Day 19: Varphaugen to Jørundgard

A happy return to my early morning starts!  

The first section was a brisk uphill stretch that took me to about 600m above sea level (from a start at around 200m) in about a kilometre and a half.  I was very happy to see a bench with a view that was calling out to be sat on.  I had a snack and sat.  In fact I sat there for over half an hour just enjoying the peace and the view.  

There was a bit more uphill and then it was steeply downhill, with many a zig zag, to get back to the river level.  I stopped for second breakfast, and first coffee, just outside of the town of Otta at a self service bakery.  Now, I’ve seen bread vending machines in France, but this was something else.  I walked in to a small shop with bread, pastries, sandwiches, pots of jam and honey and a coffee machine.  Everything was clearly labelled and there was a touch screen till for self checkout.  I could not work out what all my purchases were (no pictures on the till) so just added items until I got to the correct amount and paid for that, before sitting at the table outside to enjoy my coffee and bun.

I was walking now on the course of Loftsgardsbrua parkrun, which unfortunately for me was cancelled this week, but I paused to take photos at the bridge it is named for.  It would have been nice to have snuck in a sneaky parkrun but it was not to be.  

One of the joys of walking alongside a river at the bottom of a glaciated valley is that it is flat!  Much appreciated after yesterday.  At Sel Church I found three pilgrims sitting at a picnic table.  As I approached one of them said ‘You’re early! You aren’t supposed to be here until 9.30!’

We spent some time chatting.  Two Norwegians, who’d had a rest day yesterday meeting up with their wives and drinking too much beer, and Jasper from the Netherlands.  It is so rare to meet people and these guys were great fun.  Jasper and I walked the next 8km together as we were staying at the same place.  

Jørundgard was built in the 1990s as a film set for the film adaptation of Nobel Prize winner Sigrid Undset’s trilogy ‘Kristin Lavransdatter,’ a book I now feel I should read! 

While we waited for check in time we walked on to Nord Sel church.  We couldn’t go inside because there was a wedding taking place, but I did bump in to Anne & Robert and visit some Commonwealth War Graves.  

A quick WhatsApp message to Tom, proud son of Yorkshire and ex Green Howards elicited the following explanation for these graves:

‘In 1940, we had a couple of punch-ups and escorted some of the Norwegian Royal family out of the country.

They were tasked with delaying the Germans. They were asked to hold them for 6 hours and held on for 24.   Stubborn Yorkshire bastards, but costly - about 30 dead. 

King Haakon refused to allow the government to collaborate, and refused to abdicate. 

Once in England he became the Colonel in Chief of the Green Howard's and his son Olaf and grandson Harald after him.’

I paid my respects and marvelled at how well maintained these war graves were compared to some I have seen.  But then, I’ve passed by lots of graveyards in the last couple of weeks and they have all been immaculate and well tended.  

Back on the ‘film set’ it was time for a quick shower and a nap before dinner later this evening.

Day 18: Kvam to Varphaugen

What a day.  The luxury of not having to get up early very quickly became a tedious wait to get going.  I ate a lot of breakfast, washed down with three cups of coffee and made myself a cheese sandwich for my lunch.  Then I waited for the bus.  I’d had two options this morning, either 01:51 or 10:53! And the early bus would have meant that I missed breakfast!

I sat in my room and watched the rain.  I did some admin stuff for my upcoming trip to Tiree with the Gold DofE Army cadets and got myself an eSIM - all this in addition to the really important tasks of completing Wordle and doing my Duolingo for the day! And checking the progress of my bus every two minutes.  It was delayed.  Eventually arriving at around 11.30am.  At least, with my room only being a few metres from the bus stop, I could wait in the dry.

The bus ride was only about 10 minutes long, a fifth of the time was spent in a tunnel, meaning I was back on the trail by noon.  In my original plan yesterday and today were one stage which, according to the planning tool, was 33.6km long.  I’d walked just over 22km yesterday so was anticipating a short and sweet 12km today.  

There must have been a million stiles in tbe first kilometre and a half!  I thought that stiles would be the main feature of the walk and wondered how the lady from the Netherlands who was walking with her dog was coping. 

Then came the forest trails.  Every so often there would be a fallen tree across the path.  Sometimes I could step over them, sometimes it was an ungainly scramble and on more than one occasion I had to crawl underneath them!  The soil is very shallow so often when one tree falls it takes several other with it. 

One multiple tree falls looked a bit tricky to navigate my way through so I thought I would ‘just go around’ it.  Big mistake!  These trees are huge and I ended up so far off the path it took me ages to get back on track.   

The forest was beautiful!  The rocky floor was covered in a squishy carpet of mosses and lichens. Lichens are a pollution indicator, I’ve never seen lichen on such a huge scale (all the whitish bits in the photo above are lichen) which bodes well for the air quality.

Cheese sandwich for lunch

It was super slow work today.  A couple of missed turns didn’t help:

There’s a signpost here!

I was also very aware that the vast majority of this section was rife with trip and slip hazzards, especially after the rain earlier in the day. Even getting to this bridge was tricky:

What I thought was going to be 12km was closer to 14, but took forever!  I was very glad I preordered dinner and even happier that I arrived in time!

Day 17: Sør Fron to Kvam

I had a delicious dinner last night, with excellent company.  Phil and Linda come to Norway often as Linda’s mother was born here and she has lots of family here.  They were knowledgeable and engaging company and the food was tasty and sustaining.  The pudding, a rhubarb tart, is one of the nicest things I’ve eaten.  After dinner we were given a tour of the historic buildings.

Table laid for three

I slept well in my pilgrim bed, but anyone taller than me, i.e. just about everyone, might have struggled.  The gaps between the planks meant that there was plenty of fresh air!  

Today’s route was (slightly) more down than up.  But it didn’t feel like that!  Lots of scrambling up and slithering down rocky paths.  Slow progress was made but the views were worth it.  I think we are soon going to come to the end of the lake side ramble!

I stopped for breakfast on a bench, and second breakfast at another bench.  It was quite tempting to stop at every bench I saw, and there were certainly times when I’m not sure how much I was gasping for breath rather than admiring the views!

I wasn’t sure how far I would walk today. I’d split a long stage into two, and I’m glad I did, but had not been able to find accommodation at the half way (or even just beyond) point.  I’d resorted to booking a hotel in Vinstra.  Every kilometre over halfway that I walked today is a gift to me tomorrow and will make my day easier. In the end I walked 22km, then 2km to the bus stop in Kvam.  The bus took just 8 minutes to transport me to Vinstra and the bus stop was only 90m from the hotel.  Hopefully the reverse logistics tomorrow will work equally as smoothly.  

I had a brief wander round Vinstra, looking for a nice cafe where I could get something to eat and, importantly, my first coffee of the day.  I found a cafe that looked lovely, but the kitchen closed at 2.30pm and the cafe at 3pm.  I arrived at 2.55pm!  Ah well, hotel instant had to make do.  

Tomorrow the hotel breakfast doesn’t start until 7am, so I will have to look at bus times.  It will be a late start, so just as well it is a short day.

Day 16: Ringebu to Sør Fron

Up early to a cotton wool shrouded day! Someone had stolen the views!I packed up my stuff, hefted it onto my back and headed out of the door.  It took me a while to work out how the lock worked, but once that was done I stashed the key and headed off.  Only to get 100m down the trail before realising that my poles were on the other side of the locked door.  I retrieved the key, unlocked the door, grabbed my poles and locked up again.  

 

I stopped in Ringebu for breakfast.  Not at a cafe as they opened at either 10.30am or 12noon,  but at a well positioned bench overlooking the town. I am running low on ‘breakfast type snacks’ so will need to keep my eyes peeled for shops.  There is also a stretch coming up where there arw no shops for a couple of days.  That coupled with the accommodation being self catering is going to involve a bit of thought and planning.  

A lot of today was spent on roads.  It rained last night so the forest sections were full of mosquitoes (or similar biting things). They seemed impervious to insect repellent!   There was a short stretch, at the edge of a forest an about 10m above the E6 road.  One wrong step and I’d be tumbling down the bank!

I called in at the pilgrim centre as I passed it and learnt more about some of the art works I have seen. And collected another stamp in my ‘pilgrim passport.’ From there it was a short, 6km, hop to Sygard Grytting, tonight’s rest stop. 

I’m staying in a barn that dates back to the 14th century, and while I do feel that this may have an element of Trigger’s broom about it, it is certainly very old and rustic.  Even I need to watch my head going through the doors!  But there is a lovely, modern bathroom with super warm underfloor heating.  

One of the hotel staff (there’s a posh hotel here too) bought me out a coffee and a cinnamon bun when I got here, the owner’s dad showed me round and told me about a sculpture exhibit on a nearby field.  I’ve just bumped in to an American couple who are staying  ion the hotel while driving around  Norway visiting relatives and avoiding the ‘tangerine idiot’ back home, and I’ve also just heard that A & R from Australia will be here tonight.  

Day 15: Tretten to Ringebu.

Today was such a different day to yesterday!  I had the worst night’s sleep I’ve had in a long old time.  The cabin I was in was perfectly serviceable, but it was a little like sleeping in an oven.  So stuffy that I was surprised to walk out to a chilly morning (sorry to everyone at home, I know you are enduring intolerably heat).  I posted my cabin key into the keybox and hiked up the hill to rejoin the path.  

I had a fantastic day of walking!  A mixture of forest trails and roads in just the right proportions, with a well placed bench for my breakfast stop. 

I knew that I needed to pick up food for tonight so took a detour into the town of Favang to visit the supermarket there.  It was about 7km before my end point so I didn’t want to carry anything too heavy (noodles for dinner tonight), as I made my way back to the path I thought ‘A coffee shop would be nice right about now!’ And, given it was only 9.30am, an open one would be even better.  Most places seem to open quite late.  I paused to cross a road, looked up and saw just what I was looking for!  

I decided that I should order something more substantial than a mere coffee, and ended up with a toasted chicken and bacon sandwich, with chips and there’s even a little bit of healthy green stuff in there too!  This came with a free coffee and free refills. Happy days!  I think I sat there for about an hour!  I’ve decided that, as cafes are few and far between, I should make good use of them whenever possible.  

I also made use of the mirror in the toilet to do something with my hair.  I’d meant to get it cut before leaving home, but ran out of time.  When it is short I never bother brushing it, just run my fingers through it and it seems OK.  Now however it is bordering on looking less like a mad scientist and more like Jimmy Saville.  Not a great look!  I’d picked up a hairbrush and some hair lies at the supermarket so now I can scrape my hair back into the most ridiculously small ponytail!

As I neared Ringebu I discovered some odd art in the forest.  And a stunning view point.  I also remembered to contact my host to let him know I was nearly there.  

I got to Ringebu much more quickly than I expected.  Rather than wait for my host I walked on to Ringebu Church, grabbed a coffee from a kiosk opposite the church and then had a look around this historic stave church.  I had intended to visit first thing tomorrow- but I wouldn’t have been able to go inside as it doesn’t open until 10am.

Back at Klokkargården Halstad my host, Einar, showed me around my accommodation for the night.  He thinks I’ll probably have the whole place to myself as no one else had booked.  I’m in another former school house (strangely I dreamt I had accepted a teaching job at a school where someone I would never see again works).  The place is HUGE!  I keep getting a bit lost!

Pretty bed for the night

Day 14: Nermo to Tretten

Last night I had a wild meat stew.  Moose and venison (I think) with mushrooms.  It was delicious and very filling.  It also came with mashed potatoes so I was very happy!

This morning I set off in high spirits.  I’d slept well, eaten well and all was right with the world.  The last couple of days have been quite relaxed and easy.  Nice smooth paths under foot and the ability to make fairly steady progress. Today the trail reminded me that the going is not always easy and is quite often scary! There were sections of narrow path with a sheer drop to one side, enough uneven ground to trip up a mountain goat, stiles that just about stayed up as you clambered across them, ‘gates’ with no hinges that you just had to somehow lift and move so that you could get through and several wobbly wooden bridges.  

I made slow progress, struggling to find the path at some points. 

There is a way marker in this picture and it isn’t pointing up the hill!  It took me ages trying to find it.  At this point, about 21k in, I was pretty much losing the will to live, I’d been up that hill, down a couple of parallel paths and been unable to find the path.  I’d just seen the teeny tiny marker and was heading off, through the nettles, when I heard someone call me. A and R from Australia were here!  Just exactly what I needed to pick up my mood… and to witness me falling on my backside as I scrambled down a steep hill.  

We have got cabins in a campsite on the edge of lake Mjøsa.  The cafe at the site sells beer and pizza, as well as ice cream, so no prizes for guessing what I’m having for supper!

Day 13: Lillehamer to Nermo

Today is the longest day! Not in terms of distance walked but in hours of daylight.  17.5hts of daylight at home.  Meanwhile, I’m still struggling with 24hrs of daylight.  I realised yesterday afternoon or, I should say, evening that the daylight affects more than just my sleep pattern.   I normally have a rough idea of what time it is, looking at my watch is a confirmation, allowing me to work out exactly how many minutes I have left to get to Waitrose before it closes.  Here I am frequently looking at my watching and being surprised to find it is 7 or 8pm! 

This morning I tidied up my AirBnB, put the bed linen and towels in the washing machine, loaded the dishwasher and set it off.  It was a very cute little apartment, a lucky find, costing me about the same for two nights as some of the central Lillehamer hotels were charging for a single night.  And, thanks to the washing machine, everything I have with me is now clean (apart from my mind!)

I set off on the path out of Lillehamer, walking through residential areas, taking note of the different architectural styles and doing an informal tally of the most popular makes of robot lawn mowers.  I think Husqvana is winning - but I keep losing count!

I knew I was on the right track when I crossed Skurva Bru.  A stone bridge built by Engebret Heave in 1825 for 148 silver coins. So far so good. Pleasant, easy, slightly uphill walking with the near constant accompaniment of the sound of running water as rivers drained down to the lake in the valley below.  

And then, following my online map as the markers were few and far between, I was about to go through an underpass when I just happened to notice a sign.  Not a life changing, road to Damascus, but a sign nonetheless.  It was set back from the path a bit and, quite often, I walk past these signs as they are often only in Norwegian.  But this time I stopped. 

The sign told me that the path had been rerouted due to major roadworks to build the new E6.  We were to ignore our maps and follow the route in the map on the sign and the way makers.  I took a photo and followed the first way marker.  The second way marker was AGES further down the road, slap bang in the middle of the opening to an underpass.  I looked at  my photographed map.  There was no scale and no buildings were marked on it, but I knew at some point I had to cross this road, so it seemed like a good idea.  I carried on, saw a couple of way markers and thought ‘Happy days!’  And then came to a fenced off bit!  Oops - they were the old way markers.  I trudged back up the hill. Comparing two versions of a similar map on a ‘phone screen in bright sunlight was not easy.  I was also not helped but the infrequent route markers and route markers that had been moved.  One was zip tied to a lamppost and had been moved to tell me to go 90° in the wrong direction. Fun times!

This sign was upside down, in the road when I found it!

I decided not to worry too much and plotted a course that would take me back to the path at a point I hoped the road work would be over.  Luckily my map reading skills haven't totally deserted me! 

I thought today was going to be a long day but it seems I wrote the distance incorrectly.  Either that or tomorrow is going to be a very long day!  Soon after walking under cable cars I was at my stop for the night.  I think I clocked just over 21km, and that includes a side track down into the centre of Oyer to post some postcards (and buy a brown cheese ice cream).