Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 15km | Time 4hrs | Ascent 150m | Descent 120m

I had a very slow start as I had a relatively short day and I wanted to enjoy the rustic charm of this cabin. I eventually left at 1030 in blazing sun Initially I would ski south for 2 km and for the first time this trip the sun glasses were essential.

It was a very beautiful trip down the lake and then through the pine woods to Bjorkede farm. Somewhere on this ski I crossed into Sweden. I chose this way as I thought there would be scooter tracks. My hunch was right and they led all the way to the farm and beyond.

Bjorkede farm was similar to Holderen with red house and many log outbuildings. There was a snow covered road to it which crossed two simple wooden bridges.

After the bridges I headed north east up the south side of the 6 km river which drained Gjevsjoen lake into Holderen lake. My route took me along a forest track buried under a metre of snow. There was a scooter track down the middle of it which made life easy and fast.

As I skied through the pine trees in the sun it got warmer and warmer. I had to stop and strip down to my vest. There were masses of moose tracks in the forest. Before long I reached some cabins and the end of the road. Luckily for me the scooter tracks continued across the lake in the direction I was going.

It was some 7km across the lake. There was a fierce wind blowing from the east which I had to lean into. If I deviated from the barely visible scooter tracks which were covered in spindrift I was up to my shins in deep snow. Fortunately the tracks crossed the lake all the way to the far shore near the farm. Half way across the lake I crossed back into Sweden. On the far side in the forest the wind died and the warmth of the sun returned.

There are actually 2 farms at Gjevsjoen but one is not used. The other is run by Kristian Gjevsjo and his parents. The place was very much like Holderen and the neighbouring Swedish farm of Bjorkede. A newish house surrounded by masses of old log buildings. Even the barn was constructed of old logs.

Kristian had warmed up a small cabin for me which was perfect. We chatted a bit, mostly about his 2.5 kw windmill and 2 tonnes of batteries to store the power in.

I settled in, unpacked and started writing when there was a knock on the door. I thought it was Kristian with some bread. I opened it to seen Andre. He had made it from Gaundal in a day. I was glad to see him. He was to spend the night in the cabin also.

Andre managed to arrange a meal with the Gjevsjo family. So we chatted a bit, a lot about the route choice north of Vera but also about the next two days to Nordli. Then we went for the meal.

It was fresh trout caught in the lake through the ice with a net and moose meat. It was a delicious meal. After it we chatted with the family for a couple of hours.

His family had been at the farm for over 200 years. They owned a vast track of many thousands of hectares. The had a few sheep but mostly made their living off tourists who came here to ice fish in the winter and from a boat in the summer. There were also hunting groups who stayed to shoot ptarmigan and grouse and occasionally moose

Apparently Gjevsjoen was abundant with trout. Some of the photos indicated that some of the trout had metamorphised into ferox trout with a few 8 kg specimens on display with the characteristic hooked lower jaw.

The place was also teeming with moose. Each year the family shot about 5 for their larder. There was once talk of including this whole area, including Holderen and Gaundal into a National Park. Strong resistance from the Gjevsjo family and especially Steinar Gaundal had prevented this as they would effectively have to sell to the government and leave.

It had been a very easy and very enjoyable day. Partly due to the weather partly due to the magnificent landscape and forest and much to do with the culural hertigage of the 3 farms I encountered. Tomorrow I would breakfast with the family at 0700 and then join Andre for the 2 or 3 day trip across the mountains to Nordli. Here a tent was the only accommodation.

Distance 14km | Time 5hrs | Ascent 400m | Descent 450m

It was a late start as I did not get to bed until midnight. I surfaced at 0800 had the second half of the 10 eggs for breakfast and by the time I had packed and cleaned the cabin it was 0930. I then went up and chatted with Steinar and his mother for a good half hour. They showed me arial pictures of the place in the autumn and it looked stunning in its golden fields.

As I was going to ski off, Steinar who was going to set off on his snow scooter anyway, volunteered to drive up through the woods I would be taking initially and make some tracks for me. The hospitality and service at Gaundal was quite astounding. This act alone saved me at least an hour, maybe two.

The climb up through the woods was short and following his tracks I made good time. Soon the tracks ended at the treeline but now the snow was harder and easier to get through.

There was a line of telegraph poles between Gaundal and Holderen. The best route to take was apparently just to follow them. It was overcast with the odd snow flake but the visibility was good.

As I climbed the views got better, especially behind me of the Skjaekerfjella mountains I passed through yesterday. I first got a good view when I was about half way on Nordskardklumpan, a small mountain. Here stretching some 30 km was the white Torron lake with a wide fringe of dark forest around it stretching far into Sweden.

A bit beyond this viewpoint tomorrows lake, Gjevsjoen, appeared and then todays lake, Holdern. Both of these were also surrounded by forest. Hopefully the forests would not harbour very deep snow as I had to go through them.

It was an easy run down to the upper forest. Ahead of me was the farm of Holderen in this same forest beside the lake. It was nestled in a clearing and looked very idyllic from 3 km away. I continued down following the telegraph lines still until I reached the valley floor.

Todays route had one last trick up its sleeve. At the valley floor a steam had cut a path through moraine. On the far side of this stream was a steep bank only 10 metres high. I went downstream for half a km and found no way up it so I retraced my steps and went half a km upstream and found a difficult and exhausting route though the steep and deep snow up it.

I now had a very pleasant km to go through a stunningly beautiful pine forest. Beyond the big old trees I could se the frozen lake. Everything was bright and in the sun. Soon through the pines I could see the red farm and its old outbuildings. One of these outbuildings was the tourist association cabin. It was a very pretty setting in the winter snow and sun.

The farm itself was as isolated as Gaundal. However there was now no one living here throughout the year, but just occasionally in the summer. It was one of the most peaceful and idyllic spots I had seen on the trip so far.

The outbuildings were all old log buildings. One of them was run as a self-service cabin. It was a very old building and very authentic inside with cracked log walls, a large fireplace with a more recent and efficient stove in it and simple old furnishings. Again it was one of the nicest and cosiest of the cabins on the trip so far.

I got a fire going, melted some water and then looked for the larder. It was not well stocked but had tinned peaches. After a snack I wrote the log while the temperature outside plummeted. I noticed that the cabin although old and authentic had some cold drafts and the stove struggled to heat the place up much.

It had been an easy and pleasant day. I would have liked to have stayed and found out more about Gaundal but had to move on. The ski was quite good but the farm and cabin at Holderen were idyllic. Tomorrow I have a short day to Gjevsjoen which is another roadless mountain farm. Like Gaundal it has people living there all year.

Distance 39km | Time 11hrs | Ascent 960m | Descent 860m

I was up at 0530, but breakfast, repacking my new Pod rucksack and tidying the cabin took almost an hour and a half and I didn’t leave until 0700.

I was disappointed that it was snowing and hoped the forecasters had not made a mistake. If I was to make Gaundal today I needed good visibility so I could ski fast across the tops of the bare mountains. I had already phoned Stienar Gaundal at his farm to see if he had a cabin and he gave me instructions as to the best route at his end given the conditions.

I skied the 4 km along the deserted road to Vera and then turned of up a track. Surprisingly it was partly cleared, and then I found an old scooter track which went up the hillside through the forest roughly where I wanted to go. I did not look at the map until I reached the bare hilltop. I was roughly where I wanted to be on Reinsmyrhogda. I could now simply ski north east across the mountain ridge.

Wrong! I skied north east for a short km and came to a ravine separating me from the rounded top of Klumpan. I skied west to make a detour to the end of the ravine and ended up going nearly a km before I could drop down into it. Getting up the steep tree clad north side was very hard graft. It took a good hour and I completely used up my breakfast.

Once up I had another 2 km of difficult terrain in deep snow as I weaved past other ravines and negotiated numerous knolls covered in steep drifts and cornices. It was very taxing and slow work. In retrospect I should had headed east to detour the first ravine rather than west. At least the snow had stopped and the sun was trying to break through. However, I had wasted precious hours and energy on this section.

I tried to warn Andre who was half a day behind me and would inevitably follow my tracks but the only mobile signal was Swedish and it was erratic so the text never went. He had a sledge so would be cursing it and me later in the day.

Once away from this gnarly terrain the deep snow vanished as I climbed up onto the ridge of rounded tops which stretched north east. I made good time and enjoyed great views. The Skjaekerfjella mountains on each side seemed almost luminous white under the dark grey skies.

I skied along this ridge to Nordre Seterfjellet and then traversed down to Staggadalen by its watershed with Lakadalen. Steinar Gaundal advised me to then follow Staggadalen keeping to the treeless west side and avoiding the forest on the east.

As I reached the watershed time was getting on. It was already 1430 and I had a long way to go. I was resigned to camp. Suddenly a snow scooter came towards me out of the blue. It was Steinar himself coming to check on me and help me with some tracks to the days final destination. We chatted a bit and he told me if I followed his tracks I would do the 16 km in 3 hours. What service and luck.

I took the ski skins off and started to blast down the track. Steinar had long disappeared. It was a very gentle and easy descent to the confluence of Staggaelva and Fiskloysa streams. The forest on the east side looked fiendishly difficult had I chosen that way. This side was largely bare and the snow was harder, especially after the scooter had passed over it.

I was getting tired now as this mornings squandered efforts came home to roost. With the small breakfast and no lunch my blood sugar was dropping. There was one last trick up the days sleeve which was Staggafjellet, a 100 metre climb up a ridge.

The scooter tracks made this much easier. It was about 1700 and the sun had set but it was still light. The mountains which had been luminous white all day now turned a remarkable deep blue. From the top of Staggafjellet I could make out the homestead of Gaundal.

The descent down to the valley was wonderful. Steinar had driven the scooter to give a long slow run for me. Soon I was wizzing towards the forest below. It was a beautiful forest of old majestic pines each with its own space A capercaille flew from one of the trees. After crossing a frozen marshy delta where birch trees lined the natural levees on each side of the river I arrived at the homestead where Steinar came out to meet me.

The cabin he had for me was perfect with inside toilet and fridge. I chatted with Steinar for a while and mentioned I was hungry. He dissapeared and returned with 10 eggs, a loaf of bread, margarine, a litre of milk and to cap the lot a kilo of roasted moose fillet. I was delighted.

After he left I fell upon this feast like the famished man with no manners I was. The dried food in my pack would be postponed for a less happy occasion. I then tidied up my stuff and when up to visit him and his mother in the main house.

Gaundal homestead was a remarkable place. The family had been associated with the place since the 16 century. Initially for animal skins and meat and now for some sheep farming but mainly tourism. It was 26 km to the nearest road in Norway. In the winter these 26 km were covered by snow scooter. In the summer Steinar used a small plane.

The whole farm was some 7500 hectares. On it were lakes to fish and some hunting. Tourists came in Easter to ice fish and in the summer to fish and sometimes hunt.

Steinar had built his own 13 kw hydro plant some 4 km away and erected poles and cables to the house, sheep barn, hen house and the few cabins for rent

The was a lot of wolverine in this area. There was also some bears. Between them they took about 10 sheep a summer. There was not a lot of lynx here as the terrain was not gnarly enough apparently. There was a lot of elg and grouse also. Steinar was a wildlife officer and also informed me there was the odd Arctic fox passing through occasionally.

I also met Mrs Gaundal. She was 87 and still feisty. Remarkably she had brought up 7 children on this remote outpost. Like most Norwegian farms the place was well cared for and maintained and the cabin I was in was one of the best on the trip so far.

It had been a hard day, mostly due the mornings floundering about in steep, knee deep snow. However after that it just got better and better. The scooter tracks for the last 16 km were a godsend. It would have taken 7 to 10 without them instead of 3. It was also fascinating to end up at such a unique place with such generous hosts. The rucksack was by and large an improvement and I could have gone further today given daylight and food.

Distance 19km | Time 6hrs | Ascent 330m | Descent 370m

I did not know what type of problems the day would throw up so decided to leave early. Breakfast was a tin of stew and bowl of rice. Then there was the cabin to tidy up and I was ready to leave about 0800.

It was a bit windy with the odd snow flake in the overcast air. I initially skiied up the small road for 4 km until I got to Briedvatnet lake. Just before the lake was a cleared parking area and a sign pointing north saying Veressjoen. It looked like the trail I needed to find through the woods.

There had been a lot of skiers this way recently and even with the new snows of late there was a beaten trail through the tall sharp spruce. I followed it for a km to a treeless clearing when the trail vanished under new drifted snow. Luckily I found some marker stakes and followed them until they re-entered the forest and the trail reappeared as the snow had not drifted here.

This alternation between a reasonable trail through the trees, to a stretch of deep snow continued for a good few km until the trail began to climb out of the forest. Here the trail all but disappeared but the markers continued. I followed them through snow which was shin deep.

It was slow going as my skis were constantly on an upward slope and every step I had to press down some 25 cm of snow. However the threat of bad weather had now receded and there was a bit of blue sky at last. In addition the forest of pines I was now in was extremely beautiful.

I slowly climbed out of the trees entirely onto a very broad ridge with a couple of lakes gouged into it. From here I got a marvellous view north across forests to large rounded mountains in the distance. These mountains stretched across the northern horizon and must have been about 1250 metres high. They were the Skjaekerfjella mountains and extended across the border with Sweden, where there were a National Park. With high the rounded mountains and extensive pine forests one could be forgiven for comparing it to the more rugged parts of the Scottish Highlands.

The snow was much firmer above the treeline as the wind would have broken up and packed the snow flakes, so sometimes I was not sinking in at all. I could enjoy this section without having to wade through deep snow. I opted to keep my skins on however and this slowed me up considerably.

Soon I was back in the undulating forest and I had to work hard again to move forward. I continued to follow the stakes which marked the summer track in the hope I would find some ski tracks which were also following it. There were none however.

The trail rose over a crest and I got my first glimpse of Veressjoen lake some 4 km to the north. From here the stakes descended through the magnificent pine trees, many with spiralled trunks which comes with age. Just as the final descent to the lake began I came across some very fresh snow scooter tracks. The dident follow the stakes but descended to the lake anyway. I followed them

At the lake I left the scooter tracks and headed across to the farms at Sveet just a km away now, but slow in the deep snow on the lake. At Sveet farm I met Gudrun Olsen who ran a small campsite in the summer but was now trying to hand it over to her son or a buyer so she could enjoy her retirement

She had received my rucksack and had put it in the small simple cabin which she had pre-warmed for me. She knew I was coming as Ovind had spoken to her 3 days previously about receiving the rucksack and she had offered the cabin at that time.

I eagerly reached the warm cabin and unwrapped the rucksack. It was as expected. I transferred most of my belongings from old to new rucksack and was delighted with the capacity and weight. I was now down from 20kg to about 17kg. It doesn’t sound much but the difference was huge in reality. I am pretty fit now so with the light load I should be a flying machine gobbling up the kilometres.

I returned to Gudruns with the old rucksack to return. She invited me in for coffee and cake. She takes a fair bit of interest in the Norge Paa Lang skiers, and in the summer walkers, as the all have to pass through the bottleneck of Vera. Over the years she has enjoyed hosting people and chatting with them. She was extremely helpful, knowledgeable and likeable and hopefully someone will take over her small business as it would be a loss to long distance travellers if it closed down completely.

Apparently there were only some 20 people living in the area around the lake now. This surprised me I thought with the good farming it would be more. The area was very beautiful indeed and I am sure it would be popular in the summer.

Most of the farms had cows only as the surrounding hills were reindeer grazing areas for domesticated herds. There were no sheep consequently. This was probably just as well as lynx were common and wolverine were present in the area.

I ate some dried food I had been carrying since Lindesnes to reduce the weight further. I still had about 4 days dried food in the rucksack, none of it pleasant. Tomorrow I will test my rucksack and fitness as I hope to make Gaundalen. This is some 40 km across trackless forest and mountainside.

Gaundalen is a very remote farm. It is more like a homestead with no road within tens of kilometres. Apparently it is run by a elderly mother of nearly 90 and her nearly 70 year old son. They have cabins to rent and eggs for sale. I am keen to see it and hope I manage the distance.

It had been a good day. The weather was kind, the scenery fantastic and despite the difficult conditions I had done nearly 20 km. I am also delighted to get my new rucksack and with the new weight I have to carry. I look forward to a warm evening in this small cabin which Gudrun kindly made available.

Distance 11km | Time 3hrs | Ascent 120m | Descent 260m

It was a short day today so I did not rush the morning. After a large breakfast with plenty of orange juice to replenish my fluids. I decided to finish yesterdays blog before leaving.

The manager, Elizabeth, was especially generous an showed me round the main building. It had been built in the end of the 19th century by a Scottish magnate called Tom Nichol. He used it as a hunting lodge. The architecture in the public rooms was very similar to the architecture in hunting lodges I had visited in Scotland, especially the roof beams. These rooms were adorned in hunting artefacts and well looked after furniture.

When Tom Nichols died in 1901, none of his 5 children could be bothered with a hunting lodge in Sweden and preferred London high life so the place was auctioned in London.

It was bought by Wengerlund, a Swedish banking magnate. Eventually he bequeathed it to a foundation associated with the SEB, a major bank in Sweden. In time this foundation also aquired some 22,000 hectares in the area to form a large estate.

The lodge is now largely used by management of the above bank and Swedish notables and as such was well looked after. One of the estate cabins was in fact Holsjostugan. Although private, it had an emergency shelter attached to it which was always open.

In my short stay here I was very impressed by the good natured and happy staff and their hospitality which was extremely generous. The well liked and cheerful manager, Elizabeth, especially.

It was now 1200 and time to leave. Ignoring advice I took one of the lodges ski trails north for a couple of km through very beautiful forest. The trail wound through copses of birch and spruce and across open glades of glistening snow. This delightful trail went near the road at one point so I left it and waded through forest snow to gain the road.

It was only some 7 km to Norway now and the road was fast. Within an hour I had skied the flat section and made the fast descent to Sandvika. To the west and north of me spruce forests filled the valley and then the white sun drenched mountains of Norway rose beyond. I would ski in these mountains tomorrow.

The weather was fantastic. Windstill with a perfect blue sky. How it had changed since yesterday evening. I reveled in the sun and enjoyed the mood it put me in. A bit of sun after 14 days snow certainly lifts the spirits.

From Sandvika it was a short ski along the road to the quaint self service cabin at Innstua. Curiously it was right beside this minor road. I had to clear snow from the door to get in. Once in I was surprised to see it had electricity. With the wall heaters and wood stove on it soon warmed up. Indeed it was very comfortable, but the larder was sparse.

In the evening I wrote the blog and phoned the couple who had a cabin for me tomorrow in Sveet and also had my new rucksack. It was not a long ski to Sveet tomorrow, only some 18km, but it had potential to be difficult with forest sections and no trails.

It had been a very good day. I loved the atmosphere and staff at Skalstugan and at last enjoyed some sun. In addition the cabin at Innstua was delightful and comfortable.