DAY 85 - 90
Day 85 - Hidden treasures
There’s a few hiking Norge på Langs this year, at least that's what I've heard. I've met three (Inger, Hans, and Bård), and I've read about a few in the cabin guestbooks along the way. Yesterday, I received a message from a Swiss guy named Vanja on Facebook, wondering how far I'd gotten. He was 300 km ahead of me, and he could tell me about the conditions and the challenges he had to face. He had redirected his route to get further south as quickly as possible and was also walking more along the road because a lot of the bridges on the trail has been taken down for the season.
His tips and information would have stressed me out completely had this been earlier. I would have spent a lot of energy worrying about snow and the lack of bridges. Instead, I could plan an optional route, a plan B, and then deal with the obstacles and difficulties when they arrive.
That morning, it was snowing up in the mountains and I was glad my new van life route took me to Alvdal by the road instead of through Forollhogna National Park. After 15 km in the sun, I met up with Simon and we ate lunch in the van before I continued towards Ålen. Looking at the map, we saw that there was a 750-meter-long tunnel ahead and we started looking for a way around. As it turned out, there was a small, hidden dirt road just next to the tunnel. It was a beautiful path, untouched by traffic with the mountainside on my right and the river on my left.
Along the way, it was beautiful bridges and waterfalls, surrounded by tall trees, and because my speed is 6 kilometers per hour instead of 80, I have time to take in all the beauty around me.
When I arrived in Ålen, Simon and I decided to treat ourselves to pizza from the local pizzeria… The best thing to be said about that pizza was that we didn’t have to make it ourselves... Being in a lazy mood, we stayed at the parking lot outside the Coop, so we had a toilet in close proximity.
Steps: 34 023
Day 86 - Spoiler: The answer is 42
Before I started my walk towards Røros, I went to the Coop and bought myself a new pair of walking sticks. Not that I needed them for hiking on the road, but I was prepared for the trail again at any time.
As I've said before, hiking the road is efficient but boring. I had the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy audiobook as entertainment though, that helped. If you like funny and totally random, it's the book for you. Because the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, is 42.
I found the van parked close to the road 5km before Røros. Seeing as we had both eaten a big lunch earlier, neither Simon nor I were particularly hungry. We decided therefore to eat crackers with leverpostei and prim. If I were to translate that to English, I would say liver pâté and melted brown cheese, but as that sounds disgusting, I rather not.
Steps: 37 741
Day 87 - Gønne på
This is what Wikipedia has to say about Røros:
"The modern-day inhabitants of Røros still work and live in the characteristic 17th and 18th-century buildings which have led to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. Røros has about 80 wooden houses, most of them standing around courtyards. Many retain their dark pitch-log facades, giving the town a medieval appearance."
The sun was shining, so we had an enjoyable walk through the streets of Røros. I also bought a new thermal sweater, seeing as the days are really starting to get colder. Before I continued my walk southwards, I went to the post office to pick up a package my old squad from the army had sent to me. 5 packages of instant meals and chocolate – a nice surprise.
That's my boys, thank you so much. "Gønne på - Arne"
I wanted to have a chill day, so we found a nice spot somewhere in the vicinity of Os. Close by was a camping site where we could wash our clothes. While waiting for it to get done, we made a delicious chicken dinner and watched Pan's Labyrinth before heading back to our private spot by the river.
Røste Camping - highly recommended!
Steps: 25 674
Day 88 - Down by the riverside
“Simon, make me breakfast!”
“Ok-la”
Ah, a very good start. And it got even better when I after half an hour of walking, came to a shop where the ice cream was 40% off. Mmmm.
From Os, I chose to walk on a dirt road, rather than walking on the E30. Here, I could walk in peace and without any traffic, except for a tractor or two. It was another sunny day. I had the river Glomma (the longest river in Norway) on my right and everywhere, I was surrounded by yellow trees with their leaves shining like gold in the bright sunlight.
We parked the van by the river close to Telneset and in the evening, we made Simon’s super-delicious blueberry cake and watched Hellboy.
Ah, a very good ending!
Steps: 35 097
Day 89 - Distractions
The road to Alvdal seemed to be never-ending. It was nice to look at all the yellow trees mixed up with the evergreens, but it wasn’t exciting enough to keep my interest for long. I started looking for things to take pictures of, but after a while, that wasn’t interesting enough either, so I put on an audiobook and sped up.
Again, I chose to walk on the other side of the river Glomma, to get away from traffic. In Tynset, I stopped at the train station to use the restroom before eating my lunch. I watched an episode of Suits, and when I continued walking, I continued watching.
We parked the van at a pit stop with a toilet along the road, 5 km away from Alvdal. Apparently, our van looks quite suspicious, because, for the second time, it caught the police’s attention. Two friendly policemen came knocking on the door, but they just wanted to ask some questions. I told them about my hike through Norway and that they should check out my Facebook page.
After that, we made dinner and while Simon watched a movie on his computer, I planned and redirected my route and updated my blog.
I really do love the van-life.
Steps: 38 303
Day 90 – Solan, Ludvig & Aukrust
Before leaving Alvdal, I wanted to introduce some characters from my childhood to Simon, and the best way of doing that, was to visit the Aukrust museum.
Solan, my childhood hero
The amazing universe of Kjell Aukrust, is something every Norwegian knows about. Reodor Felgen, Solan and Ludvig are all dear to us, and I wanted to share this with Simon. We were the only visitors, so we got a private tour through the museum, where we got an introduction to Kjell’s life, his drawings, paintings and inventions.
To my greatest pleasure, we were offered to watch a shortened version of the movie Flåklypa, translated to English. One of my all time favourite movies I could watch together with Simon, it really meant a lot to me.
Once we were done, we drove up to a camping spot for a quick shower, before continuing my hike. The weather was nice so the hike was very enjoyable. I was now off the main road, heading towards Nedre Flatseter and the mountains.
Steps: 33 912
