Årdal

After a good breakfast, I left to hike down the 1300 meters I had climbed yesterday. In mostly sunshine, I made my way down the serpentine trail, across the snow fields (now covered with inches of fresh powder) and towards the valley I had camped at on day 25. Once there, I headed towards Vetti Gard, my destination for the day.

On the way, I briefly stopped in a lovely cabin to eat my packed lunch (picture 2). It was such a nice place, I almost considered staying ;) But I had a few more hours of trail to hit...

It was a long ways to Vetti Gard though with a long-stretched assent and then a steep descent into a narrow valley, and the weather kept changing from hot and sunny to dark clouds and rain. At one point, I just threw my pack on the moss and didn't want to walk another step (picture 4 ;) ). But just 1.5 hours later, I had made it and seen the impressive Vettifossen waterfall on the way. I'm camping surrounded by high cliffs and waterfalls coming down, singing me a steady roaring lullaby in the background. It's very scenic and I'm glad I made it all the way. Tomorrow is rest day at Årdalsfjorden, my legs and knees will thank me!Read more