July 15. Day 18 Walking.

Summary: Otta to Dovreskogen. 24.6 km, 411 m elevation gain. Sun with some clouds. By evening, no clouds.

7:20 am wake. Things are waking me between 4-5am (dreams, flies, aches) but I am always able to sleep again. The aches were softer last night. Good sign?

7:45 am breakfast and pack lunch (great food at the hotel).

9:05 am start with a grocery stop for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast).

Otta, the city we stayed in last night, is the second smallest in Norway with 1,700 residents and one of the few cities without a church. It started as a railroad town in 1922.

Legs are okay today. Feet need more space, more freedom, less constraint, but they’re okay. Fatigue in my body but not pain.

I’m playing with relaxing my feet and toes in my shoes and how this impacts cramping or pain. I’ve been doing this all along, spreading my toes to root them into the ground like roots, and noticing how my shoes fit differently when I do. Sometimes I’m not aware of it, and then I become aware and my feet are clenched. I’m wondering if I bought my shoes when my body was tight, even my toes and feet, and that’s why the shoes feel smaller now that I’m relaxing. Perhaps my shoes fit better when I was tighter because I curled my toes up? Today, my toes touched the ends at the start of our walk. But I wore thicker socks. And I also have the Happy Feet insoles.

Anyway, my shoes are fine but they are not my dream pair, nor would I repurchase them. I’ll live for the duration of the walk. They sure are important in this adventure.

Digestive sensitivity today. The thought of 25km? Settled once we got going.

The first 14 km were roads to begin the day. The first few were asphalt but then we entered a private road through the valley, and it was heaven! Fields and the river. And mountains hugging us and the sun kissing our faces.

I’m noticing the balance between perceived dichotomies, constructs that are different but not separate. Light/dark, evil/goodness, freedom/structure. The balance between not being rushed, of having space to enjoy, yet also the necessity of having deadlines and time constraints to help get from Point A to Point B.

Tension in my upper right glut and lower back. I have a light rubber thingy that I brought to help roll out muscle tightness. Good investment! I use it every day. I sat on it a few times during our breaks today to help loosen the glut tightness. Also under my feet.

4.8 km Sel Kirke, and also a milestone! 284 km to go-ish.

It’s 10:55 am and I’ve walked my habitual 10,000 steps already. 10,410: 7 km. I think will feel weird for a bit, after July 29th, to only do 10,000 steps/day.

I loved the walk this morning. Flat. Quiet country road. Open fields hugged by mountains. Breeze keeping the bugs away. River accompanying me. Birch, the truth teller, along the path.

Lunch break at Jørundgård. 13:00, 13km. “Jørundgård is originally a film set that was made for the filming of the film about Kristin Lavransdatter. The film from 1995 is based on the book Kransen from 1920, the first volume in the trilogy about Kristin Lavransdatter. It was this trilogy that gave Sigrid Undset the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928” (pilegrimsleden.no).

This place was super cool and completely deserted. It would be an excellent spot of a writer’s retreat as it easily felt like stepping into the past.

13.5 km Nord-Sel church (built 1932). “Inside Nord-Sel church, the altarpiece is from 1681, cut in a style called cartilage baroque by a woodcarver from Vang on Hedmark; Johannes Skråstad and a young apprentice named Magnus Berg. Berg was to become the foremost Norwegian artist in the late 17th century and into the 18th century, but few people know that. He was discovered in 1685 when King Christian 5 was on his trip to Norway and visited Sel. He was employed at the king’s court in Copenhagen as a painter and ivory carver. Many of his works can today be seen in Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen” (pilegrimsleden.no).

Forest trail begins at 15.2 km. Beautiful and a bit technical in spots.

17.1 km: a sit down break after up, up, up

18.5 km dirt road that continued until our camping and hytta spot at 24.6 km.

Our place has running water and a kitchen area. Everything we need!

My feet hurt by the end of the day but the muscles feel like they are strengthening. My feet are cramping up sometimes. I bought some supplements with magnesium and potassium, which supposedly help with cramping, but so far, I’m waiting to notice a difference.

We are in the Municipality of Sel. “The name Sel means quiet and comes from the fact that the Gudbrandsdalslågen calms down and flows quietly along” (pilegrimsleden.no).

Apparently, there is a rich storytelling tradition in Sel. Norwegian folk tale writers Asbjørnsen and Moe came to the area to write, as well as Sigrid Undset.

I’m unclear how much I’ll be able to post while going through the mountains due to poor service (sorry, Dad!) We are soon to enter Dovre.

Thank you for this day.