Ally at Hardangervidda

Last week, the Beard and I had another mini trip with the Ally canoe in Ståvatn. We packed tent, some food and sleepingbag and paddled to an island west of Haukeliseter. The wind was from West on our way there, so I struggled a bit to make speed. The Ally canoe is very lightweight, and even with the tent and food, the Beard and other stuff in the front of the canoe, it is still difficult to paddle towards the wind, especially when I'm paddling alone. But we made it to our destination after a while.

I put the tent up in a little bay facing south towards Kvanndalen. This is away from the road passing Haukeliseter (E 134) and you cannot hear or see the cars from this side. Makes me feel like I'm faaaar away, but still we're close to home if something happens. Which was good the day after...

The view I woke up to the day after:

With no wind of waves, I took my time cooking breakfast and enjoying the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I enjoyed myself a bit too long, and by the time I had packed all the gear and got the Beard and myself in the canoe, the wind had picked up quite a bit. And now it was coming from East, which was our direction back to Haukeliseter...

After I had struggled for quite some time without making any progress, I decided to paddle across the wind and waves and head to the mainland near the road North of me. Then I had to call a colleague to come and pick us up up in the car and take us back to Haukeliseter. I felt a bit stupid (especially with the canoe sticking out of the car), but if I had kept on paddling I guess I had spent all day trying to get back, which was not exactly good for work. Haha...