Day 58 – to Sjunkhatten National Park

A mild 11C here yesterday early evening, as I stood outside chatting, after most of the day with cloud cover. Good for hiking, not good for northern lights viewing, or for the van solar, but good also for a stray, frail, elderly, starving mosquito..who managed to hobble its way to my neck and take a decent sized chunk. Who would have heard of it – a mosquito in the autumn..

It was brighter and cooler this morning and I headed into the National Park on the other end of the loop trail, about 2 kilometres south. A fisherman had previously warned me about a bull moose that was in the area, and at this time of year, rutting season, they can be aggressive. But we never saw it.

Rago National Park was established in 1971, and is one of Norway’s smallest National Parks, but has a untouched Nordland mountain landscape, and borders Sweden’s Padjelanta National Park to the east, which it is in effect part of. As Rago, it is about a tenth the size of the Lake District, with Padjelanta it is about double the size. In Sweden it is very difficult to get to as a hiker, requiring several days for a trip. But in Norway this loop path takes in the three waterfalls I mentioned yesterday and views across both, achieved relatively easily. For us today, it was a steep climb of 300 metres over a couple of kilometres for a view, but yesterday’s longer outing was superior.

Certainly it’s the dog’s favourite National Park of this course, with swimming better than he would find in any aqua park and a variety of sticks that he would struggle to find even on eBay.

I stocked up at a supermarket in Straumen, just a few kilometres south, and then decided to pay a visit to Sjunkhatten National Park, less spectacular than Rago, more coastal, and a Nature Reserve. I’m parked up at a car park at the end of a rough road into it, with no one else around, though, a few kilometres back there is a busy and large Sports Therapy Centre. It’s a pity I didn’t know ahead of time…

I promised a few words on the rather good Welsh language horror film I watched at the weekend..

It’s called The Feast and features an outstanding performance by Annes Elwy.

There’s an uneasy atmosphere from the start, as a young girl, Elwy playing Cadi, stumbles up to a high end property, looking disheveled, to act as waitress for a dinner party.

The isolated house plays a role also, stark, cold, modern and remote. The family are instantly dislikable, and MP and his hugely annoying wife with their two sons in their late teens.

It’s on Amazon, and as you may guess, I do very much recommend it.