Activites – Page 2 – Patricia McLellan's Blog

2022-05-26

Aunan and Floåsen

The view from Aunan, looking west. The gap in the distance is Trondheim Fjord with Levanger on the left and Mosvik on the right.

Tuesday, May the 24th, was a Bahá’í holy day, so my husband and I decided to take a walk in the hills at Røra. It is an area we both enjoy walking in. Today’s walk was about 2 hours plus a sandwich break for about 15 minutes. I have been to both Aunan and Floåsen before and if you want to read about the walk taken to Aunan in August 2021, you can read it here.

As we started our walk, I wondered what sort of theme I should have for this blog and my husband suggested “signs”, so that will be the main theme. What sorts of signs do we see while walking in the woods? Some are easy to read, some are directional (i.e. which way to go), some were about the place where we found the sign, some were almost impossible to read, some were official signs, some were hand-made. I think one thing that can be learned from some of these pictures is that signs with writing on them need to be looked after.

The parking area at Røflo Lake has a sign indicating that one is allowed to park here. There is also a sign showing which posts can be reached from this parking area.

When taking an Inderøy walk, one of the first signs one sees is the indication of where parking is allowed. This year they are wanting people to park in one place and find multiple posts from the same parking spot. From this parking area, one can walk to six different posts depending on how far one wants to walk. We visited two posts, nr. 46 Aunan and nr. 45 Fløåsen.

This map covers an area called “The Old King’s Road” and up to Marsteinsvola which is a hilltop at the junction of the municipalities of Steinkjer, Inderøy and Verdal.

One of the things I have learned over the years (at least since having a camera on a smart phone) is to take a picture of the map that is posted at the parking area. One can always look at it if one isn’t sure which trail goes through. The app for the Inderøy Walks has a good map, but not all trails are actually marked on it. Today we were walking on some good trails that didn’t seem to be on the app’s map at all, though the dot that shows us where we actually are indicated that we were going in the correct direction.

Our walk started at Røflo lake which is the main drinking water source for the municipality of Inderøy. The water is purified before sending it out to the customers which also include a juice factory.

Drinking water – fishing, bathing and camping are forbidden.

This is an older sign which has been looked after. It is important to repaint the lettering regularly. Translation: “Røflo Lake is the municipality’s source of drinking water. Help us keep the water clean. It is not allowed to bathe in the water or to camp in the area. Fishing is only allowed for those who have special permission.”

Røflo Lake would freeze over in the winter, so it becomes important to have a warning sign. Translation: “Danger: Unsafe ice. Traffic on the ice is forbidden. Openings can occur because of draining.” Notice also the gray box below the sign has a number on it. These gray boxes are usually connected to electricity.

Near the parking area, there were a lot of electricity poles which, of course, each have a sign on them warning of the danger. “High voltage, life threatening” plus a number.

These two signs indicate that there are grazing sheep on the other side and give information on the purpose of this area as well as contact information if one sees injured animals or other problems. Dogs must be on a leash.

The field closest to the parking area had cows out today. They are usually kept close to the barn for milking. However sheep are sent up into the hills for the summer and are expected to look after themselves. Here there is a fence so that they don’t get out onto the road. We saw the sheep briefly and the lambs are still quite small. We saw two lambs laying on the grass resting and eating the grass that was in reach!

We will cross the road and head up the steep trail on the other side.

Most of the walks in Inderøy have good signs to indicate how to get places. The sign above shows that we are on a blue trail (not so easy trail, but not too difficult either) taking us to Floåsen. Under the blue man is the name of the organization that is responsible for this trail, Røra Sports Club, and at the extreme lower left hand corner is the number 28. All this type of signs have a number. The red and white tape on the sign indicate that this is a marked trail for this year’s Inderøy Walks.

We came to a bridge with a railing, crossing a stream that was very gentle today. Wooden bridges like this can get very slippery in the rain so having a railing on one side is very nice. On this bridge there were also two signs, neither of which were easy to read.

Not all of this sign is easy to read, even though it has a plastic cover on it. There is the name of the bridge (“bru”), a date (30-9-2011) and the name of who put it up (Floåsens Venner = Friends of Floåsen)

On the far end of the bridge was a different sign, which also needed a bit of maintenance to be easier to read. I couldn’t read everything on this one, though it also seems to mention “Friends of Floåsen”.

I came across this sign that was almost impossible to read, but the text indicated that you could borrow this shovel, but please return it here on your way back.

This was the first time that we had gone walking in this area this year. Last year we had gone too early and the trail we had taken was still covered in a lot of snow. So I was curious to see if there was much snow left at all. We’ve had plenty of warm weather and sunshine so I wasn’t expecting too much snow left now.

This was the biggest patch of snow that I saw on our walk. It was in a very shady area, under the trees.

Aunan to the left and Floåsen to the right.

Aunan is a relatively new place to go to in these hills. It is a hilltop that has been recently logged so that there is a beautiful view looking north and west. These signs have been put up after the more professional signs were erected along the trails. At the distance this picture is taken, it is hard to read what is written, but it was quite clear when one stood closer. We headed off to the left to go to Aunan first. We made a circle tour and came back to this intersection on our way back from Floåsen.

Of course there is a sign where we check-in for the post. This picture shows what a logged area looks like a few years later. There are lots of white anemone blooming, an early spring flower that will cover the ground.

The view from Aunan, with Røflo Lake in the foreground and Straumen in the distance. The hills in the far distance are in the municipality of Steinkjer.

On the way up to Aunan I had seen a sign that indicated a path and I suggested to Brock that we take it and explore. He agreed, so we ended up taking the long way round to Floåsen, but along lovely trails through the forest.

The sign indicates that Marsteinsvola is in that direction, so we take that trail and look for a turn off it to Floåsen.

Part of a trail that we hadn’t taken before. It is well used, even though it wasn’t on the map I had.

We have come from Aunan. Marsteinsvola is another hilltop, but we won’t go there today. We head off to Floåsen. This next section of the trail we have been on before, on our way back from Marsteinsvola.

Though there is a lovely view from Aunan, Floåsen is an open area in the middle of the forest. There are two buildings at Floåsen, and there are several signs here. The sign below tells the story of this location. This was originally a farm owned by the King. It was purchased by municipality of Røra in 1924. The cabin that is here is owned by the Røra School.

More signs, a map, a notice that this is a check-in post for Inderøy Walks, and a box put up by the local sports club, with a book inside. You can write your name in the book to indicate that you have been here.

The sign says, “Floåsbua, Åpen for alle, Floåsens Venner”
Translation: Floås Cabin, open for everyone, Friends of Floåsen
The left hand door leads to a toilet and to the right is a room with a small kitchen, where one could take shelter in bad weather. We sat at a picnic table outdoors and ate some sandwiches.

Two places we decided not to go to today.

We had now been walking for about one and a half hours, enjoying our time out in nature. There were other places we could have walked to from here, but we agreed that going back to the car was appropriate. Taking the quickest way back it would take about half an hour to the car.

We found this angel hanging in the tree on our way back to the car.

The walk took a little over two hours, in cloudy weather and about 14 degrees Celsius. We were tired by the time we got back to the car, but we want to do walks this long regularly so that we keep in good shape and grow old gracefully. We got to try a different trail we hadn’t been on before and we didn’t get lost.

I hope you have a chance to get out for a walk today. Enjoy nature! They say trees are good for our mental health.

2022-05-08

Inderøy Walks 2022

Today, Sunday, the 8th of May, was the first day of the Inderøy Walks for 2022. My husband and I took our first walk today. There were also a lot of other people out walking too. The weather was mostly just cloudy, but we had one rain shower while we were in the forest, so we didn’t get too wet.

This year there are 48 posts and often several can be found on the same walk. We did a circle tour and were able to check in to three posts. We use an app on our phones to check in to posts when we get to them. For several years now, there have been posts that have been accessible to those who use wheelchairs (which also allows access for those with baby buggies or strollers), but this year there are also several posts that are accessible for those who are kayaking. However, I will be traditional and use my two feet. Today, I also borrowed my husband’s second walking stick to see if that was useful. On flat bits, I didn’t like having to carry the stick, but on steep areas it was useful.

We parked at our local recycling center (previously known as the garbage dump) and headed off on an easy walk through relatively open terrain. The trees are just starting to put out their leaves. The walk from the car to Markaplassen was about 600 meters.

Yes, we could walk to Vangshylla and home from here, but it’s a bit too far for me. Today we chose to go left, towards Markaplassen. There were new information signs along this path, primarily about insects, birds or other animals. The blue hiker on the signs indicate that this is middle difficulty, though the section we did today was quite easy. In spite of recent rain, the ground was not muddy or particularly wet.

Here is the trail and the open forest that we were walking through. The trail is marked both with signs and streamers. The red arrows are an older version of the signs. Today they use signs with a hiker on them.

Our first post, number 25, for 2022. We got 10 points each for this easy walk.

This little shelter at Markaplassen can be used if the weather turns bad. There would be benches inside to sit on. We were still energetic so we continued our walk without sitting down.

New this year were two posts on the Stene Nature and Culture Path. It is posted as a green trail, which means it is quite easy. It is not a very long trail, but does go around in a circle. We came to the path from the right on the map below and took the trail in a counter-clockwise direction, meeting many people going in the opposite direction.

We came from Markaplassen (labeled 3 on the map, went up to the main car road, crossed over it and followed the red dotted line in a counter-clockwise direction.

It is always fun trying a new trail. This trail was well marked with streamers, and I’m sure by the end of the summer, it will be very easy to see on the ground as well. However, there were many narrow trails, probably deer trails, in the forest so we had to keep a good eye on the streamers in the trees.

Into the trees we go. We had to keep an eye on the red and white streamers so that we went in the right direction. Most of this trail was in a coniferous forest that has not been logged recently. We climbed quite a bit, so we got good exercise.

Our second post of the day, number 24, was called Furutoppen, the Pine Top, Here we got 20 points for our efforts.

There was a little bench to sit on while we checked in on our app. We now had been to two posts and gotten 30 points each. Onward ho! We have to get back to the car, so we keep on going. We are enjoying the quiet of the forest, though every now and then we hear the voices of others who are out walking. It is Sunday, so lots of people will be out on the trails today.

While we were in the forest, there was a short rain shower. By the time it was finished we came out into the open where the forest had been cut down, perhaps a year or two ago. I noticed that small spruce trees had been planted in this logged area.

Looking back the way we came. We are going downhill now, and I’m looking back at the forest we have come out of.

Suddenly, when we get out into the open, there is a view over the farmland of Utøy. It is just clearing up after a short rain shower.

Our third post of the walk, number 23, for which we got 10 points.

They have made a nice sitting area here, with a view out over farmland and the fjord. The island of Ytterøy is in the background.

Suddenly, the sun has come out again. We’ve just come down this section of the trail and it was very nice to have both a railing to hold onto and a walking stick to help with balance.

We enjoyed our walk today, in spite of the weather not really cooperating at one point. We were prepared for rain and mud, so there was really no problem. We used about one and a half hours on this round trip and we agreed that we would do it again. Though we have to drive to get to the starting point, the parking area is only about ten minutes drive from home.

I hope you get out for a walk today too. Enjoy the nature you have near you.

2022-04-15

Easter in Norway, 2022

Though Easter is a moveable Christian holiday marking the death of Jesus Christ, in Norway this is a national holiday that no longer has anything to do with Christianity. Though Christians may attend church services, most people just see it as a nice break from work or school. Most people will have a five-day weekend and it is traditionally the time to either go to the mountains and have one last skiing trip, or head to the cabin near a fjord and get it ready for the summer season.

Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday are all days that are holy days and therefore most people will have the time off, unless they have a job that has to be manned 24 hours a day and seven days a week, like the police, hospitals and other health care services. Schools take the whole week off, so that children and students get ten days free. Stores are open on Saturday, but will often close a bit early so that the workers can also have extra free time. For example, my local grocery store has standard opening hours from 7 am to 11 pm but on the Saturday before Easter Sunday they will close at 4 pm.

I’ve never been keen on skiing, but getting into the woods and up a mountain have always been things I like to do. For me, this year, this is the week that my walking season has begun in earnest. Yesterday I took a one-and-a-half hour walk with my son and we covered about 5 km. However, I took no pictures yesterday so I won’t write more about that walk except to say that I really enjoyed it and I wanted to do more.

Today was again a bright sunny day. There was frost when I got up, but as the sun climbed higher in the sky, the air temperature warmed up considerably. While my son and my husband headed off for a day-trip in the car, I got a ride to a drop-off point that is about 5 km from home. I walk up and along a back road that brings me to Skarnsund Bridge, cross the bridge and walk through the woods to home again. It is only on the bridge that I have to listen to the noise of cars. Today I used two and a half hours, so probably walked almost 8 km.

The typical Easter weather that everyone wants is a sunny day, with heat in the sunshine. Today was a good day for fulfilling that dream weather.

Dream weather for an Easter walk – sunshine and no wind. Too bad the photographer couldn’t hold the camera parallel to the horizon. We can blame it on sun in her eyes, or perhaps just carelessness.

Though the snow is gone in low-lying areas, I was prepared for snow as I climbed up the hill. Mosvik gets a lot more precipitation than we get at Vangshylla. I quite often notice it raining or snowing in Mosvik and we don’t get anything. We also got a lot of precipitation in March this year, often as snow in higher elevations. Several storms would also have blown the snow, causing drifts in open areas in the woods.

Dalavegen in Mosvik is a back road with only a few houses on it, but it is kept open all winter long. However there are a lot of trees preventing the sun from melting the snow in the ditches. The higher I climbed up, the more snow there was. I use about 20 minutes to walk up this road as it is a steady uphill climb.

The snow was melting and there was lots of water in all of the streams that I saw. This little waterfall captured my attention as a bent tree gives the water a nice edge to fall over.

When I got to a farm called Setervang, the road divides and continues eastwards towards Skarnsund Bridge or heads north then west to reach another farm which I think is only used as a summer house. This road is not always suitable for driving, even in the summer as it can have quite deep ruts. It is not plowed or kept open in the winter. In the summer there is a gate to keep the sheep away from farm fields.

There was still quite a bit of snow on this back road, one that is not kept open in the winter months. However there were lots of tracks from people walking up the road. This is a popular walking area in the summer.

There were a few challenges where trees had stopped standing and were lying down for a rest. Someone had come by with a saw and made an opening for people to get through.

The main reason I had decided to come up this rather snow-covered road was to get to a viewpoint where I could see out over the fjord. There are several that can be accessed from this road, but I decided to neither go to Storlia nor Korpsåsen, both of which are lovely walks, in the summer. By the time I had gotten to this point, I did not want to go much farther across snow. I was on my own and had to be careful that I didn’t twist my ankle or otherwise injure myself. So I decided on a place that I knew about which was closer than either of those places.

I took a left turn here but I’m not going to go as far as Korpsåsen, which is 700 meters according to the signpost, but I always feel is about twice that distance.

Maybe a hundred meters from the snow-covered road, then turn left at the top of this hill.

A viewpoint with a shelter, at the edge of a cliff.

The view, looking east towards Vangshylla and Verdal. The island of Ytterøy is also visible. This was the reason to trudge through the snow. I stopped her for a few minutes to just enjoy the sunshine and being able to see a long way. Though it doesn’t show up well in this picture, there are snow-covered mountains in the distance.

After enjoying the view, I went back to Gammelplassen, where in the summer you can park a car and headed off towards Skarnsund Bridge and home. However, there was a lot of snow on the trail, trees that had blown over, and a stream to cross before I got onto the section of the trail that was mostly free of snow.

Gammelplassen – no parking available at the moment. Come back in a month or two. But I’m not the first one to cross on foot. There were both human and animal footprints.

I’m on my way home, but first I have to get to the bridge. I’ve used about an hour so far.

Colt’s foot (in Norwegian, hestehov) is one of the first flowers to come up in the spring. The flower comes out first and then large leaves grow throughout the summer. These fellows had plenty of water and were eager to get on with their lives. They were not going to wait for the snow to disappear.

The trail continues on the other side of the stream. I followed the footprints and found a good crossing point. There was quite a bit of water in the stream, heading down to the fjord.

Here too there were all sorts of lazy trees who couldn’t stay standing. Some of the trees were more difficult to get around, over or under than others.

Finally, the trail becomes more bare than snow-covered, though the first part was quite wet.

Furufjellet (the pine mountain), the goal of the walking trip, about an hour and a half from the start of my walk, and about 50 minutes from home. As I suspected, there was little snow on this part of the hillside.

Looking up from the previous picture. There are pine trees at the top of this cliff.

I often like to look at the flowers that are growing in different places, but in the middle of April there are still very few wild flowers out. I’ll have to wait until May before more come out. At this point there are a few that have to get their blooms out before the leaves come out on the deciduous trees. Colt’s foot (hestehov in Norwegian) is usually the first one and at lower elevations there are now numerous blooms along the sides of the road. Another plant, hepatica nobilis, (blåveis in Norwegian), anemone hepatica or liverwort in English, is very characteristic for Inderøy municipality.

This picture was taken on a sunny slope facing south. Anemone hepatica likes dry and calcium-rich soil. We have this on our lot and it is quite common throughout Inderøy.

I’m back to the bridge. One kilometer across the bridge and about half a kilometer to home on the other side.

This was my first long walk of the year, using about two and a half hours, without any breaks except to take pictures. I was tired when I got home, but not as much as I had expected. Getting out into nature, away from cars and people, helps me charge up my batteries and keep me in a good frame of mind.

I am planning to do other walks and perhaps there will be blogs about them. Most of the walks that I can do easily from home I have already written about, so no promises about how often new blogs will come out. From about the middle of May, the municipality of Inderøy has a series of walks which I am hoping to participate in this year too.

Have you been out for a walk in nature recently? Is this the weekend for you to get away for an hour or two? Enjoy your walk.

2022-02-06

February Walk – Ice

As the walks that I take at this time of year tend to follow the same few trails or roads, I look for different themes for taking my pictures as I walk. Today I noticed ice in different types of locations.

January 2022 was the month of storms in Norway, though we didn’t feel all of them where we live. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute summed up the month of January with very high levels of bad weather warnings (see the article in Norwegian here), about twice as many as a year ago. There was a storm somewhere in Norway on 26 of the 31 days in January, with 82 yellow warnings, 12 orange warnings (more serious) and 2 red, extreme warnings. Why were there so many storms in January in Norway? There was a high pressure area sitting over Great Britain, so they got the sunshine. The storms coming in off the Atlantic Ocean went around Great Britain and came to Norway.

I usually think of January as the month that it warms up a bit and the snow disappears. This year we got that, but we also got several storms that brought more snow, or heavy rain. The last week of January saw more snow. February tends to be, in my opinion, more stable weather, meaning that there are fewer storms and more sunnier weather, though it can be quite cold and very often a lot of ice.

Today the temperature was about +2 degrees Celsius and no wind when I was out walking. The sun shone intermittently, but the day felt bright. But the last few days has given us changeable weather, sometimes snow, sometimes rain, but always the temperature has been about zero degrees, so that the rain does not get rid of much of the snow. That means that we have had perfect conditions for creating ice, especially where one drives or where one walks.

Running water creates ice and this stream was no exception. This is the same stream that a few weeks ago was causing flooding on the field at the top. The stream is fed under the cultivated field through a large pipe. Here the stream tumbles down a ravine, causing ice to form along its path.

In the woods, running water can also cause icicles to form. Here was a long series of icicles.

As I got closer to the icicles, I noticed the rock formations as well. Here there were several layers of rock, with large spaces between them. Above there are farm fields. Some of the water seems to be flowing in the stream I had found a week ago, but most of the water just seemed to drip over the edge of the rocks. Note that there is a lot of moss on the rocks indicating that these rocks are wet all year long.

The sun came out as I was writing my name in the tour book at the lean-to. I checked the map on my telephone and it told me that I was about 80 meters above sea level. I make sure I don’t go near the edge at this time of the year. I do not want to slide down a cliff face.

A week ago, I had seen a large tree stump at the water’s edge at the beach. Was it still there, I wondered? So I walked down to the beach and sure enough, it was stranded near the high water level on the beach. Today the tide was much lower. We can have up to four meters difference between high tide and low tide.

Back to ice and the conditions of the roads. This is a private gravel road that leads to five homes and many cabins. Icy! I was glad that I was wearing cleats under my shoes. I was also very careful where I walked. At the lowest point of this section of road, the stream goes under the road through a large pipe.

Even the municipal road that leads to the quay at Vangshylla was very, very icy, though a bit of sand had been put down to allow cars better traction on the ice. Walking along the edge of the road, it was very icy. I was glad to be walking uphill, not downhill.

As I walked up the road, I again saw icicles forming where water drains off the cliff and freezes as it falls.

The yellow fence at the top of the cliff shows our property. Here, too, ice forms as water is draining away and then freezing.

As it was several days since I had been out for a walk, I dawdled a bit, watching where I was walking and was out for about an hour and a half. It was good to get fresh air and let my eyes focus on things far away, and not just look at a computer screen or my knitting.

I hope you too have had a good walk this weekend.

2022-01-31

January Walk – Checking in

Today is the last day of January and finally the weather was pleasant enough to go for a walk in the woods. We’ve been having snow, rain and sleet, but today there was little wind and light cloud so I was tempted out for a walk.

I like to have a goal for my walk, somewhere I turn around, though I don’t have to go back the same way that I came. In Trøndelag, Norway, there is a tradition of having a mailbox, possibly fastened to a tree, in which there is a book in which to write your name. These “turkasser” (tour boxes) are usually put out by the local sports club to encourage people to get out walking. They would normally be some distance from a car road, so that you are required to walk there. The books in the boxes usually last several years and one writes the date one comes, and one’s name. Some people like to add the time of day, comments about the weather and even the dog’s name. In the one that I visit most, I often write the accumulated times I have visited the place during the current calendar year.

Bjønnbråtte

One of the most common walks that I take is to a place called “Bjønnbråtte”. Here there is a gapahuk, a primitive lean-to. It is a type of shelter, usually open on one side. This one would sit about three adults at the opening and you have to watch that you don’t hit your head when you stand up again. A Norwegian gapahuk, or lean-to, comes in many sizes and can be large enough to sit ten to fifteen people inside, or small like this one. We have lived here for 32 years and this one has been here all of the years we have lived here.

There is enough height to sit at the front. Today it was dry, but the last time I came here, snow had blown into it so I was not able to sit down. On the inside of the far wall, there is a box in which a book is stored. The box keeps the book dry. The lean-to is made out of logs and planks and sits on a foundation of mountain rock and large stones. The roof is covered with sod.

During the summer months, this is a check-in place for Inderøy Walks, but I also use it as a check-in place and turn-around place in the winter. Having a check-in place makes a good goal for a walk, and I find that it gives me the feeling of having gotten somewhere. Living in the country, walking to a store or other municipal facility is not possible.

The tour box has been opened and the book taken out to write my name in it. Today was the fourth time I have visited this spot in 2022. When we first came here, the book that was used at the time was just kept in a plastic bag to protect it from the weather. A couple of years ago my husband decided to make something more weather-proof and the result was the current box made out of used terrace boards.

The information sign inside the gapahuk/lean-to.

Why is this place called “Bjønnbråtte”? The Norwegian word, “bjønn” means a bear. So the sign gives the story of a bear, as retold by Jens Ness who was born in 1872. “A bear came across Ulvingrenda hamlet, crossed Leirdalen valley and came past Ness-sand, where a boy herded cattle at Ness. The bear killed a heifer which he started eating. Eventually, a lot of people gathered there and the bear was chased over the “halleren”, across the Bjønndalen valley and on top of this plateau.” It is not known whether they killed it there, shot him or scared him over the cliff. This is supposedly the last bear seen in the village.

Inside the lean-to, there is also a sign warming about forest fire danger. Between the 15th of April and the 15th of September it is forbidden to light fires. The telephone number for reporting fires is also given.

Rotsveet

After reaching my goal and writing my name in the book, I turned around and headed home. The first part of the trail I have to just retrace my steps, but I stopped to read one of the information signs along the way.

Norwegian at the top and English in small print at the bottom. You can also read all the signs for this walk between Vangshylla and Straumen at https://www.inderoysti.no/kart-og-tavler/.

(English translation of the sign) Once upon a time, this area has been used for cultivation. We see stones that are at the lower edge of the plot from when it was cleared, and as the name suggests, it was cleared by flaming, and used to grow root crops. (The word “sveet” means method for the clearing of land by burning and flaming.)

It was common to have land like this in the forest – where it was protected from the weather and the climate was good and warm. Another conclusion we could draw is that at that time there were no moose or deer. The root crops would then have been animal food and not human food. This has probably never been a place of residence.

Just below there is a great and airy view point out towards Norviksundet and Ytterøy island.

The stones that are mentioned in the text. There is a viewpoint straight ahead, on the edge of a cliff.

The viewpoint, looking towards the island of Ytterøya. I didn’t go too close to the edge when it was snowy and possibly icy. There is a sheer drop down many meters to the fjord.

You can just see the sign on the right of the path. It is relatively flat here, so one can see why it might have been cultivated at one time. The viewpoint over the fjord is off to the left from where I am standing.

The beach at Rotvollvika

To make my walk a round trip and to give myself two more uphill stretches, I often walk down towards the fjord. Today I caught sight of something unusual for our local beaches, but probably a result of the recent storms. Where I grew up in British Columbia, beaches were often littered with logs that had gotten loose from log booms. There are no log booms in the area here so there is very little driftwood on beaches.

The tide was relatively high when I came by. Seeing a floating stump in the water is unusual here. One can also see a smaller stump higher up the beach and some branches that have been put on the beach by either a higher tide or waves.

Looking eastwards along the beach, one can just see the piles of seaweed, deposited on the beach at high tide. Now is it covered by snow and ice. In the foreground there is a stream.

This stream has always fascinated me as it flows under the red boat house at the left.

I was probably out for an hour on my walk today and it was good to get outdoors and get both fresh air and exercise. I hope you get out for a walk today too.

2022-01-24

January Walk – Weather

When I walk on my own, I often write blogs in my head, but they don’t all make it onto the computer. Today I was thinking about the weather and how I have always been fascinated by it.

When I went out for an hour’s walk today, it wasn’t raining when I left the house, but I knew it could. After several days of rain, I knew the ground would be soggy and wet, so I dressed in rain gear including gumboots. Gumboots mean that I don’t have to worry about the puddles on the paths in the woods.

The weather affects us all, and I often will check the weather forecast on my phone several times in the day, either to decide when to go out for a walk, what type of walk I will get and whether to stay indoors. I also use it to plan activities for later in the week. A heavy snowfall reduces how much I am willing to drive. Rain after freezing temperatures will make roads very slippery and dangerous. A promise of sunshine will improve my humor and get me outside quicker. Cold days are good days to bake and use the oven to add heat to the house. Warm days mean that I cook less and put less heat into the house from cooking. At this time of year, January, I think more about rain, snow and ice, than about it being too warm.

Again we have had quite a bit snow that has melted with the rain. When walking on paths in the woods, this means that the paths often become streams.

The path in the woods today was also serving as a stream. Water runs downhill to about the middle of the picture, from both the foreground and the background. The water drains off from the puddle in the middle of the picture, off to the right and on down the hillside to the fjord.

I tried following the water upstream to see where it was coming from and found a small waterfall.

Wherever the water was coming from, it was definitely going downhill.

There are many times when running water creates a problem, both for the environment and for humans and animals. Running water has considerable force and can damage things. Flooding can be a result when there is more water than the water channel will hold. With the climate changing all over the world, flooding is becoming more of a problem, especially where people have built their homes on a natural flood plain (the area that a river needs to have when there is more than normal amounts of water in it).

One of the effects of running water is to wash away the sand and small pebbles in the ruts of gravel roads. This road leads to three cabins but the rain and melting snow, on a slope, have washed away some of the gravel and sand.

To avoid this kind of erosion on driveways and gravel roads, it is important to lead the water away from the ruts. Here on our own driveway, I have cut into the side of the gravel so that the water can run into the ditch on the left. It seems to be working well this winter.

On my walk today, the streams (as well as the pathways) were full of water.

A local stream as it comes out of the woods and crosses the beach at low tide. My intention had been to cross the stream on the beach, but the water was flowing so quickly and I would have to have put my feet on uncertain ground, that I changed my mind and crossed the stream where it went in a large pipe under the road.

As you can see in this picture, there is at least one channel on the beach where the water is flowing very quickly and I was uncertain as to how deep the water was.

Eventually the sun came out, about the time I came out of the woods and down onto the beach. I was able to push back my hood and enjoy a bit of sunshine. The last bit of my walk is all uphill, so it went slowly as I was enjoying being outside, in the fresh air and the sunshine.

As I was thinking even more about weather, I noticed that while I had been experiencing rain, on the far side of the sound, and at higher levels, there had been snow on the tree tops.

On the far side of Skarnsund, there was a dusting of snow on the trees at the top of the hill. On the open fields of the farm at Duklett, there was still plenty of snow that had not melted, even though at sea level there was very little snow left.

Once home again, I decided to look and see what books we actually have about the weather and I found three (though there could be more that I didn’t find) from different time periods.

I found the subtitle of this book, published in 1960, very interesting – calling meteorology a young science.

This Norwegian book about weather forecasting was published in 1982 and is a translation of a German book published in 1977.

Published in 2005, this appears to be a translation of a book originally published in English in Australia. This book, titled, “The Weather” claims to be a “visual guide to meteorology” and has a lot of good pictures that illustrate the weather phenomenon discussed.

Today, it is easy to look up information about the weather on the internet, so I doubt if I would buy another book about the weather. How we get our weather information, both locally, or internationally, has improved immensely in the last ten years. The weather forecast that I can get on my telephone or computer will show when precipitation is expected, what the temperature mostly likely will be, wind direction and air pressure. The forecast for the next 24 hours is usually reasonably accurate. Bad storms are given a lot of publicity in news media so one can be prepared.

Today I was relatively lucky with the weather. I got out of the house while it wasn’t raining. Most of the rain came while I was in the woods, in the relative shelter of the trees. Once I was out at the beach, the sun came out. I managed to get out in one of the short breaks in the rain. At the moment of writing, it is raining again, almost constantly.

I hope you can get outdoors today too, no matter what the weather.

2021-12-31

2021 – A Summary

The second year of the Covid-19 pandemic is coming to a close and I would like to make a short summary of how the year 2021 has been for me. I always have a problem with the dark time of the year and thinking about the summer and the bright time of the year helps me get through the winter months.

Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has influenced a lot of the year 2021, putting restrictions on out-of-the-country travel as well as how much contact we have with others. My husband and I got our first two vaccines in April and May, and a booster vaccine in December. My son has also received his two vaccines. My husband and I have also received the regular flu vaccine, which we get every year in the fall. As a result, we have not been sick in 2021.

My son started a new job in January 2021, but as home office was required at the beginning of the year, he has had his home office at our house most of the year. From August to November he commuted to his job in Oslo but also had some business trips to other cities in Norway. At the end of 2021, there is again a requirement of home office where possible so he will be staying with us into 2022.

With both my husband and I in a high-risk group (over 65 years of age), we have reduced the amount of contact we have with others and have been avoiding large gatherings. We have social contact outdoors (in the summer months), restrict the number of people we meet regularly, and enjoy our own company. My husband, who is a lot more social than me, will also join online meetings and has contact by phone with those living in other parts of the world.

Crafts

I always have more than one project on the go and I have been good at finishing the projects that get started. Though I may have a few projects in my head that never get off the designing paper, most projects get carried through to completion.

Sewing projects include 2 shirts for my son, 4 shirts for my husband, 2 nightdresses for myself, 5 tops for myself, curtains for the house, pillow cases and a long patchwork runner for the bedroom.

Two covers for bedside tables. There was also a long runner, with the same basic pattern made to protect the tops of the dressers. Project was completed in October 2021.

A shirt made for my husband who likes bright colours and patterns in his clothing. I originally started making shirts for him as the sleeves were never long enough. I have now been making him all his shirts for many years.

Knitting projects include two sweaters for my son, a toque, scarf and mitts set for my son, at least 6 pairs of socks for my husband, 2 pairs of socks for a friend, several children’s sized socks to be given away, one sweater and trousers outfit for a three-year old, a sweater for a five-year old, a sweater for myself and a baby blanket that was given away. Some of these projects were designed to use up yarn that had been sitting around for quite a while.

I like making sweaters and this one is a typical Norwegian pattern. This was made for someone turning 70 years old and given away as a birthday present.

Knitting socks are easy and don’t take nearly as long as a sweater. These ones were for my husband. This yarn comes with the stripes in it, so it is just knitting round in circles and measuring to get the right length. Once the first one is knit, I make sure that the second (or third or fourth) one has the stripes in the same place.

Walks

Walking is the type of exercise that I enjoy best. I no longer spend a lot of time walking in shopping centres as my need to buy things is reduced. I have a house full of things that are not used and try to restrict my purchases to things that are going to be used. So the walking that I prefer is out in nature. Thankfully, the municipality of Inderøy has many well-marked trails. Each year new ones are marketed through the program “Inderøytur”. I go on walks that I have enjoyed before, and find new ones that get added to my “like-to-do-again” list. I have one girl-friend that I go walking with quite regularly and I also go for walks with my husband and my son. I like walking by myself, and I enjoy walking with others.

View from Storlia, in Mosvik. This picture was taken 2021.06.27. This is a walk that I like to do at least once a year and in 2021 I actually did it twice as I took my daughter on this walk in November when she was visiting. It is a steep climb and must be done on a clear day as the views are spectacular from this height.

Food preparation

I make dinner almost every day. There are occasions when someone else does the cooking, but we eat out very little. I enjoy making meals and I enjoy baking. Food preparation is a meaningful activity every day of the year. I try to plan a variety of meals and also try to restrict the use of salt and sugar in my food preparation. This results in my baking almost all of our bread products (reduced salt content important here). I bake a lot less cakes and cookies than I used to and try to make healthier desserts than I might have a few decades ago. I also prioritize non-meat meals about twice a week. We use dairy and egg products so are not vegetarians at all, though I love my vegetables.

Gardening

I enjoy being outdoors, particularly from April to October, and I have a large garden that is never as well looked after as I would really like. I’ve always had the attitude, “what gets done, gets done” and try not to worry about what doesn’t get done. As I age, I find I have limits to the energy that can be used on gardening which is a very labour-intensive activity.

This year I had new planters on the terraces. I lined them with appropriate cloth, then filled them with dirt and plants. I was very pleased with the results.

I used a lot of yellow pansies in my planters this summer. They continued to flower until the snow came in November, then they got eaten by the deer. Lobelia and geraniums gave a variety of colours, but they do not last as long. The key to pansies is to not let them go to seed by cutting off the flowers that are finished and making sure they don’t dry out.

During the summer of 2021, my son took on the responsibility for improving the lawn, digging up a large section of mostly weeds, putting down new dirt and seeding with lawn seed. He has put in a lot of work and the lawn has seen great improvements the two summers that he has been living here.

Painting

I enjoy painting things, though I am not artistic in that way. It tends to be walls or furniture that gets painted. Outdoor painting is restricted to when the temperature is above +10 degrees Celsius, but there were several things that were done in 2021. One outside wall of the house was painted and the new trellis at ground level was painted. There were also some small outdoor painting projects completed. There was little indoor painting done during 2021.

Both the wall on the upper floor was painted and the trellis at this level was new and painted. You can also see some of the garden in this picture.

Reading

I read a lot, mostly when knitting. This year it has been mostly fictional romances, often set in the early 1800s but by modern authors. I record new books read on www.goodreads.com, where I have recorded 78 new books read in 2021, but I also reread favourite books by authors I have read over decades and these would be in addition to what has been recorded online.

Travelling

Travel in 2021 has been restricted by the pandemic. I am actually not nearly as interested in travelling long distances as I was when I was younger. The major trip taken this year, was a one-day car trip to Trondheim and then coming home through Selbu. I have written a separate blog about that trip. In addition we took a day’s drive to the western end of route 755 (the main road that passes near us and crosses Skarnsund Bridge) making a lot of stops along the way. You can read about both of these trips on previous blogs (Selbu, Route 755).

However, we were fortunate to receive a two-week visit from my daughter in November. She was on her way to a business meeting in London, and was able to visit us on the way. She normally lives in San Francisco, California, USA. It was nice to have both children home at the same time and the siblings were able to have time together on their own. Though my daughter had to work while she was here (“home office” with online meetings with people in many places in the world), we were able to go for walks and spend precious social time together.

Otherwise, travel has been by watching television shows and documentaries at home. No fuss, no insects, no unwelcome heat or humidity, just the comfort of our own living room. One can see a lot of different places this way, one hour at a time, and avoid all the inconveniences of international travel.

Writing blogs

I am not much of a writer, but I have undertaken to write a few blogs in 2021, mostly about the walks I have taken in Inderøy. I like to include a lot of pictures as I feel that they illustrate what I have been doing better than using a lot of words. All pictures that I use in the blogs are taken on my cellphone. Any exceptions to this will include an acknowledgment of photographer. So far I have published 36 blogs in 2021 and this one will make number 37.

2021-12-20

Another December Walk – Furufjellet

Inspired by my walk yesterday, I set off for another walk today. Today’s walk was longer, an hour each way. The weather was also nicer today, with the sun shining and no precipitation while I was out walking. The temperature was about zero degrees Celsius, but I had warm winter clothes on and kept toasty warm. Much of the walk is uphill, so I generate a lot of heat when walking.

Today’s walk had four sections to it, each quite different walking. The first section is through the woods, then I cross Skarnsund Bridge which has a lot of vehicle traffic on it, then up a gravel (and icy) road, then into the woods again. The return is exactly the same route, but mostly downhill. I started shortly after 11 am and got home two hours later, not even completely exhausted.

Through the woods to the bridge

The first section of the walk is about 10 minutes of walking, first along a gravel road that gives access to about twelve cabins. I noticed immediately that one large tree had been cut down and remembered the day that I had heard the sound of a motor saw. At the end of the gravel road, there is a path that leads up to route 755 which crosses Skarnsund Bridge. We had frost in the night, so I had to be careful where I was walking and avoid icy patches. But after all the rain the last week, the streams were still running briskly, taking run-off water down to the fjord.

There is a small stream beside the road to several cabins.

Skarnsund Bridge

I don’t walk across the bridge nearly as much as I used to because there is much more traffic on it now and it can be a bit noisy. However, when I am on my own and not trying to hold a conversation with anyone, the noise doesn’t bother me nearly as much. One can notice the vibrations of a heavily loaded dump truck and large trucks can create quite a breeze as they whizz by at 80 km an hour. Today, there were both trucks and buses passing me, as well as cars.

The nice thing about the walk across the bridge is the views in several directions – back towards home, up the sound to mountains with snow cover, to the south where the sun is a bit above the horizon and out the fjord towards Trondheim.

Vangshylla as seen from Skarnsund Bridge. This picture also shows how little light there is here in the middle of the day (photo taken at 11:25), even when the sun is trying to shine.

Looking north from Skarnsund Bridge with Framverran on the left and the mountains of Sela in the background.

Looking south-west from Skarnsund Bridge with the sun just clearing the island of Ytterøy.

As I approach the Mosvik side of the bridge, I see both remnants of the ice that builds up on the hillside and a stream of freely flowing water. The temperature was about zero degrees Celsius, but water was running freely in many places.

Gravel road

At this time of year, gravel roads can be a bit of a challenge as they can be very icy, especially in the ruts of the car traffic. The one I took today has very little traffic, which is why I like to walk along it. It is also uphill so I get a lot of good exercise, both for my limbs and my heart and lungs.

A road not taken. The photo shows how the frost settles on the ground in open areas, but less so under trees.

I don’t imagine that this field gets much sunshine at this time of year. With lots of rain recently, rain water had collected and was now starting to freeze over. I am now high enough up that snow has fallen yesterday instead of rain. I am at about 120 meters over sea level at this point.

In the woods

This section of the walk is in a quiet section of forest on a steep slope. In the summer months, sheep can be found grazing here. Today the gate in the fence was open as the sheep have either been sent to the slaughter house or are in the barn for the winter months.

Now I’m off the road and into the woods again.

The gate is open so there are no sheep out at this time of year. In the summer one must keep gates closed so that grazing animals stay where they are supposed to be.

This part of the trail is not particularly steep. It seems to be well used, either by people or wild animals. Though there is some snow where there are openings in the trees, it was also quite soggy and damp..

This section of the trail was being used by a small stream.

One section of the trail that had puddles also showed that the temperature was right on freezing, with a thin sliver of ice on the water.

On either side of the trail, the hillside is steep. Looking up.

This point of the trail, called Furufjellet, the Pine Mountain, was the goal of today’s walk. At the top of the cliff are some pine trees. Pine trees often grow where the soil is very poor. Much of the forest around here is actually spruce or birch trees.

I don’t have the best camera for taking close-ups of birds. Can you see the woodpecker sitting on a branch? He was busy pecking away as I watched him. We regularly have woodpeckers that come to our bird feeding station, so it was nice to see one out in the woods.

I really enjoyed my walk today. Even with two hours of walking, I wasn’t exhausted, so I guess I’m in better shape than I think I’m in. When the sun shines during at least part of my walk, my spirits are lifted and I feel much better. As I got home again, the sky clouded over and there was less sunshine. At the time of writing this blog in the evening, we have started to get more snow.

Enjoy your walk today!

2021-12-19

A December Walk

Going for walks in December can be difficult for me. I actually don’t mind being out in the rain or the snow, but I dislike the wind. The problem is getting out of the house. Once I am outside with the appropriate clothes on, I enjoy being out in nature and the temperature is not very important.

The other challenge with getting out for walks in December is the short window for daylight in which to go for walks out in nature, away from houses and lighting. For example, today, the 19th of December, two days before the winter solstice, sunrise was at 10.03 and sunset was at 14.22. When it is cloudy, it doesn’t seem very bright outside at sunrise or sunset. When looking outside from a brightly lit house, it seems darker than it actually is, once you are outside.

Weather-wise, December this year has been very varied. At the beginning of the month, we had quite cold temperatures, down to -12 degrees Celsius. We had snow on the ground and sunshine during the few hours of daylight. Then about the 13th of the month, it warmed up to +8 degrees Celsius and started to rain a lot. The snow disappeared. The ground is soggy. Paths in the woods are small streams or large puddles.

Today I went for about an hour’s walk starting at 11:30. I took a walk that goes both on dirt roads, paved roads and forest trail. I put on rain trousers and rain jacket. Toque and mitts were also put on. I wore winter walking boots that kept my feet dry in spite of the soggy ground. I enjoyed myself as it is quite a while since I have been out for a walk in the woods.

My goal was to get to Bjønnbråtte, which is on a cliff top. First I follow some gravel roads which are very easy walking. As I climbed up the hill, it was noticeable that it had been trying to snow, rather than rain, as I got higher up. There wasn’t much, but the temperature must have been close to freezing point and I had to be careful that I didn’t slip.

Once I got into the woods, the trail was not only damp, but the stream was following it and there were large puddles to pick my way around. The walk to Bjønnbråtte is about 20 minutes from home.

Picture taken at 11:52, from Bjønnbråtte, looking towards Ytterøy. This is the end point of one of my favourite walks. This point is on a cliff that goes straight down to the water.

Today I decided to walk home via Sysvedalen and Vangshylla. At the bottom of Sysvedalen is a very small beach, used mostly for pulling small boats up on land to be stored there when not in use. It is a pebble beach, not sand. What attracted my attention today was the amount of seaweed that had been washed up on the beach. It has been quite stormy lately and today I was there at about high tide. Looking up the data about high tide, it was highest, at 307 cm, at about 11:50 which is quite a high tide for us. It was a full moon last night, which gives us quite high tides.

Looking south-west from the beach at Rotvollvika. Picture taken at 12:05, shortly after high tide. In the background is Ytterøy.

Looking south-east from the same beach at Rotvollvika. This picture was also taken at 12:05.

Taken from the road down to Vangshylla at 12:15. It was raining at the time and I was fascinated by the light in the sky.

Taken from the road to Vangshylla at 12:15. Note the light in the sky and the ramps to the boats in the small boat harbour. It is high tide and you don’t have to walk very much downhill to get to the boats.

As I continued on uphill, the sky to the north had the most light. This was caused by a break in the clouds though it was still raining where I was. The picture was taken at 12:21.

Once I was home again, I was glad that I had gone outside. I often wonder why I don’t get out more, as I really enjoy myself, even if it is raining. The weather forecast is for snow again, perhaps even tonight. I’ll just have to see what it is like tomorrow and make an effort to get outside again.

I hope you, my readers, are getting out for fresh air and exercise regularly. Don’t put it off, no matter the weather. Just find a terrain that suits you, dress for the weather and away you go. Remember the Scandinavian expression: “There is no such thing as bad weather”, but you do have to dress appropriately for the weather that you have.

2021-09-152021-09-15

Noremsbråttet, Utøy

Today’s walk with a girlfriend took us to a place neither of us had been to before. It took a bit to find the parking spot and we then started off from the car in the wrong direction, which just gave us a little bit more exercise.

The parking spot for two posts was well-marked once we were there. We will only do post 18 today. Post 19, a large rhododendron is best done at the end of May or June, when it is blooming. You will find that I have written a blog about it in 2020. http://trish.mclellan.no/2020/06/17/inderoy-walk-ordal-nature-reserve/

The information board gave information about the Ørdal Nature Reserve which includes the famous rhododendron. We did not walk into the nature reserve but ended up just before the boundary into it. Looking at the map on the board, we are walking at the top end of the map.

The Norwegian word “bråttet” or “brottet” refers, I think, to an area that has been recently cleared of trees. These two spellings would be pronounced similarly, depending on one’s dialect. These terms have been used on the names of two walks this summer, both of which take the walker to a high point with a view as there are almost no tall trees in the way.

We were lucky today with a morning with sunshine, though the temperature was about 10 degrees Celsius in the shade. When we got to higher elevations and were in the sun, I was walking in just a t-shirt.

The first part of the walk was along a gravel road. We were walking downhill at the beginning of the walk, which means you get a bit of an uphill climb just before getting back to the car.

We were walking in the shade so it was cool. We could also hear the farmer out cutting his grass and we had actually seen him when leaving the car.

But we didn’t walk that far downhill before we came across signs telling us to head into the woods. Another time I would like to go the whole way to the Rhododendron, just to see how to get to Noremsbråttet from the other side of the hill. My telephone tells me that at home, Noremsbråttet is only 3 km away, though that would be in a straight line and trails never go in straight lines.

The walk, as usual, took us up and down slopes. Though on the trip to Noremsbråttet it was primarily uphill, we both experienced that there were uphill sections on the way back to the car as well. The area we were walking in today is on the side of the hill on the east side of Skarnsund where the slopes are quite steep.

Here is an example of the trail we were following. It is narrow and in places it was quite damp. We had a lot of rain last week and most nights there is quite a bit of dew. This picture is taken looking back from where we came.

Though the trail was easy to follow and was marked well, it was not a very well-worn path. This trail is a bit out of the way, even for people living in Inderøy. Most of the human traffic would be in May or June when the rhododendron was blooming. By September, there are signs that many plants are getting ready for the winter ahead.

Looking up the slope, you can see how steep it is on this side of the hill.

Looking downhill the slope looks even steeper. But at this point along the trail there were lots of trees clinging to the side of the hill.

We were now up high enough to get a bit of a view, but there were still quite a few trees obstructing the view. Here we see Framverran on the west side of Skarnsund.

I knew that there were two trails to the rhododendron and this was the divide. We took the upper trail (“øvre sti”). The lower trail (“nedre sti”) to the right looked very unused and overgrown.

Then suddenly we came out into the open and got some sunshine. Here you can see that the blueberry plants are going red and loosing their leaves. There were still lingon berries (“tyttebær”) to be found. Now it felt like there was a bit more level ground and the path continued straight ahead and we stayed in this open area the rest of the way to our goal.

We came across a picnic table. It looked quite new, but this wasn’t our goal. We still had to cross another few hundred meters and on another rise we found our goal. The dark band of trees in the distance would be primarily spruce trees and I think that they would be in Ørdal Nature Reserve. We didn’t go that far on this walk.

We made it! Another 30 points on our app. My friend and I walk about the same amount so it is fun to find out how many points she has. She is a little ahead of me at the moment.

The view was spectacular. We are looking across to Framverran on the Mosvik side of Skarnsund.

Looking northwards to the hills of Steinkjer. No snow yet, but those hills will be some of the first ones to get snow in our area.

The highlight of the pause at Noremsbråttet was watching the eagle soaring in circles and almost never having to move his wings. I didn’t feel that there was any wind where we were, but the steep slopes will give up-drafts that allow birds to soar. It was very difficult to get a good picture of the eagle as he was just too far away. At one point he came a bit closer to us, and a small flock of small birds hastily moved from one group of trees to another group considerable farther away from the eagle.

This is a walk that I would recommend. There are steep bits where one needs to hold on, but they are quite short. The view at the top is beautiful on a sunny day. There was a picnic table to sit at while taking a pause before heading back. We used about half an hour each way, so about an hour’s walking.