Dovrefjell

Having spent most of 12 days working our way up Norway's rugged fjord coast, we turned south at Trondheim and back towards Oslo. Our first night was at a small tourist camp between Hjerkkin and Dombås, in the midst of the Dovrefjell National Park. Whether we were in the Park or not is a little unclear, in part because boundaries of many European national parks are not as black and white as they are in the U.S. I suspect it has to do with creating relatively new parks around ancient human landscapes dotted with villages and historic land uses.

The Dovrefjell Mountains are a harsh, sprawling alpine landscape that hosts a native reindeer herd and even some musk oxen (although I read that they may have been imported). Their highest point is Snohetta, which we'll revisit in the next post.

We were staying at a Turisthytter, which basically translates to a small cluster of timber cabins, a campground, some rentable trailers, and a small central lodge with a restaurant. It was a bit rustic compared to some of our other accommodations, but rustic is fine with us, and it was perfect for the setting.

I could have had reindeer, but opted for a moose burger instead. I also tried a red ale from their on-site brewery (they claim the smallest in Norway).