Far from a Lonely Planet

Norway is one of the prettiest countries on earth with very many well-trodden tourist trails criss-crossing the fjords and mountains. Accommodation is scarce and generally needs to be booked well in advance, so it's a difficult place for wanderers and travellers unless you carry a tent equipped for dramatic weather at any time. There's a nice little quirk in accommodation prices doubling in the low season, but it does little to keep the tourists away.

I love to hate guidebooks, but they have their uses in these sort of countries. They used to be written by travellers backpacking around the world, but it's a proper business now so it targets its customer focus on where the money is: whirlwind-visit tourists and well-funded gap-year students, so they've forgotten what it's like to lug a 20kg backpack along routes written for hire cars. They still contain city maps and lists of accommodation with contact details for those who have mobile phones or internet access. I learnt quickly from another backpacker, french, that these are useful comprehensive lists of all the places not to stay at.