Right then, a while back Twodogs suggested we might look to do a late Autumn trip to the Nordmarka. Karl82 and Teepee were also up for it so we booked flights for 26 October returning 3 november. Flights to Norway and return train fare to Gatwick came in at £105 all in which is cheaper than I can get anywhere good in the UK.
I was all packed on the Thursday ready for an evening journey to London on the Friday night
Karl came over for a spot of dinner at mine and we set off for Coventry station for our 11:30pm train
Once at Euston we got our bearings and headed off to get the night bus to Victoria where we would catch the Gatwick express at 3:30am. Cliff managed to make a new friend outside the station who talked at great length about his alcohol problem and the ASBO he had just received
On the night bus to Victoria
The sights and sounds of London were amazing at daft o’clock in the morning.
Anyway we got down to Gatwick and had an easy automated checkin. Next order of the day was a maccy Ds breakfast and then time for a chill out and a nap.
Karl got his kip mat out and went for the luxury kip while me and cliff slummed it on the seats
Great flight over that only took an hour and 40 mins. We got the train from gardermoen to Oslo central. Cost £9. I went outside for a smoke and met a tramp begging. He was wearing Sorel Caribou’s and a Rab down Jacket. Says a lot for the standard of living in Norway
Before we knew it we had popped to the shops for a few bits and reached Frognerseteren on the metro.
Leaden sky greeted us
It stayed dry though for the walk in to our first camp at Lille Aklungen where we had arranged to meet Pete who had flown out a day earlier than the three of us.
Cliff on the Rocky Road
Quick stop on the trail
After 3km we arrived at the lake and Karl located Pete. The lake was having some works to the dam so the level had been drained.
Into camp and cliff got a brew on
We had some rain for the first two days so we layed over at the lake and set about eating some weight and generally chilling
Wood cut for the honey
Cut some spruce bows to keep gear off the damp floor under the hammock
Airing kit in a rain break
Cliffs Loue
Cliff airing kit
Pete doing some laundry (im saying nothing)
Various brews were had
Pete and Karl went for a wander and wombled some good gear including a fire grate and a trangia kettle
All the stumps in camp were heavy with fatwood
We had a visitor to camp. A Norweigian Elk Hound wearing a sat transponder. We made him welcome and Karl gave him a superb lunch of sausages.
Getting ready to pack out
Day three and we set off up to Store Aklungen Lake which was a few Km North mostly up hill. The pic below is fairly representative of the trails we used. Lots of rock and root and plenty of standing water. There was a river crossing too which I think pete has pics of.
A river runs through it
Brew stop
We made camp at Store aklungen on a promentary that stuck out into the lake. Stunning location
Hotdogs and lompers for lunch on the honey
Washed down with a brew
Mist coming in over the marshes
We went for a dusk walk and met two nice ladies who were out picking shrooms. They told us about the area and what was nice to see. I also met a nice chap called magnus whilst off cutting down a dead standing willow. He returned to camp on his way home and promptly started preaching the gospels to me. We agreed that the English sent Christianity home with the Vikings and that his job was to send it back the other way. Funny how your mates all leg it. One minute they were all there then they were gone
Day 4 saw me and Pete take a mooch up north in search of a mountain to climb. We arranged to Meet Cliff and Karl 2 days later
We stopped off at a café at Ullvalseter for a coffee and a cake
Saw this little chap
Nice place
Then we headed off North towards Kopperhaugene mountain which stands around 1700 ft. On the way we stashed some gear under a tree and marked it for retrieval on the way back south
Half way up we stumbled across an epic spot for a brew
Smokin
Soon enough we arrived at the summit which was bathed in sunshine
We did a bit of recon taking half the mountain each in order to find a hang. Wooded summits are not a luxury we get at home so it was with great anticipation we searched the hillside. In the end we found just the right trees and got setup before sunset
It was an epic spot to watch the sun go down and rates as the best place ive ever hung a hammock or camped full stop. It will live in the memory a long time. Knackered from the long walk up we ate and retired to the hammocks early.
When we awoke the view was a little different. High winds and rain greeted us inside clouds and we decided to bug out quickly not even stopping for a brew.
Having walked around 4km we came across a DNT hut complex which had two huge wood Lavvus
We chilled here for a few hours, aired kit, had a nice wash in the toilets and generally brewed up non stop. The weather cleared suddenly as we were about to leave and Pete spotted some chaga on one of the birches in camp which we harvested.
On the road again the obligatory nav check
We were meeting the lads back at Skjennungen lake and it was pretty much up hill all the way
Quick stop for some water.
We arrived at the lake and Karl and Cliff were already setup. Karl demonstrated some top skills with damp wood to light an epic sized fire and we chatted the night away
Morning has broken
Packing out
Karl and Cliff set off ahead of me and Pete and after setting off we stopped for coffee at the ski lodge
We then decided to take route 1 over the ski lift to our final destination back near frognersetteren
From the top
Go ape!
Snow capped peaks in the North
Comms tower
We arrived at Ovreseterjern lake around the same time as Cliff and Karl. There was a large canvas lavvu the Cliff and Karl decided to inhabit for the night but as I didn’t have ground gear and wasn’t feeling the love for the trees available I set of with Pete to find a better hang for my last night.
We walked a few km down the hill and found a nice wilderness hang. We decided to have a crack at a one tree birch fire which was fun
It needed some tlc and pine twigs to get it going but was a great cooking fire with the added bonus of leaving no fire scar. No pics of it burning unfortunately.
Was up early and into Oslo for a spot of shopping
Waiting for the tram
Nice view from the station
I went into XXL picked up some devold hoodies and then made my way to a hotel as id got an early start for work on the Monday with a long drive. Laundered all my gear at the hotel then off to the airport Sunday morning for the flight home.
A fantastic trip all in all. Ive definitely got a taste for Norway and look forward to returning again in Feb. Thanks to all the guys who made it a cracking time.
My highlight has to be the hang up on the mountain. The technical trails are great fun and my GPS says we covered 39 km over the week so some useful exercise too.
Gear
My kit was as follows
Warbonnet blackbird hammock with tapes and dutch clips
Warbonnet superfly tarp with ducth hooks and flyz (some leaking on the ridge)
Easton backpacking pegs for main tarp tie outs
Lawson ti crooks for tarp doors
Hammock gear burrow top quilt
UK hammocks full length winter underquilt
Granite gear blaze 60l pack
Ti honey stove
Snowpeak 900 pot
Alpkit 750 mug
Ti Long spoon
Source liquitainer 2l and 1l
Sea to summit kitchen sink
CCF sit mat
Mora robust
Small saw from a gerber axe (average)
Zebralight H31 light + 2 spare batts
Glo-toob pitch marker
Blow poker
Garmin 650t GPS - flawless
Kindle
Double stuff stone
Tindercard
Black diamond poles with 4m gaffer tap wrapped under handles
Merino base layer
Merino leggings (sleeping)
Army arctic socks (sleeping)
Possum beanie (sleeping)
Synthetic base layer
Outdoor research Folding peak cap
Rab hoody mid layer
Paramo windshirt waterproof
Keela scuffers 4 way stretch trews, tx directed
Boxers x 2
Spare fleece layer
Golite down jacket for evenings
2 pairs teko merino liner socks
Innov8 rocklite goretex boots
crocks
FAK
Food:
Mountain house dried main meals
Turmat dried meals
Various pasta n sauce, rice for lunches
Aldi flapjacks and oats for breakfasts and snacks
Dried fruit packets to enhance oats
1kg of coffee and coffee / chocolate mix
Bolero satchets
Pack weight at check in was 15kg. added perhaps 2kg in duty free and sausages + wraps that I didn’t need.
How the gear worked
Stand out items were the rocklite boots. Super light, completely water proof and grippy as hell. Coped really well with the technical trails and I will probably never use another boot for non snow walking.
Granite gear blaze ac 60 pack. Supremely comfortable at 15kg or less but straps are a bit thin. This meant I was feeling my shoulders a little on the first walk in but it was fine after 2 days rats and other consumables were used.
Clothing. Was really happy with my clothing system and wouldn’t change a thing.
Hammock gear burrow top quilt. So comfortable and extremely warm. I was so impressed with it ive since ordered the matching UQ. 400g of top kit
Warbonnet blackbird 1.1 double. Uber comfortable if on the heavy side
Ti Honey stove. So light and very good in use. Ive spent years slagging honey stoves as fiddly etc etc but it didn’t warp and weighs only 142g. I added 2 2g ti pegs as pot supports.
Warbonnet superfly tarp. Leaked a little on the ridge in heavy rain but fortunately not in a major way
UK hammocks winter UQ. Stood up really well to the moisture. Definitely lost a little loft but there is so much down in it I was never cold
Mountain house fat boy large meals were epic as were the turmat stews I took. I really looked forward to my evening meals
Aldi flapjacks are really filling and enjoyable and often replaced oats.
Lessons learned
Axe – will never travel without one again
Food – Took too much (5.8kg) and ditched a lot towards the end
Rum – Spent the best part of a week lugging a litre of rum around in my pack that never got drank. Wont bother on future trips.
Stove – with damp conditions a paraffin stove would have been handy for morning brews but we managed ok without.
Down - Id fallen out of love with goose down after Estonia in March but this trip has restored my faith. It was great to carry light when walking and i couldnt have done it without the goose pubes
Thanks for reading
edit: Another kit thought - i usually pack food and coffee etc in 2 layers of large ziplocs but this time i opted for double layered oven roasting bags. they were faultless and saved me a good chunk of weight.
similar to these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2811...&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=83
I was all packed on the Thursday ready for an evening journey to London on the Friday night
Karl came over for a spot of dinner at mine and we set off for Coventry station for our 11:30pm train
Once at Euston we got our bearings and headed off to get the night bus to Victoria where we would catch the Gatwick express at 3:30am. Cliff managed to make a new friend outside the station who talked at great length about his alcohol problem and the ASBO he had just received
On the night bus to Victoria
The sights and sounds of London were amazing at daft o’clock in the morning.
Anyway we got down to Gatwick and had an easy automated checkin. Next order of the day was a maccy Ds breakfast and then time for a chill out and a nap.
Karl got his kip mat out and went for the luxury kip while me and cliff slummed it on the seats
Great flight over that only took an hour and 40 mins. We got the train from gardermoen to Oslo central. Cost £9. I went outside for a smoke and met a tramp begging. He was wearing Sorel Caribou’s and a Rab down Jacket. Says a lot for the standard of living in Norway
Before we knew it we had popped to the shops for a few bits and reached Frognerseteren on the metro.
Leaden sky greeted us
It stayed dry though for the walk in to our first camp at Lille Aklungen where we had arranged to meet Pete who had flown out a day earlier than the three of us.
Cliff on the Rocky Road
Quick stop on the trail
After 3km we arrived at the lake and Karl located Pete. The lake was having some works to the dam so the level had been drained.
Into camp and cliff got a brew on
We had some rain for the first two days so we layed over at the lake and set about eating some weight and generally chilling
Wood cut for the honey
Cut some spruce bows to keep gear off the damp floor under the hammock
Airing kit in a rain break
Cliffs Loue
Cliff airing kit
Pete doing some laundry (im saying nothing
)
Various brews were had
Pete and Karl went for a wander and wombled some good gear including a fire grate and a trangia kettle
All the stumps in camp were heavy with fatwood
We had a visitor to camp. A Norweigian Elk Hound wearing a sat transponder. We made him welcome and Karl gave him a superb lunch of sausages.
Getting ready to pack out
Day three and we set off up to Store Aklungen Lake which was a few Km North mostly up hill. The pic below is fairly representative of the trails we used. Lots of rock and root and plenty of standing water. There was a river crossing too which I think pete has pics of.
A river runs through it
Brew stop
We made camp at Store aklungen on a promentary that stuck out into the lake. Stunning location
Hotdogs and lompers for lunch on the honey
Washed down with a brew
Mist coming in over the marshes
We went for a dusk walk and met two nice ladies who were out picking shrooms. They told us about the area and what was nice to see. I also met a nice chap called magnus whilst off cutting down a dead standing willow. He returned to camp on his way home and promptly started preaching the gospels to me. We agreed that the English sent Christianity home with the Vikings and that his job was to send it back the other way. Funny how your mates all leg it. One minute they were all there then they were gone
Day 4 saw me and Pete take a mooch up north in search of a mountain to climb. We arranged to Meet Cliff and Karl 2 days later
We stopped off at a café at Ullvalseter for a coffee and a cake
Saw this little chap
Nice place
Then we headed off North towards Kopperhaugene mountain which stands around 1700 ft. On the way we stashed some gear under a tree and marked it for retrieval on the way back south
Half way up we stumbled across an epic spot for a brew
Smokin
Soon enough we arrived at the summit which was bathed in sunshine
We did a bit of recon taking half the mountain each in order to find a hang. Wooded summits are not a luxury we get at home so it was with great anticipation we searched the hillside. In the end we found just the right trees and got setup before sunset
It was an epic spot to watch the sun go down and rates as the best place ive ever hung a hammock or camped full stop. It will live in the memory a long time. Knackered from the long walk up we ate and retired to the hammocks early.
When we awoke the view was a little different. High winds and rain greeted us inside clouds
and we decided to bug out quickly not even stopping for a brew.
Having walked around 4km we came across a DNT hut complex which had two huge wood Lavvus
We chilled here for a few hours, aired kit, had a nice wash in the toilets and generally brewed up non stop. The weather cleared suddenly as we were about to leave and Pete spotted some chaga on one of the birches in camp which we harvested.
On the road again the obligatory nav check
We were meeting the lads back at Skjennungen lake and it was pretty much up hill all the way
Quick stop for some water.
We arrived at the lake and Karl and Cliff were already setup. Karl demonstrated some top skills with damp wood to light an epic sized fire and we chatted the night away
Morning has broken
Packing out
Karl and Cliff set off ahead of me and Pete and after setting off we stopped for coffee at the ski lodge
We then decided to take route 1 over the ski lift to our final destination back near frognersetteren
From the top
Go ape!
Snow capped peaks in the North
Comms tower
We arrived at Ovreseterjern lake around the same time as Cliff and Karl. There was a large canvas lavvu the Cliff and Karl decided to inhabit for the night but as I didn’t have ground gear and wasn’t feeling the love for the trees available I set of with Pete to find a better hang for my last night.
We walked a few km down the hill and found a nice wilderness hang. We decided to have a crack at a one tree birch fire which was fun
It needed some tlc and pine twigs to get it going but was a great cooking fire with the added bonus of leaving no fire scar. No pics of it burning unfortunately.
Was up early and into Oslo for a spot of shopping
Waiting for the tram
Nice view from the station
I went into XXL picked up some devold hoodies and then made my way to a hotel as id got an early start for work on the Monday with a long drive. Laundered all my gear at the hotel then off to the airport Sunday morning for the flight home.
A fantastic trip all in all. Ive definitely got a taste for Norway and look forward to returning again in Feb. Thanks to all the guys who made it a cracking time.
My highlight has to be the hang up on the mountain. The technical trails are great fun and my GPS says we covered 39 km over the week so some useful exercise too.
Gear
My kit was as follows
Warbonnet blackbird hammock with tapes and dutch clips
Warbonnet superfly tarp with ducth hooks and flyz (some leaking on the ridge)
Easton backpacking pegs for main tarp tie outs
Lawson ti crooks for tarp doors
Hammock gear burrow top quilt
UK hammocks full length winter underquilt
Granite gear blaze 60l pack
Ti honey stove
Snowpeak 900 pot
Alpkit 750 mug
Ti Long spoon
Source liquitainer 2l and 1l
Sea to summit kitchen sink
CCF sit mat
Mora robust
Small saw from a gerber axe (average)
Zebralight H31 light + 2 spare batts
Glo-toob pitch marker
Blow poker
Garmin 650t GPS - flawless
Kindle
Double stuff stone
Tindercard
Black diamond poles with 4m gaffer tap wrapped under handles
Merino base layer
Merino leggings (sleeping)
Army arctic socks (sleeping)
Possum beanie (sleeping)
Synthetic base layer
Outdoor research Folding peak cap
Rab hoody mid layer
Paramo windshirt waterproof
Keela scuffers 4 way stretch trews, tx directed
Boxers x 2
Spare fleece layer
Golite down jacket for evenings
2 pairs teko merino liner socks
Innov8 rocklite goretex boots
crocks
FAK
Food:
Mountain house dried main meals
Turmat dried meals
Various pasta n sauce, rice for lunches
Aldi flapjacks and oats for breakfasts and snacks
Dried fruit packets to enhance oats
1kg of coffee and coffee / chocolate mix
Bolero satchets
Pack weight at check in was 15kg. added perhaps 2kg in duty free and sausages + wraps that I didn’t need.
How the gear worked
Stand out items were the rocklite boots. Super light, completely water proof and grippy as hell. Coped really well with the technical trails and I will probably never use another boot for non snow walking.
Granite gear blaze ac 60 pack. Supremely comfortable at 15kg or less but straps are a bit thin. This meant I was feeling my shoulders a little on the first walk in but it was fine after 2 days rats and other consumables were used.
Clothing. Was really happy with my clothing system and wouldn’t change a thing.
Hammock gear burrow top quilt. So comfortable and extremely warm. I was so impressed with it ive since ordered the matching UQ. 400g of top kit
Warbonnet blackbird 1.1 double. Uber comfortable if on the heavy side
Ti Honey stove. So light and very good in use. Ive spent years slagging honey stoves as fiddly etc etc but it didn’t warp and weighs only 142g. I added 2 2g ti pegs as pot supports.
Warbonnet superfly tarp. Leaked a little on the ridge in heavy rain but fortunately not in a major way
UK hammocks winter UQ. Stood up really well to the moisture. Definitely lost a little loft but there is so much down in it I was never cold
Mountain house fat boy large meals were epic as were the turmat stews I took. I really looked forward to my evening meals
Aldi flapjacks are really filling and enjoyable and often replaced oats.
Lessons learned
Axe – will never travel without one again
Food – Took too much (5.8kg) and ditched a lot towards the end
Rum – Spent the best part of a week lugging a litre of rum around in my pack that never got drank. Wont bother on future trips.
Stove – with damp conditions a paraffin stove would have been handy for morning brews but we managed ok without.
Down - Id fallen out of love with goose down after Estonia in March but this trip has restored my faith. It was great to carry light when walking and i couldnt have done it without the goose pubes
Thanks for reading
edit: Another kit thought - i usually pack food and coffee etc in 2 layers of large ziplocs but this time i opted for double layered oven roasting bags. they were faultless and saved me a good chunk of weight.
similar to these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2811...&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=83
Last edited:
