Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 19km | Time 5.5hrs | Ascent 240m | Descent 170m

I had a late start as I just wanted to walk the 17 km to Steindal. It looked like a large village on the map and I was hoping it would have a post office. I had decided to post the laptop back to Oslo.

If I decide to use a sled after Roros, in effort the halfway point, I might include it again. Otherwise it will join me on the kayak trip from May. In the meantime I will just have to make pictureless posts via my phone when mobile coverage allows. The map however, will continue to be updated every day via satellite.

There was a dusting of snow covering the tent in the morning. As I walked up the road past Ovre Oydnavatn lake flurries of snow came and went. It was getting more wintery. However, before long the sun was out again and the skies cleared and the temperature dropped.

I made easy time to the dormant village of Byremo past a very pretty hamlet beside the white frozen lake. I did not stop here but continued up the quiet snow covered road pushing to get to Steindal to camp nearby.

Steindal however was a major disappointment. It was a small hamlet with no facilities. There would be no coffee or chocolate, let alone a post office. Before I knew it I was through.

It was getting on a bit now and as I headed further north I started to look for campsites as I did not want to be caught in falling temperatures. 2km north of Steindal I spotted a potential site in mature spruce beside the river. After leaving the road and heading through the forest with my skis catching on all the lower branches I reached the spot.

Lo and behold at the spot was a small rustic workers cabin. A few of the windows were broken but it was open and on a side wall was a stove. I patched the windows with plastic and soon had a roaring fire going. I collected water from the river and settled down to a warm cosy evening. It was the first time I had been inside this trip and probably the first time I was above freezing point.

It was a very good ending to a good day. Hopefully the next village, Aseral, would have a post office so I could return some things to Oslo. Aseral was now a mere 16 km further north.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 7:14 pm and is filed under Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.