Day 79 – to Hallen parking, Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjell National Park

Part Two

Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjell National Park is the last mountainous area in Europe inhabited by wild reindeer, artic fox, and wolverine. Musk oxen lived here before the Ice Age, and were reintroduced in the late 1950s. But, as I mentioned above, it is more accessible than the northern National Parks, and in recent years the delicate eco-system had been disturbed by human activities; there are some excellent long distance walking routes.

It is a landscape of great contrast; from mountain plains, to lofty peaks an wetlands. I was headed to Gammelsetra, a summer dairy pasture at 900 metres above sea level, with the cabins for the shepherds, and quite a posh hikers’ hut. There are ruins here of summer farm settlements from three hundred years ago, and stone walls and tools from thousands of years ago. Reindeer have been an important resource here for 10,000 years, since the ice retreated.

The hut at Grøvudalshytta has new owners, who sell and serve cheese made at the hut, and run courses for volunteers to work in conservation in the surrounding area. It is closed up for the winter now.

On the way up the valley I ran into two separate farmers walking their cattle down for the winter. The first were two young girls, on their mid term break. They were the residents of the farm I first called at this morning.

The second was a guy with his sheep. He reminded me of a local sheep farmer at home. Like him, in his fifties, he has moved from a stressful job in the city to this lifestyle. He doesn’t have many sheep, he told me, but is dedicated to them, and certainly not in it for the money. He told me a little about the history of Gammelsetra also.

This is one of the special places that I have been to on this trip that I plan to return to. It is a magical valley that epitomises the National Park. Apart from the farmers, I saw no one. I had not originally planned to go as far as Gammelsetra, but today was a good day for my bothersome legs, and it was well worth it.