Day 80 (22): To Cross Or Not To Cross

Aklaevatnet to Stemtjonn

Distance: 35km

Another crisp cold morning. Unlike yesterday, I decide to stay in my tent until the sun pops up from behind the mountains. That should be around 06:00. Or so at least I thought. Murphy's clouds places itself right where the sun would rise. I wait, I wait a bit longer, another 10 minutes. Screw it. 

Without sun and warmth, I pack and leave. Sheep tracks take me down a couple of kilometers to a road. There, I have to make a decision: follow the road a bit and then turn right to Haheller hut (which is a 2 kilometers detour) or continue along the lake then cross a bridge? Problem: the bridge is only depicted in one of the two maps I use for navigation. 

Since there's a sign pointing along the lake for the bridge option, I risk it, hoping there would be a bridge.

The bridge is massiv, I see it from far away. Lucky! Not really. As I get closer, I notice a piece of the bridge collapsed. 

Three options: turn back and go the long way, follow the lake then hope that I eventually rejoin via an off-trail routing or just cross it. 

Being on a thru-hike, I don't like option one. Option two is also kind of a long shot.  So it's option three. Carefully, I climb down the collapsed part, balancing over some remaining metal pieces. It requires concentration but is actually not as risky as I thought. Still, I think if I wasn't on a thru-hike I probably wouldn't have done it. However, on long hikes like this one, generally I am willing to just go for it in such instances. 

With the obstacle crossed, the remaining part is boggy with lots of ups and downs. Not slow going, nevertheless it's tiring. 

Eventually, it's time to find a place to pitch for the night. 

Not easy because of the wind, wetlands and vegetation. After a bit of struggling, I find a reasonable spot. I guess after the last fantastic campspots I got a bit spoiled. This one is a bit mediocre in comparison but quite nice nonetheless. 

It's my last time on Norge på langs out in the "wild". Only 5 more kilometers and I will hit a road. From that moment on it's road walk all the way to Lindesnes. Around 150 kilometers I think. While I won't miss all the mud, I sure will miss these camping spots.