Together with Max and Anja in the dogs department of Daertahytte. Drying cloths above the stove.
Part of Daertahytte.
The mountains that I will have to climb are invisible by the low clouds
On the picture one doesn’t see the wind and the mosquitos. The marks, piles of stones, are visible.
The nicest thing today is that the day is over. Depressing weather, winter, 8-10 degrees C. With a strong wind, so strong that it blew you out of balance, and Tosca was sometimes blown away from the mountain road. It only rained once today, from the morning to the evening, sometimes for hours in my face, but after a change of direction, sometimes the wind came a while from behind, which was a relief. I started off today right uphill from the Dividal hytte. As sometimes before, Tosca did not feel like pulling me uphill, so I regularly had to tow her uphill. It just kept going on uphill. I reached the clouds ever more. Now you must know, on this Nordkalottleden route, you will not meet anyone except for maybe a snow hen. A little unpleasant thought. A lot of carcasses and skulls, probably reindeer, or are there also Norwegians with antlers? I do not photograph Tosca anymore with another bone or antler in her mouth. That starts getting boring. Those pictures are only meant to show that it’s exciting for her. She is very busy catching and eating mice and lemings, grinding a leg or piece of antlers she found. That’s only good, because with this dirty winter weather I do not find a dry place without wind to pause or to have lunch. After my breakfast, I did not eat or drink anymore until 8 in the evening (except for a piece of chocolate). It was a very long track with all the hardships possible, except mosquitoes: cold hands, crossing icy-cold rivers on plastic shoes. Then on the other side trying to get dry in the cold wind and rain, snowfields, in which I sank until my knees. Because it rained all night and day all the small paths had become brooks, so I had to walk next to the path, trotting the wet, sturdy bushes. All the streams that you could normally step over or get through were now so big and deep that you had to try to bridge them by jumping from slippery stone to stone. Moreover, I had forgotten Tosca’s belt when I ran through the other river. Very tired, with an empty stomach and drowsy, I didn’t have the guts to put the backpack back down again on the wet ground, getting off my shoes again and crossing the river two times more, next having to dry up again in the wind and rain, in order to get that belt. I do not know if you can guess it, but nevertheless I reached Daerta cabin, even though it took two hours longer than it should according to the booklet. I think that writer is also a beautiful weather walker, who comes here to make a few day trips at the end of summer, when all the creeks are dry and the marshes have less water and the mosquitos are gone.
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In the Daerta cabin, two Austrians share the room with me: A couple, Anja and Max. He is doing sports training education. Great hobby rock climbing. Anja is teaching pedagogy. Also, everything is very good. We light the fireplace, quickly fix a rope across the room, the small space (4 × 3 m) is filled with wet cloths, between which the three of us are sitting. There is a bedroom with a double sofa bed under the ceiling and on the ground floor there is a divan for me, all in one room. I asked if they had ever made such a strenuous or big trip together before. I do not believe so. Yes, I continued, a friend of mine has been to Nepal with his former girlfriend to try out their relation. After the trip they got married. Some shy laughing followed, but no sensible answer. In the end the Austrians went sleeping in the other part of the house, together with a Swedish guy, where they have their own room, and where they can also hang their tent for drying. I have no room for their tent.
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