Patricia McLellan's Blog – Page 11 – Personal thoughts, memories, walks, craft projects and book reviews

2020-05-14

Inderøy Walk – Tittinghalla

On Wednesday, the 13th of May, my friend and I decided to take the walk up to the highest hill near where I live. I live at approximately 20 meters above sea level and the hilltop is 268 meters above sea level, so for me the walk includes an increase of over 240 meters in elevation. Some of the ascents are quite steep.

It was a cool morning and there had been a dusting of snow on the ground when I got up. However, the precipitation had been coming as relatively short snow flurries the last couple of days, so we decided to do the walk anyway. Wednesday is our regular day for walking together.

As an Inderøy Walk most people would park much farther up the hill than my friend did and therefore have less hill to climb. However she decided to park on a lay-by at the corner of the road down to Vangshylla.

I have been doing this walk for 30 years and it doesn’t really get any easier over the years. One memory is the year that my husband and I were going to take a planned hike in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada to see the Burgess Shale, an all-day hike, and we took the hike up Tittinghalla as often as we could to give ourselves the practice of climbing a mountain.

The geological definition of a mountain is a landform that rises at least 300 meters from the surrounding terrain. Tittinghalla doesn’t reach up over 300 meters above sea level, but if you include the depth of Skarnsund, which can be over 100 meters deep, Tittinghalla would classify as a mountain. There is also a definite point where one cannot go higher, though it is covered in trees and therefore not so easy to get a good view of the surrounding landscape.

So, back to Wednesday, and our walk. I met my friend on the 755 road at the turnoff to Vangshylla and we climbed up Tittinghalla from there. We started at about 10 am. The picture below shows the trail after the first snow flurry has passed us. We took refuge under some trees during the worst of the snow flurry. It was good to have a rest from the relatively steep climb. It’s actually quite a bit steeper than it actually looks in the photo.

Climbing up Tittinghalla in Inderøy. Picture taken at 10:27 on 13 May 2020.

This part of the trail has been a tractor road for taking out lumber from the forest. There are deep ruts from the continued use of a tractor, and the climb can be quite steep in parts.

By the time we got to the summit of Tittinghalla, the sun was shining again.

Time: 10:42, so a little more than a half hour’s walk from the 755 road. Note that the sun is shining now.

There isn’t very much view from the top as the trees grow quite tightly. It would have been nice if five or six trees had been taken out to give a bit of a view.

I always make a circle tour around the top of Tittinghalla and it is much more open on the north side of the hill. Here looking toward the hills in Verran which still have snow on the tops.

Going downhill at 11:00, the snow is quickly disappearing in the sunshine and we can see Skarnsund Bridge and Mosvik in the background.

We used about one and a half hours from my friend’s car until we were back to her car. I still had another 10 minutes walk home. We were away from car traffic for most of the walk and even though we were talking most of the time, there is only the sounds of the birds when out in nature on a walk like this. You need to be in relatively good shape to take this climb, but I always enjoy the walk through the woods. Take pauses as you need to on the steep bits.

2020-05-112020-05-11

Virtue of the Week – Friendliness

There are many ways to reach out to others in these days of keeping a distance from others. Human beings need social contact on a regular basis. Even if you live with others, you need social contact with others outside your own household.

Friendliness and companionship go together, whether we are in person, use the telephone or chat with others online. We need someone to share our worries with and our joys with. We need someone to laugh with and to cry with. We may do different things with different friends.

I have three friends that I interact with in different ways.

I have one friend whom I go walking with regularly, usually on a Wednesday. For me it is important to talk in Norwegian and to listen to Norwegian, as well as get the exercise of walking for an hour or more.

I have another friend whom I can share problems with and can discuss important subjects deeply. She has a wisdom that comes from a different background than I have. We share the joy of knitting and can help each other out with knitting problems or deciding on patterns.

I have a third friend whom I mostly have contact with by chatting online. We share what we have done on a daily basis. By recounting what I have done, I usually find out that I have done a lot more than I thought I had. Sometimes we phone each other when the need to tell about what has been happening goes beyond what we are willing to type.

I am going to continue to reach out to these three people as they are necessary for my social well-being. I feel that by reaching out to them, I am also giving them some of the social contact that they need. I hope you also have friends that you can reach out to whether in person, by telephone or online.

2020-05-102020-05-10

Grading walks and hikes in Norway

Norway uses an international standard for grading trails. There are four levels of difficulty: green is easy, blue is medium, red is challenging and black is expert.

The level of difficulty will tell a walker or hiker at a glance what to expect of the trail that they are going to follow. The level indicates what type of path to expect, the length of the walk and degree of experience required.

This trail was marked as level green, easy, and the information about the trail indicated that it was suitable for wheelchairs and bicycles. In fact it was all on either a gravel or paved road.

Green level – Easy

A walk that is at a green level:

is suitable for beginners
requires no special skills
is relatively short, that is, less than 5 km
is at an elevation of less than 300 meters
is easy to walk on, such as asphalt, gravel or improved paths
has no streams to cross
is firm, even and obstruction-free
has only moderate ascents, and no steep or difficult sections.

Blue level – Medium

A walk that is at a blue level:

is also suitable for beginners but requires average fitness
requires basic hiking skills
can be at a higher elevation, up to 600 m
can be up to 10 km in length
can have more challenging sections than a walk at a green level
can be rocky, but has no demanding scree
has no streams to be crossed
has moderate ascents but can include some steep slopes
can have sections that are considered precipitous for some.

This path is graded at level blue and is a rocky path that can get muddy when it rains a lot. There is quite a slope at this point and I usually prefer to go down, rather than up, at this point. At worst, the path itself becomes a stream as the water drains downhill.

I regularly use trails marked with the blue level and find them about the level that I prefer. I rarely do trails that are more difficult, though I also enjoy doing walks at the green level.

Red level – Challenging

A walk that is at a red level:

is for more experienced walkers or hikers
requires good stamina and good equipment, including hiking boots
can be up to 20 km in length and up to 1000 meters in elevation
will have a path that can be in open terrain, on rocky ground, on scree or rugged mountains
will include crossing streams, traversing steep slopes and have long stretches of both loose rock and marshland
may have up to two streams to be crossed
will have several types of ascents and challenges
will have precipitous and exposed sections
can include technical challenges and parts that require some climbing

Black level – Expert

I have never done a walk at the black or expert level. It is well beyond my capabilities. A walk at a black level:

is for experienced hikers
requires good stamina, good equipment and the use of hiking boots
requires a knowledge of maps and the use of a compass
has no restrictions as to altitude or length
has longer or more technically difficult trails than the red level
can include a number of streams to be crossed
is often a long summit trip with steep ascents on an uneven path
can have precipitous and exposed sections where scrambling is necessary
can have narrow ridges, smooth rock or scree.

My source of information for this blog is here.

2020-05-092020-05-09

Inderøy Walk – Northugrunden

Today we took the first of hopefully many Inderøy walks which are registered on Trimpoeng and accumulate points. This is a walk I had not done before and an area I had not walked in before. I enjoyed the walk. My walking companions were my husband and my son.

The walk started at Vestvik Church, a small church serving Framverran in Inderøy municipality. The church was built in 1905, is of wooden construction and seats about 275 people. Here there was place for many cars to park. There was one other car there when we arrived and none other than ours when we got back to the car.

Vestvik Church, Inderøy. In the background is Beitstad Fjord and Steinkjer municipality.

This particular walk was all on gravel or paved roads and therefore relatively easy walking. However we climbed a long way up the hill from the church, so it was good exercise. The length of the walk was about 5.5 km. It was a good walk to start the walking season with.

The walk was designed to give information about a local boy, Petter Northug Jr., who grew up on a farm in the area, became a very good skier and won two gold medals at the Winter Olympic Games in 2010.

Information and map of the walk. This walk was opened in 2019.

There were many signposts along the walk and this is an example of one of them. The hiker with the green background indicates that this is an easy walk.

Goal of the walk, post number 29 reached and we could check in. Then it was just to keep on going to get back to the car. We used about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

This walk is recommended. We could walk three abreast much of the way and very few cars on the side roads. There was more traffic on the main road through Framverran (FV 191). Most of the walk was in relatively open terrain, with a few houses or farms. On one farm we saw cattle out grazing. We were lucky with the weather. It was a bit grey but the rain held off until we were almost back at the car. Views were available at various points and we could see over Beitstadfjord towards Steinkjer.

One interesting site along the way was Rognlisveet. It used to be a crofter’s cabin but has been in disuse for almost a hundred years as the last resident died in 1926. It has now been fixed up and can be rented for events. There seems to be an outdoor eating area as well as a new building that will seat up to 40 people.

A new sign pointing to the fixed up area. The road we were walking along is not found on all the maps, so it too must have been new last year.

The old crofter’s cabin. This would have been a very isolated place with probably a lot of snow in the winter. It may not have been easy to eke out a living here.

New outdoor picnic area. Note the saw hanging up as you may need to cut some firewood.

A new building which can be rented for parties or other events. There is some parking available and one can drive to this location now.

2020-05-09

Inderøy Walks 2020

I have been walking in Inderøy for over 30 years now, but there are many new places to explore. We live in an area of hills, lakes, forest and shoreline, with houses and farms collected in parts of the municipality. In many parts of the municipality there are pathways which everyone is allowed to use. Many of these would be on private ground, but unless they cross cultivated fields, everyone is allowed access to them.

For several years, Inderøy municipality has organized a series of walks which encourage the residents to explore the wilder areas of the municipality and be more familiar with other areas than the one where one lives. In the past they have given out brochures listing the walks. There have been special arrangements so that people get a social time as well. There is always a competition for who does the most walks.

This year there are 38 posts, or places to visit, or walks to take. Because of the pandemic this year, no special arrangements are being held. Registering that one has done the walk is done on an app on a smart phone called Trimpoeng (http://trimpoeng.no/i/inderoytur20) and one registers for one particular competition. Every time one comes near a post one “checks in” and receives points for the walk.

The number of points given for a walk will depend on its difficulty and length. The easiest walks are only 10 points and are usually two to three kilometers in length (round trip from the assigned parking location). The most difficulty walks are up to 12 kilometers in length, often involve climbing up to a mountain top and give 50 points.

For this year’s walks there are 11 that give 10 points, 13 that give 20 points, 7 that give 30 points, 5 that give 40 points and 2 that give 50 points. One can visit posts many times, but you cannot check in until at least 22 hours after the last time you checked in to that particular post.

The list published in the local newspaper has divided the walks into the following areas in the municipality:

Røra – 4 posts
Sandvollan – 4 posts
Kjerknesvågen – 4 posts
Stokkan/Utøy – 3 posts
Straumen – 4 posts
Utøystien – 6 posts
Framverran – 4 posts
Mosvik – 9 posts

It is usually the sports club in each area that has responsibility for keeping the trails in good order and marking the trails. Parking places must be available, either on municipal property or by agreement with the local landowner.

The app, Trimpoeng, gives a brief description of how to find the start of the walk and where one can park a car. It also includes a map which will show the user’s location and the location of the post. The app will show how many times one has visited a particular location and has a log over all the times one has checked in.

I am hoping to do quite a few of these walks this year. Blogs may turn up about the most interesting walks.

2020-05-08

Jig-saw puzzles

I have done jig-saw puzzles since I was a child. My mom liked to do them, and she had a special tray that she did them on so that they didn’t take up a table and could easily be moved. When she had finished a puzzle, I liked to take out a small section of it, perhaps a corner, perhaps 50 pieces or so, and put the pieces back in place. Now that I think of it 60 years later, it was probably a good way at getting practice at doing jig-saw puzzles.

500-piece jig-saw puzzle by Ravensburger

I have collected jig-saw puzzle for many years. Some have been terrible to do, for example, when the same piece can go in several places. Those have been thrown away or given away quickly. Others have been enjoyable to do and I do them again and again.

What makes jig-saw puzzles a pleasure for me? First of all, the picture has to be something pleasing. I usually like landscapes, often with a building and mountains. When I buy a new puzzle, I only buy the ones that I enjoy looking at the picture. The picture itself should be relaxing, hence landscapes. There should also be enough variety of colors in the picture so that it is a pleasure to do, not annoying.

Most of the time I do puzzles with 500 pieces, as the easiest ones take only a few hours and I can get the table back quickly. I have quite a few with 1000 pieces, but then I need to be able to use the table for several days. Just sorting through the pieces takes twice as long with the larger puzzles. I have very rarely done anything larger than 1000 pieces as they just take up too much space.

Secondly, I enjoy the slow putting together of a picture, piece by piece. It is like knitting or weaving, though in a different medium, as it slowly becomes more done and the project becomes finished. When the last piece is put it, I can say to myself, “Done!” Even doing the same picture several times will give the same joy of having accomplished something.

500-piece puzzle de-luxe puzzle by Liveworks and British Heritage Ltd

Every now and then I like to have a greater challenge. The puzzle of London is quite difficult, even though I have done it several times. It is not one that I would have chosen myself, but my son gave it to me after a trip to England. There is writing on many of the pieces so one can tell which way the piece should go, but remembering where everything is in the picture is part of the challenge. It makes me think of the geography of London as well as where in the picture a particular place is. This one was on the table for three days.

Doing jig-saw puzzles is not for everyone, but it is something that I find relaxing and enjoy doing. The boxes require quite a bit of storage space, so I can’t afford to have too many in the house. The current tally is 69.

2020-05-04

Virtue of the Week – Cooperation

“Cooperation is working together for the good of all.” Working together is the basis of both family life and business life and many recreation activities. We cooperate with people whom we know well, but also with strangers. When we cooperate, rather than argue, things get done. We cannot be so determined to have our own way, that we don’t look at what is best for everyone.

In these days of COVID-19 virus and strict rules about how we interact with others, we all need to cooperate to achieve the goals of the rules. In Norway, these goals are to keep the load on the hospitals as low as possible and the result is also that very few people are dying, primarily only those who are nearing the end of their lives anyways.

For a household to function, everyone in it must cooperate in many ways, whether it is contributing to the housework, the larger projects of improving the house, the meal preparation or just showing up to meals on time.

Cooperation is also not doing things by myself, but asking for help where it is appropriate. I don’t have to do things all by myself.

When I practice Cooperation, I:

invite partnership
trust the power of unity
offer my help and ideas freely
have the humility not to do it all myself
know I don’t have to be alone
work with enthusiasm for a common goal.

2020-04-27

Virtue of the Week – Determination

The trick with determination is deciding what one was is going to be determined about. Some decisions are made with an attitude of “maybe it gets done, maybe it doesn’t”. Other decisions are much more critical and one has to stick with the job until it is finished. One may not be equally determined about all projects.

Last week I started painting outdoors, on a sunny day. For three days in a row, I determinedly continued with a rather large project. Then came a couple of rainy days. Now that there is a week of no precipitation forecast, I have to be determined and work on the painting project every day. I have to be determined!

When I am practicing determination, I:

am clear about what I want to accomplish
am committed to meeting my goals
focus my full attention on what is important
do what it takes to follow through
am flexible and persevering
finish what I start.

2020-04-26

Summer of 1966 – London

We arrived in London on August 23rd and stayed in the area until we went home on September 9th. I think we were both getting anxious to get home again. We had been away for two months already, seen a lot of different places, met a lot of relatives and new people. But there is always lots to do in London, so the last two weeks were filled with activities.

Of course we had to see all the regular sights – Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament Buildings, the Post Office Tower, Selfridges, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Monument, 10 Downing Street, Madame Tussauds, the Planetarium, London Tower, Kew Gardens and probably lots of other things too. I’m just going to write about a few of the ones that stand out in my mind. I have visited London several times since then, so memories can be hard to place in which visit they occurred. These ones I’m pretty sure were from this trip.

Post Office Tower

I was a stamp collector as a teenager, so part of the point of the postcard was sending it to myself with a special post office tower stamp and it being stamped at the Post Office Tower. The tower was opened in October 1965, so it was a relatively new structure in September 1966.

Postcard of the Post Office Tower, with Post Office Tower stamp and cancellation. Sent on September 7, 1966 to myself.

As mentioned on the card, we had good weather and an excellent view from the level we were allowed onto. There were elevators that took us up.

We had also walked up the Monument, but there one had to walk up oneself – 314 stairs according to Aileen’s notes. This is a monument to the Great Fire of London and was built between 1671 and 1677. The tower is 62 meters high and there is an open viewing platform.

Richmond

Aunt Florence lived in a residential hotel in Richmond. She invited us to stay in her hotel from the 30th of August til the 6th of August. This was an interesting experience as well as giving us the chance to get to know our aunt. She was born in 1897, so would have been 69 years old in 1966. I think she was still working and worried about being able to afford to retire. She had a lot of friends and liked to go on cruises. One has to remember that retirement plans were not so common in the 1960s.

From the hotel room, I remember the gas heater that had to be fed with coins for it to heat the room. This was something new and different for me.

Though we took the tube into the center of London some of the days, we also did things in Richmond, such as Kew Gardens and Chessington Zoo.

One day we were just wandering around Richmond and went into the cemetery at St. Peter’s Church, Petersham. It is always interesting to see who has lived and been buried in the area. We came across the well-tended grave of Captain George Vancouver, the person whose name was used for the city I grew up in. He died in 1798 at the age of 40.

Brighton

We also took a day-trip to Brighton from Richmond with Aunt Florence and her friend, Marion. I remember it as a wet day. I also remember going out on the pier. I was given a coin to play the machines and felt the thrill of winning even though I did nothing except put in a coin. I used up all my winnings (another good lesson) then quit. I’ve never felt the need to gamble money in such a way again. We also went to see the Pavilion, one of the luxurious residences of the Royal Family back at the beginning of the 19th century.

2020-04-26

Giving birth to my second child

Back in 1989, we didn’t usually know the sex of our child until it was born, so though I would have liked a girl, as I had a boy already, it didn’t really matter.

I had regular doctor check-ups on Tuesdays, so on Tuesday, the 25th of April I went to my regular check-up. The doctor (a lady) asked me how I was feeling. It was basically my due date. My baby was a bit restless, though I wouldn’t have said that labor pains had started at all. The doctor said she wouldn’t examine me and told me to head off to the hospital in Levanger.

It was the middle of the day and as this was my second birth, I knew a lot more than I did with the first one. I said to my husband that it was far too early to go to the hospital, though we should go later in the day. So we went home and had some lunch and relaxed for a bit.

We picked up Alasdair at the kindergarten at his usual time. We had already arranged for him to stay with someone living in Levanger when it was time for me to go to the hospital. We took him there, and got him settled in and then Brock and I left.

I still felt that it was far too early to go to the hospital, though I was now feeling like the birth was on its way. We went walking and we had a meal. I knew that walking would help the birthing process and staying upright would give gravity a chance to help too.

After a while we went to the hospital and to the maternity ward. They were very busy and asked us to come back in an hour. We said that was okay, as I was sure things weren’t imminent yet. So we walked around the park area near the hospital. I seem to remember a lot more park back in 1989 than there is now. (There are a lot more buildings now.)

When we went back to the maternity ward, the evening was getting on and this time we were taken in and I was examined. I was now dilated enough to be assigned a birthing place and the birthing process continued with Brock at my side as well as a midwife in attendance.

Everything went well. There was no need for a doctor this time. At about 12:45 am, on Wednesday, the 26th of April, after about three hours of labor, a healthy baby girl was born. I could relax again. This second birth had been much, much easier than the first one.