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Kvalvika Beach
The sun was shining brightly that morning on our way to the Ryten trail, but as soon as we drove into Moskensøy, a deep dark blanket of clouds covered the sky. My father and I started hiking, worrying that the reduced visibility will persist all the way to the top. The cold winds and humidity seemed to shatter any hope of a unique view of the landscape at the end of the hike. However, our disappointment turned to excitement with the first hikers we encountered. They were beyond themselves with happiness at what they had witnessed on the peak. Everybody coming down the mountain was urging us to climb and experience it for ourselves.
The scene unfolding in front of our eyes was incredible: turquoise waves breaking gently on the golden sands of Kvalvika beach, which joined three mountains at the base. To the right, Kjerringa had a crown of clouds streaming from its peak, Moltinden stood in the middle, right below the moon and Torsfjordtinden, to the left, was completely covered in the low clouds created by the temperature inversion. I could not have wished for a better present for my 30th birthday. We sat down, we ate lunch and we smiled at all that beauty.
Everybody was right. The hikers who told us to keep going were right. The people who told me that Lofoten is the most beautiful place on Earth were right.
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On the 10th of October I went hiking for a day in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park in Scotland. The destination was Conic Hill. 450 million years ago, Scotland was part of North America and together they formed the continent Laurentia. When it collided with Avalonia, Scotland and England formed a single land mass divided by fault lines. Conic Hill stands now on the most significant one, the Highlands Boundary Fault, which divides the Scottish Highlands from the Lowlands.