Four Seasons in Four Months – Part 14

08 September 2017 (Friday) — by the E1 path, about 18 km from Storerikvollen
Distance: 24.7 km

The morning sun did not wake us up, but only because it was hidden behind the trees. The day ahead, however, looked promising. Most importantly it was not raining in the morning, and we had a lot of things to do. We ate breakfast in our tent, and then we started sorting out our parcel, rationing the nuts, packing and repacking.

We left about 9:30 and from the beginning, it was going steep up the hill, first through the forest until we were above the tree line. We walked a lot through the muds and marshes, which we initially tried to avoid because our shoes were still dry. Unfortunately, not for long. The path was well-marked and visible, but the walk was quite laborious. At coffee time we came to a charming lake, with a very nice camping place. Marcin did not hesitate to cast his fishing rod, while I was preparing coffee. At break times we put our down jackets on as it was getting cold quickly.

Later, we started going down until we came to the valley. The path led past the farm through the meadow where the bulls were grazing. As soon as we entered the gate, they all started running in our direction. We immediately retreated, behind the gate. Good for us, that at some point the farmer appeared, saw what was happening and led us through this meadow under the vigilant gaze of the herd.

After dinner prepared by the river, we started climbing again, just to go down to the next valley. There the path connected with the gravel road. So we moved swiftly and soon we got to the crossroads. All trails were well-marked and described. We took the path leading towards Storerikvollen, and started climbing. After some time, Marcin spotted a hut in the distance and was very determined to get there, because he hoped it would be an open shelter. So we walked and walked, the hut was disappearing from our view from time to time, but unfortunately the path did not reach it at all. We passed it from a distance, to Marcin’s great disappointment. Well, we walked a bit further and set up our camp in nice autumn scenery, on an orange-brown-red carpet.

09 September 2017 (Saturday) — by the E1 path, about 10 km from Nedalshytta
Distance: 30.0 km

We woke up quite early, and we technically packed up dry, as it was not too humid. It was going very well in the morning, the path was of good quality, a bit uphill, a bit downhill, a bit over the wetlands, but all the time more or less at the same altitude. The clouds were gathering over our heads, but it was not raining. While walking, we were looking for a place for coffee break, we chosen one by the creek, sheltered from the wind.

Later it was also going well. We met three wandering ladies who were on their weekend trip. At lunchtime, we came to Storerikvollen, but as it was a serviced mountain hut, with many people around, we passed it, walked few more kilometres, and we stopped by a large river flowing into the lake. As the water was deep and nice, Marcin went on fishing, and I was preparing dinner. After lunch, he cast few more time, but the waves were big, which made it difficult. The wind was getting stronger.

From Storerikvollen, the path turned almost into main road, it was wide, well-trodden, and late lined with footbridges. The walk was going well. The only difficulty was the wind, which was getting stronger with every minute. It’s been hard when the gusts of the wind tried to push us off the path. To add to it, we started climbing. We hid ourselves somewhere behind the rock, and we quickly ate some sandwiches. A longer stop, in such an open terrain, was out of the question at such a windy weather. Soon, the path changed the direction and went down to the river, and we had some protection from the wind. There, by the river, we also found a place for a tent. We prepared another dinner, did a quick action of washing our feet, and we quickly hid ourselves inside the tent because it was very cold.

10 September 2017 (Sunday) — by the E1 path, about 10 km from Stugudal
Distance: 24.2 km

Over the night the wind stopped, but in the morning the sky was completely covered with thick rain clouds, that hung over our tent. We packed up wet. The path was still good, lined with footbridges, and the terrain was not demanding. So the walk went smoothly. The closer to Nedalshytta the more people we met, but more short-distance walkers, and a lot of students (but that they were students we found out later).

We came to the mountain hut with the intention of staying for coffee and waffles, and at the same time recharging our phones. We were wet all over, so before we went inside, we had to sort ourselves out. For coffee, we had to wait till 12, because it was not being served until then. It meant only half an hour of waiting, in the meantime we ate some cake, and we looked around. We learned from people, that there are also showers here. So we decided to stay a little longer and use this chance for a bath. First though, we drank coffee and ate one waffle each. The gentleman at the reception did not speak English well, so we used the showers pretending we were with the students, who stayed here for a weekend stay over (there were 120 of them). We had such a good time that we went for another potion of waffles and coffee. In the mountain hut we spent a few hours, but very successful ones, because we had bath, we dried ourselves, filled our tummies, and recharged our batteries.

At the same time, the rainy clouds moved somewhere else and the Sun came out. After such a rest, we moved briskly. The path wasn’t that well-trodden any more, it led through the marshes and sometimes we lost the trail. It was relatively flat, without many major climbs, but it was going slower, as it was less trodden. After dinner, that we had later than usual, we walked further through the meadows, still in the sunshine. Unfortunately, we did not go far when we had to put our rain jackets on, because the clouds came back. We managed to put the jackets on before it poured down. Then it stopped, then it poured down again, but fortunately we managed to set up our camp between the rains. Nevertheless, we considered the day very successful.

11 September 2017 (Monday) –Kjølihytta
Distance: 19.6 km

At night the wind picked up. Or tent bend under the pressure of the wind and it was draughty, so that all the heat evaporated. The breakfast we ate covered with our sleeping bags. This was not the first such cold morning, after all the autumn is already in full bloom.

The wind was so penetrating that even our rain trousers did not help much. Fortunately as soon as we started to walk, we warmed up. Soon we also began to descend, and the wind was not being felt. We came to Stugudalen, and then going first along the asphalt road, then the forest road, we finally got onto the right path. Slowly, we started climbing, and the higher we were, the wind was getting stronger and it was getting colder. Just before we crossed the tree line, we used their protection, and we made a coffee break.

Later, we walked uphill, not to steep, but gradually uphill. The path was of good quality and it was fairly dry, only here and there, there were some wetlands. We did not have to wait long for the rain. Good for us, that the wind was blowing from the side, so the rain did not bother us that much. It was not until we started approaching the hut, and it started blowing in our face, it got uncomfortable.

As soon as we entered the hut, we decided to stay there overnight, even though it was only two o’clock. After all, we were not in a hurry, and the weather was not encouraging for walking. We used that time, as best as we could, sitting in the warmth, while it blew outside, and the wind would not stop. It was the first hut on our way, with food supplies, but we had enough of food this time. We made a small feast for supper, and we even ate fried sausages.

12 September 2017 (Tuesday) — by the E1 path, by the Busjøen Lake
Distance: 14.7 km

After a good night’s sleep, we got up unhurriedly. Unfortunately, the awaited Sun was not there, and although the wind stopped during the night, it was picking up again in the morning and the black clouds were gathering. Yesterday, we started discussions about our further plans. Today, in the morning we continued this topic. And it all started with the fact that we found out that our last parcel, which was supposed to wait for us at Røros, was sent back to Poland. So we began to think about our possible finish, whether to go to the nearest railway station now, or go to Røros, or what possible options we had. We could not decide at all. Marcin has already turned on the “going home” mode and had a difficult morning, to get out to the wind and cold.

In the end, however, we left and fortunately to start with, we had a descent down a very good path, it was the old road used for mining. On the way, we were considering our options. Before we reached the gravel road, we stopped for a coffee by the stream. It’s difficult to leave off in such weather, but as soon as you start walking it is not that bad. Until it does not rain and does not blow too much, it is quite nice. However, we were prepared for rain to come at any time. Over the coffee we decided to go at least to Glåmos, and use the Internet to check what options we had in terms of our possible return.

As we have already experienced before, coffee gave us energy, we eagerly got back to walking in terrain, and along the average quality path, and we came to a lake. We walked along it for a while. We stopped for a moment, because Marcin wanted to fish, but the wind and the waves did not help. The end of the lake was more sheltered from the wind, and that’s where we stopped, and I was preparing our dinner, while Marcin tried to fish — unfortunately without a result, again. We left the lake, but after a few kilometres we came to another one, a bit bigger, Busjøen Lake. And there was a hut, which turned out to be open (it belongs to the hunters and anglers association). It was quite old, but it also had a specific vibe and interior décor. Although it was still quite early, about 15 o’clock, we decided to stop there. First of all, the hut was open and free (and we do not find them very often at the end of the day). Secondly, we had a cross-country section ahead, which we did not want to do in the evening, so that we will get caught out somewhere after nightfall, especially that it started to rain and the wind was getting stronger. Third, and most importantly: we were not in a hurry, we did not have to do the miles, in the end we also were supposed to have some fun. So we spent a very nice afternoon and evenings in the candlelight.

13 September 2017 (Wednesday) — Glåmos Train Station
Distance: 25.0 km

Our hopes for a nice sunny morning evaporated as soon as we open the curtains and saw the sky covered in dark clouds. Good for us that at least the wind stopped. We left, physically prepared for the rain, and mentally for a difficult cross-country section. We started from climbing until we reached a lake. As it was not raining, Marcin took out his fishing rod and cast it several times. Somehow, he still had no luck in the mountain lakes. We climbed to about 1000 meters, and as there were no trees, the area was not covered with bushes, the walk went quite well. Soon, we began descending and at coffee time we came to small lakes. The Sun came out from behind the clouds.

Later, it went quickly downhill, we got to the woods, and soon we got onto a forest, well-trodden path, and following it, in no time we came to an asphalt road. Wet, from the drizzling rain, we found ourselves in Glåmos. First we turned towards the store, to buy some sweat rolls and something to drink. With such provisions we settled ourselves at a nearby train station. The waiting room was nice and warm, it had only one drawback — there was no Internet, and we counted on that. So we went back to the store, and there with the employee’s consent, we sat down at a table in the corner, used the plugs to recharge, and we used the free Internet to look for options of our return to Poland. It wasn’t going well, because we could not quite decide where, how, whether by train, or by plane. We sat there till the time of the store closing. We bought something to eat, and we went back to the waiting room at the train station, to figure out what to do next. We ate dinner, and then we went to sit by the store, to continue searching, until the rain made us return to the waiting room. In the meantime it got dark. We did not really want to go out into the dark night, not knowing if there will be place for setting up the tent. Willy-nilly, we stayed in the waiting room, mentally preparing ourselves for a difficult night, on the hard benches. We still had to make a decision, we had several options, but we had to choose one.

14 September 2017 (Thursday) — Bergstadens Camping, Røros
Distance: 16.4 km

Somehow we survived the night, but in the end we took our mattress out and the sleeping pad, and we settled in the corner. Fortunately, no one bothered us. We only checked what time the first train leaves, to make sure to get up before someone appears. After breakfast, we dressed warmly, and we went to sit by the shop, to buy plane tickets via the Internet. It took us some time, because we had problems with our payment card, and at some point I thought I had lost my wallet because I couldn’t find it in my bag. Anyway, we finally booked a flight from Oslo to Berlin in two days’ time. Just before 9 o’clock, even before they opened the shop, a little cold, we set off towards Røros unhurriedly. First, along a minor road, then we spotted a forest path, we could walk and get to the city instead of going down the main road. Still, in the woods, we stopped for our last coffee outdoors on this trip.

We came to the campsite on the outskirts of the town, and there we saw a note — closed due to the end of the season. Well, we could have expected that. We went down to the town centre to the tourist information. The lady advised us that this campsite we’ve just seen is the best one. Immediately, she rang the old lady, who looked after the campsite out of season, and found out that we could stay there. So we went back to the campsite. Unfortunately the old lady did not speak English at all, but somehow we agreed on the price, the showers, and even the washing machine. We paid for two nights in advance.

After sorting ourselves out, we went down to the town, to do some food shopping and for the Internet. In the evening we came back, and we made dinner with fresh bread, cottage cheese and tomatoes. And in order to find out what was going on in the world, we turned on a TV that had several English channels. Also, we talked for a while with bikers, whom we helped to stay at the campsite, after seeing them staring at a piece of paper with a message “closed”.

15 September 2017 (Friday) — Bergstadens Camping, Røros
Distance: 0.0 km

Yesterday, we officially closed the trip counter. 2348 kilometres! It’s unbelievable! Of the first hundred we probably remember every single one, and later it went quickly, and never knowing when we it was already thousand, which we celebrated staying overnight in a mountain hut, and soon we reached a distance of two thousand. We could still not believe when and how quickly it all went.

We did not sleep well at night, due to dogs barking. We got up unhurriedly, after the breakfast we did the laundry and watched a TV show. Also, we chatted with our fellow motorcyclists. We drank our first coffee of the day, and we went to the city. It is a very beautiful, historic town with old buildings. Today, probably for the first time, we were lucky with rain, because it was pouring down only while we were eating mini brioche in a cosy café.

16 September 2017 (Saturday) — Oslo, Norway

In the morning after a proper breakfast, we started the final packing. We sat down in the TV room for a while, and then we left to the town. First we went to the café for coffee and cake, and then to the train station to wait for our train. We got to Oslo, where we spent the night at the airport and on Sunday morning we got onto the plane.

And that is how we ended our yet another great adventure. With light backpacks, few pounds lighter, but with a lot of experience and memories, we made for a well-deserved rest in our family homes.