The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Trekking the Ridges and Summits of Bulgaria

For my second KE Adventures trip of the season, last month I flew to Sofia, Bulgaria where the one week trip began. This fantastic week of hiking encompassed the two highest mountain ranges in Bulgaria, the Rila and Pirin Mountains, split three days in each range, where we summitted the highest peaks in the country and enjoyed some fantastic ridge walking. While only totaling 42 miles for the 6 days of hiking, with more than 18,000 vertical feet gain this was a more challenging week than I had expected. Our strong group of eleven, ranging in age from 19 to 69, accomplished everything with aplomb.

I took most of the photos that follow with my Panasonic Lumix, except the first day’s hike and the flowers, where I used my Samsung A52 camera, and the few photos with me, which were obviously taken by others. Two great early morning photos from near Dark Lake (Tevno Ezero), the location of the only hut we stayed at, were taken (and likely photo-edited!) by another client. Enjoy!

The Rila and Pirin mountains are the highest – and by far the most rugged – in the country. Along with the Rhodope Mountains, they occupy much of the southwest of the country. (By Ikonact – File:Bulgaria-geographic map-bg.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24850742)
Our first hike was to the summit of the highest mountain in Bulgaria, Musala, in the Rila mountains. This photo was taken near the trailhead, at the top of the cable car. Despite the poor weather, as it was a Sunday the trail was crowded.
View from above Musala Hut, a bit more than half-way to the top.
Musala (2925m) summit cairn and flag. No views were had in the rain and fog.
Spreading bellflower (Campanula patula), one of many bellflower species I’ve seen this summer, taken during the hike up Musala.
Our second day of hiking in the Rila mountains was the first of two days traversing near the Seven Lakes. Here is one of the lakes, shown with the near-ubiquitous fireweed (rosebay willow-herb).
Vista of two of the Seven Lakes. Fortunately, the weather improved during the week.
View west towards Musala from the Green Ridge descent from the Seven Lakes on day 2.
Viola, possibly a hybrid. Gorgeous with the water droplets.
Crossing a brook in the forest on descent from Green Ridge. Lest you think we were always above tree-line!
Our third day featured the most challenging hike in the Rila mountains, the ascent of Maliovitsa Peak. Here our KE group is seen ascending from the head of the valley.
The Vagabond Hiker on Maliavitsa summit during our leisurely lunch stop. The valley we ascended/descended is seen here.
Mount Maliovitsa (2729m) summit view with lakes, taken with my Samsung
The famous Rila Monastery, where we stopped for a cultural infusion during the 3 hour transfer to the Pirin Mountains – after we had climbed Maliovitsa. A long day indeed!
Our first of three days hiking in the Pirins was from Vihren hut at Lake Bezbog to Dark Lake (Tevno Ezero). Here some of our group are seen ascending from an unnamed lake. Our guide, Rossen, shirtless, is leading across this lateral moraine.
Scarlet avens (Geum coccineum)
Mark, one of our more serious hikers, resting on a ridge. We traversed several during our three days in the Pirins.
Early morning at Dark Lake (Tevno Ezero). The first of two landscape photos NOT taken by me. The hut we stayed at was not hygienic, and is to be avoided. We could have combined the two days into one big day with a chairlift to near the start of the Seven Lakes, though the amazing dawn light at Tevno Ezero would have been missed (by those up early enough).
Stream near Tevno Ezero in the early morning. Sadly, NOT mine either!
Popovo Lake view during our long descent on our second day in the Pirins.
A hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) on a thistle. It even sounded like a hummingbird! After long struggles to get a decent photo of this moth, I realized why I prefer wildflowers.
Mullein (Verbascum longifolium). We saw scads of this statuesque flower on our descent from Tevno Ezero.
Two of our group descending along a stream on our penultimate day
Our last and most spectacular day of hiking in Bulgaria, a traverse of Marble Ridge and Vihren Peak. Here is a herd of chamois we encountered on our ascent towards Vihren Col.
View from the col towards Kutelo Peak 1. Marble Ridge is on the left here. We did a mid-level traverse on the left side of the near ridge to attain Marble Ridge.
Rhaetian poppy (Papaver alpinum), one of my faves. I saw only a couple.
The Vagabond Hiker leaning back and relaxing, with some of our group on Marble Ridge. We were in harness with ferrata-style lanyards, a first for several of us.
On the summit of Kutelo Peak 2 with Marble Ridge behind. Several “ants” on the ridge are people.
Vihren summit ridge view, our next objective. Though not technical, it was a fine scramble from Vihren Col, seen here.
Vihren summit group photo, our guide Rossen in front and me at the top. At 2914m, it is the highest point in the Pirin Mountains and the 2nd highest in Bulgaria.
After the week of hiking, the rest of the group caught an early shuttle the next morning for the 2+ hour drive to Sofia. I relaxed at Molerite Hotel in Bansko with lunch as I had an evening flight to Krakow.

Currently, I am back in Aosta, Italy for a few days before a quick trip to Tallinn Estonia and Helsinki. One blog post done and one to go! Stay tuned for some photos from the Tatras of Poland and Slovakia.

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking in Italy’s Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso

What better time to spend several weeks hiking in Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso (PNGP) than this summer, the 100th anniversary of Italy’s first national park? During my third sojourn since 2018 in the Val d’Aosta, my goal was to explore an area of PNGP that I had not yet visited and to summit at least one significant trekking peak. As my five weeks here draw to a close, I think I can safely say that my goals have been accomplished.

I divide this long post roughly into thirds: first, some local walks in the main Aosta valley near where I was staying; next some highlights of day hikes in and around PNGP; and finally, the climb of Punta Rossa della Grivola, the culmination of my stay in the Val d’Aosta.

Walks from Gressan, Val d’ Aosta

Aosta has the distinction of being both the smallest and the least densely populated of Italy’s twenty regions. Perhaps that’s what attracts me to it! Located in the far northwest of the country, it is bordered by both France and Switzerland. See the map from Wikipedia below.

Aosta, Italy.
By TUBS – This SVG map includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this map:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14512479

During my previous visits to Aosta in 2018 and 2019, I chose to stay well above the main valley at an elevation of about 1000m where it was both quieter and cooler. However, this time I chose the village of Gressan as my home base, about 6 km from the capital city of Aosta (population about 35,000). The trade off is that a wide range of hikes is available within a half hour drive, and my preferred supermarket in Aosta almost walking distance. Despite the heat and malodorous ordure from a nearby dairy farm, Gressan is a very pleasant little community. Indeed, I walked right out my door on most off days from some serious hiking. These local walks were ideal during my recovery from Covid, contracted in Norway, and after a mercifully short flareup of patellar tendonitis.

Gressan AirBnb. My apartment is the top floor (mansard), with its west-facing covered balcony seen here.
Morning view from my balcony. Testa del Rutor (3486m, left) and Mont Paramont (3301m, center) are the two highest peaks in the far distance. Mont Blanc is out of view behind on the right.
Morning view west from the outskirts of Gressan. Walking in the early morning in the Aosta Valley was necessary to beat the summer heat. The Val d’Aosta simply pullulates with towers and castles.
A leaning church tower, Gressan. A poorly engineered construction, IMHO.
Gargantua, a glacial moraine and now a nature reserve, is seen here mid-ground, with Aosta partially visible in the valley behind. Popular with local trail runners and dog walkers as well as hikers like me, Gargantua is much bigger than it deceptively looks here. Its name comes from Rabelais’ book Gargantua and Pantagruel. Vineyards, like the one seen here, and apple orchards abound in the Val d’Aosta.
Roman Theater in the city of Aosta (the Roman colony of Augusta Praetoria), with the Grand Combin (Switzerland) rising in the background. The historic center of Aosta has a large pedestrian-only area and features several Roman ruins including a wall, a bridge, and an arch in addition to this theater. Amazingly, this past month was my first walking visit to the city!
View on a balcony walk from the nearby town of Aymavilles to Pondel (Fr.: Pont d’Ael), site of a Roman Bridge.
Pondel Roman bridge with The Grivola in the right background. (MANY more photos of The Grivola to come!) This aqueduct/bridge was constructed in 3 BCE to span the deep gorge over the Grand Eyvia at the entrance to the Valle di Cogne.

Hikes in and around PNGP from Valle di Cogne

Gran Paradiso park, named after the highest mountain completely within Italy*, was initially protected in order to save the Alpine Ibex from poachers, as it was a personal hunting ground for King Vittorio Emanuele II. (Happily, ibex have recently been thriving, so that now there are more than 50,000 of these wild goats, also known as steinbock). Encompassing more than 173,000 acres, the park bestrides two regions in Italy, Aosta and Piemonte. The northern, Aostan, portion boasts the highest peaks and most rugged terrain. The three main valleys on the northern side of the park are all pendent from the main Val d’Aosta. West to east these are: Val de Rhemes, Val Savarenche, and Valle di Cogne. (Refer to the map, extracted from the park’s brochure, below). Some of my earlier hikes from the first two of these valleys were described briefly in my blog from the Val d’Aosta in 2018, where I focused on many of the alpine wildflowers that were in bloom. This post’s main focus, in contrast, will be on hikes in the Valle di Cogne, culminating in my ascent of the Punta Rossa della Grivola, at 3630m (11,910ft) the highest trekking peak (i.e., no ice axes, crampons, ropes, harnesses, hardware, etc, required) in the park, and perhaps in Italy for that matter. 

* -- There is some confusion as to which is the highest mountain in Italy. Mont Blanc (4808m) is sometimes claimed to be, but the summit is actually completely in France. Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (4748m), a sub-summit of Mont Blanc, is marked as lying entirely within Italy on the Italian IGM map, while on the French IGN map the summit lies on the border between France and Italy. In any case, with a prominence of only 18m across the Col Major from the main Mont Blanc summit, it doesn't qualify even as a separate peak. Castor (4223m), whose summit does lie within Italy, is part of the Monte Rosa Massif. With a prominence of 165m, Castor can stake a claim as the highest peak, though the main summit of the Monte Rosa massif, the Dufourspitze (4634m), lies in Switzerland. Nonetheless, the highest mountain completely within Italy is without a doubt The Gran Paradiso (4061m).
Map of Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso (PNGP). Although not shown, the region of Piemonte roughly encompasses the southern third of the park, with the balance being in the region of Aosta.

From Gressan, the entrance to the Valle di Cogne is quickly reached. The twenty kilometer drive up the valley in my Fiat 500 Cabriolet never grew old. The impossibly steep mountains rising from both sides of the gorge, the roaring Grand Eyvia River, derelict buildings, numerous tunnels and galleries cut into the mountains, and several picturesque communities made focusing on the road difficult at times. When the gorge finally opens up in Cogne, trailheads radiate from the various villages that comprise this town. There is no end to the possibilities for the serious or casual hiker. Indeed, set at an elevation of 1600m, the town of Cogne would have made a splendid alternative base for me this past month. I will highlight some of the hikes in this section, arranged by trailhead rather than chronologically. For the interested reader, a pdf of some of the Alltrails maps of my routes is provided below. I also have hyperlinked to several Summitpost peaks throughout this blog post. (Note: the east side of the Valle de Cogne is technically outside of PNGP proper, but there are some fine trails, including a portion of the Alta Via 2, and viewpoints into the park can be spectacular).

Val d’Aosta Alltrails mapsDownload
Cascate di Lillaz. This shortish and popular loop hike was the only one I did from Lillaz, the farthest village up the main Valle di Cogne.
The village of Lillaz, taken from above the waterfall in the early morning light with the fog dissipating.
Plan de le Goilles. (The map I have is generally in French, though fortunately that language is disappearing among the locals). Note the summer cowherds’ huts. Methane-belching bovines detracted from this portion of the hike.
The charming village of Gimillan above Cogne provided me with a duo of excellent hikes, though many other trails went unexplored. Rosebay willow-herb (aka fireweed) was a common sight on many of my hikes.
Torrente Grauson and a small waterfall. These early morning starts yielded some nice photos with the lingering fog.
Grauson Inferiore. Although not labelled as a rifugio on my maps, it appeared that there were some hikers dossing down here.
Monte Creya (3015m) summit view North to Punta Garin. Monte Creya was one of the three 3000’ers I climbed.
Common rockrose (Helianthemum nummalurium). I saw this on the descent from Monte Creya. Most of my hikes were loops, as trail choices were plentiful.
My first view of my ultimate objective, Punta Rossa della Grivola, with the Grivola itself a bit farther back and its right. I took this photo on a hike from Gimillan to Tsaplana and then up to Punta Arpisson.
Edelweiss (Leontopodium nivale). I’ve shared photos of Edelweiss before, and likely will do so again whenever I encounter this iconic wildflower on my travels.
Alpine thrift (Armeria alpina)
View West from Punta Arpison (3035m). Valnontey valley runs up from Cogne, just visible on the lower left. Gran Paradiso (4061m) is the obvious glaciated high point on the left. Towards the right, Punta Rossa (3630m) can be seen here in its true relation to the much higher la Grivola (3969m), separated by the Trajo Glacier.
View east towards Punta Garin from Punta Arpisson. About 300 meters higher and a whole world of difficult climbing away, I left Punta Garin for younger, more skilled climbers.
The final trailhead I used in the Cogne Valley was Valnontey, from where four of my hikes started. Here can be found a couple of restaurants and hotels, and a large parking lot (which takes change only). Also, for 3 Euros the botanical garden Paradisia is highly recommended. Of course it doesn’t open until 10 AM, so I never did check it out.
Torrente Valnontey. Many easy valley walks are quite popular.
An old rock home along the Torrente Valnontey. Truly an example of making use of landscape features in building!
A view towards the head of Valnontey Valley. This hike was a mid-level loop past the Alpe Money. Alpe in this instance refers to an alpine pasture, not a mountain. I don’t know where the word Money comes from in this valley, but is is an appellation on several different geographic features, including a lake and a peak.
Pinky fieldbush (Adenostyles leucaphylla)
Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustrus). Although I shared a photo of this back in my 2018 blog post, it was lousy.
Alpine gentian (Gentiana nivalis)
Meditation at the Head of Valnontey Valley
Back in the valley, looking up the raging Torrente Valnontey
A bridge over Torrent de Grand Lauson on a loop hike to Casolare Herbetet from Valnontey. (I use the Italian Torrente and the French Torrent interchangeably in this post).
Punta Rossa della Grivola, taken on my loop hike to Casolare (farmhouse) Herbetet, situated on a high plateau. You’ll see plenty more photos of Punta Rossa!
Valnontey and Cogne valleys from above Grand Lauson. The pointy peak on the left is Punta Garin. Far left is Monte Emilius.
Balcony traverse high above the west side of Torrente Valnontey, heading to Casolare Herbetet. Can you spot the path? At this magnification it’s almost impossible.
Head of Valnontey with Gran Paradiso towards the right here. Alpe Money is that greener, less steep area mid-mountain on the left. I never did get a decent photo of Casolare Herbetet, which in any case wasn’t all that impressive.

The Punta Rossa della Grivola

At one time I had seriously considered finally climbing Gran Paradiso this summer. As the highest mountain within Italy – and not too difficult as far as alpine summits go – it had been for years on my bucket list. In the end I didn’t bring any climbing equipment with me this summer, and in any case my enthusiasm for alpine mountaineering seems to have diminished recently. So, casting about for a suitable climbing objective that I could safely solo without any equipment, I finally chose the Punta Rossa della Grivola. The Grivola itself is less than 100 meters lower than Gran Paradiso, but is a completely different beast, a technical rock climb. Fortuitously three lower peaks lie adjacent to the Grivola: Bianca, Nera, and Rossa, translated respectively as White, Black, and Red. The first two of these are challenging, dirty scrambles, and some routes require glacier crossing, something I was not willing to do. That left the lowest of the triptych, Rossa, as an obvious consolation prize.

While Punta Rossa (3630m) can theoretically be climbed in a single day from Valnontey, the ascent is greater than 2000 meters, similar to Mt Whitney from Whitney Portal. Unlike the standard Mt Whitney route, though, a good deal of the climb is not on groomed trail, with scrambling and exposure guaranteed. Furthermore, having just recovered from patellar tendonitis, I didn’t think my knees could possible handle more than 6500 ft descent in one day. The logical choice was to divide my climb into three days, staying overnight in the Rifugio Vittorio Sella (2588m) on the Grand Lauson before and after summit day. To that end, I had already made a reservation during my Casolare Herbetet loop hike, which passed by the rifugio. (NB: for the video in this section of the blog, it is best to play it full screen. There is an icon to click on the lower right.)

An Alpine Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) above Grand Lauson. After taking several photos of this fellow grazing, he got perturbed at me and walked away. Oops!
Panorama above Grand Lauson with Rifugio Sella and Punta Rossa della Grivola, the obvious high point here. Along with the photo of the chamois, I took this on a brief recon walk the day prior to summit day.
Resting in my room at Rifugio Sella the afternoon prior to summit day. I had a small twin-bunked room to myself, largely because I had come up and personally booked it the week prior and during mid-week it was not full.
Grand Lauson marmot (Marmota marmota, aka mountain rat), seen shortly after my 7 AM summit day start. Most were shrill and shy, but this guy stuck around long enough for me to capture a couple photos of him.
Ibex (Capra ibex) on Grand Lauson shortly after the start of summit day.
More Ibex, these guys crossing my path above Grand Lauson.
Surrounded by Ibex above Gran Lausan
I finally left the herd of Ibex behind. The Punta Rossa ascent route is through the Col della Rossa towards the right side, where the climbing got considerably steeper. Without any other people present, it’s tough to get a sense of scale here, but from the col to the summit is about 1400 vertical feet.
A sketchy traverse after the Col della Rossa. The route is a faint lighter line 2/3rds the way up the scree slope, heading towards the right.
View towards Gran Paradiso taken from after the sketchy traverse. At my elevation here, Gran Paradiso is still mostly hidden behind a nearer – and far lower – peak.
The unmistakable Matterhorn (background center) with the Monte Rosa Massif (background right) seen from the Punta Rossa summit ridge. The glaciated Dufourspitze, highest point on Monte Rosa, highest peak in Switzerland, and second highest peak in western Europe, is seen far right.
Punta Rossa summit ridge. The route goes up to the left and then across the ridge to the summit near the right. While looking straightforward here, the slate (shale?) slabs were loose and there was tremendous exposure at points, as well as some steep, scrambly sections.
Punta Rossa (3630m) summit view towards Gran Paradiso (4061m), now clearly visible as the high point right center here.
The Grivola with Punta Nera (far left) and Punta Bianco (center left), taken from the Punta Rossa summit. Climbing the Grivola by the normal route involves crossing the Trajo glacier seen here and then ascending by the SE face to the obvious ridge-line on the right, and then west along the eastern ridge to the summit. Few climbers attempt it.
The Vagabond Hiker on Punta Rossa della Grivola summit with Gran Paradiso behind
One last photo of The Grivola. Mont Blanc is in the background.
Gran Serra avalanche, seen (and heard) during my descent. The avalanche was caused by the hot weather loosening rocks from the glacier, not the usual fresh snow sloughing off as no snow is present. Ironically, the Gran Serra was a peak I was considering climbing had I stayed longer at Rifugio Sella.
At my Grand Lauson reading spot, five minutes’ walk from the rifugio. A couple pleasant hours were spent here with my Kindle on the afternoon of both days I stayed at the rifugio, another advantage of making this a three day ascent.
View from my reading spot looking back to the rifugio, surrounded by the Torrent de Grand Lauson. Very peaceful, with the noise of the burbling stream replacing the cacophony of the refuge.
It was another 7 AM start on departure morning, returning down to Valnontey. Rifugio Vittorio Sella appears here with glorious mountain light. The refuge was built in 1922, the year PNGP was created.
More beautiful morning light. A collection of huts below Grand Lauson, seen on my descent the final day. Donkeys that transport clients’ equipment and supplies for the rifugio graze here in the summer.
Almost back down to my car! The Torrent de Grand Lauson.
After an active day hiking (or a day spent reading for that matter) the evening view from my balcony wasn’t bad

Later this week I depart Italy for three weeks, trekking and hiking in Bulgaria, Poland, and Slovakia, book-ended with city breaks in Sofia and Prague. I return to Italy at the end of August for a short time, at which point I plan on producing my next two blog posts.

I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer outdoors in nature. I certainly have!

The Vagabond Hiker

Traverse of the Jotunheimen, Norway

For nine months I had been anticipating this trip to Norway. While I had considered several different itineraries in Norway, the high in-country costs and desire to do a multi-day trek led me to choose KE’s 8 day trip to the highest mountains in the country. Although not high even by European standards, with tree line at about 900 meters (3000 ft) and considering the ruggedness and remoteness of the Jotunheimen (literally Home of the Giants), it proved indeed a proper trek. I’ll take you through the day-to-day hikes accompanied by a few of my Samsung phone photos.

Day 1: Gyjendesheim to Memurubu via the Besseggen Ridge

Length 15.4 km; Elevation gain 1,180 m

Without a doubt this is the post popular day hike in Norway, and for good reason. We arrived the prior afternoon at Gyjendesheim Hut (actually a hotel) right on the Gjende Lake. As a boat would take most of our kit to our next hut, we needed only a day pack, which was just as well. The sunny weather of the day prior was just a memory. . .

Above Gyjendesheim at the start of the hike
View to Gyjendesheim on the initial ascent
Velvetbells (Bartsia alpina)
Veslfjellet (1743m) summit group photo in the mist. Our high point of the day.
Our descent route with Bessvatnet (r) and Gjende lakes
Glacier crowfoot (Ranunculus glacialis), the highest growing flower of Norway, it has been found above 2300 m.

Day 2: Relocation day

The weather today effectively put the kibosh to actually traversing the Jotunheimen. Our intent had been to walk over a high pass from our previous hut to Spiterstulen Hut, but with bad weather forecast the decision was made to forgo the 25 km walk with 1330 m elevation gain, which because of our less than quick pace, would have got us into Spiterstulen well into the evening. Instead, we took a boat trip back to Gyjendesheim, followed by two public buses with a four hour connection in the mountain town of Lom to reach Spiterstulen in the late afternoon. I used the layover in civilization to good effect, replacing my years-old Keen hiking boots that were on their last legs (so to speak), and critically, not at all water-resistant, with Salewa Mountain Trainer Lite Mid Gore-Tex hiking boots for sale in a local mountain shop. A vast improvement!

Memurubu quay view. Shown in the ferry that will take us back to Gyjendesheim to catch the first of two buses. Public transport in Norway is superb.
The famous Lom Stave Church, dating from around 1170. It is a triple nave stave church that uses free-standing inner columns to support a raised section in the ceiling of the main nave.
Bovra River, Lom. Note the zip line on the left, which was closed that day due to high water.

Day 3: Svellnosbrean Glacier explore

Length 10.4 km; Elevation gain 760 m

The weather continued poorly the following day, so Peter our guide reversed the next two day’s hikes. As we were spending three nights at the Spiterstulen hut (actually more a hotel that a mountain hut), this was no big deal. A leisurely start as we vainly hoped for the weather improvement saw us making some swollen creek crossings late in the morning. . .

A stream crossing early in the hike. Some hut workers (in red) are installing a temporary bridge for us here.
View on the moraine ascent towards glacier. I took few photos as most of the hike we were either roped up and wearing crampons or it was raining. The glacier walking was surprisingly enjoyable, despite my having a fair amount of experience. Our novice group did very well winding our way around the crevasses for a couple of hours.

Day 4: Spiterstulen to Galdhøpiggen summit (2469 m)

Length 13.3 km; Elevation gain 1,480 m

This was my most-anticipated day of the trip: climbing to the summit of the highest mountain in Norway. Well rested (I had upgraded to a single room for the three nights in Spitestulen) and with superb weather, it did not disappoint. . .

Purple mountain saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositfolia). Peter gave us plenty of time to stop and take photos on the long ascent.
The Keilhaus Topp and Galdhopiggen Summit (behind). We had to cross numerous snow fields, but no ropes or crampons were needed.
View of a glacial pond and distant mountains from Galdhopiggen summit
The Vagabond Hiker on Galdhopiggen summit (2469 m), highest point in Norway
The summit hut, a great place for a hot chocolate, and worth every Kroner

Day 5: Spiterstulen to Leirvassbu

Length 16.2 km; Elevation gain 640 m

After two day hikes from Sputerstulen it was time to move on, continuing generally west in the Jotunheimen.

Some of our group crossing a bridge in the morning on a day of (mostly) gentle ascent.
Kyrkja (l) view. This attractive peak was an option that none of us took up after another long day.
View from Leirvassbu hut. Once again, it was more a hotel and I upgraded to an en-suite single room.

Day 6: Leirvassbu to Skogadalsbøen

Length: 20.6 km; Elevation gain 350 m

Billed primarily as a downhill hike today, it felt anything but. The wildflowers were spectacular, however on the final two days of trekking.

A view early the following morning looking down the Gravdalen Valley. Our two days of good weather had vanished for the remainder of the trek, though to be fair it never got really horrendous.
Mountain-heath (Phyllodoce caerulea)
Roseroot (Rhodiola rosea)
Gravdalsdammen provides a part of Norway’s electricity, 92% of which is hydropower.
Cranesbill (possibly Geranium sylvaticum). These geraniums were ubiquitous the last couple of days trekking.
Arctic starflower (Lysimachia europea)
Hiding amongst the geraniums, possibly a wood violet (Viola riviniana)
Gravdalen Valley stream
View of mountains and the Storutla River

Day 7: Skagadalsboen to Utadalen

Length 19.0 km; Elevation gain 850 m

Our final full day of trekking as Day 8 was to be a one hour walk out to a bus stop at the road head. While primarily downhill, we still managed about 2800 ft of elevation gain!

One of Skogadalsboen’s traditional huts. The accommodations had become more rustic, though enjoyable nonetheless.
Dwarf cornel (Cornus suecica), a near constant companion as the elevation decreased.
Common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)
View above Avdalen.
An old hut above Avdalen. Many of these huts have been abandoned as some rural areas have been depopulated.
A torrent
Heath spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata), the second of two orchid species spotted.
More Avdalen huts, featuring the traditional sod roofs
Vettisfossen, at 275 m the longest free waterfall in Norway, and the undisputed highlight of our final day trekking.

Our final night was a home stay with a charming local farming family. Although I took a few more pictures, the Vettifossen seems a great final photo so I’ll stop my journey across the Jotunheimen here.

Although only 4 to 5 hours by bus from the modern capital city of Oslo, the Jotunheimen stands a world apart. And, despite some unstable weather, the end of June was an excellent time to go, shortly after the huts had opened for the season, but before the summer crowds descended (or more properly, ascended).

I am now once again in the Val d’Aosta in the Italian Alps, this time for more than a month. My next blog should include some of this wonderful landscape and the alpine flora that peaks in early summer.

The Vagabond Hiker

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