Distance: 15.5km (708.9km).
Out of Oslo, the pilgrims have two options when it comes to the route up to Trondheim, Vestleden or Østleden. I chose Vestleden of the two for the walk up to Nidarosdomen, but as I wanted to see both routes, it was not without a plan. After arriving in Trondheim, my plan was to take the train to Lillehammer and go home again to Oslo on Østleden. In this way, I would hence start and end the pilgrimage at my own door.
At Nidaros Pilgrimsgård you get waffles with the waymark for the pilgrim path on, I took mine on the train.
I take the breakfast from Nidaros Pilgrimsgård with me to the train, passes by a motorcyclist from Pilgrims mc on the way. A nice thing about taking the train down from Trondheim again is that it goes past so many of the places you have gone on your journey up. Over Dovrefjell, the autumn colours have become even stronger, and I almost regret that I did not start walking on a later time. Through Gudbrandsdalen I can look up at the sides of the valley and try to pick out the places I have passed. Maybe there is a pilgrim walking there too.
Lillehammer church, the start of my walk on Østleden.
In Lillehammer I eat lunch at Det Lille Pannekakehuset ('The small pancake house') and sweet as they are, I get some sugar with me for my coffee breaks on the hike. Lillehammer church is where the western and eastern routes meet before they continue as Gudbrandsdalsleden and is therefore the natural starting point from the Olympic city. I have not thought to go so far today, the idea is to go to Brøttum.
Autumn-coloured trees next to a walkway on the way out of Lillehammer.
One of the problems with going in the opposite direction, or more correctly the biggest problem, is that the waymarkers are mostly put up with the pilgrim going towards Trondheim in mind and not the opposite. This means that one has to pay a little extra attention when walking, often by looking back as well.
Søre Ål church.
An old bridge that it almost does not look like you are crossing over.
Sometimes the waymarkers are also positioned so that they give a wrong impression of where the pilgrim path comes from. This led to me taking the wrong exit where I have to get off the road out of Lillehammer, where walking in the usual direction would lead you onto the road instead. After finding the right exit, the route carries over an old and almost hidden bridge, before a short passage between trees and next to green fields.
Path through a tunnel of vegetation
Over the cornfields that has already been harvested, there was no path or clear route to follow, but which will probably be visible when the grain is swaying in the air. Occasionally there was actually a mark on both sides of the power poles that stood out in the fields, otherwise I had to try to figure out where the pilgrim path started from on the other side. The trail seemed to have been rerouted around Hinklev farm, but that I did not find out until after seeing a waymark pointing in another direction on the other side.
The pilgrim path crosses several acres, here marked with a waymark on the power pole, but otherwise the path is no longer visible as the grain is harvested.
The next part is less interesting again, but pleasant in the sense that the route goes on quiet and calm roads until it starts to move up towards Johannesgården. Along the way you pass by an Olavskilde. As with other sources that came into being after Olav den Hellige came by, this one should also have emerged after he gave water to his horse. There should be visible traces of the hoof of the horse on the large rock right next to the water source.
Vingrom church on the other side of Mjøsa.
For someone who has walked Vestleden first, it was fun to walk above Mjøsa and be able to look over to the other side of the lake. There I could see Vingrom church and think back to the day I came out of the forest to a view of the church and Lillehammer with dark clouds and rain lying as a contrast in the background.
Farms with autumn trees.
Looking back on the pilgrim path after Lillehammer.
The best part comes when a culture path that the pilgrim path follows takes off from the road. Here you walk on a pleasant path through a bright forest, with old stone fences next to it. Along the way, there are small information signs, which tell about the flora and fauna, but also about the homesteads that were here before.
Olavskilden in Brøttum. On the large stone one should be able to see the trace of the hoof of the horse of Olav den Hellige, as well as the following inscription interpreted by Gerhard Schøning: "SANCT OLA KELDA; hvilket vel skal være: At Olufs miraculeuse Kilde" ("SANCT OLA KELDA; which must be: The miraculeuse Source of Oluf").
The culture path passes the remains of what was called Skredderstuen, which was first set up here by a tailor (hence the name, skredder in Norwegian) in 1830. The place eventually became a school in 1872. Iron bars from the Viking Age have also been found here. You will also find the sites after Gammelgården on Berg Nedre along the culture path.
Remains of the houses at Skredderstuen.
At the crossroads where there is a path up to Johannesgården, which offers accommodation for pilgrims in the season (reportedly well recommended), there is a nice picnic area with a small shelter and a picnic table. Here I find it suitable to stop for the day, it is a nice place to set up the tent by. The ground is covered with leaves, which gives a nice colour to an otherwise dull brown colour.
Two eyes in the sky.
There is still time left of the day. I take the trip up to Johannesgården to see what it looks like out of curiosity. Of course, I do not get to see what the pilgrim hostel itself looks like, but the place looks nice.
On the culture path in Brøttum.
The evening gives a nice colour to the sky, I walk a little further on the trail to look a little beyond where there is an opening in the trees. Have dinner at the picnic table, while several leaves detach from the trees and set out on their last journey, in calm movements down towards the ground. It is getting cooler, and I am crawling into the tent.
A small shelter and picnic table next to the crossroads towards Johannesgården, a good place to pitch a tent for the night.
A decent enough start on Østleden, not the most exciting hike, but it felt good to get out and walk again.
Evening sky.
<< Trondheim // day 22Rudshøgda // day 24 >>
No comments:
Post a Comment