Walking the world

  • Norway: Namsskogan – Brede
  • 14 – 20 September
  • 180 km (1665 km in total)
  • Northern Scandinavia + Gröna Bandet

Summary

The past week has been a wet and cold one! The weather and wet conditions up in the mountains have forced us to modify our route somewhat. We are making our way through lower elevation valleys and including more roads in creating a more direct and faster route south.

Trail description

Terrain

Continuing south we make use of the road system for shelter and the ability to make descent km’s each day without being hampered by the weather.

We find ourselves walking over gravel roads, bike paths and pilgrim trails bypassing mountain passes, tunnels and highways. We walk through lovely small communities and using anything roof-like for shelter along the way.

Its a great feeling making good progress south knowing the seasons have now changed and the true race to beat winter out of Scandinavia has begun.

Gaia GPS track

 

Trail journal

Day 80: Tunnsjørørvika

Distance: 35 km (1520 km total). Weather: rain/overcast

Slept in and took a slow morning in our little hut. It had rained quite hard all night and was still going this morning. By 11 it cleared a little and we set off and we actually managed to stay dry all day! We left the main road after a couple of hours and headed over Steinfjellet instead of under it following the century old gravel road. This to bypass the 2km long tunnel under the mountain. Quite a beautiful area but a bit windy and cold.

The next storm front is supposed to hit by 22 tonight and drop 8.5mm of rain overnight. We are bunkered down and hope to stay warm. We are camped by the lake hidden behind a big boathouse shed providing some shelter from the icy cold wind off the lake. Sort of stealthing it in plain view.

Day 81: Holmtjärn, Frostviken

Distance: 31 km (1551 km total). Weather: rain

Storm hit last night and it brought a lot of rain. Miraculously it stopped for a couple if hours in the morning so we could wipe down the tent and pack it up fairly dry! Then… more rain all day. We tried to tuck in under a 20 cm awning at the power plant office building for some shelter to have lunch, not very effective but it was all we could find.

Crossed over very briefly into Sweden in the afternoon and found an awesome windbreak (3-sided shelter). We decided to camp up next to it and use it to get out of the rain for a while.

Day 82: Lierne

Distance: 23 km (1574 km total). Weather: rain

Another rainy day walking south. We stopped for a snack on the side of the road under the cover of a bus shelter, only to to pass by a shop/cafe 500 m later… Oh well… that is life sometimes. We managed a lunch under cover from the rain too, this time in an abandoned ski race booth left on the side of the road. We finally walked into town around three to pick up our resupply box.

We also picked up the first round of winter gear at the post office here. Awesome new Marmot Lithium winter sleeping bags and Patagonia Houdini Air jackets. Like xmas!

We stayed for a couple of hours drinking coffee and drying up a bit while charging phones. Then we walked a few km out of town and camped up by the lake. Camped up just in time before the rain started up again. Found a really nice and sheltered spot here though. A big fir tree breaking most of the cold winds off the lake.

Day 83: Nord-Trøndelag

Distance: 38 km (1612 km total). Weather: mostly overcast

We managed to stay dry today (except for one short shower…), oh what a treat!

Walked the road over a mountain pass. Took all day! Beautiful up there though. It would have been a nice quiet road except they were doing road work further down, so big asphalt trucks were running shuttle traffic all day. They would not let us walk past the work site so we got a ride for a couple of km by the car directing traffic.

We finally made it out of the mountains, put the tent up, got in for the night, and then the skies opened! Lucky!

Day 84: Snåsa

Distance: 30 km (1642 km total). Weather: rain

Woke to more rain. Only with a twist… rain mixed with a little sleet. Lovely! It stopped long enough for us to pack up and head out on the road before starting again and pretty much not letting up all day. We found some shelter under a bridge for lunch. Nice to get a hot drink and get into something dry and warm for a little bit.

The new Patagonia Houdini Air jackets are working out beautifully! Such a great addition to the kit and one actually solving a huge problem for me (Karma). It is a very good breathable layer to walk in, and it dries almost instantly so I don’t get as cold when I sweat. A great wind breaker but it also creates a pleasant environment in the goretex when worn closest to the skin, eliminating that freezing cold clammy feeling when the outer shell gets soaked. We both love it!

We had in mind a slightly longer day today. But then we came across a guest house with warm apple pie and free refills on coffee… So we found a pretty nice spot to camp up just a few km down the road. A rest stop a bit off the road with a picnic table and a toilet to boot. Nice considering that we are on the actual E6 highway for a few km right now.

Sun came out for a few minutes and managed to dry the tent out a little bit before the skies opened again for a massive downpour. Oh well. Best to just learn to accept it.

Day 85: Brede, Snåsa

Distance: 23 km (1665 km total). Weather: overcast, a few rain showers

Resupply day! We walked in to to the small village of Brede just south pf Snåsa. Did our resupply and then wanted to pick up our packages from the post office. No luck. My rain pants won’t come until tomorrow, and Scott’s package had been sent to Snåsa, the main town we had just walked through earlier 10 km back. Dammit!

The cashier was really nice though and organized a lift for us up the road. We got the package and hitched back to Brede again. My package is supposed to be delivered tomorrow mid-day, so we need to camp up and wait for it. Also, there are BIG storm warnings for the area with up to 100mm rain forecasted over the next 24 hours. So we plan to stay put here tomorrow and wait it out since rivers will be high and roads possibly flooded — and it will be truly miserable trying to walk in the storm anyway!

This prospect forced us to get a bit creative choosing our camp spot… We walked a few km out of town to the train station. Hoping for an unmanned station building to bunker down in. Unfortunately this one had been converted to a private home, and all that was left for travelers was a small three sided shelter occupied by a bench. A bit disheartened, and with no more than an hour of daylight left, we settled for plan B.

We had seen a long since abandoned big house just up the road from the train station. It is totally overgrown and fallen into disrepair, but someone had placed a ladder up to a broken window, so we climbed in. Many windows have been broken and the floor was a bit rotted where we came in, but otherwise pretty clean and safe. We pitched our tent in one of the weather tight rooms and streamed a movie, waiting for the storm to hit.

Day 86: Brede, Snåsa

Distance: 0 km (1665 km total). Weather: storm with heavy rain

Taking a zero here waiting out the storm and waiting for my rain pants to arrive in the mail. We both struggle a bit just waiting around, but the rest will do us good in the end.

Patience… a skill not yet mastered.