Back Into the Wet

7:41 AM

Monday the 26th, morning. Lit a candle for my mother, whom I still miss every day.

11:53 AM

Ik werd vroeg wakker en dat gaf mij de mogelijkheid om het blog wat bij te werken.

Om 8:00 uur ben ik een tandarts gaan bellen omdat ik al een aantal dagen last heb van koud en warmte bij het eteI woke up early, which gave me the chance to update the blog a bit.

At 8:00 AM I called a dentist because I’ve been having trouble with cold and hot food for several days. Unfortunately—no luck. They’re completely booked. Not even time for a quick look. I was told to call again tomorrow; maybe there’ll be time then. Well!!! That seems unlikely—you can already see what tomorrow’s schedule will be, right?

Packed my bag and got ready to head back to the E1. First, I sent the snowshoes and crampons back. And off we go again. Pretty soon there was a descent and I started seeing large pools of water that you have to walk alongside or straight through. Up to the point where all you could see was a thick layer of moss floating on the water. With the very first step I immediately sank to my knees into ice-cold water.

12:37 PM

This is going to be a fun stage! I put on my VBL liners (waterproof bags shaped like socks). Over those go the socks and shoes. Your shoes and socks get wet, but the pressure pushes the water outward, keeping your foot dry.

Walk fast and step on the highest tussocks—that’s the technique. It worked perfectly in the first marshes, but once the marsh moved in among the trees, the water turned black and brown. If you hesitate too long, you get sucked in. The grass tussocks were so high that I had to extend my trekking poles.

2:59 PM

One peak (Goaskin, 528 m) was part of this stage, and I remembered it from Daniel’s blog. Daniel was accompanied here for two days by Theodor Jones, a reindeer.

4:01 PM

And then you reach a river. Straight across? Go left? Large boulders lined the shore, but I couldn’t see a good way across. The rocks were slippery and the water was flowing fast. I’m definitely not going back—that would be 15 km.

I loosened my hip belt in case I accidentally fell into the water, so the backpack wouldn’t pull me under, and by carefully puzzling my way over the rocks I made it across.

5:37 PM

The trail is neat and beautiful—maybe a bit too much water and moss, but that’s what makes it exciting.

At the end I saw some cabins and happily made use of them.

Outside the front door of a rather ramshackle house, an electric pan was simmering on the steps. I rang the bell, knocked on the door, shouted down the hallway… but nothing. Hey—there was that same blue jacket again that I had as a child! Then an old man appeared.

In broken English he pointed me toward the sanitary facilities and a run-down cabin. I turned on the electric heater, laid the hammock over a worn mattress, and fell asleep.

11:51 PM

Monday the 26th, end of day. At 9:00 PM I got an email from the guys from the previous cabin. They had continued as well and asked if I could arrange a cabin. Well… plenty of space—but first try crossing that river! I suggested sharing the cabin to split the cost, I thought. At 11:00 PM they arrived and settled into the cabin. The owner, however, didn’t agree. It was 300 kroner per person. Right—hard to send them away.