Everything is gradually coming together for the start of my pilgrimage walk following the St Olavsleden route to Trondheim. Physical: I might do one more walk with a loaded pack next weekend, but last Sunday's walk was pretty challenging, and everything performed well. Elaine gave me a hand with some fiddly adjustments, and I loaded up with 13kg in the pack on Sunday. Erick had a Meetup walk planned into Mt Rob Roy, on the south-east side of Canberra. The loop was about 12km with 650m of climb. We walked first to Big Monks and then across to the Rob Roy Nature Reserve. Mental: While one might walk alone, there are always people in towns and other places one stays. But this is quite different to walking with a companion. I know that this can be ... read more

Today the path turned north again around a large bluff. There was enough room for the E6 and the railway on the river flats, while pilgrims take a tortuous path along the lower slopes. It was tough going. Once heading north, the path then went up to the valley heights - twice! Both pretty strenuous climbs, particularly when my glasses misted up in the rain and I had difficulty seeing the path, let alone the view. There was an entire change in the vegetation at the altitude, and the path became very rocky and difficult. Spectacular walking but very slow going, perhaps less than a km every 20 minutes and lots of breaks to figure out how best to walk some more difficult stretch. At the end there was a long roadside walk alongside the E6, ... read more

2/7 At Konfirmantsalen, Veldre, and have the place to myself. I left Hamar too early to walk through the Glass Cathedral, but had a quick look around the site before heading to that other place of worship - a shopping centre. Reached Furness kirke around lunch-time and Veldre kirke late afternoon.... read more

Left Bogbakken relatively early, not quite knowing whether the Pilgrim Centre estimate of the distance was correct, or my hosts more pessimistic view that it was a 30km walk. Within a 100m or so, he was. Today was a three church day. The first after a couple of kilometres at Tangen, the second at Stange, and the third a mere glimpse in the distance of the Glass Cathedral, a ruin that has been covered to preserve it. Only from a distance, it looks like any other large glasshouse. I only hope it lives up to its expectations tomorrow. After a short road stretch, it was into the sort of country that in Australia one might characterise as red-neck. Places still in the process of construction with an unregistered Alfa, two unregistered Mitsubishi, and a skull over ... read more

Lets just say that this is not a day I ever want to repeat. My quick calculations before starting led me to the conclusion that I would need to walk 27 km today. A bit of a stretch after yesterday, but still not too big a leap. That just didn't happen. Breakfast The difficulty with staying somewhere where there are no cooking facilities is that one cannot whip up a decent breakfast, and so the first thing on a pilgrims mind is where to find sustaining hot food and drink. So rather than bypass Klofta, I detoured into town to find only the railway station kiosk open. A bitter vending machine coffee and soft muffin were my lot, and an extra 2 km on the day. Time for another kirke It was a short walk, but ... read more