Rondane National park September 29th to 2nd of October, 2023
Finally! A weekend hike with my best buddy Joel in the stunning Norwegian mountains! We set off from Karlstad early in the afternoon on Friday. The drive goes well but feels longer than anticipated even though we switch drivers on the way. We arrive at Spranget,which is a fairly large parking lot, at 7:15PM/19:15. Darkness is setting in. Backpacks on, head torch on, bikes off the bike rack and so we start pedaling on the 3.7 mile gravel road ending at Rondvassbu mountain station. Our plan is to use our tents for the three nights we have allocated for the hike, however on approach Joel tells me about the existence of a self-service hut at the mountain station so we decide to "trade up" and sleep out first night in the comfort of a warm bed. We are not alone, about 10 other Norwegians are here. We split a beer and some chocolate, talk a little with the other hikers, most of them heading up Rondeslottet (which is the highest peak in the area, reaching 7145 feet/2178 meters) the coming day. Our itinerary is a modification of the classic Rondanetriangeln. It is a loop hike measuring 37.4 miles/60.2 kilometers from the parking lot at Spranget. The actual loop starts at Rondvassbu mountain station and measures 30 miles/48,4 kilometers. It is considered a classic hike and I have been looking at doing this hike for a year or two now so it's nice to finally be here.
Day 1: The alarm clock is set for six o’clock, Joel wakes me up. It is still dark outside, we have some breakfast, pack our things and get going. We start our hike by heading around the south end of Rondvatnet, the largest lake in the area. First off is the peak of Veslesmeden (6611 feet/2015 meters). It lies on the western slope of Rondvatnet, opposite Rondvassbu station. A slow incline starts fairly early, the trail is well worn and we gain some altitude quickly.
The first snow of the year starts falling! Nothing heavy though fortunately, the snow doesn't stick to the ground markedly. The wind picks up and it gets pretty cold, my Enlightened Equipment Torrid Jacket is well needed. The wind is fairly strong and steady, no standing about, we climb blocks of stone towards the summit. Nothing difficult but the cold wind makes for no picnic on the top. We take a few pictures and start heading down again. The plan now is to find the proposed trail that links Veslesmeden with Storsmeden, another peak, heading southwest. We look around but find no semblance of any trail.
Blocky terrain, steady strong winds and a somewhat sketchy grip on the slippery rocks make us change our course of action. We head down another 300 feet and start descending a sea of boulders towards the valley below, Indre Kaldbekkbotn. It is tedious work, not super steep but loose rock so we keep our focus. Eventually we reach the stone covered valley floor. A few hundred yards further on, we grab lunch by a rock wall. I have brought my Soto Windmaster, the smallest 3.5 ounces Primus gas canister and some freeze dried food, repackaged in Ziploc bags. This is a setup that I feel works really well; it is compact, lightweight and reliable. The Soto Windmaster is not cheap but it is very effective in boiling water, even in strong winds and without a windshield. It takes a few minutes to boil water and another 10 minutes later after having stashed the Ziplock bag in a food cozy( the Hyperlite Mountain Gear REpack), I am chowing down on some good-tasting Tikka Masala chicken. Nice to get some energy and warmth into my body. Eventually, we start looking for the continuation of the hike; the valley ends not far north, we start moving over more rocks and eventually a vague path emerges that heads up towards a saddle. The wind hits us hard as we cross over into the next valley, Langholet. More rocks/boulders on the way down. The strong wind is joined by some light rain, which makes for an even cheerier descent. But really no biggie, I am just really happy to be out here in the mountains! More rocks, the whole valley is more or less covered by rock. Not the nicest part of the hike but we get it done. Slowly the path bends north/northeast. We gradually descend a couple of hundred feet, the wind is still there, now on our backs. Joel finds a large boulder that gives us some shelter from the wind, we take a short break, drinking water and eating some nuts.
Onwards, the ground is somewhat wet with smaller streams at places so we abandon the trail and maintain a heading northeast, just south of the original path. We encounter some off-road terrain, but it is generally easily tackled with soft moss, low growing bushes at places and tiny streams on our way. We are getting close to today's final destination: the small forest just shy of Dørålseter mountain station. Here we find some shelter and a good spot to pitch our tents (Joel amongst some low trees, me a little more in the open close to a river). It is 7:30 PM/19:30, we eat dinner (some freeze dried gourmet meals of course) sitting by Joel´s homemade pyramid tarp. For dessert, a sip of whisky with a piece of chocolate. We say goodnight and go to sleep around nine o'clock.
Day 2: We agreed on being ready to go at 7 AM/07:00 so my Xiaomi 11T mobile alarm goes off an hour before. The night was windier than expected but my Yama Mountain Gear Cirriform 1 person tarp with an inner wind bivy combo handled the elements with no issues. I felt confident it would based on my recent 500 mile/800 kilometer hike across the Pyrenees Mountains.
The sky is still darkish but the light is close, I can feel the start of the day beginning. What better way to spend your time!
I have my take down and setup procedure pretty much dialed since I have been using the Cirriform tarp for 38 days straight before this trip. Even so it takes about 30 minutes to get all my gear into my KS4 pack. Joel comes by, we exchange some words on the night that was. Joel’s tarp seems to hold its own, the one slight issue is that his trekking pole is on the short end but he solved it, albeit not a perfect solution, by putting a rock underneath the tip of the pole and the ground. One of the things that I like about Joel is his ingenuity, making things work with what he has and not always having to buy himself a solution. That’s more my approach, hah!
I hydrate and get me a few spoonfuls of my Ziploc bag breakfast which is a blend of coconut milk powder, rolled oats, hemp seeds, chia seeds, crushed nuts, cacao nibs and raisins. Good stuff courtesy of Iron Tazz, an American hiker, his website www.irontazz.com is where I found the base of this recipe.
Today’s hike starts by climbing a short, but steep slope. In this area there are a few straight lined plateaus of varying height, giving the impression that something really big has flattened the ground into its present shape. Turns out, as Joel points out, that we have the latest ice age to thank for this appearance. We continue in a southeasterly direction on a more or less well defined trail. It is chilly but the wind has slowed some compared to yesterday. The sun is starting its daily journey, however the rays are not yet giving much warmth. Water is a little scarce here, I have only brought one 16.5 fl oz/500 ml bottle for this hike but we have checked the map and there is a fairly large lake just by the foot of Høgronden (6939 feet/2115 meters). I hear the sounds of a stream up ahead and soon amongst the rockfield we come across flowing water. Time for a food break, the sun is now adding some welcoming heat and so we find a suitable place to relax and prepare some food.
Onwards. We are gradually climbing towards the peak of Høgronden, it is not long until the ground is completely covered by rocks of various sizes. Luckily, most of them are flat and thus do not present a substantial increase in difficulty hiking across this section. The peak is alluring and it definitely takes longer to reach the top than I thought. We are in the shadow of the northside of the mountain which becomes apparent when I start slipping somewhat on the rocks. Turns out as we gain altitude, a small film of ice has formed on the stone. Of course, totally logical, but a good reminder that conditions change when you are out in nature. Especially in the mountains. We manage to summit without any difficulties, however it would have been a different story descending the same path we just completed.
The view on top of Høgronden is truly amazing! A 360 degree unobstructed view of the surrounding areas. The weather is great, sun mostly, and not much wind. Unfortunately, I forget to take pictures and video this part of the hike, but hey, live in the moment right? We take in the open air for a few minutes after which we start descending the sunny southside. We reach an old stone cabin, not in use but which still offers rudimentary/emergency shelter. Another snack break with the sun in our faces, the temperature is really pleasant now and as we continue along a wide ridge it is warm enough to only wear a t-shirt on my torso. Eventually the path starts descending at a steeper angle, my knees ache a bit and I am happy when we reach the bottom of Langgluppdalen. Here we cross a small wooden bridge
over Langglupbekken, a river and a short waterfall just nearby. Refill water and now a slow incline towards Bjørnhollia (another mountain station). Halfway we stop for some warm food, some chocolate and a short time relaxing. We hit a flat easy part of the hike and reach Bjørnhollia station around 6PM. There’s another 7 miles and change/12 kilometers to complete our circle at Rondvassbu. It is too late to hike the remaining miles during what is left of the day and our plan has always been to do another night in our tents. We push on to cover a few more miles but with darkness quickly approaching, the risk of not finding a good camp spot becomes more and more pressing. We are in luck. An hour or so later we notice what looks to be a decent spot to set up camp even though the path is traversing a slope, making it harder to find level ground. Joel finds a spot on the other side of a stream and I make camp some yards descending off the trail. I shout across the stream, all is good, we agree on heading out at seven in the morning the next day. I manage a good pitch of my Cirriform tarp, somewhat at an downwards angle, but it works. I have an extra freeze dried meal so I heat up some water from the warmth of my Rab Neutrino down bag. It’s now dark. I eat, laying sideways partially enclosed in my shelter. There’s some wind but not like last night.
I see the moon and manage to snap a few pictures. The temperature is dropping and my fingers are cold. I brush my teeth, fetch some water for the night and turn in for dreamland around 9 PM/21 hours.
Day 3: I had a decent night’s sleep; awoke a few times sliding slightly towards the foot end of my wind bivy. The tub floor is made of 20 denier silpoly so it is plenty resistant to water and durable enough, but it is somewhat slippery. What that means is that if the camp ground isn’t pretty much level, there is a tendency to start sliding around during the night. I had one or two nights with this occurring as I was hiking the Pyrenean Haute Route as well. The solution is hopefully to apply a couple of stripes of diluted silicone on the inside of the tub floor. Only one way to find out, I will have to carve out an hour with nice weather at home to get it done.
Joel joins me around the 7 AM mark, we head out westward along the valley we are in called Illmandalen. The sun is blessing us once again, we stop for me having a short breakfast break and then continue on. The path is solid, there are some beautiful mountain lakes scattered along the valley as we progress. We make quick work of the remaining distance to Rondvassbu station. Our bikes are where we left them, we pedal back toward Spranget parking lot and the end of this beautiful hike. On the gravel road we pass a few people heading into Rondvassbu. How great isn’t nature? It is always present to greet you no matter when you are there.
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