Test walk

After loads of short and long day trips from home, I felt ready for a proper test. I'd picked out a walk that more or less followed parts of the Norwegian Pilgrim's Route called Pilgrimsleden. Pilgrimsleden is made up of several long trails that all end at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. One of them starts in Oslo and goes via Lillehammer to Trondheim. The first stretch, up to Lillehammer, has two options – one on each side of Lake Mjøsa.

I'd planned to take the western route up to Lillehammer, and then return to Oslo along the eastern route. I much prefer walking on quiet roads rather than footpaths, so in practice it turned into an alternative route along roads, though it still roughly followed the Pilgrimsleden.

The day trips were done for now, so I had to sort out accommodation. Even though I'd brought a light summer sleeping bag, I was banking on hotels and other indoor places to stay. I hadn't packed a tent or anything else for sleeping outdoors.

I'm pretty good at planning holidays and that sort of thing, so I'd lined up at least one option for accommodation at the end of each stage. I got in touch and booked as I went along, and it all worked out fine.

On the first day I didn't get going until early afternoon, for practical reasons. So I took the bus for the first 10 kilometres out of Oslo, just to make sure I reached my first place to stay in time. The actual walk started from Haslum in Bærum, across Krokskogen and down to Sundvollen by Lake Tyrifjorden. It was hot and sunny, and I quickly realised it was harder than I thought to refill my water bottle. That turned out to be a recurring issue, so by the second day I was carrying twice as much water in my pack.

The first stage was just over 27 km, and it turned out to be a lovely, straightforward walk.

The second day was just as warm and sunny, and I felt great after a solid hotel breakfast. From Sundvollen I walked via Vik and Klekken to Jevnaker. Quite a bit of walking on tarmac, but not too much along busy roads – just the way I like it. Plenty of beautiful farmland with lovely farms, and a few bigger roads here and there. 

It was a bit easier to get hold of water today, and I needed plenty of it in the heat. An ice cream isn't to be sniffed at either – I bought the biggest one I could find.

The second stage was 26 km, and it went smoothly and felt easy.

The glorious weather held, and so did the heat. The third day was the big test – a fairly long stage with some proper climbs. I set off early, after a hotel breakfast the place probably didn't make much money on 😊, because it was all about stocking up. 

The day's walk went via Jaren up to Lygnasæter. A lovely mix of tarmac and gravel roads through the "flatlands of Hadeland", which is honestly some of the finest landscape I know. It was a tough trek, but I passed places where I could get food and ice cream. I tried to have at least one ice cream a day – a brilliant little luxury in the heat. And I've learned that churches, and especially churchyards, are reliable spots for refilling water bottles. 

Even though I really enjoy walking on tarmac, my right calf didn't seem to agree with me. All the tarmac and the climbs were probably a bit too much for it, and it started to feel sore, turn red and swell up a little.

The stage ended up being just over 35 very hilly kilometres.

On day four I made the most of breakfast, as always. I was never quite sure when I could expect a proper meal again, so it was best to stock up. My right calf, which had worried me a bit the day before, hadn't improved overnight. Stiff, sore, red and maybe slightly swollen – not great at all.

The night before I'd checked online to see what it might be and what I should do. One suggestion was to take an easier walk, ideally with as few climbs as possible. That was easy enough to manage, since the plan for the day was to walk to Raufoss, and the route there was either downhill or flat all the way.

I had to walk a few kilometres along the Riksvei 4, where not a single centimetre was set aside for cyclists or pedestrians – but it was still legal to walk there.

After about an hour and a half I left the R4 and carried on along the western side of Lake Einafjorden. If the start of the day's walk had been unpleasant, this instantly made up for it. The road there, mostly called Einastranda, was almost free of cars and an absolute dream to walk on. Gorgeous scenery, charming houses and farms, flat and easy going, with views of Einafjorden pretty much the whole way. The roadside looked at times like the finest flowerbed, and at one spot a little hare was just lying there relaxing. 

I stopped for a food break at Eina and then had a short stretch along the R4 again. Soon after, there was a nice foot and cycle path that I could follow all the way to Raufoss.

I had to stop along the way to tape up some blisters starting on my feet. That was a pretty new problem for me, but I guess the heat and all those kilometres were taking their toll. Luckily I'd brought what I needed.

When I reached Raufoss I popped into the pharmacy and bought some ointment to rub on my sore right calf.

That day I covered 35 kilometres.

On the fifth day I walked from Raufoss via Gjøvik to Biri. The trip took a long time, because I had some lovely coffee breaks with friends in Raufoss and in Gjøvik, my hometown. 

By the afternoon the temperature had climbed past 30 degrees, so even with plenty of breaks along the way it turned into a tough day. The route was almost entirely downhill or flat, and all on tarmac. My right calf was now becoming seriously troublesome, and I had to take quite a few extra breaks towards the end because of the pain.

There'd been a mix-up with the booking at the place I was meant to stay, so it had to be changed late in the evening. That cut the walk short by 2 km, but added an extra 100 metres of climbing. I really felt that one!
The 33 kilometres took the whole day. 

On the sixth day I followed Lake Mjøsa further north towards Lillehammer. Luckily I hardly ever had to walk right next to the E6 motorway. I could use much quieter roads running alongside it instead. The downside was that there weren't any shops, kiosks or petrol stations I could make use of. But I did pass a churchyard and managed to refill my water bottles there. 

The heat was just as intense, but in the afternoon a proper rain shower rolled in. It actually felt great to get soaked, and it didn't last long enough for me to bother with rain gear or a poncho.

It was a flat and fairly short day's walk that didn't trouble the body much at all. 
I covered just over 25 kilometres that day.

Day seven started with a trip to the pharmacy and a bit of shopping, before a steep climb out of Lillehammer. A lovely lunch with friends was waiting for me up there, before I carried on through the forest towards Brøttum.

After that fairly tough start, the rest of the day was mostly flat or downhill. Not much tarmac today, which my right calf appreciated, so it held up fine. There was plenty of rain in the area, but only a light drizzle for a few minutes actually reached me.

My accommodation that night was pretty remote, so I was lucky to catch the day's last meal there – with just ten minutes to spare. The nearest place to eat was 5–6 kilometres away, and after walking 31 kilometres, there was no way I was going to add another ten. 

The eighth stage turned out to be one of the longest of the trip. Yet another day with plenty of tarmac, but no major climbs to tackle. The route went through Moelv, Ringsaker and Brumunddal, finishing up in Hamar. As mentioned, it was a long walk, but fairly easy, with loads of opportunities for food and drink along the way. The fine weather and the heat held on, so it was important to keep well hydrated. 

My grandparents were buried in the churchyard at Ringsaker Church. I'd been there a few times as a child, so I recognised the church even after more than sixty years. The churchyard was large, and I couldn't remember exactly where they were buried.

I stopped for a lunch break in Brumunddal.

The roads heading into Hamar were fairly peaceful. No dust problems in the heat, and the surroundings were lush and green. It was actually quite strange that the landscape showed so little sign of the hot, dry weather, which had now lasted for quite a while.

During my childhood I had family in Hamar, and visits there were always a highlight. So I had to make a little detour into the centre of Hamar. I wanted to see again the place that had meant so much to me. Even though none of them live there anymore, much was just as before, and I was glad I got to experience it again.

All in all, it came to about 37 kilometres.

On the ninth day I headed for the mountains – or at least almost. From Hamar I walked to Gåsbu Ski Stadium, over the ridge via Åkvisla, and on to Budor. Not exactly high mountains, but I did reach just over seven hundred metres.

Of course it was tarmac out of Hamar, but the traffic soon dropped off. Plenty of quiet roads where it felt safe and pleasant to walk. Later it turned into forest roads, and the last ten kilometres were on paths of varying quality.

Up in the heights there was little sign that we'd had a dry summer. The weather was fine there too, but the ground was often very damp, so it had clearly rained a lot. The paths often crossed bogs, and even though much had been done to make good conditions for walkers, there were still plenty of tricky stretches. I got properly wet, right up to my calves. Luckily I wasn't wearing Gore-Tex shoes, so they dried fairly quickly. If they had been waterproof, I'd have been just as wet – but I would have stayed wet for much longer.

I stayed overnight in a lovely cabin with friends at Budor, and "home-made" food was a welcome change for me.

That day also came to about 37 kilometres, and now I'd had two long days without any particular problems with my body.

So I was already on day ten.

Time is a strange thing. Even though my days are in some ways very similar – I don't really do much other than walk – they're also very different. Many of the places I pass through I've never been to before. The variety in terrain and surroundings is huge, so I feel like I experience a lot every single day, and that makes the days fly by.

The stage started off a bit dull, mostly because I knew the first few kilometres quite well from earlier visits. Later it turned into hours of farm and country roads, among fields and meadows, and big and small farms and houses. Perfect for a walker.

The heat was quite troublesome that day, with a light wind at my back and clear skies. No heavy climbs, but I felt some discomfort in my calf again. My body probably thought that 31 hot kilometres were enough.

A combination of a sore calf and a lack of tempting places to stay on the way towards Oslo made me decide to end the trip on day eleven. Quite suddenly I just felt that enough was enough.

So this day turned into a fairly short stage. From my pleasant overnight stop I walked past Stange Church and set course for Tangen Railway Station.

It was a pleasant start to the walk along peaceful small roads, but towards the end there was a lot more tarmac and quite a bit more traffic. I reached Tangen Station after just 15 kilometres, and then it was train and bus back home. 

Test walk – short summary:
-  332 kilometres
-  11 days of walking
-  10 overnight stays

I discovered that this is something I really enjoy, and that my body might actually cope with it.
The equipment I used turned out to be very good. I didn't get to test the rain gear or the sleeping bag.
I considered getting new shoes – hopefully ones that my calves will like a bit better.