The Cabin in the Mountains by Robert Ferguson

Author:Robert Ferguson [Ferguson, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786696755
Publisher: Head of Zeus

The lakeside DNT cabin at Hellevassbu, with Simletind in the background.

Walkers who want to use the facilities are allowed, for a small fee, to pitch a tent close to one of the DNT cabins, although as I came to the cabin itself there were no tents nor any others signs of life. July and August are the favoured months for walking in the mountains; September was late. The weather was still settled, however, the temperature warm and the sky blue, with no indication of a change on the way, and after a brief rest on a plank bench supported by two round stones and a trip down to the stream to fill my water bottles I shouldered my rucksack and continued northwards along the track, following a sign for Litlos and keeping my eyes open for the split in the route that would take me west towards Middalsbu. My plan was to pitch the tent shortly after the split. It turned out to be further than I had imagined, and it was approaching seven by the time I joined the track going west towards Middalsbu, the site of another DNT cabin and the end of the second side of my triangular walk.

The terrain changed character as the path ran between the steep west side of a mountain and a lake called Vassdalsvatnet. It was closer to the water than the mountainside, grassy and soft and a pleasure to walk along, for my feet were feeling tender after the rather stony surfaces of much of the route so far; but it was narrow and for the next hour I scanned the landscape in search of a suitable place to camp but failed to spot one. By about nine o’clock it was getting dark. A strong wind had risen and I decided to camp along the track itself, feeling fairly confident that no one else would come by at that time of night. The wind continued to rise, pulling and tugging at the canvas for most of the night. I didn’t get much sleep and after waking for about the fourth time and noticing that it was light outside I decided to break camp early.

I followed the track as it continued to head west, passing high above the watery region around Vassdalsegga before heading down into the Middalen valley, at the foot of which was the Middalsbu cabin. As at Hellevassbu, there was no sign that anyone had spent the night there, and after another brief rest I walked on.

Within a couple of hours the track was once again below the treeline and I was walking through landscape much less stern and forbidding than on the previous two days. After crossing a farm lane at the northern end of Valldalsvatnet, an enormous lake, the map showed a continuation of the path down its eastern side, to a point about halfway down it where the river Kvesso flowed into it from the east. I must have spent fifteen minutes trying to find this path but saw no red ‘T’s anywhere.

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