Distance: 37.2km (558.3km).
When I wake up to a new day, it is to a new section of Gudbrandsdalsleden in a way. Yesterday I kind of said goodbye to the mountains when I came out of Vinstradalen. Now Trøndelag is waiting, a sign as good as anything that I am approaching the Nidaros Cathedral.
The stone arch bridge at Plasstoggo and Bruvollen, which the passengers on the trains uses to cross over.
It is almost a little hard to leave a place as nice as this. At least I think that Anna thrived very well here, she had spent the night here the night before too, but today she would be heading on. If not further than to Oppdal.
Wisps of clouds drifting through the trees in the hillsides.
It is not free to stay at Plasstoggo if anyone should think so, at the time of writing it costs NOK 150 to stay here, which is not an exorbitant price.
On the way to Oppdal after leaving Bruvollen and Plasstoggo, on the mountains the clouds seep through trees and heather.
The reason I choose to mention this is that I see other places where things are based on trust, this trust has been broken and people have made use of the premises without paying. This is extremely bad karma and if it increases in scope, we risk that places like these will disappear. Which would be a shame, this is a service that people give that I really appreciate. I think the same about Stalsbergsvea that I spent the night in before. There is also a similar trend on the Caminos in Spain, where some people do not pay anything to stay overnight in the hostels that are donativo. Which leads to several of them having to close. Going on a pilgrimage is not about taking.
Walking through what appear as an old and deserted looking farm.
From Plasstoggo it is about 12-13km to Oppdal. And from there again a 24km to where I intend to go today, as mentioned I am now in the most planned part of my pilgrimage. Hæverstølen was heavily underlined when I received recommendations before the trip.
Intermezzo in the woods after hiking across fields, meandering paths and a solitary waymark hanging in a tree.
It is not raining outside, but the sky is not clear either. Instead, there is another expression in the sky that I enjoy so much, drifting clouds through the mountains and hillsides above. As if the clouds besiege them, misty veils that floats past and through the trees. The hike starts with crossing over Vinstra and at the same time looking up towards the nice stone arch bridge that the trains cross over.
The sun lights up one side of the valley under the drifting clouds, on the way to Oppdal.
The way forward is a small labyrinth that it would have been difficult to follow if the waymarking had not been good. Because here the route passes countless fields and acres, both above and along, in addition to going through farms and some forest areas. The surface is sometimes wet and sometimes overgrown, but my mood has not become overgrown. It is great, I like where I go. Now it is again the absence of the big thoughts that counts, and that is often one of the biggest burdens that I now do not have to carry.
Driva river.
For a while the sun has pierced through the clouds, but as I approach Oppdal the clouds tighten their grip on the battle in the sky.
Vang burial ground. It is possible to walk through on a path, which meets the trail again a little later (I should have taken that way).
Up towards Oppdal church I pass the large and grassy burial mounds on Vang. I walk past, looking inwards towards the green mounds and wondering why I did not go inside. A sheep has managed to fix its head in the fence that surrounds the burial mounds, fortunately I meet a farmer a little later who knows who owns the sheep that graze inside the burial ground.
The clouds have descended over the hills and mountains behind Oppdal church.
Oppdal church is as expected locked when I arrive, but not before I have set foot in the cemetery there is a church servant who has seen me coming. He opens the door and lets me look at the church. Originally there was a stave church here, but now you can only see the remains of it in one of the rooms of the church.
Inside of Oppdal church, what is left of the old stave church that once stood here.
The Saga trail has been mentioned before. On the last part of that hike, I met a family from Oppdal, they gave me their address when they heard that I was going to Trondheim. The pilgrim path passes close by their house, but I do not have to go that far. Coincidentally, Sindre is driving past me just as I am on my way there. A good thing too, there would have been no one at home.
The sun makes a tiny attempt to break through the clouds, on the way from Oppdal, Allmannberget is the summit in the picture, with Sissihøa behind.
It is a nice reunion. He drives me down to the centre of the town, so I avoid the extra detour I would have had to stock up on supplies. On the way down we pick up the thread after we split way at the crossroads below the summit of Snøhetta. He can tell me that the sole of one of his shoes had come loose on the way down, it was a slightly painful last part of the mountain hike. On the way back to the trail again, I pass their house.
On a pleasant part of Gamle Kongeveg.
From Oppdal the second part of the day starts, for many perhaps a decent stage in itself. To Hæverstølen, the guidebook warns that a large part of the hike will not be very interesting. The sky has turned into a little inspiring surface, a grey veil, which may turn out not to be so bad after all.
Wooden shelter (gapahuk) at Guriberget. The two sheep were not interested in sharing the space with me.
The first three kilometres after Oppdal are thus quickly forgotten. The next three kilometres, on the other hand, you should enjoy while you can, here you walk on a pleasant grassy path. At Guriberget (which I cannot see) there is a gapahuk (a wooden shelter), which I had designated for a suitable place to have lunch. In the view, the grey veil is threaded down over the mountains on the other side of the valley.
Gamle Kongeveg.
Gamle Kongeveg is the name of the road you walk on from Oppdal. This is not the first old royal road you pass on your journey from Oslo to Trondheim. After the grass has given way to gravel, you will follow the gravel road on the rest of the walk to the old mountain farm from the 1600-1700s, which will amount to about 17-18km. Decent enough to walk on, but as time would tell, not always easy to know if you were on the right track.
Walking past trees in the mist.
The way the grey veil hangs over the mountains gives a certain atmosphere to the hike, there is something melancholy in it. And gradually the veil lowers, and it becomes foggy around me, which then gives a nice variation to the hike. It is always fascinating how trees appears in the fog.
Farm in the mist.
However, there is a long way between the waymarks here, which sometimes makes me wonder if I took the right path at the previous intersection. Shapes of trees steps in and out of the fog. Where the trail crosses the municipal border between Oppdal and Rennebu, there are some nice autumn-coloured bogs. Finally, I begin to feel a very clear desire to arrive at my destination.
On the way towards Hæverstølen on Gamle Kongeveg.
You immediately feel that it is a special place to come to when you enter the yard at Hæverstølen. Here the buildings are old, and it gives a very special atmosphere. For the pilgrims, a separate sælehus has been set up, a reconstruction of a kind of house from the Middle Ages that was built to accommodate wanderers such as pilgrims. Inside there is a large open room, with animal fur on the walls, fireplace and oven, separate kitchen, nice beds, table, and chairs. Foods for sale in the fridge. Shower and toilet, on the other hand, you must go to another house on the farm to find.
The pilgrim house at Hæverstølen, which is built like an old place for accommodation for wanderers (sælehus).
Outside, a quiet drizzle has begun. I lit a fire in the oven, light the candles and eat dinner in the warm light from them. Having such a cosy place all to myself feels somewhat exclusive, but I would probably have appreciated some company here as well. And that makes me wonder how the experience would have been here if there were more pilgrims present, the place deserves it.
Hæverstølen.
A good day on the way to Nidaros. It may be difficult to come up with a better alternative to Hæverstølen when it comes to crown the highlight of the day. A nice walk from Plasstoggo to Oppdal, partly nice on Gamle Kongeveg, but somewhat monotonous in the end. I am at full speed into Trøndelag and tomorrow another recommendation in the line of hostels along the trail I have set out to visit, Meslo Gård.
Inside the pilgrim house at Hæverstølen, one of the most pleasant accommodations so far on Gudbrandsdalsleden.
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