Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance: 17km | Time: 5.5hours | Ascent: 120m | Descent: 90m.

I was up at 0700 and heard the frost dripping of the trees. The temperature must have climbed 10 degrees in the night to just above freezing. I thought a change to the crisp cold weather was on the way. I eventually left a 0900, just as it was getting daylight proper.

It was a quick easy walk through Viblemo and on to Konsmo. Here there was a shop open. I treated myself to a second breakfast here. It was just what I needed after the puritanical dried granola mix previously. 

After Konsmo the road undulated a bit until it came to the long frozen lake of Nedre Oydnavatn. It had a complete covering of ice and a couple of foxes had ventured across it, but it looked far to dodgy for me to contemplate skiing across.

I followed the road up the east side of the lake past a couple of well kept hamlets for a good 7 km until I came to the north end. Here the river from the upper lake Ovre Oydnavayn a km further to the north flowed it.

There was a campsite where the grass beside the river was not too hummocky and the ice was thin enough for me to kick a hole for water. In fact it was quite an idyllic spot. I had the tent up quickly and retired into it as it was getting dark at 1600.

It was another grand day. The weight of the rucksack somewhat spoiled it and I have to cut 5 kg. I will not be able to move quickly through and across snow with a 27 kg rucksack and have to get it down to 20 kg.

The top candidate for the weight reduction are the 3kg of laptop and accessories and the very comfortable 4.5 kg Bergans rucksack down to a 3 kg Norrona one, both 120 litres.  If so, it will mean updates are sent on a mobile phone via email without pictures. However, my phone is refusing to send emails just yet, so this chapter remains unfinished…… whatever happens the satelite location device will stay and will transmit my position each evening, even if there is no mobile network coverage, as is often the case in Norwegian mountains.

I am now about half way through stage one from Lindesnes to Ljosland further north which is where the snow apparently starts and I can head up onto the first of the mountain plateaus. Once on the plateau there will be mountain cabins to stay in with the occasional camp.

Distance: 19km | Time: 6 hours | Ascent: 120m | Descent: 50m.

I slept well. Too well. I  did not wake until 0800 and eventually got under way at 0930. I was tired still from yesterday and could not do another 30 odd km today.

It was cold, but crystal clear.  There was no snow in the dry night but the fields and trees had recieved another layer of frost. Indeed the ground did look like it was covered in snow.

I made my way up the quiet tarmac road beside the calm Audnedal river. Ice was forming in various places and bunches of slush were slowly drifting down to form larger rafts. There was also a curious pool where there were many platelets of ice, like frozen lily leaves. Despite the sun it was a few below zero.

I made quite good time and walked for 3 hours past beautiful farms to Vigmostad. Alot of the farmers were using the New Year break to collect timber from the surrounding forests. Soon this area would be covered in snow.

The rucksack was relentless and sometimes my dominating thought. It often blocked out the apreciation of the surroundings. This was especially true after the break at Vigmostad. Still I pushed on through more pretty hamlets, like Tryland.

Just before I reached Viblemo I spotted a campsite in the midst of some spruce. Here the ground was reasonably spoungy with needles I could get the snow pegs for my tent in. It was also near a brook which was surprisingly unfrozen.

I settled in for the night quite early as the temperature rapidly dropped to minus 9. I had problems with the mini laptop as it did not like the cold. Eventually after a spell in the bag it warmed up.

It was another fine day. The rucksack was heavy but I could so far live with it. My boots remained comfortable, rather surprisingly. A couple of misplaced seams in my trousers causing the only problem. All in all it was a fine day.

Distance: 28km | Time: 8.5 hours | Ascent: 320m | Descent: 320m.

I wanted an early start. Halfway through the day it is better to have the majority day behind you rather than in front of you. I would hope this be routine for the trip. So I managed to get up a 0500, eat a simple dry breakfast, and set of walking at 0600.

It was pitch black, punctuated by the slowly revolving prism of the lighthouse which cast 4 beams of light. I walked a couple of hours before the first hint of daylight flowed on the horizon. I was feeling good and the new boots, always a fear, where very comfortable. The rucksack however was going to take its toll and I could feel the 28 kg straining my back.

After pounding the tarmac toad for 3 hours and seeing no one daylight finally appeared. It revealed a very brown autumnal landscape. The brooks were frozen and icicles were everywhere hanging from rocks. There was some old frost on the ground as the temperature hovered around freezing.

Lindesnes Peninsular sticks out some 20 km into the sea so the climate here is tempered by the sea. Just inland from the coastal fringe on the body of Norway it would be about 10 degrees colder.

The road followed the convoluted coastline much of the way in and out of bays. Many of the bays were just freezing at the fringes. Eider and Mallard ducks abounded in each bay.

The farms along the flatter bit of the coast were small tidy holdings. Not enough to support a family now but something to supplement another income and also continue a rural way of life, of which the Norwegians are very proud.

As I wearily approached Vigeland looking very out of place in my mountain wear with skis on the rucksack a car stopped. It was Erik. He was also starting the same ski trip north. We chatted as he continued to drive south to start his epic tomorrow.

I was glad to reach Vigeland. My feet were weary and my back sore from the 26 km pounding along the tarmac. With my weight and the rucksack my ankles had 140kg to content with. This would diminish soon hopefully.

At Vigeland I had a snack at the only bit of this large village which was open and realizing I would have to spend the night in the tent continued north a couple of km until I found some nice woods to camp in. The ground was frozen and white with accumulations of frost. The tent was up by 1600 and went straight into my sleeping bag.

For the first day I was blessed with good weather. The walk along the tarmac had taken its toll and the next 5 or 6 days to Ljosland where the snow starts will have to be a bit more relaxed. The weight of the rucksack played on my mind though. The little laptop and its accessories weighed nearly 3 kilos and this would make the difference. But I need it for this blog and general writing.

I travelled down to Lindesnes on the 31 December. The proximity of New Year made travel difficult as there was a limited service. None the less I managed to string a train 2 busses and a taxi ride together to get there in the last light.

The light house is the most southerly point of Norway, separating the North Sea from Skaggerak, the sea between Denmark and Norway. It is an isolated and exposed spot and sees many storms. Today it was benign though.

I pitched the tent nearby as there was no accommodation and settled in for the night quite early. After all the preparation of the last 6 weeks this was one of the few chances I could switch off and I slept long and well.

I was woken by the distant and then near sound of a mass of fireworks as the villages on the peninsular celebrated new year at midnight. This New Year was truly going to be another dawn for me. I rolled over in my sleeping bag and returned to sleep with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

I have spent a few days in Asker just outside Oslo. I still had a few things to sort out here like gets a pair of skis and ski boots, which were rather essential to the whole project. That took a day.

Then I had to get a Norwegian SIM card which would allow me to send data so I could update this website and and upload pictures occasionally. I have the SIM card but it wont be validated until the 5th of Jan.

That left me a little time to relax in the the warm and hearty company of  Ovind and Anna, with whom I was staying in Asker, near Oslo. The temperature outside is down to minus 9 and still falling but the atmosphere inside is happy and jocular. Thanks guys.

Finally this evening I packed my rucksack for the last time. Despit my best efforts I have only managed to keep to it 27 kilos. It has a weeks worth of food in it but this is only about 5 kilos. I think I will be cursing it soon.

So not all is set for me to take the 3  busses down to the very south of Norway tomorrow. I will probably camp at or near the lighthouse at Lindesnes, which marks the southern tip of Norway.

Despite the cold temperatures the coastal fringe is devoid of snow for a good 100 km inland until the mountains start near a place called Ljosland. This will mean walking along tracks and through the occasional forest until I can put my skis on. Thereafter there should be snow galore.