Days 5 and 6 - Ljosland
Friday 7th January 2022. We were dropped at the side of the road at 8.30am. Much warmer today and snowing steadily, which it continued to do all day.
We have been told of some graves of 10 aircrew killed when their Lancaster bomber crashed above the village in 1944 and I feel it only right that we pay our respects.
Graves of the 10 aircrew who died when their plane crashed during WW2
It is a very long day, 29.2km. The best place we find for a lunch stop is a covered bin shed at the side of the road.
Our luxurious lunch stop
The day drags on and the snow continues to fall. A snow plow is constantly going up and down the road it keep it clear. The driver waves happily to us from his lovely warm can each time he passes. We wave happily back silently cursing him in his cozy environment.
Our mate the snow plough driver passes once again.
After 8 long hours we arrive at our destination, a small hotel and shop where we deposited our skis and food etc. 6 days ago in readiness for the next stage. We have walked 124 km in 5 days. I for one am pooped.
Once again we arrive after dark
The big surprise is that the hotel is closed, as is the cafe. To add insult to injury the owner has gone away and the woman in the shop had no idea we were coming. She rises to the challenge though and within a short space of time we find ourselves reunited with our kit in a small cabin. She then goes above and beyond and rustles up a delicious pizza for us.
We have opted for a “rest” day here to prepare our kit for the next few days. A storm is due in 4 days time which is likely to last 3 days. It will be accompanied by a rise in temperature above freezing, rain and high winds. Deep joy! Because of this we have been forced to amend our route somewhat and after 3 days we are likely to be forced back out to the road to battle the storm on the roads rather than sit out unskiable conditions for days in end in the mountains.
Enough food for 1 person for 3 days? Time will tell.
If you, like me, are concerned about the amount of food we are carrying, you may be relieved to hear that the huts we visit have food stores we can supplement our diets from, which means we carry less.
Our rest dat includes a pleasant hour or so out to try out our boots and skis. Mine have never been used! Fortunately they are very comfortable.
On skis at last!
I admit to some trepidation at the coming days and the coming weather.
Watch this space and don’t forget to track us via the link on the website.
PLEASE NOTE we will be out of range of internet, electricity for some days, so no blogs for a while.
