I was invited by Kristian Hassel to this exploration. The map shows the location of the excursion destinations around Rundhaug SW Tromsoe and in the second week around Alta. This is my personal photo diary and the pictures shows just one part of the excursions. We often divided in different groups, and I, with my tired bones, stayed always in the lower positions, but the group around Torbjørn, Thomas, John and Perry always conquered the highest alpine heights.

This is our group. In the first row, from right to left:
Kristian Hassel, Leif Applegren, Torbjørn Høitomt
in the second row from left to right:
Thomas Kiebacher, Lars Söderström, Perry Larsen, John Gunnar Brynjulvsrud, Michael Lüth

My travelling begins in rain from Frankfurt to Oslo
and from Oslo to further North.

The next morning the Tolvtinden had a cap of clouds,
what mean, that rain is coming.

Rundhaug is just a small village, after 100 m walk you can be in pure nature.

26.07.2022 Kirkedalen, Lappskaret, Kjoervegen

We start our first tour with climbing through the birch forest,
to cross the tree line and reach the alpine zone.

The landscape was fantastic and the weather looks... interesting.

Then we reach the first calcareous cliffs around the tree line,
with interesting bryophytes:

Isopterygiopsis pulchella,

Hypnum erythrorhizon,

Encalypta affinis,

the recently new described, very small Encalypta driva,

Rhynchostegium arcticum (R. murale var. julaceum),

the common but beauty Schistidium papillosum and

Schistidium trichodon var. nutans.

After a few hours the rain start heavy, the visibillity was getting bad
and we had to go back.

27.07.2022 Dividalen, Lulit Cavarri

Next morning it is still raining. Anyway,
we leave for our next tour in Dividalen, to Skrubben, at the Lulit Cavarri

We found a small road for hunters, that brought us a bit above the bottom of the valley.
Because Thomas has lost his suitcase when he came to Norway,
he start with new super adapted rainwear, bought in the local supermarket.

When we reached the treeline, the rain has stopped..

..but a very strong and icy wind was blowing in the alpine zone.

We found an interesting bird sitting place on an exposed cliff,

with Brachytheciastrum collinum

and

Schistidium frisvullianum

Between the shrubs grows a lot of

Dicranum flagellare

Soon it get quite dark, new rainclouds arrived and after a last picture

we went down to the cars again, where we reached wet
and with frozen blue fingers.

So the first two days we was not so lucky with the weather.
But this was just to show, what weather in the North can be.
From then on, it getting better every day.

28.07.2022 Alapen

Next day we start to the N-exposed slope above Alapmosetra.
The first few meters there was a small path to the cabins of hunters.

Beside the way there was a nice patch of Barbilophozia floerkei.

Then we have to climb pathless higher through the birches.

Beside a small river with waterfalls we found

Orthothecium lapponicum

Orthothecium cryseon.

On a small island in the river was typical

Lophozia wenzelii.

Then we came to a plateu at the treeline

and soon we reached the alpine zone,

with a interesting cliff of calcareus rock.

There we found Hypnum recurvatum,

Ptychodium plicatum,

Syntrichia norvegica

and Encalypta alpina.

More up we reached a complex of snowbed,
cold springs and fens between rocks.

There was a lot of rich fruiting

Pseudocalliergon angustifolium.

In the water below the spring there was big patches of

Jungermania obovata

and in the fen Paludella squarrosa, here in normal creeping form

and also in an erect growth form.

And also fruiting Rhizomnium pseudopunctatum was one of the party.

In the snowbed in the end Kiaeria glacialis

and Conostomum tetragonum made our day.

29.07.2022 Kirkedalen, Lappskardet, Sávzariehppi

For this day the weather forecast promised sun all day long.
So we went to the same place as in our first day excursion in the Kirkesdalen,
where we had to turn back because of the rain.

The first part we followed a small way, that hunters built to their cabins,

and then we climb pathless through the birches

up to the alpine zone, with a beautiful view in the wild landscape.

On a plateau was a big mire with springs and rich fens. There we had

Catascopium nigritum,

Cinclydium stygium,

Scorpidium scorpioides,

Splachnum vasculosum, fertil plants,

male plants

and fruiting plants.

Also we had Oncophorus integerrimus,

that seems to be much more common than O. viride.

In a cold spring stream we was surprised to find

Bryum cryophilum

(between Pohlia wahlenbergii),

a rare and arctic-alpine moss.

On the banks of the spring stream was another alpine moss,

Bryum weigelii.

The cliff (middle of picture) with this dark colour rocks,
we choose as our next target of interest.

The north faced rocks has seeping water.
At this humid place we we found

Hygrohypnum alpestre,

Cyrtomnium hymenophyllum,

Plagiopus alpinus

and Sauteria alpina.

In the end, we all was happy about a very nice excursion day

and in late noon we went back from this fantastic surroundings.

30.07.2022 Rundhaug

At the next day I felt my bad knees and I had to stay in Rundhaug.
But I used my time to look around the village
and found a nice place with Cyrtomnium hymenophylloides.
I used the whole day, to try to make a perfect picture of this plant.
It is worth to zoom in the picture to see all the structures.

31.07.2022

This day was a travelling day.
We have to move from Rundhaug to Alta, what took us the whole day.

We just stoped in one place, where Bryum wrightii was reported,
but didn't found it. Also the ecology does not looked suitably for this species.

In the late evening we arrived to our next base camp.
Here a view from the very simple living room
over the Rafsbotn of the Altafjorden with sunset / sunrise at midnight.

01.08.2022

From our small camp in Turelva we started in bright sunshine

to a tour from Kåfjord to the Storfjellet, West of Alta.

There was a comfortable way brought us to the treeline

with the view to the new Kåfjord bridge.
The stones in front belongs to the old mining areae at this place.

In former time, they are digging for cupper here, so we was searching
for cupper mosses like Mielichhoferia, but we did not found some.

What we found was Anthelia juratzkana,

Pohlia proligera,

Leiocolea heterocolpos,

Dicranella grevelliana,

and Hypnum recurvatum.

02.08.2022

At the next sunny day we went to the Hesteskovannet near Borani
at Kåfjord. The tour began with a little sporty utfordring.

Above the Hesteskovannet where interesting cliffs
on the steep mountain slope.

On the intermediate rockfaces we found

Tetralophozia setiformis,

Grimmia elatior,

Grimmia funalis,

Schistidium boreale,

Hypnum bambergeri

and Dicranum elongatum.

In a little puddle between birches Leif showed me

Barbilophozia quadriloba.

Going back, we met Lars with his team at the meeting point.

Then we changed to Jansnes near Talvik to a calcareous costal rock,

where we found a lot of Orthotrichum pylaisii

and Hypnum vaucheri.

After, we took the chance to have a look to the only site
of Papaver lapponicum in Norway, not so very far away.

03.08.2022 Talvik, Rundfjellet

We start with some clouds in the morning.

At the Smavannet first sun appears.

After a short walk we reached the Rundfjellmyra,
a big mire with both, acid and base rich fens.

Leif found this perfect Amblyodon dealbatus.

Then we climb up in an open slope with limestone rocks.

On such rocks with half shadow of some birches, we found real
calcareous mosses like Campylium halleri

and Hypnum sauteri, in the North of Norway a very rare species.

On a open plateau below the Rundfjellet grows a lot of

Schistidium duprettii on the sunny rocks.

In half shadow between some birches

grows Schistidium robustum.

More up, the rocks was less calcareous and we found

Grimmia anomala, with yellow orange gemmae.

Higher up we got a nice view to the Balgalanrassa and the Flintfjellet.

On a wet rock we found Schistidium agasizii.

In the end of the day we was happy about a nice excursion
with rare and interesting bryophytes.

04.98.2022 Kvitfjellet above Store Lerresfjordenjord

For our next destination further North we have to take a boat
to cross the Korsfjorden, because there is no street in that part.
Not many people are living here and wayless wilderness predominates.

At Sommarneset, where we began our way up to the Kvitfjellet,
there was a small fen beside the road,
with Marchantia polymorpha var. montivagans,

Rhizomnium magnifolium

and Straminergon stramineum.

The way half up through the birches,

was interesting base rich humid cliffs,

with Myurella tenerrima (together with M. julacea)

Lophozia longidens,

and Orthothecium strictum.

In a small north exposed ravine much higher up, was a snowbed

with Ranunculus pygmaeus,

Pohlia ludwigii

(that always looks like there is a light inside),

Pohlia obtusifolia,

and Polytrichastrum sexangulare.

From the top, there was a great view over the
Vargsundet to the Seilandsjøkelen,
a 14 km² big glacier on the island Seiland.

The rocks on the plateau was partly acid,
with a Schistidium papillosum
with long hairpoints in sig sag form,

with Dicranum fuscescens

and Dicranum spadiceum.

On a small, south exposed slope whith calcareous cliffs,
what was the perfect place for lunch time.

Below that slope, there was a through with a mire, with base rich parts.

In a small pond grows submerse Warnstorfia tundrae.

Other interesting mosses in that mire are Hylocomium pyrenaicum,

Oncophorus elongatus

and Tayloria lingulata.

On the way back, we came to a windy plateau with

Tortella fragilis,

Stegonia latifolia

and a Lophozia, maybe hyperarctica.

With a bit melancholy, we ended this last trip of our expedition,
stumpled down through dens birches.

Now, after all excursions, the rain comes back

and make it more easy for us to leave this fantastic landscape.

During the way there was some more beautiful views in this nordic light.

On the way, we stopped for one more calcareous costal rock,

and found again Orthotrichum pylaisii.

In Tromsoe, I had to stay over night in the nice Ami Hotel,
to get my flight back.

So I found some time to visit this cosy city,

with this mixture of old and new, side by side.

And it is also a city with young culture...

In the early morning I took the first plane.

And with a last view over Tromsoe

I headed back over enchanting landscapes,

to the grey city of Frankfurt.