Day 57 – 23 Aug, Harvasstua to Lake Store Kjkkelvetnet

(34 km, total 1454 km, 8h 50m , 0820 to 1710)

It rained lightly during the night but had stopped when I woke up. My morning routine was slow today as I took my time with breakfast and had to wipe my tent due to condensation.
I was quickly back on the road and walked briskly as it was cold again, definitely below 10 degrees.

I turned left down a side road, past several cabins, over a bridge and to a farm. There was an information board and a signpost for lots of destinations I didn’t recognise. There were also two signs in Norwegian which I did not understand.

I started walking on an old vehicle track and as it was going in the direction I wanted and stayed with it for a while. It mainly went in the swamps but occasionally through stands of trees.

My plan was to parallel the river for 3 km then climb above the trees and follow along the side of the hills. The vehicle track ran out near the river but there was a lovely single track along the river which I followed. At one point it climbed and this was a good point to head up a spur, over a reindeer fence and now in the open on the side of the hill.

I had been hoping for the nice short vegetation that had been common but unfortunately the vegetation was tall, between knee and hip height, and the going was quite slow. I had planned to stay at this height but traveling on swamp would be much quicker so I dropped elevation and plodded through swamps until the ground firmed up and I was able to make better progress.

After crossing another reindeer fence I was now in a neat area of lots of little lakes and small hills. I weaved between and over the hills enjoying myself.

I could see quite far so knew where I was heading and did not need to worry about navigation. The weather was alternating between sun, overcast, light rain and medium rain, changing between them frequently. The only constant was the cold wind. I stopped during one of the rare sunny patches and had lunch.

Once clear of the lakes it was a climb over a saddle and then back to walking on the side of hills, though the vegetation was better. Unfortunately the rain was now constant though mainly light with only a few medium bursts. I was making good progress. The river that had been below me turned away from the valley and I was now on the side of a steep hill.

Once over a saddle the lake I was aiming for appeared, though still a long way off. The rain stopped and did not start again while I was walking and I managed to dry everything out by the time I camped.
I had seen lots of reindeer today but nothing else unfortunately. This national park has Arctic Fox which I would love to see.

As I got closer to the lake I saw a hut that was not on my map. Though it was slightly off track I investigated and it was locked. I was now ready to stop and on the hunt for a flat site, slightly sheltered from the wind, looking over the lake. I found it, with the bonus of a view of a glacier across the lake, and quickly set up camp.

I was tucked in my sleeping bag eating some snacks by 1730 and shortly after it starting raining really hard and for an hour. I was very glad I decided to stop early today and avoided that rain which would have soaked everything just before stopping to camp.

I ate dinner and snacked on nuts, beef jerky and lollies.

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