Getting off the track at Vinstra

I managed to get lost for a little while getting out of Sygard Gryttingj. It added a couple of kms to my day and about a half hour while I sorted out where I actually was and whether I needed to come back to where I had left the trail. I did.

After that, it was a hard slog for most of the morning. It started raining just before I left, and I made the mistake of thinking that I didn't need my rain pants on right at that point. Another mistake. By the time I realised that it would have been a good idea to put them on before I started walking, it was too late. The bottom of my pants we're already soaked and it would not have been a good option to stick my wet pants into the top of my socks and just accelerate the process of getting the insides of my boots wet.

By lunchtime, I'd arrived at the unattended hut at Øvre Skar, which looked like a good option to get some shelter from the rain if it was open. I struck it lucky as there were two young women in the hut from the previous night, and they welcomed me to sit with them and their cute dog while I had my lunch.

The pilgrim trail doesn't actually go into the town of Vinstra but stays well up the side of the valley. So I knew already that by staying here, I was going to have to recover a fair amount of height when I start again tomorrow morning. It looks like there will be a way up to the trail that doesn't take too long in the morning, although it looks like it could be quite steep. That will be interesting in the muddy conditions the track is in at the moment.Read more