Woke up ~4:00am this morning to rain tapping on the tent. It didn't sound that hard, but I wondered if the cheap tent would hold water out. A little after 7:00, it was still raining, and I checked around for water, and yes, water was leaking along the seams at the edge of the tent. Not much, but had to move some wet articles from the edge.
Got up shortly afterwards, and our sleeping bags were a bit wet on some parts, but dry inside. We packed up and set off south in the fog and rain, hopeful for a quick change in weather.
Drove 25km south to Geirangerfjord, considered the most scenic fjord in Norway, and saw nothing but fog down and up the "spectacular valley" full of "breathtaking views" along the hairpin roads. Bummer. I had a hike planned here, but no sense getting out in the fog and rain to see nothing. Too bad we didn't drive here last night before the rain moved in… Did get to see some goats on the road.
Moved on towards Loen, to climb Skala, a 6000ft mountain located next to an inlet at sea level. But it continued to rain, and the fog was heavy. Didn't make sense to do a steep hike in the rain to a cloud covered top. We decided to turn around about 23km before Loen, and head west towards Lom in hopes of better weather around the Jotunheimen mountains for a hike.
During this backtracking, we took a mountain pass, instead of the tunnels we took on the way over. Not that there was visibility to see anything, but just for variety, and hope. We did see a tremendously powerful, high volume waterfall, fortunately fog free, and then continued along in the cloud.
All of a sudden, in the middle of nowhere, there was a huge parking lot full of cars. We found ourselves at a summer ski resort! We saw the lift, but could not see where it led up into the fog. These skiers are hardcore to ski in the rain. Though I guess you can't be too picky when it's July 2nd.
On the way to Lom, we saw a raging river off to the right of the road. These rapids had to be class 5, cause they were much more huge and violent than the class ¾ white water rafting trip I did last year in MA. Also, the water was the aquamarine blue of a tropical island beach. We walked along the river for a bit. Even in the rain, the water was vibrantly "Sea World" blue. (Pics don't give justice).
Made it to Lom early in the afternoon, and stopped to look at the stave church in town. Didn't see it when I passed through on Wednesday. Beautiful wooden architecture, built in the 1100s. Stave churches are kind of like the castles of Scotland. Many towns seem to have them, and they are popular tourist attractions.
It was still raining and miserable out, so I checked the guidebook and found a free rock and mineral museum in town, which was the best geological collection in the country. It had all sorts of fascinating and colorful rocks. Well, at least it entertained for a half hour or so.
It was just 3:45pm and we didn't really have anything to do. Not much fun on a Norway nature adventure when you can't see it. There were a couple other museums in town, but nothing that sounded interesting enough to warrant the admission cost.
Mariann decided she'd take the bus from Lom back to Sandefjord today, rather than leave tomorrow from Otta, as she had a cold and didn't feel like spending another rainy night in a tent. Plus the weather would be questionable for tomorrow, and she had friends and family she could visit with before heading back to the US on Monday.
Karl meanwhile would be extending his stay with me though Sunday, returning to Sandefjord with me. That left us 2 days of hiking.
We wanted to do the 6000ft hike (Skala), back in Loen, so we checked the weather using the internet at the tourist info center in Lom, and found various ranges of forecast, but in general it looked like the rain would stop for tomorrow. Also, we might be able to swing by Geirangerfjord afterwards, in hopes of viewing it with better weather, on our way back to Lom for a Sunday hike in the Jotunheimen mountains.
The drive to Loen went by smoothly, but still rained the whole time. I had a full can of peas (no salt added), and PB tortillas for dinner. We found a camping place right next to the Skala trailhead (110kr/night), and set up the still wet tent, and tried drying it out with paper towels from the WC. If the tent doesn't work out, I'll move to the car, and leave Karl my poncho/tarp.
Still raining… Been raining 18 hours straight. Guess I've been lucky with the weather prior to today, but too bad the weather put a damper on the day with Karl and Mariann.
Guess it will be an early time to turn in tonight. Hoping for no rain tomorrow. Campground owner says maybe sun later in the day. Didn't take many pics today.
Daily Totals:
Distance Driven: 372km (233 mi)
Elevation hiked: 0ft