Day 62 – 28 Aug, Skorovatn to S of Grubbfjonna Lake

(37 km, total 1590 km, 10h 50m , 0725 to 1815)

For some reason I did not sleep well. I was warm and comfortable but I kept waking up. Eventually my alarm went and I got ready It was nice packing the tent up nice and dry.

First up was a big hill, starting on a gravel road and then onto single track.

The terrain was really rocky, the smooth rock slab type of rocky. As I climbed I kept looking back as the views over the lakes I went beside yesterday and the lake by the town surrounded by the rocky terrain was impressive.

Looking back down at the town

View from the top of the road

Shelter at the top of the gravel road

It was overcast and looked like it would rain but was warmer than yesterday. As expected my legs were a little stiff. My lungs still felt congested but it didn’t seem to be slowing me down and I was only needing the very occasional cough so it wasn’t too bad.

Just short of the top of the hill the trail headed around the side of the hill and was a bit more flat. I was loving the scenery and to me this was more impressive than the much touted Borgefjell National Park.

I went past a few small lakes then started dropping to more lakes. The trail went between two lakes close together an then over a small hill and down to a 4 way intersection.

I continued straight through and the track became less defined and rougher, both with smaller rocks and boggy patches. I dropped down to a large lake, Midre Nesavatnet, and then moved parallel to the lake on a very boggy track. Near the end of the lake I smelt smoke and then shortly after some huts came into view. They were off the track and I was sure they were private huts.

Just past the huts there was a bridge with one handrail over a river and then the track disappeared and there was a section where the trail markers were hard to follow. They were quite far apart and very subtle. There was a mixture of wood posts, rocks and paint on trees but on all of these the paint was faded and they were hidden by the trees and vegetation. I would often walk in the direction I thought the trail should go and if I hadn’t seen anything within 30 meters I would head back to the marker and try in a different direction. It was quite fun and took all of my concentration which was a nice change from yesterday.

Now it was a steady but gentle climb to the base of a steep hill then following the hill around to a lake.

Just short of the lake was a perfect rock to sit on so I had lunch. It was starting to get colder so I put on my wind jacket and gloves. After 30 minutes walking the wind died down and they came off again.

The trail markers had improved now and I followed the lake edge and then started heading south. I was climbing and it was an area with no rocks so I thought I was clear of the rocks but once over the small hill I was back in rock country again which was nice.

The trail markers here had no paint and were just piles of stone but they were frequent and easy to follow. There was a few more km in the rocky terrain and then I dropped down and it was less rocky.

I passed a locked hut and from this hut the trail markers had bright new red paint and could be seen for a long distance.

The trail slowly dropped alternating between rocks, firm ground and swamp for the next 3 km then then the vegetation got thicker and there were less rocks and more swamp.

After passing a long skinny lake the trail dropped into the trees and there were some lovely sections of good trail in the trees with only a few boggy patches. I really enjoyed this part.

The trail came out by some buildings. There was an open shed that you could sleep in if needed. Now I was on a dirt road for the rest of the day.

At 1800 I passed a stream and filled up my camp water and 15 minutes later found a nice camp spot. There were some tiny flying insects but not many got into my tent so they are not too much of a problem. Dinner was instant potatoes with gravy powder, parmesan cheese and Makrel Fish in tomato.

Today was the first day in a long time that there was no rain. It was overcast most of the day and the temperature was nice less a short cold period.

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