Dovreskogen

I think the hardest thing about today was that I was going to share the valley wall with the train. As you leave Nor Sel, the Gudbrandsdalslågen returns to flowing in a south-easterly direction after having flowed roughly south through a narrow part of the valley that one is going to walk through.

So is the train! And, unsurprisingly, it has the priority when it comes to where it goes and who is allowed to share the nice, level, train track. Pilgrims aren't. It is one of the most convoluted and gnarly walking I think I am ever likely to do.

There might be one relatively flat and level section of maybe a hundred metres or so where one walks close to the track, but any joy in that doesn't last for long. At the end of that, the pilgrim path starts to climb steadily on road that is going to climb up and around the rest of the ridge.

I knew I was overdue for a break, but I wasn't inclined to have my lunch sitting at the side of the road. I figured that there might just be a rest stop close to the top, Fueled by an extra helping of fruit jellies, I persisted for another 30 minutes, and was rewarded with an almost brand-new picnic table. I was relieved.

There was a little more climb after that, followed by a long stretch of gris vei - the smooth hard grey dirt road - descending back down to the valley floor.

Near the bottom, they have developed an alternative route that crosses the valley a little further east than the normal route. It also has the advantage of following a relatively flat and level section of road on the other side of the valley. There are times when boring is good!Read more