The Paddler Autumn/Fall issue 2017

the west end of the lake, where the Norwegian
border lies, and our jumping off point for the
next stage of the journey. Paddling on this huge
expanse of water in flat-calm conditions was an
unforgettable experience, enhanced even
further when the black-throated divers started
their eerie calls as we rounded the point. Here
we stopped for lunch on a pile of rocks sticking
right out into the lake, a special place.
The breeze found us in the afternoon, and the last
couple of kilometres were a little harder work,
but soon enough we were at a large, popular
camping area with a small hut and a shelter.
Popular, in that we saw another person walk
though, and some kayak fishermen off-shore.
I’d wanted to get up high and see a view of the
landscape from above, so spent the rest of the
afternoon climbing a nearby hill, Bustvålen. This
felt properly remote, and I was conscious to take
extra care, alone in this wild landscape on
trackless, rock-strewn terrain, but I was
rewarded with an amazing panorama of lake,
rock, forest, mountains and sky. Looking ahead, I
could just about trace our onward journey
towards the huge Lake Femunden, a truly
massive 60km long lake that would make our
next target. First, though, we had the Roa river
system to descend, 20km of unknown travel on
lakes, on rivers, and no doubt, on foot. This 20km
would take us four days.
Rough times on the Roa
The map showed us the route ahead, and early
in the day we crossed into Norway. The customs
process was not difficult, what with this
happening 200 metres off the shore on our final
Rogen paddle. Now we were entering
Day three – sunset over Vaster Rödsjön
ThePADDLER 93