Pascale's report

Hiking from Oslo to Bergen with a joëlette

(See also the report in French on the Handi Cap Evasion website :

www.hce.asso.fr/Au-pays-des-Vikings)

It all started last summer in Auvergne during a one week mountain trip organized by Handi Cap Evasion. HCE is a non-profit making French organization, conforming to the 1901 law. It was funded by Joël Claudel in 1988. Since then its only aim has been to allow disabled people and the able-bodied to share the same activities and pleasures out in the wilds, in the mountains both in France and abroad. Going back to our story, Martin who loves Norway and has been there many times was telling about the country and how wonderful it is for outdoor activities in full nature and he offered me, who is much disabled to organize a trip there on the following summer. Choosing a team was not that easy but nevertheless Maud, Mylène, David, Martin and I left Orly Airport in Paris on the 10th of July. We spent three days in Oslo where we visited the city, went to the restaurant with some of Martin’s Norwegian friends, spent much time in the many museums, loved strolling in Vigeland Sculpture Park and even watched the finals of the World Cup at Martin’s friends’.

We left Oslo on July the 13th , took the train to Al, went by bus to Hol and to Raggsteindalen by car. We went hiking for a couple of hours in the afternoon in order to have a look around but we really started our trip in the mountains on the following day. What a wonderful day we had… with luxuriant landscapes on a bright and sunny day.

We were happy to reach Geiterygghytta to have a rest after this long but fulfilling day and to enjoy all the comfort of this nice refuge. Thursday the 15th was not our best day because of the fog and the rain all day long. We even though reached Kongshelleren Cottage in the afternoon, exhausted and totally soaked, but ever so pleased to find such a cosy shelter in this no man’s land. The rain had stopped on the following day and we were able to discover the landscape all around. Gorgeous… exactly what we were looking for… rocks and water everywhere and all that for us alone!

We needed a relaxing day after all the effort of the previous day and hiking to the glacier from our cottage in Finse appeared to us as a nice and easy thing to do. I am afraid we were wrong for it was not easy at all. We found again our dreadful pierriers and it looked as though we would never reach this bloody glassier. Fortunately we had a delicious home-made beer waiting for us and, once again, everybody was asleep!On Monday 19th we left Handangervidda Park to continue our trip, on the Rallarvegen Road, heading for Hallingskeid. Driving the joëlette there was much easier and all around us the landscape gradually changed. All the small colourful wooden houses were ever so lovely and though there was still much water everywhere we were leaving our big rocks behind.

The sun had left us but we were happy to be together much in love with the scenery all around.

Vatnahalsen Hotell was our next stop and once again we enjoyed sleeping in proper beds and having dried out clothes and shoes in the morning. Mylène and Maud were particularly joyful on the way down and their songs matched the wonderful and mysterious atmosphere all around, with big waterfalls everywhere and huge hilly green patches of land.

We finally took the train to Flam, in order to go by boat on the Aurlandsfjorden and be on time in Voss to collect my wheelchair and a rucksack. As we were due to meet some people on the following morning at 10:00 outside the Tourism Office, we didn’t leave the Youth Hostel too late. A journalist and a photographer from the Hordaland, a local newspaper, had come to meet us and there was a hiker ready to join us for the day. We were glad some people were interested in our adventure and we considered this as a first step in our quest to make the joëlette known.

After a Norwegian spicy pizza and a Soft Iss ( our new addiction! ) we enjoyed watching paragliders land on the side of the lake and early in the morning, we went canoeing on it, before leaving Voss by train for our final stopping place.

After going to the DNT and leaving our stuff at the Youth Hostel in Bergen, we went shopping to buy some souvenirs, ate shrimp sandwiches on the harbour and went wandering throughout this lovely fishing town. We were once again due to meet some people at 10:00, outside the Tourism Office and we wondered if we would be as lucky as we had been in Voss. Indeed, we were proud of our article in the Hordaland and “Team Pascale” was on the front page! There were no journalists but Vibeke and Ole from Sitski had come and together, we had a wonderful day. They both had a go at the joëlette and hopefully we will have Vibeke as a passenger of the joëlette in the next future in France. As for Ole who went hiking with us, it looked as if he had driven a joëlette his whole life and he was ever so pleased to realise all that such a device can do.

I won’t tell you about Sunday the 25th since it was our departure day. You are never happy to say good bye, especially when you’ve had such a wonderful holiday. For two weeks, I have felt like a queen, her coach being drawn by four sporty and happy bodyguards in her beautiful kingdom and once again, I thank them for all that. Martin was right, joëlettes deserve a place in Norway!