Telemark History Trip - The Return (pic heavy)

[Twodogs]

Following on from here:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57443

We're back, all kit unpacked, washed,dried and stored away, photos uploaded, so here we go:

1000hrs - UK Customs overall were not a problem with sharps the only thing they werent happy about was a bungee in hand luggage which was confiscated. Martin moaned for the rest of the trip.

Fantastic flight out of Liverpool from Ryan Air who got us used to Norway prices by charging £3 for a cup of tea.

Norweigan Customs saw our combats and said "welcome, off hunting? Have a nice trip." and we were away.

Repacked our kit in the Airport (Torp) and filled our waterbottles then caught the free bus down to the train station.

Train to Nottenden ( bought meths - Rod Spirit for the Trangias at the Petrol Station) then bus to Rjukan.

Arrived about 1900hrs.

Then followed a 3 Km tab, all uphill, and I mean uphill; to the cable car that would take us up to the Hardangervidda.

To our horror, we missed the last cable car up so the first night was spent at the Krossobanen (cable car)

http://www.krossobanen.no/

Then we had heavy rain overnight, which made us pack up early and get into the cable car staging area, loads of history on the walls including a map of the Saboteurs Routes:

At 0800hrs we boarded the cable car and headed up through the mist and Rain clouds, given us a true idea of the steepness that the saboteurs had to negotiate. It has to be seen to be believed:

Half way:

At the top, maps were opened and the GPS fired up to mark way points as back up to the compases.

In the Ray Mears Series " The Real Heroes of Telemark" they gave the impression that once at the top of the cable car they were on the top of the Plateau, this is not the case, there is a further 3 km climb before you reach this:

We stopped further on down the trail here:

Not a bad spot

A bit more walking got us to here and a brew stop:

Finally reaching here:

The lake we headed for was the only one with any tree cover which we hoped would give us shelter if needed. It turned out to be an ideal location for two days of lounging around like rock-lizards.

 

[Twodogs]

[FONT=&quot]The next day was just a full on admin day, drying kit and enjoying the scenery in stunningly hot weather.

Late in the afternoon, an elderly couple who owned a cabin on the lake, came by on their way to pick cloudberries and advised us that there was heavy rain due the next day.

Points to note: If told by an elderly couple that there is heavy rain due the next day. LISTEN

The next Morning we packed under drizzle and set off for the the day's route:

After about a Km it started to rain heavy, so we took shelter on a Porch to cook breakfast:

Then the real rain started, Forrest Gump Styleee :yikes:

We knew that our days route provided us with no cover from the elemants whatsoever, so we took the decision to take cover and wait it out.

Luckily, we had passed an partially constructed cabin that was ideal, as it turned out, that was probably one of the best decisons made on the trip:

After 6 hours and copious brews to ward off the chill, the wind direction changed and it was decision time Longboat or Mesquite

Mesquite won, and with the clouds lifting we were back on our way.

The next part of the Route took us off the main tracks and precise navigation requiring plenty of fixed points on route and double checking with each other.

On the map several buildings shown were either not there just foundations or were derlict:

We then started our descent:

The picture above shows the edge of the Plateau with the clouds below us, as Ray might say - Fantastic.

We found a dryish level spot to pitch:

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[Twodogs]

[FONT=&quot]Bright and breezy the following morning we started our descent back down to Vemork.

Passing ants busy rebuilding their gaff:

Stopping for brews along the way

You can see why the owner built here:

Looking at the map, the route we were going to take lead us through a swampy area, and with the heavy rains we decided against this and took a unmarked (on the map) trail down. This was marked with red T's painted on rocks and trees the whole route.

The pictures do not really show how steep the descent really is and if you check out the Route map later on you'll have some idea. How those Hard men did this in the winter in deep snow, we'll never know.

Due to the amount of rain, all the streams which were passable on the trail, had now increased in flow and needed some careful crossing:

Boots off, packs across:

Point to note:

Foot Powder was worth it's weight in gold, don't leave home without it:

Continuing our descent, we started to see more trees, and the valley below

After a few hours we were greeted with a glimpse of the Powerplant and the Bridge:

A further hour saw us reach this view:

This wasn't the end, as we had a further 2 hours walking to reach:

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[Twodogs]

After a lot of hard walking, both with shredded feet from the steep descent, we limped smellily into the Museum:

Heavy Water barrel recovered from the Lake:

Grass area was where the Plant stood before the Saboteurs blew it up:

If you look up to the highest point that's where we stared our descent.

Memorial:

Gorge climbed by the lads above - 150m down, 250m up in the snow. Brave, hard Men.

We made our way back over the bridge to the bus stop and waited for 3 hours to no avail, we gave up and started walking towards Rjukan.

To our amazement a local Lady not only stopped, offered us a lift, but took us all the way to Mael.

There we camped next to the Railway line that was used to transport the Heavy Water. This gave our feet chance to recover for a day and for our kit to dry out.

Off we went chasing history again, following the Railway Line to the Sister ship of the Hydro:

Old Rail stock and boats helped you imagine this line in full use:

We then brewed up whilst waiting for the bus into Notodden

At Notodden we just set up by the Lake and relaxed:

 

[Twodogs]

You'll be glad to hear this is the last installment...

Oslo and beyond,

Bus from Notodden into Oslo, put Bergans into 24 storage and went shopping for shiny stuff in XXL

http://www.xxl.no/

Then back on the bus to Torp, where I had camped on my first trip in the woods 150 metres from the Airport:

Summary:

A very successful trip, well worth a visit and easily organised.

1. All the Norweigans that we met were very very helpful, some going well out of their way to assist us.

2. Rations - all did the job, but the Norweigan ones were far superior in taste, texture and quantity.

3. The 5 Ltr Ortlieb Bowls were multifunctional and worth carrying

4. Foot Powder again needs mentioning.

5. Trangias - worked well in all weather conditions - Meths available at most Petrol Stations.

6. Reindeer Moss tastes Pants.

Cheers for putting up with us two

Cliff and Martin



( standby for the 2011 planning stage for our next one)

 

[JonathanD]

I'm going to get no work done for the next hour or so.

Hold on, where did all the other parts go?

 

[Retired Member southey]

FAAAAAAAAANTASTIC! great pics guys, thank you so much for sharing, and a great trip, welldone indeed.

 

[JonathanD]

Ok, worked it out now.

Great trip fellas, looks like you had a superb time. Can't see any of that moss getting eaten though.

That is a trip that I have to do sometime. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[addo]

Well done on the trip guys, glad you made it back safe, and thanks for sharing the trip with us. Some brilliant pictures too. Look forward to catching up for a chat.

 

[nolightweight]

Cracking stuff gents. Fantastic. :You_Rock_

Looking forward to the talk through and the tales and sagas.

 

[PREPER]

I enjoyed reading this, thanks,

PREPER........

 

[Tank]

That was a fantatsic read, thanks for taking the time and effort to write that up. Looks like a cracking time. how are the feet feeling now?

T.

 

[tommy the cat]

Thanks for posting looks like a great trip.
Dave

 

[Nat]

Cracking photos and write up guys, looks like a very worth while trip.

 

[slasha9]

great pix and a great trip! well done guys!

 

[MartinK9]

Route taken on Parts 1 - 3:

 

[FerlasDave]

Looks like and awesome trip guys. I really do envy you. Cant wait to have a chat with you the weekend.

 

[Retired Member southey]

I was wondering if you would be able to do a simple breakdown of the costs? if that was ok.

 

[MartinK9]

I was wondering if you would be able to do a simple breakdown of the costs? if that was ok.

All in here:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57443

Roughly for each person:

£70 Return flight from Liverpool to Oslo
£100 estimated Return internal train and bus fares
£30 Travel insurance

Rations:
The Norwegian rats came from Ebay it was a lucky buy it now ,
Heres the Norwegian Rations website ,
http://www.drytech.no/old/?page_id=40
heres the Dutch rations ,
http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/sh...me-733848.html
The British arctic rats came from ,
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51721
The British army boil in the bags came from Cliff, he had some left over from his last trip .
The cost of rations is £30 each or £5 a day

Then spending money on shiny things in Oslo and a couple of days Fresh Rations bought when we hit a town.

HTH

 

[Retired Member southey]

Fantastic, thank you very much.