07-Jun-2009 -- We set out from our cottage near a small bend on the Bandak Waterway between Ulefoss and Lunde in Telemark and headed for Fyresdal. Road 401 took us from there to a point about 7 km from the confluence point. The report of the first visitors mentioned a padlocked gate and how to borrow the key. Before we left on our “expedition” we checked up on Birtedalen Hytteservice and found that it was no longer an active service. We therefore expected to walk the whole distance to the cp. But when we arrived at the gate the cottage owners in the area were celebrating something and the gate was not locked. You only had to remember to close the gate after passing. 4 km further south the road ended, and we had only 3,7 km trekking through a rather wet terrain to the cp.

The weather was great, slightly clouded and 8 - 10 centigrades, too cold for the mosquitoes and just fine for trekking. We stuck to the flat area and walked along the stream between the lakes Birtevatn and Krokstøyltjern . At places it was rather marshy and involved heavy walking. On the other hand it brought us closer to active beavers. We did not see them, but we saw their “huts” and the birch trees they had chopped down. At the confluence point a few hundred meters south of the little lake Krokstøyltjern we enjoyed our lunch packet and a coffee.

Returning from the confluence point we chose the “high road” back towards the car. It meant a couple of hundred meters to the east of the way we came. The terrain was not so wet and the fauna slightly different. We saw foot prints and droppings of elks On an old trunk a bird had jammed in a pine cone in a crack and then picked the seeds. White flowers indicated where you might find cloud berries later in the summer. But I would not go there for the berries, there were not enough flowers for the effort. We passed a small pond which from the vibrations of our feet suddenly made a burp of gas.

It took us about 90 minutes to reach the cp, easy going. And as often happens, the return was faster, only 70 minutes. Luck was with us. Just as we sat down in the car the rain started.