Lillomarka walk 18 December 2005
Not quite what we had hoped
This was supposed to be a much longer walk. I had brought my cold weather sleeping bag, and plenty of kit ready for an overnight camp in the mountains. Initially, we had hoped to go to Telemark, so we could see the site of the famous World War II heavy water plant sabotage, and the lake where the ferry was sunk. Sadly, the only bus would get us there after mid day, and that would leave us with precious little time to get to a place to camp before nightfall. We settled for a stay in Nordfjellet, complete with reportedly excellent views across southern Norway, and bought tickets in preparation.
Early on saturday morning, we arived at the bus station, checked the timetables, and found the only bus leaving at the right time to the right place. We even checked with a local woman at the station that we were catching the right bus. The bus driver, however, had different plans, and was only going to go half way, making our tickets useless. Somewhat annoyed, we got a refund, and with it now being too late to catch any bus anywhere useful, we abandoned our plans for the day. The next morning, we took a tram to Kjelsås instead, and began a walk in Lillomarka - very much less than our initial intentions.
We reached Kjelsås a little before sunrise.
This miniature car was parked there. It looks totally out of place in Oslo.
The sunrise lit up the sky, as the mist rolled off the lake, and over the city.
The lake is still not frozen. The smaller lakes are, but it will be at least another month before Maridalsvannet freezes over completely.
The sun had now made it over the horizon, and was lighting up the clouds.
The band of gold as the sunlight approached the level of the lake.
After faltering a little, we reached the edge of the forest.
Icicles clung to every small outcrop.
Most of the rest of the walk was on paths like this. It looks nice for a while, but there is not enough variation, and it does get boring fairly quickly. Certainly not as interesting as in summer.
On a corner, we were greeted with a glorious sight of the lake, shrouded in an early mist.
The mist clung to the edges of the hills and mountains of Nordmarka.
And a final view - the serenity of this view is so inviting.
Answering a question.
After a long detour along the paths, we arrived back at Kjelsås, and were greeted with this sight.
We walked back along the river, since Moose had not been here before. It hurt my feet last time I did it, and this time, it gave us both blisters. The distance is significant, and is not made any better by the occasional view of cranes in the distance, as they only serve to show you that you still have a long way to go. Still, we enjoyed the sight of the impending sunset.
It was now a little after 15:00, and the sun had set, lighting up the sky as it ended the day.
We reached Kjelsås a little before sunrise.
This miniature car was parked there. It looks totally out of place in Oslo.
The sunrise lit up the sky, as the mist rolled off the lake, and over the city.
The lake is still not frozen. The smaller lakes are, but it will be at least another month before Maridalsvannet freezes over completely.
The sun had now made it over the horizon, and was lighting up the clouds.
The band of gold as the sunlight approached the level of the lake.
After faltering a little, we reached the edge of the forest.
Icicles clung to every small outcrop.
Most of the rest of the walk was on paths like this. It looks nice for a while, but there is not enough variation, and it does get boring fairly quickly. Certainly not as interesting as in summer.
On a corner, we were greeted with a glorious sight of the lake, shrouded in an early mist.
The mist clung to the edges of the hills and mountains of Nordmarka.
And a final view - the serenity of this view is so inviting.
Answering a question.
After a long detour along the paths, we arrived back at Kjelsås, and were greeted with this sight.
We walked back along the river, since Moose had not been here before. It hurt my feet last time I did it, and this time, it gave us both blisters. The distance is significant, and is not made any better by the occasional view of cranes in the distance, as they only serve to show you that you still have a long way to go. Still, we enjoyed the sight of the impending sunset.
It was now a little after 15:00, and the sun had set, lighting up the sky as it ended the day.