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...

Ally

I got a new gadget, an Ally canoe from Bergans! It is foldable and easy to transport. Little did I know that it would take me forever to put it together! Hopefully it will take shorter time once I get the hang of it!

It is now easier to take the Beard paddling, as she doesn't fit in my kayak as well as the little sausage dog. I plan to use it on small lakes, and it has a carrier system that allowes you to put it on your back and carry it for some distance. So my head is now full of good plans on where to go once the ice is gone...

It easily fits two people and a dog and some luggage. This is one of the smallest versions of 15'.

Ok, I realise that there are no pictures showing the canoe in use... Hahaha... But I promise, we tested it on the Lutsi lake outside of Sandnes, we just didn't get any photos of it. And we didn't bother to dismantle it once we had used it, so we just put it on the roof of the car and drove home. Of course, we could not get it inside when it was in full size, so we had to take it all apart again anyway... Haha... But it takes shorter time to dismantle it than to build it!

I'm now trying to build the courage to put it back togheter next time I'm going to use it. Fingers crossed I don't take hours to do it!

Sherpa

I'm home in Stavanger enjoying the spring. The Beard is a good little helper and carries the grocheries home from the supermarket. Good doog!

Bigfoot in the snow

We have quite a bit of snow here these days, so the only possibility to get some exercise for the Beard is to go skiing with her. The other day, the weather was annoying, with winds, rain, snow and ice. So instead of skis I went for snowshoes. I've hardly used this before, but it was quite fun. And really nice not to sink down to the knees in the snow every other step...

I bet this is quite good exercise as well, especially if you walk at some speed. I did however stroll along and let the Beard run around in the snow hoping to wear her out. Didn't work! That dog has too much energy!!

The visibility was poor at times with all the rain/snow/ice blowing horizontally, so good thing I had goggels on...

Tracks like Bigfoot!

This is what it looked like later in the evening outside my house. I don't know how many times I have digged out my door already, but I guess I just have to get used to that from now on... Winter is here!

The Beard with backpack!!

The Beard turned two this week and for her birthday she got her own backpack! She is now big enough to carry a little bit on her back when we go hiking. It will however take some time in training before she can have any weight in the packs, as her body needs to adjust slowly to carrying in order to avoid any damages.

I have to admit that she did not seem over excited about the present... Haha.... Hopefully she will learn to love it! ;-) Happy birthday Beardie!! :-)

Alternative to one-time disposable grills

Some years ago I happily found a small grill on a grocery shop I stopped by on a sailing trip. I love all
food that is grilled, but I'm not a big fan of these one-time disposable grills that are sold everywhere. They make a lot of waste and we often don't have the time to sit and wait for it to get cold so that we can pack it with us and dispose it appropriately. And bringing a big, fancy grill is out of the question when you have a lot of other stuff to carry, like last weekend when we went to Trolltunga.

The fantastic little grill of mine comes with these briquettes made of coconut shells that are 100% natural. Sounds fantastic, BUT they don't really work in my experience. We've tried them in different climate and weather, but they don't give the promised heat and the smell is really bad.

Last weekend we actually gave up, and ended up making dinner on the multifuel instead. Tasted delicious by the way! ;-)

So now I have given up on this coconut shell stuff and bought coal instead. And at least I found some made from sustainable wood.

For more info on the grill, check Naturvernforbundet. The grill itself is great, and it has a fireproof mat to put it on in order to avoid fire and not make any scars in nature. The little bag it comes in makes it easy to pack and you don't have wait until it is totally cold to pack it. I really recommend it, just not the coconutstuff!

Happy grillings! :-)

Afternoon paddling

A good friend helped me with some equipment a little while ago and I thought I would give him a bottle of wine as a thank-you for the help. His family's place is not far from my family's summer house. so I put the bottle in my kayak and went. Ok, I have to admit, it did not exactly start that smooth.... The first thing I did after getting the kayak in the water was to tip into the water myself while trying to get onboard the kayak. Water temperatures are NOT comfy yet, that's for sure!! So with a soaking wet shorts and blushing cheeks I was on my way!

Once I finally managed to get into the kayak, I had a nice paddle across the bay and got the bottle safely delivered. Luckily, the wind was with me on my way home, as I got a bit tired. Definately need to practise both entering the kayak and my paddling technique! :-)

Before I moved from London, I bought a set of wheels to my kayak. I've never actually used these before, so about time! And they're great! As my kayak is a decent sized sea kayak, it is fairly heavy for me to carry over some distance by myself (in addition to it being a bit long, so I bump it into everything!), so these wheels makes it a lot easier and more comfortable. I have also invested a small fortune in a new transportation system for the roof of my car, which lets me get the kayak on and off the roof of the car without too much trouble! Works great, but my credit card is still trying to recover...

Solid ice!!

There is no running water, no electricity or any mobile connection at my little cabin. You're all by yourself when you're there, which I used to hate when I was younger, while now I really enjoy it. No stress, just peace and quiet and the great surrounding nature!

In the winter, we have to drill through the ice to get water. But last time I was there, the ice on the little lake was so thick that I did not managed to get through while drilling. The drill was simply not long enough!! We went for melted snow instead!

Here the blade is about 2/3 down into the ice.

First randonne trip of the year!

I went a short trip up the mountain behind the cabin today on my randonne skis. I have hardly used these skis, so I was curious to try them out a bit. It only took around 20 minutes to walk up. And about 3 minutes to ski down. Great for just a quick skitrip! 

Dynafit Baltoro (bought from Sport Conrad in Germany)

My shadow looks like Leif Juster!

Ready to ski back down. It looks flat, but I promise, it is a hill! :-)

I forgot to take any pics on my way down as I was having such a good time and it went too quick! But I am seriously considering getting one of these Go Pro cameras, as you can get so much cool shots from them. I am thinking of this new one called Hero 3 - does anyone have it? Is it good?!

Lunch in the snow

Every now and then I have a guest role as baby sitter for my friends' kids. I try to take them outdoors and do some fun stuff. Last time there was bit of snow, so we went sledging and had our lunch outdoors in the snow. It is surprisingly easy to make it fun for the youngsters; we only brought some sausages (not THE Sausage of course!!), the multifuel and went to a little park two minutes from my flat. 

Not exactly tempting lunch in my eyes,
but for a 3year and a 7year old it was great!

This was actually the first time I tried my new mulitfuel. I bought a Primus OmniLite Ti a little while ago.  Only used it with gas this day, and it worked really well. I still have to try out the fuel bottle with pump, but that will have to be next time...

Warm wool for winter!

I am wearing wool year round, even in summer. It's comfy, keeps you warm even if it is damp and if it is proper wool (no fake blend!) then it doesn't stink after wearing it a few days. Perfect when you go on longer trips!

I have tried several different brands and models over the years, and recently I've discovered the Norwegian brand Aclima. I tried it out this summer when we went to Jan Mayen and I really loved it. So a little while back I ordered a whole bunch of stuff and received it all in the mail today. Happy happy!!

Among the things I ordered was a full one piece suit made in 100% wool. It will be perfect in the sleepingbag in the tent during the winter! Of course someone had to try it on...

I ordered my stuff from Jentesport, a shop dedicated to gear for girls. I am happy to see that over the last years, a lot of brands have made girl's models of their gear. It is not that long ago we were sailing or skiing in clothes that were too big in some areas and a bit too tight in others... I only wish that some of the brands were aware that also girls can come in tall versions! Very often they only make trousers etc in short lengths, which is not very suitable when you are 6 feet tall...

Toothpick-skis!

Ok, I never thought this would happen, but I have actually bought myself a pair of classic nordic skis, what I have always referred to as "toothpick-skis", as they are so thin and narrow. It is the first pair of skis I have ever owned that are without steel edges and I am soooo eager to try them out!! May the rain stop pouring and the snow start! At least in the mountains! :-)

This kind of skiing is amazing exercise for the whole body, so I am sure there will be some sore muscles coming up! Hopefully we will have a good winter so that I get to use them a lot!

Northern Playground

I just read an article about a brilliant invention that I just have to share: the company Northern Playground has made "ziplongs" and are claiming to "change the way you dress"! It is long johns made of wool with zippers on the side so that you can easily take them on and off without removing the rest of your gear. Genious! Definately something I have to try out this winter!

You can have a look at their webside here.

Picture stolen from Norhern Playground's website.