NPL Day 19: Wednesday 5 July 2023

Gaskkasčohkka-Sieimmahytta via Imofossen, Nedresfosshytta

Today was a long day...

Lukas was tired and slow this morning, and when we started hiking it was in a cloudy and cooler environment than we're used to. We went down and the trees got bigger and bigger and for the first time we saw pine trees, even big ones.

We soon arrived at the waterfall Imofossen which we had heard a while from a distance. This place was so amazing, with high cliffs and a lot of water. We spent some time there, taking photos and finding a geocache. Before leaving we had some breakfast. It also started to rain a little bit. It was too warm for rain clothes so we decided not to wear them. While walking it increased, but we were so close to the Nedresfosshytta... Maybe we could make it.

When we finally arrived to the hut we were soaked, and we found out that the hut was locked, not with the DNT key as we had thought, but with a code which you would receive when you booked. But there was no phone reception in the valley, so we couldn't find this information while being there.

Luckily there was a roof which we could sit under and dry up a bit. But the mosquitoes found us so it wasn't very nice.

When we finally left we only wore the rain jacket on our upper body, nothing underneath. Since it wasn't too cold yet and our clothes were wet, this seemed best for the moment.

Not much interesting happened except that we met a Finnish couple. After a few km we arrived at a small hut where we could have lunch a little bit sheltered from the rain and mosquitoes. Before leaving we wrote in the hyttebok and saw that Hervé (the French hiker we met after Olderfjord) passed three days ago, and the Swedish woman Johanna who also hikes Norge på langs passed the day before.

We left the hut, but this time Kim was cold, and hoped to dry her wool shirt on her body so she wore it again. Lukas continued with only a rain jacket. Not short after we passed other waterfall, Mollisfossen. This wasn't as spectacular as we were much further away, but it was still cool.

From here the terrain got worse. The jungle was extreme. The ferns in particular as they often were almost, or the same height as us! The path was overgrown, so we stumbled a lot of times and the plants slowed us down. Time moved super slow and it felt like we would never reach somewhere we could rest. Sometimes the path had fallen into the water, and a new path had to be forged, so it wasn't as easy to follow.

Pretty much nowhere you could pitch a tent. We just hoped we would reach Sieimma, where the Finnish couple had told us there was a boat to reach the hut to the other side. We walked and walked... Sometimes talking but mostly in silence.

FINALLY we saw the environment change on the other side of the river, and we knew we must be close to Sieimma. And yes.

There were some fairly new huts on our side which were locked. But on the side of the riverbank lay one boat, and we could row across. There we found an open hut, and we were so relieved!

Lukas chopped wood while Kim started to unpack the bags and hang everything to dry. Then Lukas made a fire, we ate some snacks and talked to the camera.

Kim also saw a lemming (!?) climbing a tree outside the window.

She also managed to lose her small carabiner and got really upset about it...

Today's

Distance: 25.94 km

Start time: 08:36

End time: 20:05

Ascent: 244 m

Descent: 650 m

Tent nights: 17/20