Tour in Lifjell – Rognlifjellet 940 m asl
Finally, I managed to organize a group of a few people (3 colleagues from work + me) for a mountain trip. Our team was truly international: Luka and Dominik are Croatian students doing summer internships in our company and Hasan is the son of Bosnian immigrants and he lives in Norway for a long time. And me, a Pole of flesh and blood. The purpose of the trip was to show ours Croatian colleagues a piece of Norway, and at the same time not to tire them to death with some super ambitious expedition. So we went to the lower part of the Lifjell Mountains as it is relatively close (only two and a half hours drive) and I think this trip was a great success.
We left after six in the morning and arrived somewhere around nine to the Myregvarv parking lot near Lake Gavlesjå. The last kilometers of the route are driven along a curvy gravel road. There is an entry fee (90 kr in 2022). We took all the necessary stuff for the trip and set off on the trail. There are many hiking and skiing paths in the area, so you can also come to Gavlesjå during winter. Our hike supposed to take us to the summit of Rognlifjellet (940 m above sea level), then we planned to go down on the opposite side, reach the shore of the lake and circle it, reaching the point where we started. According to the map on the ut.no website, such a loop was about 10 km long.
The trail was well marked and we had no problems finding the right path. After the initial forest stretch, we started climbing on the rocky ground. Above the tree line, you can already admire the entire area around, including Lake Gavlesjå.
The day was warm and sunny, and the forecasts warned of temperatures reaching up to 30 degrees. I was hoping that we would finish our journey before the real heat started pouring down from the sky. So far we have enjoyed the hike and the views.
Soon we stood at the summit and took a short break there. Soon after, we were back on our way down the valley. The forest path led us to a gravel road, and this one almost to the lake shore. The rest of the route was a pleasant walk along the shore, although the heatwave was started already.
In the end, it turned out that we had not 10 but almost 12 km in our legs. There was another lake near the parking lot, much smaller than Gavlesjå, and a wooden pier by the shore encouraged to take a refreshing bath after a long walk. We took the opportunity. A bath in full sun after a few hours of hiking was what we needed. And although we did not manage to fully recover, we returned home happy with a successful trip.
