Rocks, Rain & Reindeer

Text taken from the club newsletter.

OCKS AIN & EINDEER R

Exploring Norway’s Rondane National Park by KATY GLENIE with MIKE PHETHEAN

Over the hills and far away lies a kingdom of rocky peaks, deep fjords, snow shoes, Vikings and reindeer. Sounds like somewhere worth checking out.

Our plans were to make the most of a brief trip to Nor- way by getting out of the city quick-smart. We touched down in Oslo to a surprisingly hot and humid day, and headed straight to the local DNT (similar to DOC) for maps and tips. The first tip of the day was that our train north, booked online months previously, was possibly cancelled.

Despite gloriously hot weather in Norway’s capital, further north had been experiencing torrential downpours. The train line had been washed out, and public transport was in a European version of disarray. This meant our train would be leaving on time. We liked this version of disar- ray.

After pacing around the local shopping mall to buy our food for our planned three day hike, we were soon on the Norwegian version of Platform 9, ready to head for the hills. The train glided out of the city towards green fields and small townships. We spotted our first grass-topped roof and did an inconspicuous high-five – no public trans- port disarray in sight.

We spoke too soon – the train stopped at a local station and we were all ordered off. Within minutes the clouds opened and a train-load of sodden travellers crowded into a small waiting area whilst thunder and lightening crack- led overhead. A good few hours later a replacement bus arrived to take us past the flooded section of track. Then we were on to the connecting train, and finally arrived at

Grass-topped accommodation at Hovringen

Peer Gynt Hutta area

Otta. It was too late to catch the local bus, so we splashed out on a cab ride to our accommodation 30 minutes up the hill from Otta. The view stretched out for miles beneath us as we wound our way to the small village of Hovringen - it was still broad daylight at 10.30 p.m.

Our accommodation was one of a number of individu- al log cottages, all with grass roofs and a magnificent view

Mike at the rocky campsite over Norway’s oldest national park, the Rondane. The main ho- tel building was from the 1700s and the food and hospitality was top notch.

We took our time leaving the following morning – weighed down by a delicious breakfast and a promise of rain. The trail took us around the edge of several rivers and lakes. We stopped for lunch on a rocky outcrop over- looking the famous Peer Gynt’s Hutta. This idyllic stone cottage offers hot drinks and waffles dur- ing the summer months – very civilised.

We carried on up to another old stone cabin built into the rocky cliffs. The notebook in this basic rock bivvy told of nights sheltering from gales and snow – we were hoping for a better weather forecast.

Our host at Hovringen had suggested we head off the main trail and camp at a high point near some lakes. We followed his advice and clam- bered for hours up endless hills of rocks, rocks and rocks. We kept hoping to reach a nice grassy plain next to one of the high alpine lakes. The only decent campsite we could find was, unsurprisingly, covered in rocks, although to be fair it was just a little bit flat, with a small amount of moss

View from Rondvassbu DNT lodge under one side of the tent.

That night we hunkered down as thunder, lightning, and periods of heavy rain rolled over us. The new tent per- formed well, and we came through the night unscathed. Over breakfast we soaked up views of high peaks around us. Rondane National Park holds many of Norway’s 2000m+ peaks. The following morning dawned bright and clear, and we headed towards the main trail. We couldn’t resist a quick side-trip down the trail to one of DNT’s fully ser- viced lodges. Randvassbu was incredible. Many use it as a base to climb the nearby Rondslottet - Rondane’s highest peak at 2,178m. We treated ourselves to a second lunch of meatballs and waffles, and looked out over beautiful Rondvatnet Fjord with a steaming mug of herbal tea. What a treat.

With full bellies we climbed back up the main trail, and over a high pass in the sun. We struggled to find the cairned route, so were pleased to finally reach the saddle and see the northern valleys spread out below. After clam- bering down yet more rocks (not a tree, or a reindeer, to be seen – I thought we were in Norway!) we were hit with the full brunt of a summer storm - rolling thunder, lighting, and heavy rain. The rain eased by late afternoon, just in time for the midges to arrive. They didn’t seem too vicious as long as you kept moving, so we did. We found a good campsite overlooking the Doralen River, and a light breeze kept most of the midges at bay.

After a well-earned night’s sleep (using our eye masks to protect from the almost 24 hour arctic sun) we crossed the river and turned south-west for our final day. On route were two small areas of forest (not that I was counting), and some stunning lakes. One had a hut equipped with a

Hut on Doralen River, fully equipped with picnic table, gas cooker, and inflatable boat for fishing on the lake table cloth, picnic blanket, and a blow-up row boat, just in case you wanted to try your hand at fishing in the nearby Lake Doralsvatnet.

A quick dip after lunch in a snow-fed river to cool off, then off over the final pass and back down to Hovringen. We stopped at Otta for dinner before heading back on the train for a few hours sleep in a backpackers near Oslo airport.

So a pretty whistle-stop tour of Norway – just enough time to know we’ll be back for more.