Norwegian text below.
Double click on photos for large images


Report from Kjell’s “Expedition” to Børgefjell 2008

Oi, amigos brasileiros!
Time for a brief report from my annual ”expedition” to the national park Børgefjell. In this report I shall try to avoid repetition of what I have written in earlier reports, hoping that this one will be shorter. If you click on My Profile, you will have access to earlier reports.
One unavoidable change from one year to another is that the old man gets older; with the unfortunate consequences this has for both my mental and physical shape. I had also become more chubby (euphemism) this year, partly because of an operation of one foot. However, after two months in the mountains, both my head and my body felt better. Serenity descended on my mind and kilos disappeared from my body. Furthermore, both strength and endurance improved.
Because I made the mistake of starting the trip too early last year, I checked beforehand with the farmer who owns the land where I parked my car. He told me that the conditions in the mountains were late also this year, with too much snow and ice. Therefore I postponed my trip two weeks. I should not have done this, because the conditions were perfect when I started hiking 17. July. I could cross the first rivers without taking my boots off.
This year I had decided to start with a lighter backpack and in stead return for provisions earlier. Despite this it got too heavy, partly because I now had a new and heavier tent. So I spent two nights in mu halfway camp. Caught a few nice trout in the Orrek Lake. I was in better shape when I continued to my base. But I was quite happy when I finally arrived at my usual base. On such occasions I utter loudly: “Thank you, Supreme Powers, who- or wherever you are, for letting me manage this trip.” I do not take for granted that I will succeed. But I still always carry my Emergency Beacon (4 hg). If I press a button, a rescue helicopter will pick me up. It is only if I fall into a deep and rapid river that I will not have time to press the button. As mentioned the rivers were not deep this year.
The weather was on the whole good. Some days in July were so hot that it was best to move during the night. But even if the weather was quite good, sometimes it was both windy and cold. (Here the weather is good if you can see some blue sky.) During the last three weeks the ground froze during the night. Also fishing was best when the weather was lousy. It was impossible to put bait worms on the hook with gloves. Once my hands were so cold that I could not move them properly. Then the only thing to do is to move so that the body heat warms them up. Luckily mosquitoes are not a problem under such conditions. Fishing was on the whole good, but at the end, when the weather got colder, the fish became less interested in biting on my hooks. However, I only I managed quite well, and only had three days when fish was not on my dinner menu. This year I prepared several kilos of trout cured under pressure with salt, sugar, dill and juniper.
A few words about my new tent: Swedish Hilleberg Tarra. Super solid and watertight with good ventilations and two vestibules/entrances so I could always do my cooking sheltered from the wind.
Life became largely pleasant routine: Body wash early in the morning in the lake outside my tent door while I still had good body heat from the night. Breakfast with tea and lemon, my own homemade bread or Swedish rye crisp bread, with the one of the following piled on top of it: cured trout, tout flesh with fish caviar, cloudberry or blueberry jam. After that strong coffee and a pipe of tobacco. I then usually listen to the radio. When I am out fishing I eat a mix of oatmeal grains, hazel nuts and raisins. For dinner: Cured trout, boiled or fried trout (whole or filleted), or ready-made fish soup with a lot of trout flesh. Mashed potatoes or red lenses prepared with salt, oil, pepper, chilli and garlic. Dessert: Chocolate, or jam, with the coffee. Then a cigarillo. Even though this may show a lack of variation, the food always tastes good when you have a healthy appetite. Or, as we say, hunger is the best cook. On the whole I feel fried fish has the best taste. And then this food is as healthy as it gets. I should of course eat more vegetables, but the berries compensate for this. I found out that it was best to have finished dinner before sunset, because then the dew starts to fall and the weather gets colder.
After I had crawled into my sleeping bag at night, I usually appreciated one little cup of cognac.
I was incredibly lucky this time in timing my provisions. When the trip was over, I had finished all my food, tobacco, alcohol, cooking gas and other supplies. My last fishing line got tangled the day before my departure.
I often get the question if I see some interesting wild life. I answer yes: Reindeer and frogs. The frogs were jumping around even after the frost set in, and I wonder how they survive. Otherwise nature is quite calm. Apart the cries of arctic loons and ravens, and a few birds of prey, there isn’t much to hear.
I saw fewer people in the mountains this year. During the last three weeks I met only three people. As mentioned earlier, the reason why I go alone is not that I don’t like people, but simply that I don’t know anyone who is as crazy as I am. So when I meet people it’s a pleasure to talk with someone other than myself.
I was back from my trip as planned on 15. September. My sister Turid celebrated her 60-year birthday 21. September, so I stayed with her and husband Øystein in Osen on the Foes peninsula until the 22. Then I stayed overnight at my old schoolmate Ole’s and his wife Turid’s place in Trondheim. Both places I was served some unforgettable meals. In Osen Øystein took me out fishing on the ocean, with a couple of cod as the result.
So: As earlier this trip also became a success. It is probable that I shall make the same ego trip also next year, if my health stays the same.