Day 55 – 21 Aug, Krutvasshytta Hut to Tverrelvnes Accommodation

(21.5km, total 1382 km, 5h 5m, 0730 to 0815, 1200 to 1620)

I was awake early so got up and had breakfast before packing up and giving the hut a good clean and sweep. I seems it hasn’t had a full sweep for a while.

It was really cold and I needed my gloves and jacket even after having warmed up with walking briskly. It was overcast and looked like it was going too be another wet day.

The trail was in good condition with boardwalks over the worst bits. There were several cabins and it was interesting looking at the different styles. By the lake were some boats which I imagine is how many of the people get to their huts rather than walking from the road.

It was 2km to the road and then 1.5 km along a gravel road to get to the main road. On this gravel road there were some sheep which seemed even dumber than NZ sheep which I did not think was possible. One came towards me while the others seemed undecided whether to come towards me or run away. Eventually their overtaxed brains made the decision to run, some having to pass beside me to then run away from me except one which deciding to just follow along behind me. Some more sheep came from the side and came out behind me, ran past me and then continued running away down the road. The sheep that had been following me then ran past and joined the rest of the mob. After running in front of me for a while they finally turned off the trail. As I passed where they turned off one sheep and two lambs came running up to me and then followed me for over a km before finally dropping behind. The sheep had bells on, like cow bells, so I had the jingling accompanying me all that time.

Once at the main road I turned right and walked on the road over the bridge and then turned left going between a house and shed to the trail. About 50 meters along the trail is where I buried the resupply package but as I turned the corner I could see some shreds of plastic and realised something had dug it up and taken all my food for the next 5 days. I collected the shreds of plastic and headed back to the road to enact plan B, hitchhike 30km to the nearest town with a supermarket and buy supplies for 5 days.
The only trouble with this plan is the lack of traffic on the road. I stood there for an hour in the light rain and a total of one car going my direction and three cars going the other way. There was an information board with a sign of the region and it looked like there was a town in Sweden 10km to the east that might have a supermarket. 10km was a more reasonable walk than the 30km to the town I wanted to go to. I tried looking at google maps with the offline map I had downloaded to confirm there was a good sized town but for some reason was only getting a blank screen. I was getting cold standing there, even after I had put on my down jacket so decided to start walking to the Sweden town and put my thumb out at cars going in both directions.

I had walked for about 15 minutes when a car arrived heading west and it stopped so I was now going to Hattfjelldal. The driver was a Swedish man who was coming to Norway to pick mushrooms in the forest. The car was showing an external temperature of 7 degrees so the cold thid morning was not my imagination. Shortly after passing the trail turnoff a fox crossed the road in front of the car. I laughed as I had spent so much time in the wilderness without seeing much wildlife but I hop in a car and within 5 minutes see wildlife.
He dropped me off at the supermarket and I was able to get some food. I was trying some new things to make the most of the choices available. They did have Real Turmat but at an even worse price than normal so I decided not to get it. Instead I am having a base of instant potato with some gravy mix for flavour and some Makrel (fish) for protein. For breakfast it is muslea and lunch is my normal tortilla, cheese and salami.
There was a cafe next to the supermarket so I dumped everything at a table and asked about hot food. They did not have the pizza listed on the menu and were still cooking the other hot things but did have chicken wings prepared so I got those. It was a very generous portion of at least 10 as well as selection from the salad bar of pasta, tomatoes, cheese and eggs. I was surprised at the price as with a coffee the whole lot was only 70kr (NZD 15) which is by far the best value meal I have had in Norway.

Now I repacked everything and headed back to the road to get a ride back to the trail. Thankfully it was only 5 minutes before getting a ride this time. It was a Finnish couple who had been on holiday for the last week and were heading home. I was dropped off at the trail at 1200.

The section of trail from this road to the next road was the best bit of trail I have done in quite a while. The track started a little boggy but not too bad and there were only a few swamps to cross. Most of the track was actually dry and easy to walk on. The trail started on a well defined track through the forest heading uphill at a gentle gradient. I stopped for a while to pick some blueberries for breakfast, and a few for now.

The track got steeper as it got above the tree line and there was a beautiful waterfall to the right. The rain got a little heavier at this stage but I was really enjoying the combination of dry trail, nice gradient hill and amazing views. It was more rugged country than the last few days and some interesting rock formations. Some of the rock was a reddish colour.

The trail then dropped down and there was a big lake to the right andanother climb. The wind was getting stronger and it was cold but I was feeling full of energy and was enjoying the climbing.

Now I could see a large flattish area and two bright spots walking towards me. As I hit the edge of the flat area I met the two hikers, both doing Norge Pa Langs. We talked for about 5 minutes exchanging news about the trail and trail conditions. They were heading to the hut I stayed at last night.

I had cooled down after having stopped so when I continued I picked up the pace.. The flattish area was a little swampy but still easy travel. At the edge the track sidled around a few little hills and then a big lake appeared in front of me with a ray of sunshine in the middle of it. The track disappeared but the trail markers were clear and I dropped down to a big but shallow river and crossed.

On the other side at the head of the lake was a building and it was open. It looked like a nice place to spend the night with some bunks and table. It was not marked on the map but a handy location for future hikers.

Now the trail markers followed the lake edge before climbing and entering an interesting area with little ups and downs and trough mini gullies.

The track reappeared and got to a good width. The rain was back and the wind seeming even colder so I made the most of the lovely track and picked up the pace. There were little lakes and a big one and some rugged hills. While there were areas of rock the trail largely stayed dirt and in great condition. There were a couple of swamps but they were shallow. During one of the breaks in the rain an eagle was soaring on the thermals just above me.

The rain was generally light or medium with a few 5 minute heavy spells. I was still dry so wasn’t to worried about the rain.
I saw the first reindeer of the day just as I started dropping in the tree line. Even the descent was great with only a little bit really steep and the rest at a gradient slightly less than the one than causes slips to was fast travel. After a short time I came out to a wheat/maize/some type of crop field and some buildings.

There was an information sign and a sign for a hut. I had marked on my map that there were some private huts so I decided to ask how much they were. I passed a house and a lady came out. She said the rooms were 100kr which is even cheaper than the DNT hut so I decided to have an early finish. She showed me my room and then invited me inside her house for coffee. She apologised about the room but they were full up but I was perfectly happy with the nice little room. When she saw I was in bare feet in the house she got me some slippers and invited me to sit in the lounge while she prepared the coffee. There was another hiker here who also joined Elizabeth, Gunter and I. She is also doing NPL but going north and with her dog. Her name is Aste Innleggen. Elizabeth brought out coffee, buns, cheese, jam and Brunost a Norwegian sweet cheese that looked like caramel coloured butter but tasted nice. Aste helped translate for the others and we discussed the trail and also the NZ trail and the differences between the two countries. I had three buns and also something I didn’t get the name for which is like a pancake wrapped around cinnamon and sweet creamy filling. Then I was invited to have a shower and provided with a towel and shampoo and made the most of the lovely hot shower, my first in 11 days.

I have been really impressed with the amazing welcome and hospitality of Elizabeth and Gunter and definitely recommend making a point of staying here if hiking NPL or E1.
Then we went back to my room and I noticed Gunter had cleaned it out and made the bed.

The building I stayed in

My room

Aste had invited me to use the electric jug in her room to make dinner so I went there and we talked for ages. It is nice to talk to another solo female hiker. She is hiking with her dog so I was able to ask her about what that was like, the challenges and benefits.

Aste

Bison

She saw me preparing my first experimental dinner with the instant potato, gravy sauce and small container of fish (like the motel margarine single serve packets) and gave me a Real Turmat so I would have a decent meal one night which was much appreciated.

At 2130 I went back to my room and read for a while, and snacked on nuts and lollies.

So today should have been miserable with the missing resupply package, the cold, the wind and the rain but it was actually one of my favourite days, funny how things go.

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