7am wake-up. I am having disturbing dreams. They are often stressful. Some are about work (usually about not being heard or having absolutely no class management) and also odd encounters with people from my past. I wake up feeling unsettled. Weird and stressful dreams and aching muscles don’t make for a solid night’s sleep.
9am leave hostel. The youth hostel near the train station in Lillehammer is fantastic. The service was great and friendly. We ate dinner in their café and breakfast this morning too. I stopped at the pharmacy to get some anti-inflammatory (in case) and some tape for my toes. Two new blisters have popped up…both on my right foot now. Additionally, the grips under the ball of the shoe are nearly bare after only 2 weeks of wear. Not impressed by Salewa.
I also bought some Happy Feet insoles, and a rain poncho which I will apparently need tomorrow with 39mm of rain in the forecast. My rain jacket gets so hot and humid, and I was feeling jealous of Chin-Yu’s poncho which seemed to allow her more freedom and breathability than my hot, sweaty jacket permits me. An expensive morning, but the tape worked well enough (I isolated my toes) and while my feet felt hot, the insoles seemed to offer some comfort on the asphalted trails. I walked barefoot at the end of the day down the last stretch of asphalted trail though. I can feel that in my feet tonight.
I experienced a lot of anxiety while buying the Happy Feet this morning. They are sold as multiple sizes in one pair so I had to cut the ones I bought to fit my shoe, and the cost of them is about 70$Cdn. I feared I might make things worse or I wouldn’t cut the insoles right.
Anyway, after all the fear, things turned out relatively fine though my feet were still hot, tired and blistered at 4:30 pm when we arrived at the hotel. There was a lesson about needs for me in it all. I was worried about taking too long, and holding up Chin-Yu, and this increased the sensation of anxiety. I had also forgotten to buy a poncho at the first sports store as I was fretting so much about my feet and the time I was using. Fortunately for me, we passed another sports shop that was just opening on our way along the path out if Lillehammer, so I jumped in and bought a poncho. It’s super light though a bit more expensive than I anticipated (almost $160Cdn), which may pay itself off tomorrow according to the forecast.
2.9 km: we found a Kiwi (grocery store) on the trail and grabbed lunch.
5km break at the university campus, which was open. They had flush toilets and we both commented on such luxury while on the trail.
The landscape was different today. It reminded me a lot of Jasper and the Rockies. The turquoise green river water, the train tracks, the rock formations, plants and trees.
7.6km break
10.6 km – 13:30. There was a welcome bench at the entrance to Øyer Kommune where we sat for our lunch break. I noticed a lot more benches after this than previously on the trail.
11.8 km: a foot soak in a creek. A minute in the water led to the pain of soaking your feet in a glacier fed creek.
We walked along a beautiful forest trail until 13.3km (3pm) where we started along road again.
4:30 pm arrival at the hotel (with a pool!!) 16.6 km with 678 m elevation gain.
We had a gorgeous salad bar for dinner. The food and service are excellent in this hotel with lots of charm. At dinner, we noticed there are a lot of kids, including small kids, in the pool. We decided we would defer the pool, and the high likelihood of high pee levels, to another day.
Now, we are sitting on the patio and I’m enjoying a night cap as we write and feel/see the rain clouds begin the surround the area.
I have made the analogy to Chin-Yu that our accommodations are like an advent calendar…each arrival is an exciting surprise. Every experience has so far been phenomenonal. Tonight, the discomfort of my feet and unfortunate shoe purchase are almost completely out of my awareness, as I sit and look out over a piece of heaven, Gudbrandsdallen.
Thank you for this day.
Stories from the Walk Home 