Trail Angels

Volunteers are the core of HikingTelemark. Volunteer – trailangel – trailcaretaker – trailwatcher – enthusiast… We have many names for the people we treasure. And we really do treasure them, the volunteers, that use their sparetime to ensure that you and I get the best hiking experiences!

Credit where credit's due 

HikingTelemark want to credit our wonderful volunteers who make it possible to hike safely on the scenic trails of Telemark!

During the last few years, volunteers have signposted and marked hundreds of kilometers of hiking trails in HikingTelemark. So when you are enjoying your hike, remember the trailangels who are working behind the scenes.

We have wondered what motivates trailangels to make such an effort for others? "A meaningful leisure time" appears to be a common factor.

The start 

The focus on hiking as an activity for tourists in Telemark did not come about by chance. Organized signposting and marking of hiking trails started in the early 1990s, due to an encreasing demand from visitors who wanted to explore nature by foot. Eager, local hikers started clearing trails to enable visitors to find their way through the beautiful Telemark scenery. One of the local enthusiasts concludes: ”I thought it was really sad to have all these beautiful hikingareas and people couldn´t find them….so we started clearing and marking the trails….and for me this was the start of  discovering new and unexplored hikingdestinastions”.

Work effort and man-hours

If you ask one of our volunteers how many hours of work he or she puts down, you will probably get an answer like this: " I don´t count hours. What I do count is all the extra time I get to spend in the great outdoors!” Freely translated this means MANY, MANY hours of tireless, volunteer work!