Day 22: Dovrefjell Lodge to Kongsvold Fjeldstue

Dinner last night was wonderful.  Three courses, no choice, if you exclude ‘take it or leave it!’ Served at 7pm prompt and only if you had pre-ordered an evening meal.  A couple turned up at 7pm and were turned away.  Their loss. 

I slept well, used the kettle in my room to make a coffee and an instant porridge, packed all my worldly belongings into a backpack that never seems to get any lighter, put my key in the lock and set off.  

It was a little colder, initially, than yesterday but once I got moving I was warm enough, and pretty soon I needed to take my jacket off.  It did occur to me that this stage, and yesterday’s, would have been an entirely different experience in wet weather.  

It was another day of enormous views.  The photos just don’t do them justice.  I didn’t see any reindeer or musk ox, but I was constantly surrounded by birdsong and thanks to the Merlin App was able to identify several species I haven’t seen or heard before.  

Food is a bit dull while I’m walking. There have been no shops at all since I left Toftemo.  I’m living on some rather nice seeded cracker bread, granola bars, tangerines etc. and making sure I get a good meal in the evening.  I still haven’t opened my Haribos or my fudge.  

The route has merged with another path, the Kongevegen (king’s way). So I can now look for blue crown way markers as well as the red and white ones.  Parts of the route are very straight as, according to an information board, they were built according to the ‘French way.’

Eystein church is a modern (1969) building that is visible from miles away. It is perched high on a hillside, approached by a steep climb and houses the local pilgrim centre.  I popped in, had a lovely chat about knitting with the lady volunteering there and went on my merry way. 

Home tonight is a bed in a pilgrim cabin at Kongsvold  Fjeldstue.  I’m in a shared room (two beds).  There are three other rooms- but I haven’t seen or heard anyone else. I’ve booked dinner for 6pm, I am very tired today and just want to eat and sleep.

Day 21: Toftemo to Dovrefjell

I had every intention of having breakfast at my lodgings this morning.  Despite waking up well before 5am, I hung around in my room, did Wordle, read a bit of my book, checked the weather.  At around 7.30am I thought I would pop down and investigate.  If they were going to start serving breakfast at 8am surely there would be some prep going on. Maybe I could just grab a coffee from the machine and a few cold bits and be on my way.  The whole place was locked up, with not a member of staff anywhere.  Another guest, who was coming back from a run, commented that the staff turned up at about 8am - breakfast actually happened a bit later.  I decided not to wait.  I filled my thermos with some instant coffee and set off.

It was a 2k hike back to the trail, but at that point I knew there was a petrol station with a small supermarket.  I picked up breakfast (a disappointing croissant), lunch and, because I was going into the mountains, ‘emergency’ Tangfastics and some fudge.  I then hid the Tangfastics and fudge so deep in my rucksack I’ll probably never find them again.  It is the only safe thing to do.  As I sit here now every fibre of my being is resisting the urge to open one (or both) packets.  Once that happens I will just inhale them! 

There has been a lot of talk about how hard today’s stage would be.  The route goes up into the high mountains.  I had a welcome distraction in the very early stages, a ‘phone call from my friend Richard who is walking the GR5 at the moment.  We compared notes, he wins in terms of size of mountains and number of other walkers met.  I think I win in terms of number of mosquito bites!

About four and a half kilometres (all up hill) in I passed the place I knew that Jasper, Anne and Robert had stayed in. They’d be well on their way by now I thought, only to spot Jasper as I came around a corner.  He’d left late as he was only walking 14k today.  We walked together for a while, but he is from the Netherlands and about 8feet tall and I more closely resemble a hobbit!  My poor little legs would have to work triple time to keep up on this initial, steep, hill so I told him to go on.  

A short while later I came to a picnic bench, it would be churlish not to use it, so I sat for a while,  only to be joined slightly later by Anne and Robert.  We chatted for a while, catching up on who had seen who.  It struck me that every time you say goodbye on this sort of journey you do so in the knowledge that you may not see that person again.  And it is always such a pleasure when you do bump into them.  

The first part of today’s stage was quite steep.  The sort of steep that forces you to stop often to admire the view!  But after about 10km it levelled out a little, it was still uphill until 1210m, but it was much gentler.  Added to this the path was less rocky and there were no face high nettles and brambles overgrowing the path. 

And the views!  The views were phenomenal.  The weather was perfect. Sunny, but with a steady breeze that prevented overheating.  Rivers and boggy bits were crossed. It was one of those exceptional walking days where every view takes one’s breath away, the terrain is just challenging enough and the distance isn’t too far. 

I’ve checked into Dovrefjell Lodge for the night. I’ve done my washing and am crossing my fingers that it will dry (a late start this morning means less time for clothes to dry in the afternoon) and I am about to investigate dinner. 

Day 20: Jørundgard to Toftemo

A fly woke me up.  The room I was in last night was huge, I was the only person in it but there were seven beds in there.  At about 3.30am I woke up and became aware of a very loud fly buzzing around the room.  I tried to ignore it, knowing that there was very little chance I’d be able to catch it, for about an hour but finally admitted defeat and got up! It hadn’t been the best night’s sleep ever.  There had been an open air concert in the courtyard that finished at 9pm.  I think Jasper went and listened to it (and if I catch up with him again I must ask what role the horse played).  I wanted to finish my book so, after a dinner of local beer and local food, I went to bed.  The Jørundgard village has lots of faux ancient buildings that people can wander in and out of.   I’d finished my book by 8.45pm, and was always just on the point of dropping off when someone barged through the door!  The last time it was gone 10pm and I was dead to the world when I realised that someone else was in the room with me!

Local beer

Local food

It was warm when I left, not as warm as the UK has been experiencing in the last few days but warm enough, at 5am, for me to think ‘I hope a lot of the path is through the forest today!’  And up through the forest the path did go!  A lot of the trail could be marked ‘not suitable for wheelchair users’ or ‘likely to necessitate wheelchair use in the near future!’  I managed to fall over from a stationary standing position! I shifted my weight slightly and the rock I was standing on wobbled and tipped me forward! 

Not suitable for wheelchair users!

There were big notices telling walkers not to cross the train track which meant a circuitous path to get around  it. I wished for longer legs on several occasions as I heaved myself up and over huge rocks.  

I passed a couple sitting outside their tent eating breakfast and chatted for a while. I admire people who carry their tents as well as everything else, but have zero desire to do so myself. I am far too old, and far too accustomed to my creature comforts to sleep on the ground! 

Out of the forest and on to tracks and roads, the sun was warm.  I felt as though I was constantly seeking shade and looking for an elusive bench so I could take a break.  Actually, the sun was more than warm!  I knew I was going to pass a camp site and hoped that it would have a cafe or a shop.  It did, but it is Sunday so they were closed!

Arriving in Dovre I saw the two retired Norwegian gentleman I met yesterday.  We sat and chatted for a while before seeing if there was a stamp at the church - there wasn’t.  There were three more Commonwealth War Graves for young soldiers who died in 1940.   While we were chatting a local gave just each a present. Moose salami!

At my overnight accommodation, once I’d checked in, showered, done my washing etc., I sat in the cafe and inhaled my first coffee of the day.  The couple I’d seen earlier in the day walked in.  Antonio and Monica, they live in Oslo although he is Spanish and she is Polish.  They are doing the Gudbrandsdalsleden in sections and had come to the end of their latest stage and are heading back to Oslo for work tomorrow morning. Great to chat with them!

 Tomorrow I have a dilemma.  Breakfast doesn’t start until 8am, but I have a long day.  If the weather is going to be cool I think I will have breakfast (and coffee), maybe make a sandwich to take for lunch.  There are no shops now for three days!  

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.