized. I tried to roll back up a couple of times, but eventually bailed out. Since I was close to land, I decided to swim in with Ymir instead of trying to empty and reenter in those conditions. It was slow, cold work, but after around 10 minutes I made it ashore. I tied up Ymir, set up camp, warmed up and dried off.

Day 8 + 261 was all about drying gear and warming body and soul.

I started the day by hanging everything that was wet, gathered wood and enjoyed a sunset fire.

Small Laps, Strong Winds

Day 11 + 261 had just one mission: shop and charge.I paddled for about an hour to Risøyhamn and found a grocery store with a café, perfect for both food and power. I had some good conversations with locals and staff before heading out again. I didn’t get far, though. The wind picked up quickly, and I found a small beach, paddled in and set up camp again.

Day 12 + 261 was spent chilling in the tent while the wind raged outside.

Rain turned to snow overnight. It was nice to refill on food, but lying in the tent all day makes me eat a lot. At the same time, I feel more connected to nature and well rested, something I really needed after a winter full of work. Back home I have to work double shifts to live this life, so a slow start to Part 3 actually feels good.

Reindeer, Full Moon and Patience

Days 13–16 + 261 were full of reindeer.

They wandered around camp like magical creatures, reminding me why I do this.

I was still mostly in the tent at Høystakknesset, waiting for a good feeling and better weather to move on. It calmed down a bit on Day 14, but every time I started packing, a new front crashed into the coast: wind, snow, and then suddenly sun on the tent just minutes later. So I decided to lean into patience and rest.

The first full moon of spring rose, a powerful symbol of renewal. I used it as a reminder to embrace this season of growth and transformation. Every day got a little longer—around nine minutes more daylight per day. The thought of the coming midnight sun kept my spirits high.

Leaving Høystakknesset

Day 17 + 261 started beautifully.

I let the sun warm my tent, charged my power bank and broke down my one‑week camp at Høystakknesset. As soon as I got on the water, the wind started from the east. It was a sharp, freezing wind that numbed my fingers and slowed me down. A strong opposing current didn’t help. Cold and moving slowly in the wrong direction for the conditions, I decided to head in early before it got worse. After about 5 km we reached Kinnesstrand – safe but cold.

Day 18 + 261 was a good one.I had to postpone my start because my Garmin was out of power, but after a quick charge I was off again. The crossing around Kinn was a bit rough, with some swell and movement, but then it settled into calm winds and a long, gentle sea. I crossed Kvæfjorden and reached Borkenes a little after 21:00. I wanted to fill Ymir with food for Easter, so I did some evening shopping.

It was getting dark, and the campsite I had passed earlier was still on my mind – a perfect little beach. That meant paddling back out into the dark. For about an hour I had almost no visual contact with land, but I trusted my navigation and eventually hit the beach in the dark swell and got the Tentipi up.

Farm Food and Slow Progress

Days 19–20 + 261 turned into more rest days due to rain and wind.I camped near Ottestad farm, one of those rare places where you can buy incredibly local food and taste the difference. I cooked what might be the best burger of the trip so far: a veal burger with bacon, fried in the bacon fat from breakfast. Then I used the same fat in mashed sweet potato with shallots, ginger, chili, turmeric, butter and milk. For dessert, cocoa powder and cocoa butter with chili, local honey and Himalayan salt. Amazing.

To top it off, Bodø made it to the semi‑finals against Lazio after penalties.Nice farmer, nice visitors, nice food, nice camp, nice life. I also stocked up on honey, bacon and pulled pork from the farm.

Day 21 + 261 started with filling every inch of storage with local food from Ottestad. Kind people making quality food; it’s hard to leave. I flew the drone a bit and did some yoga before paddling out. Another short day: I soon got a bad feeling, then strong winds and snow. After an hour, I paddled in and waited an hour to see if it would calm down. It didn’t, so I set up camp again.

Stornesklubben and the Fortress

Day 283 was mostly wind and snow, nothing much to report except that I stayed in the tent.

Day 284, however, was a great day. There was some wind but nothing problematic, and I made it to Stornesklubben where I found a beautiful spot for camp. I stayed an extra day because of the weather, once again letting nature set the pace.

Day 286 started calm, Crossing over toward Trondenes fortress, a white cloud followed me and brought uncomfortable wind and waves from behind, but once I rounded the fortress everything quieted down. I did a quick shopping run in Harstad, then headed out again. Huge snow clouds rolled in fast, so I didn’t get far before turning in.

I still wanted to make some progress north, so I did a bit of island hopping, taking short crossings between small islands and catching some more snow along the way.

Eventually I reached my goal at Avløysningen on Mågøya, where a small beach was waiting for my Tentipi and the sunset. The weather is beyond my control, so I try to listen to my gut feeling and admire its wild beauty.

Snowed In on Mågøya

Day 287 was calm, but the weather kept shifting.

I stayed put on my little private beach and enjoyed the break.

Day 288 was a proper tent day with heavy snowfall.I spent it eating, resting and editing a drone video for my YouTube channel from Mågøya, Vågsfjorden – including a short video of Hurtigruten’s Kong Harald.

Day 289 came with doubt. I wasn’t sure whether to paddle, but in the evening I decided to give it a try. The start was calm, but during my second crossing the wind and waves built quickly. The cold seeped in, my hands went numb and the struggle was real. When I reached Sandsøya, conditions eased. From there I paddled to a planned campsite facing Senja – my next big goal, now only four nautical miles away.

Days 290 and 291 turned into more rest days.

I stayed in the tent to keep warm in the cold wind and focused on good food

I really enjoy cooking from scratch, even on trips like this. Curry, oats, eggs and root vegetables have become my go‑to base ingredients, with different spices and powders to change flavours and add nutrients.

I’m looking forward to spring so I can gather more food from nature, but for now I mix local shop visits with small online orders from nature.no.

Trusting the Stomach and Following Signs

Day 291 started early – up at sunrise at 4 a.m.I had to resist the urge to crawl back into the sleeping bag and instead started the coffee. The forecast said no wind at sunrise with a slow build from the north. You can’t really trust the forecast up here, but from my sheltered bay it looked perfect, so I packed down and started the crossing towards Senja. After about 10 minutes a strong wind started building and whitecaps appeared on the short waves. Short, steep waves from behind in building wind was the last thing I wanted for that crossing. My stomach twisted, so I listened to it and turned back before leaving the protection of my little bay.

Later that day, after watching the sea for hours and trying to stay warm without fully unpacking, I gave up waiting for perfect conditions.

The route toward Bjarkøy looked tempting. I remembered paddling past in 2021 and wanting to explore the area. I took it as a sign and decided to spend a couple of days around Melvær and Bjarkøy instead.

The sea looked calm, so I chose a direct line with one small island as a safety stop.

The first half went fine, but then the wind built again. By the time I reached my “safe island”, gusts were up around 10 m/s. I took a break, tried again, turned back, waited, and finally got a calmer window. When I reached Bjarkøy it was almost still. The weather is “stable unstable”.

Bjarkøy is a beautiful island with proud Viking history, once one of the power centres in Norway and home of the legendary Tore Hund, who defeated King Olav in the Battle of Stiklestad. I visited the site where the old longhouse once stood and the monolith raised in his memory. A quick stop at the local grocery store gave me food and a chance to charge my equipment, Hail Odin.

We continue the Island-hopping bliss through kayaking paradise, leaping from beach to beach with so many stunning spots. Made my way to the bird mountain at Sundsvollsundet naturreservat between Bjarkøy and Helløya, then north between Flatøy and Krøttøya, under a bridge, and up the east side of Gardsøya. Discovered a beautiful beach at Skogholmen, connected to other islands at low tide but standing proud alone most of the day.

Day 292 at Meløyvær: The sun came out almost all day—magical, defying predictions. So nice to warm up, dry gear in the evening, edit footage, and watch the tide go in and out 💙. I love the tide; it's like the planet doing breath work 🙏. Locally around 1.5m difference (Norway norm 0.5-3m by moon/sun/coast), while world's extremes hit 16-17m in Canada's Bay of Fundy!​

These sunlit resets in Vesterålen's 365-island lore fuel the ShibbyTraveler spirit, syncing Tentipi camps with fjord rhythms before the next leap. Endless exploration ahead! 🙏

One Month of Part 3

The first month of Part 3 is over, and so is April.

It has been challenging and amazing at the same time. Winter’s last grip, long days in the Tentipi, powerful food from small farms, new and old encounters with people and places – and the constant dance with wind, snow, sun and sea.

Now the days grow longer, and the midnight sun is on its way.

Senja and the next great fjords are waiting.

Lots of Love

Joachim Larssen

ShibbyTraveler