It was June when I bought my airline ticket. As usual with these things I buy the ticket first and then figure out where to go. Bardufoss interested me because there seemed to be a large number of accessible mountains nearby. Once I bought the map, a few hours of study revealed one particular route that looked good with both ends accessible by public transport and a lot of mountains in between. And so it was that I settled on a tour that started in Setermoen and finished just south of Øverbygd. Friday 13th July
 Storala seen from the east After buying gas and bread, I was soon enough off the E6 onto very quiet rural roads heading east for the start of my path at Krokstadtverrelva. It was 2.30pm and the plan for the first day was a little too ambitious. My plan had been to walk 9km into the valley before climbing a 1310m peak. I realised soon into my walk that despite the glorious skies overhead, the wind was very strong from the east and very gusty indeed above the treeline. Not only that, but was still suffering from work. What I needed was a chill out day. So, just below the tree line I found a nice spot to put my tent up. It was 5pm and the evening shower clouds were brewing up. Soon it would be cloudy with a few spots of rain. After dinner, I fell asleep instantly, that is my best way to chill out. Saturday 14th July  Sautinden seen from the north I packed up and continued east to the watershed with Klokkardalen. Despite no wind, the fly and mosquito count was very low for this time of year. Upon reaching the watershed 3/4 hour later, I put my tent back up and proceeded north to the summit at 1310m. The grass held on right above 1000m. I remember on Stetind 2 years earlier that the grass pretty much quit at 700m. It made for easier progress. One I reached the ridge, the summit of Beassetcohkha reavealed itself as well. The ridge had a steep crumbly cliff on its north side and it proceeded east and then north to the 1310m peak circling round the head of Rydningskardet.
Beyond a minor subsidiary top, the grass quit. I was left with 200m ascent on boulder fields to get to the summit. Upon reaching it, the northeast summit point 1389m reavealed itself to be a formiddable peak of considerable steepness. It was lunchtime, the cloud briefly lifted although appeared a bit menacing towards the coast. To the south, the river Skardelva appeared rather large. Considering I was to cross this river and others like it, I entertained the thought that my plan would be impossible on account of river crossings.
I returned to my tent. The weather seemed threatening, and I was quite tired - still not fully recovered from work and so I had a siesta nap.  Klokkardalstinden, Buoggegaisi and Rundfjellet seen from the west Sunday 15th July
I descended south into Tverrelvdalen. The treeline was higher up than the map indicated, and progress was slow, at times painfully slow. Flies were growing in number to swarm around me. Black flies at first, but green and white fly were also pleased to see me when I struggled through a damp hollow. Eventually I descended far enough to have enough of a clearing through the forest to help speed up progress. Once I was in Tverrelvdalen, I came across a marked route and I followed this east up the valley.
I checked my SMS messages. Low tracking up Norway Sunday, clearing by Monday then fine. Well, so far no menacing signs of a weather breakdown. Eventually the marked route met the river Tverrelva whereupon I found a bridge. It looked rather ropey and no sooner had I stepped on a plank did I see it fall off the bridge. None of the planks were nailed down!! I thought, lets continue on this side of the river. 5 Minutes later I met a rather frothy tributary to the main river. It was impassable. I returned to the bridge. Right! Step in the middle Anthony, not over the side beams. Eventually I found the planks to be nailed down. But it was still an interesting bridge. No handrail, health and safety would certainly have had something to say about it!!
Progress was initially OK through the forest, but soon it was to be measured in hours per kilometer rather than kilometers per hour. It was excruciating. I headed up, towards the tree line. Although the slope was steep, I could make faster progress. Soon enough though, the forest had cleared. I rested, and within 10 minutes the hundreds of flies had dispersed. This was a trick I knew about how to deal with flies, and it works every time. Just Relax. Progress up the valley was now a joy, after being freed from the forest. The scenery was just nice, with point 1180m throwing down some interesting cliffs. Looking back, Blåberget filled the valley view. Rounding a corner, the mountain of Langfjellet threw down an interesting cliff. High up, a large fresh scar on it's face lay witness to a large about of rubble underneath it. An otherwise pleasant grassy meadow was littered with enourmous boulders. I thought about lunch here, but decided to hurry along. The trolls were upto no good here! By now at 2pm the clouds bubbling up. By the time I had rounded the corner into Skinsskardet, rain was imminent. Skinsskardet was a much wider valley than Tverrelvdalen. It is here that the transition from the coastal peaks to the gentler interior takes place. The rain had started. The river here was very wide, but shallow. It continued on this valley east to its watershed 4km away. By now the rain was clearing. Close on the other side of the watershed. I found the perfect camping spot. Lovely grassy well drained meadows made for a fantastic spot, with a commanding view east down the valley of Gassajåkka. The weather than evening was fine. But at 10pm, low cloud rolled in suddenly displacing the fine weather. Monday 16th July
Heading south, the DNT path had little use, only evident my the mark on the map and a line of cairns. It was however a fine valley, linking the head of Kirkesdalen with the famous Nordkalottleden. There was a large river draining Tindtjørna, I camped just short of that river, making for another short hill day. Tuesday 17th July
Higher up, the gradient eases to its eastern escarpment where the view eastwards reveals itself over the 500m deep valley in which Sauskardvatnet sits. The mountain on the other side of the valley is Mattagaisi - tomorrows summit at 1631m. Reaching the summit, I was greeted with a rather small cairn and various pieces of cable littered about. Rather suprisingly I was unable to find a logbook up here.
The wind was light, but very cold up here with the cloud base just above the summit. A usual round of photos and I was then back down to my tent. Descending, the clouds shifted and then started to evaporate. Out of wind and cloud, the sun was rather warm. I returned to my tent and packed up. My destination though was not ambitious. I headed 2km east up to Tindtjørna at 1001m. Still good grass up here, it was the highest camping spot I've enjoyed north of the arctic circle. The spot at the lakes outlet was delightful. Wide open vistas to the south opened up, while the summit slopes and cliffs provided an imposing view the other way. It turned out to be a delightful evening, but something about the weather was too good .... I was feeling paranoid that it would turn for the worse.
Wednesday 18th July
I headed east to an obvious saddle point lying south of point 1591m. I then turned north into the cloud to then contour round point 1591m. It was here that the first fine drizzle started to arrive. Turning northwest and then north, I was expecting a formiddable cliffed notch to guard the way - something I saw yesterday. The steep rise on the ridge greeted me, but it turned out to be an easy affair. I reached point 1631m when the drizzle turned to light rain. Checking SMS, still no forecast after three days! Something wasn't right. Now the ridge broadened into a plateau and it was time for some compass work. As expected, despite relaxed contours, it is normal to expect small suprises and in this case there was a bad of small cliffs that had to be negotiated. Soon I was on the summit with a more substantial cairn, but still no logbook. Time to get off this summit, and it was all compass work from here to my camping spot 7km away at Fremste Lappskardvatn. It took a long time with the boulder terrain, and the now moderate rain. However you do notice the details when the weather closes in. At this altitude, the vegetation acts like an altimeter. To within 100m, I was able to determine what height I was according to how lush the ground was. I eventually reached the lake, but needed to get round its outlet. Knowing its catchment area, I feared a drenching. Indeed the river was rather volumous and it went into a deep ravine, but to my utter suprise and delight it went underground!. I was able to cross to the otherside dry footed. My only issue was the exit from the ravine. I put my tent up by the shoreline, on some rather luxuriant vegetation. It was still peasoup mist outside. Now for the SMS, I had an idea. I also had email on my phone, so I sent an SMS saying check your email and doubled this up with an email explaining my problem. A few hours later I got my weather forecast on email. Low over W Russia, showers/rain until Saterday, strong NW breeze, Lofoton Radar indicates light shower activity. Of course the main disadvantage with checking email on vacation was work. Next email read Environmental Report, get it sorted ASAP. It would have to wait, right now sleep beckoned. It had been a long day in the cloud. Thursday 19th July
I was down to the treeline by 4pm where Langdalen becomes Beinelvdalen. I camped by the river on a patch of deep vegetation. Right next to me was a cabin, completely covered in deep grass. Were it not for the aerial, I wouldn't have spotted it at all! This was my last full mountain day. Tomorrow I'd hit the road.
Friday 20th July
Of course, my plane wasn't the one this afternoon. With a restricted ticket, it's rather expensive to rebook to another flight. So I was left with the task of finding accommodation in Bardufoss. Some quick enquiries revealed no campsites in the area within a short walking distance. While I could have used the hotel, I felt little benefit in using it for the usual high price. So I did what I've done for the last 7 nights and wild camp 300m south of the main airport entry road! Next morning at 6am I was checked in to fly back south. A cheap holiday, a scenic one as well. But it wasn't a sociable one, and my thoughts turn to the next time I walk in Norway, maybe it's time to start using the huts. |
