13-Jun-2007 -- The sun was shining, the odd clouds gave a useful shade and the temperature was around 14 centigrades. Just right for a small expedition setting out from our cottage in Lunde, Telemark. Just 35 kilometers as the crow flies.

Our road maps indicated how to approach the confluence point. The book shop in Drangedal had what we really wanted: a local map, 1:50.000. With this we navigated down a small road south towards the starting point of our hike. After a drive of about 10 - 12 kilometers on a gravel road which towards the end was rather bumpy, we stopped at a point where we were only about 700 meters from the cp.

The approach was steep, but manageable. It was very heathery under the pine and spruce trees, but the unripe blueberries were few. After a while we came up and into a more open terrain where we scared up a big capercaillie. Loggers had taken out timber and it was easier to walk along where they had pulled out the logs. A lot of branches were left, cracking under our feet. I walked first and Aase a few meters behind, when an adder suddenly crossed just half a meter in front of her.

A few minutes later we heard some trotting a hundred meters to the left of our course. An elk cow had noticed us and moved out of the way.

The arrival at the confluence point was celebrated with a couple of mouthfuls of water. The elevation according to our GPS was 289 meters. On the way down to the car a couple of gadflies kept us company. It turned out that the easiest way from the road to the confluence point would have been to start from a point where a lot of logs had been piled up. The distance from there to the cp was about 875 meters, but there was a loggers' track which made it easier to climb the hill. The map could have told us to take that way, but when you are so close, in your eagerness you often forget to consult the map and put your trust in the GPS.

Back in Drangedal there were no hamburgers available, but we enjoyed a sandwich and a coffee.