Day 50 – 16 Aug, Randalselva River to Kvepsendalskooia Shelter

(29km, total 1243 km, 9h, 0920 to 1820)

It was raining when I woke up and I had quite a bit of condensation inside my tent. I wiped the inside and had breakfast, enjoying the fresh blueberries to go with it. I packed everything and loaded my tent while still inside and as I got out of the tent the rain stopped so I was able to give it a quick wipe and pack up.

The trail started uphill and I was stopping frequently to eat blueberries. Eventually I filled a bag of them as well. The weather stayed overcast with the occasional shower.

The themes today were reindeer, mushrooms and blueberries. Within 5 minutes I saw my first herd of Reindeer and I saw another 8 during the day.

The trail finished the steep climb and continued climbing more gradually, over a swampy area and then up another steep hill.

I was happy that I could not feel my injured foot, both the old pain and the more recent pain that forced me off the trail. I was continually smiling and really happy to be back on the trail. The scenery wasn’t fantastic but I didn’t care. It was an open area with nothing really distinctive to look at as most of the higher hills/mountains were hidden behind the clouds.

In this area it seemed like there was one white reindeer in each herd

While climbing I spotted a hiker with a bright red raincoat coming towards me. We talked and I think I annoyed him by saying it was a “good day”. I was happy to be on trail but I don’t think he was impressed with the wind and rain. His pack looked almost empty and I asked if he was hiking Norge Pa Langs to which he replied in a condescending manner “no that is just a short trail”. He was German and section hiking the E1 from his home in Hamburg up to Nordkapp. He had been on the trail since late Jun and was getting off in a few days. He made a point to let me know he was a triple crowner (completed all three of the USA long trails; AT, PCT and CDT). I was impressed that he was hiking at his age my guess is in his 70s) but a little put off by his manner.

I continued climbing and was getting up into the clouds and visibility was pretty bad by the time I was getting near the top. There was no track but the trail marking was excellent and I could usually make out the marker at the far edge of my visibility, and when I couldn’t I only needed to walk 10m until one came into view. I was actually enjoying the mist as it had been a while since walking in it. I don’t think I was missing out much in scenery and got to focus on the vegetation around me.

After walking on a plateau for a while I started dropping down out of the clouds to a river and I could see a hut a few hundred meters away from the track. I didn’t visit the hut as it was too early for lunch.

Now it was up over a big spur, down to a small stream and up and over another hill before dropping down into some bush by a lake to Virasshytta Hut where I had lunch.

Virasshytta Hut

When I left the hut the rain was quite heavy. After crossing a bridge it was a steady climb and along the side of a hill then onto a flat swampy area and the rain eased off.

Here I met a Norwegian Man and his dog. They were doing Norge Pa Langs. His jacket and pack had a lot of sponsor logos. I asked him if why he was walking and he said just because he wanted so he was not supporting a charity. After a short chat I continued on.

Now it was a gradual descent for 2km before going through a patch of trees and more swamp, passing an emergency shelter which was missing the door and looked dirty with a bit of rubbish.

Snickers promotions that would not make sense in NZ where we only know about Handball from the Olympics

Once below the trees it was in the waist high vegetation from swamp to boggy track, over two rivers and then climbing. The terrain was starting to become more rocky now.

I was starting to feel tired. The last 6 km had been pretty boggy which is tiring. It was only another 5km to the emergency shelter so I decided to head there and stop for the night. As I was climbing the rain came back. The climb was steeper and longer than I was expecting and I was glad to start dropping and see a lake which meant only 3km to go.

Now it was a steady drop, with the occasional little climb to wake me back up. It was beautiful with a series of lakes to my right and big rocky mountains above the lakes. I was coming down a valley. Despite the rocks in the hills above me the trail was mainly dirt, very soggy dirt, and swamps. The last week of rain has really saturated the trails.

My feet were starting to hurt a little and I was starting to feel tired. Obviously 8 days off the trail is enough to effect my fitness.

Thankfully the hut came into view but I was not happy to see people. The hut was only a two person hut so I resigned myself to moving on and setting up my tent. However the guys were really friendly and perfectly happy squeezing one more in. They were starting the fire, it looked like it was going to rain and they seemed like good company so I stayed.

The hut had sleeping benches on two sides, one could fit two people and the other could fit one person. There was also a table, fire and the firewood box.
It took a bit to get the fire going as it was wet. Once they cleaned it out and emptied the water from the ash tray they managed to get a good fire going and the hut warmed up quickly. Two of the guys were German and were hiking Norge Pa Langs. They started around 5 days apart in late May but met after 3 weeks and after a trial decided to hike together for the rest of the trail. They are Hauke and Andreas. (follow them on www.haukebendt.de and www.paafjellett.com). They are carrying heavy packs with a few luxuries but are strong enough to do so comfortably. They had some beer of the Arctic brand that they will be drinking as they cross the Arctic Circle, definitely a good use of extra weight. The other two Paul from Netherlands and Oliver from Germany, were joining the two for a little while to get a taste of the trail.
There was good conversation during the night. One topic was the German guy I had met and his ultralight gear. They had met him and he had made comments about their packs. They had seen him a few times too cold to unbuckle his pack which they had to help him and with very little food or warm clothes. He was not carrying a tent but using a Poncho as his shelter. I think in these conditions going too light is dangerous. There needs to be a bare minimum of safety with cold weather clothing. I have met some ultralight in NZ who still maintained a sensible amount of clothes and more robust shelter. On the other extreme those with large packs should not be lectured to. While my choice is to be light I respect those that are strong enough to prioritise more comfort, are staying with gear they know and trust that may be heavier or cannot afford the light gear. Though I will comment on the pack size when describing people in my blog it is not meant in a derogatory way.

We started getting ready for bed around 2100. I offered to sleep on the floor as I was the last one to arrive but this was declined so I was on one of the sleeping benches. We moved the table close to my bench and the others then had room on the floor. There was very slight snoring for about 5 minutes then no snoring all night. It was nice and warm from the fire and I slept ok.

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