Distance: 32.1km (102.6km).
The fourth day on the Saga trail awakens me to similar weather as yesterday. No to rain, but still to heavy clouds on the firmament. Although there are tiny patches of blue in between. Now into the Ringebufjellet mountain, the stage for today will take me above the treeline to another mountain pasture called Saubu, before climbing steadily up towards the Jammerdalsbu cabin. The trail will keep its ground above the treeline, although undulating, but after it has passed Stulshøgdin the trail has been re-routed. Before it headed towards the Gråhøgdbu cabin, but that cabin is now closed and the waymarks removed from the path (which eventually is meant to be retaken by the nature). Instead the route is now heading towards the Veslefjellbua cabin.
Svæltjønnet in the morning, still cloudy, but some patches of blue sky visible.
Tiny patches of blue or not, the clouds are all the same dominant on the sky. The scenery is similar to that of the Gopollfjellet mountain, but wider, offering a more windswept plateau. The surface is quite wet, but it matters little as my shoes are still wet from yesterday. Crossing over Øverlihøgda at 1170m, my head almost reaches the clouds, but as I walk downwards again, the clouds are lifting. I begin to see the landscape unfolding below.
Looking back over the landscape I have walked through, a windswept plateau, Svæltjønnet lake in the background.
Looking underneath the clouds, Nordre Breitjønnet lake in view.
Prior to the hike, I had heard about the wreck of a plane situated at the Ringebufjellet mountain. Searching for the location of the wreckage, I discovered that it was not that far away from the trail. To go to the plane wreck from the Saga trail, there is a path leading up to it from the small Saubu cottage. It might be a little bit unclear at the beginning, where you need to go straight eastwards for the first hundred meters parallel to a stream, but it soon becomes quite wide and clear. Just keep to the south of the river, and do not cross over the small bridge. The wreck will eventually be visible at the top of the hill in the distance, looking like a big boulder at first.
The plane wreck at Ringebufjellet.
At the end of October 1942, a German Junker Ju 52 military aircraft crashlanded here. With a crew of four people and four passengers, flying from Fornebu (Oslo) to Banak through Værnes. During the flight, the plane was hit by severe icing conditions and the captain decided to make a controlled emergency landing. The captain was killed in the crash and another crew member later died due to the sustained injuries.
Inside the carcass of the plane.
At the wreck of the plane at Ringebufjellet.
Despite its grim story, seeing the wreck of the plane is great, but planewrecks has fascinated me for a long time. The frame of it is quite intact, although the tail part of the plane is however unaccounted for. There is one thing, though, that is thoroughly infuriating. Even out here, you cannot escape the vandalism of civilization. Someone has spray-painted his tag in large letters on one side of the plane.
Remains of the fusilage.
Back at Saubu, the path begins its climb up towards the Jammerdalsbu cabin. Compared to other more frequently visited areas like Jotunheimen, with its dramatic and spectacular peaks rising up around you, this mountain area is consisting of a slowly undulating heather and moorland that rises gently up towards its highest points. The weather had opened up a bit while I visited the plane wreck, but now clouds are gathering again.
View back towards Saubu on the slow climb up towards Jammerdalsbu.
Approaching the Jammerdalsbu cabin.
Jammerdalsbu, another typical DNT cabin, lies at 1134m. In clear weather, I believe the view of Rondane from the cabin would be wonderful, now I can see the foot of those mountains before they disappear up into the clouds. The view alone would make a visit to the cabin worth it. Inside, the heat is at full strength. A mother with two children are staying at the cabin, getting their clothes dry after the rain of yesterday. She is so kind to give me some boiled water for my lunch. Several other hikers are passing by on their way to the wreck of the plane.
View from Jammerdalsbu.
From the cabin there is about a thirty minutes walk down to a small road (Friisvegen) that crosses over the mountains. The path is going around the Kvannslåhøgda, then crossing over a mountain plateau that unfolds like rolling waves over the landscape. Rondane is now a little bit clearer in the distance as clouds are breaking up again. It is a pleasant journey towards the Stulshøgdin that lies like a gate before the Dørmyrin marshes. If you climb up to one of its three tops, you will get a good view of the surrounding areas and Rondane if the weather is good.
The path going alongside a cliff above Jammerdalsbu.
Friisvegen road cutting across the mountains.
Water is running full in some of the creeks the path is crossing over. At one of them, I find a better spot to cross over, but clumsily I manage to loose my footing and plunges my foot down in the water. With shoes on and everything.
On the way across Ringebufjellet mountain.
After the two suspension bridges over the Remma and Hira rivers, I meet the cabin guardian of the DNT cabins in this area. She is on her way from the Veslefjellbua cabin to Jammerdalsbu. Her estimate of the time needed to get to Veslefjellbua is a little bit disconcerting, but not entirely unexpected. As I had only the estimates for the old route to go by, and not for the newly re-routed path. Time is not exactly running out, but I will be later than I had hoped for.
A rare visit through a mountain birch forest, most of the walk today was above the treeline.
Suspension bridge across the Remma river.
At Dørmyrin, the original route headed towards the Gråhøgdbu cabin and from there continued further towards the Eldåbu cabin. Due to the local reindeer herds in the area, the Norwegian Trekking Association has decided to close Gråhøgdbu and remove the waymarks from the path. The cabin will later be moved to the Maihaugen folk museum in Lillehammer and I will have to move in another direction. However, the old route looked more enticing than the new route and I had hoped to get a chance to climb the Muen peak on the way.
Path up towards Stulshøgdin.
This route is not without its merits, as I am unaware of what the Dørfallet actually is, having not giving much thought to it. It is then an exciting surprise seeing the landscape open up in a steep gully or cleft in front of me. So exciting that I temporarily forget about the pain that has slowly crept into my feet, the wet insides of my shoes has been chafing too much.
Looking back from the hike towards Stulshøgdin.
At the top of Stulshøgdin.
With aching feet the tiny mountain of Veslefjell (aptly named, translating to Little Mountain) appear bigger than it is. The summit has a full stack of cairns and stony wind shelters, as well as other paraphernalia. The view in the distance is dramatic as clouds are assailing the sky, releasing broad beams of light through them. On the way down I can spot the destination of today, the Veslefjellbua cabin.
View towards Rondane from Stulshøgdin.
Veslefjellbua cabin, or rather cabins as there are two, is a brand new cabin built in a more modern style to replace the closed Gråhøgdbu cabin. Due to the pandemic, you have to book in advance if you want to spend the night at a DNT cabin. That provided some puzzles in terms of planning this hike, as I had to know which cabins to stay at beforehand and not having either too long or too short of a distance between them.
Looking towards the destination of today, Veslefjellet behind the Dørmyrin marshes.
Dørfallet.
I stumble into the cabin, thankful to provide some rest for my aching feet. The interior is modern, but nice. I need to get my shoes dry again, so I kindle a fire in the fireplace, feeling grateful for the warmth on my skin too. My tent also needs to dry, and there is ample space to hang it up outside.
Indre Dørdalen.
With a full food cabinet at my disposal, although mostly consisting of canned food, I will have a 'feast' tonight. Seeing that they have the cans with bacalao here, the choice is simple, it is possibly the best food available in a self-serviced cabin. In the evening, a shower comes in from the west.
At the summit of the Veslefjellet mountain.
View from Veslefjellet.
Despite my sore feet and longer walk, I have had a nice day. This is a beautiful stage of the Saga trail, mostly on high ground above the treeline over windswept plateaus moving closer to the majestic peaks ahead. The highlight was still the detour to the plane wreck. Tomorrow I will breach the border of Rondane national park.
The modern interior of the Veslefjellbua cabin.
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