20-Jul-2023 -- This is the 4th out of 5 reports visiting confluence points during a one-week bicycle trip in Southern Norway starting and ending in Stavanger. The story starts from 60°N 6°E and continues from 59°N 9°E.
On confluence day, I started from my wild camp near Drangedal near 59°N 9°E. To cover those 58 km straight-line-distance to this confluence point, I had to cycle 146km on roads. Neverthless, I reached the houses of Birte or Tovsli (about 5 km from the confluence) in the later afternoon.
I decided to go for this confluence at the same day again. My starting point of the hike was at the end of the road at a parking lot, 3.5 km straight line from the confluence. A beautiful hiking path took me to Krokstøayl, a meadow with two huts (1.5 km distance to the CP). After a short pathless hike, I hit on another path that I could follow up to a distance of 400 m. The remainder was a cross country hike through very wet soil. But the views to the nearby lake Krokstøyltjønn were beautiful.
I found the confluence in a loose pine and spruce forest with heather and moss cover. The shore to lake Krokstøyltjønn is only 150 m away.
Afterwards, on my way back, I spotted a beaver, that had made his own lake. After reaching my bicycle, I repacked my gear and started another hike to the DNT hut Granbustøyl where I spent the night. The additional 1-hour hike was worth it: it was a cosy night. The fireside had already been lit by two Norwegian hikers.
CP Visit Details:
- Distance to a road: 3500 m
- Distance to a track: 400 m
- Distance of bicycle parking: 3500 m
- Time to reach the CP from the road: 2 hours
- Time at the CP: 7:51 PM
- Measured height: 677 m
- Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
- Position accuracy: 3 m
- Topography: hilly.
- Vegetation: pine and spruce trees, heather and other herbs, moss.
- Weather: partly cloudy, 15° C (felt temperature)
- Given Name: The Beaver Lake Confluence
The story finishes at 59°N 7°E.