Day 70 (12): Lost And Found

Suleskaret to Valevatnet

Distance: 35km

Rarely have I ever spent such a rainy night in the tent. The constant noise prevented me from falling asleep. Headphones and some relaxing music did the trick.

When I woke up during the night, only light rain remained. Nevertheless, the inside of my tent was something in between damp and wet.

A couple of hours later I pack. My campspot is engulfed by fog. Inside temperature in my tent: 6°C. Uncomfortable.

Way finding in the fog is challenging. There's no formed track and I navigate from marker to marker, carefully hopping from one slippery rock to the next.

It's a constant switching from looking ahead to find the next marker to looking down at my feet. 

One could think I am a bit annoyed but, no, I have to concentrate so hard, there's no room for emotions.

Eventually, I am descending below the cloud base, out of the fog. The clouds, however, remain. Unlike forecasted, they don't dissipate. So I make my way south, the trail is getting easier to walk on, therefore, progress is good. Until shortly before Bjordalsbu, where the trail is getting rocky again. And it's staying rocky. While never steep, it's a technical hike, requiring a lot of concentration. It's a constant reading of the rocks, carefully finding a suitable rock to place my foot on. Nevertheless, every now and then a trip or a rock under my foot moves. Especially, towards the end, when I am mentally and physically getting tired. I have been lucky, some bruised toes and a small cut on my shin. Nothing to worry about but it shows, how fast something can happen.

During these last few kilometers, the weather improves dramatically. The colors change, the views into the distance are suddenly here. It feels great to finally have some sun again. 

I have a lake in mind, where I would pitch my tent. 2 kilometers before, however, there's the perfect place to pitch a tent (and looking at some pegs lying around, was probably not the only one thinking it). 

It's a bit windy. Perfect to dry my tent, sleeping bag and everything else that needs to be dried. 

Tomorrow, well, the weather is supposed to be good again and looking ahead, the trail rocky again. But for the moment, I just enjoy the moment, the views.