Hiking in the Tovdalen Valley
Wednesday 25th of May
To show our guests a typical part of the woodlands of southern Norway, and introduce them to the traditional Norwegian outdoor life, we arranged a hiking trip to a valley called Tovdalen.
We chose Tovdalen because of the conflict between nature conservation interests and those who wants to build a large dam in the valley in the need for hydroelectric power. After years of discussion, the upper part of the river has been saved, but now a planned tourist road threatens the area.
Our guide Bjørn Aslaksen, has functioned as the leader of the local Mountain Tourist Association, and he has been involved in the struggle for conservation of virgin areas.
He is a doctor, so we were in safe hands. We followed the river upstream to a 60 meters high waterfall which had an impressive flow because of the melting snow in the mountains.
Here we stopped for lunch before we plodded through bogs, crossed a couple of slightly hazardous “bridges” and passed through snow on our way to an abandoned summer farm nearby an idyllic lake. Here we had a (much to short) rest before we had to return to base camp for dinner.
