Camp north of Bajimus Gorsajavri
God will provide rest days!
When I woke up early this morning, the outer tarp of my tent was soaking wet both on the in- and outside and it was obvious that I had been paid a visit by some really low clouds during the night. Cold air, almost no wind, and an elusive sun collaborated to let it take several hours to dry it out, and I enjoyed a lazy morning until everything was packed and ready to go around 11 am. Here already I made the decision to make this an easy day, resting for a much longer and more strenuous day tomorrow. The initial ascent to the ridge and the following descent into Kårsavagge went excellent, the trail is so much better marked than several years ago when I last hiked the stretch. I reached the cabin in Kårsavagge after just about two hours and without having to change shoes for the river crossing. I’ve never seen so little water in the stream here! Just before crossing I found a couple of nice mushrooms and made myself a snack frying them in ghee with some beef jerky which turned out really nice. Weather is pretty unpredictable, sitting outside with the host, Anders, enjoying a coffee in the sun, we suddenly are forced to move indoors by a sudden rain shower. Shortly after which the sun shines once more, and the forecast promises more of the same erratic weather over the next few days. Taking care of my stuff, reading a little and chatting with the cabin host and a fellow hiker made time run fast and it was already just after 4 pm when I left the cabin for the last short stretch.
I hadn’t really planned my campsite, just wanted to get closer to the end of the valley and a good starting point for tomorrow’s tour. As soon as I spotted this site from afar I know I found my place to spend the night and, upon arriving, I just dropped my gear and headed right down to the lake for a quick dip to clean up. For the first time during this entire tour I was seriously bugged by mosquitoes setting up camp and the device I bought in ZA proved absolutely worthless.
So, I just had to get into the tent despite the really nice late afternoon, cook my dinner while staying inside and kill off the mosquitoes sneaking inside the tent. Now, a couple of hours after I got my camp ready, another rain shower keeps me pinned inside the tent and I just have to wait for it to pass before I can get out, brush my teeth and get ready for the night!
