July 16. Day 19 Walking.

Summary: rest day. 14.3 km 450 m elevation gain. Clear skies in morning, and some cloud and wind in afternoon. Dovreskogen to Budsjord.

7:30 wake up, stretch and breakfast

9:15 leave cabin

My body, made of the same minerals I walk upon along these roads and across these fields and through these forests, resists the domestic harness of shoes and a backpack. In the morning, after they’ve had hours of freedom, I especially feel the resistance in my left middle toes and right upper glut and hamstring. I invest some time to investigate what these parts of me need, what they’re trying to communicate.

The morning is fresh and sunny. Birds are chirping their greetings to the new day, although the birds chirp all night in Norway during the summer.

We see the two German women we’ve met along our travels. They’ve joined forces and are leaving the campground, headed up the road, before us.

We travel along a paved road until 1.4 km then a short teasing of forest floor before we come to a dirt road.

At 2.4 km, the road becomes gradually grassy, then overgrown. The nettles are so lush and tall that I can smell them as they nip at my elbows and lower arms that are raised above my head, the only exposed skin below my neck.

At 3.6 km, we join a forest trail.

At 4.1 km, I notice my foot is comfortable with its confined conditions and the discomfort in my upper glut is gentle.

My eyes are down, scanning the forest trail for trolls who occasionally reach out to trip me. There’s no sign along this trail to tell me to turn up to the right. I navigate my way straight through wet terrain containing rock islands for my feet. Then, the obvious trail ahead of me stops. I’m in a sloped clearing. “Chin-Yu!?” I call out when I realise I see no pilgrim trail signs. I scan the mossy, rocky clearing for a trail or a sign. I think I see a trail so I make my way down to it, but still, no signs. Okay, time to back track. Luckily, I easily find the trail I came in from and follow it back about 20 m, just before the trail in got muddy, and I notice a fork that heads up the slope. The sign is there. Up where I didn’t look. It’s not a surprise that I didn’t see it. Back on track, yet I notice a subtle insecurity within when I don’t see a sign for awhile even though there’s no possible other trail…or is there?!

In the photo, I suppose the trail I was meant to take is more clear, but I went straight.

At 5.5 km, an overgrown road appears and I follow it downwards.

I find Chin-Yu waiting sockless on the grass at 5.9 km. I join her on the grass for a rest and she tells me about a Taiwanese podcast she’s listening to about how to live your life; today’s episode is about the study of luck, in which they discuss three types of luck: 1) win a lottery luck, 2) lucky break luck, and 3) avoid a disaster luck. Then, a fourth type, where you just consider yourself lucky. We’re lucky…with this weather, with our health, with our home.

Lenticular clouds (flying saucers) indicate wind (or flying saucers).

At 10.5 km, we stop at a cafe for lunch. It’s super clean and surprisingly for a small Norwegian town, has a large vegetarian menu.

At 11.5 km, we pass Dovre kirke. And another milestone. Dovre Church was built in 1736. It was originally a timber church and then was dressed in slate slabs in 1840-41. I’m astounded that these heavy pieces of slate can be hanging for so long, or even at all.

A little further along, we pass a holy spring. “Pilgrims filled their jars in the hope that the holy water from Olavskilden would give them help and blessing over the mountain. Tradition says that this source especially provided health benefits to children. If children or their clothes were washed there, the children became strong” (pilegrimsleden.no). I drank some water and sprinkled my shoes with a handful. Surely, it can’t hurt.

A short walk further, we come to Tofte Gard. “It was a royal estate under the rule of Harald Harfågre, and royal property in the Middle Ages. Tofte was described as early as in Harald Hårfagre’s saga and Håkon Håkonsson built a banquett hall and chapel here in the 13th century. Tofte served as royal estate until the last parts of the 17th century. The Norwegian historian Gerhard Schøning writes in 1775 that Tofte is both a transport station and a guest house. The oldest building standing today is from 1683. The farm has played an important role in the movement of people over Dovre mountain and was probably a well used accommodation option for pilgrims in the Middle Ages” (pilegrimsleden.no).

14.4 km, at 3:15 pm: arrival at Budsjord, our accommodation for the night. It is a “protected medieval farm which was operational until the 1950s. Budsjord means “the bishop’s land” and was first desribed all the way back in the year 1400. Budsjord was then property of the Archbishop of Nidaros. The yard consists of 17 antiquarian buildings. Old inventory and tools are preserved. The farm has an unobstructed view of the pilgrim path as it starts its climb up Dovrefjell mountain” (pilegrimsleden.no).

The owner is an architect and designed this bathroom. The plexiglass is shaped in an S and separates the toilet and shower.

Horse stable turned pilgrim hut (not ours…we got the one with the modern bathroom design. We are modern pilgrims after all.

I have been using Castile liquid soap for everything and my hair has felt like straw. Today, the pilgrim lodging had shampoo and conditioner and my hair feels so soft!

It’s really great to have an easier day. My body feels rested, even with 14 km.

Dinner was fantastic! Wow! Coming here if you’re a foodie is a must! A woman who helps out sometimes when the owner is away is working tonight. She did a stellar job promoting and selling local producers. I would bring people here just for that. While not all products come from a 45km radius, some surely does. I had a vegetarian version of the Pilgrim’s Soup with fresh local potatoes picked today. Turmeric, a spice known to be good for joint health, flavors the soup. Fresh, warm focaccia accompanies the meal. Tyttebær (lingonberry) colour the water jugs on the table. I finish off my meal with a gentle, locally produced aquavit (I’ll need to find the name of it).

At dinner, we had the beautiful, friendly company of three other pilgrim trail walkers, all exploring the journey in their own ways. They were all so considerate of my language (in)abilities, as so many Norwegians are. Listening to them chat around the table inspired me again to invest more time in learning their language. Thankfully, I have now created some space to do this with my year leave.

The weather has been incredibly amazing. It may rain a bit tomorrow, and wind is in the forecast but I also heard mosquitos are waiting for us…so the wind could be handy!