Grövelsjön, Storsätern and Valdalsbygget

We had actually intended to take the boat over to Sylen on the Norwegian side and then hike back along the Sylen - Hävlingen trail. During the boat trip with M/s Sylöra over Lake Grövelsjön, which takes about 35 minutes, in addition to beautiful surroundings, you can also see an old aircraft from the Second World War sticking out of the water.
However, it turned out that we were not the only ones who were curious about this trip as the boat was fully booked several days in advance. A tip from Rendahls is to book well in advance.
Well, no boat trip for us then, then we need to think again. We decided instead to start from our hotel Lövåsgården and take a trip towards Blåkläppen over Östra and Västra Barfredhågna with Storsätern as our destination. The tour can be varied infinitely and is between 5 and 15 kilometers depending on how many detours you take. Our trip was about 13 -14 kilometers.

On the way over the mountain, we made our first stop at Oskarsstugan. A small mountain cabin on the way to Blåkläppen. It was quite a windy day so it was nice to get into the cabin and get shelter from the wind for a while. The cabin was equipped with a stove for colder days, but as we only stayed for a coffee, we had to do without a fire.

After coffee and a croissant we wandered on and somewhere along the way we probably got a little lost, but after trampling through the lingonberry rice we finally found a shelter from the wind where a plate of soup sat like a slap. As everyone knows, the weather can change quickly, drizzle and hiking are not always a good combo.

However, the weather cleared up and towards the afternoon we arrived at Storsätern. I don't know if you can say that it is in Storsätern that "it happens", but here you will find, among other things, the spa hotel Storsätra fjällhotell, or you will be bitten by the Sami culture at Renbiten. For those who need to stock up on provisions, mountain gear or just go to the toilet, there is Fjällbua, an incredibly well-stocked country store.

After resting for a while down in the village, it was back home to Lövåsgården again. A hike along the tree line of about 6 km. In total, we hiked about 22 km this day. Guess if a three-course dinner with a well-matched wine package sat nicely that evening?

On the last day of our trip to Grövelsjön, we had slightly looser plans. We had actually intended to take a path across to the Norwegian border towards Gammeldalen and then further towards Valdalsbygget. However, an angry text message threatening Norwegian quarantine when we were a few hundred meters from the border put a damper on our plans. We parked the car on the Swedish side of the border and walked straight towards the Valdalsbygget instead.

Here was a beautiful deciduous forest and a couple of kilometers away we found the cozy shacks at the Valdalsbygget. Time for coffee again, then. We weren't allowed to have coffee alone, but the curious lichens were immediately there and wanted to participate. Luckily we had some extra bread with us as we had been warned not to miss the sociable birds. However, we got to keep the coffee for ourselves.

The trip later went back towards Storsätern where we had been the day before.

So how was my first mountain hike? I was lucky and the mountains showed their best side with beautiful autumn colors and mostly brilliant sun. The combination of hiking and cozy accommodation with a set table every evening is truly a highlight. For those of you who aren't hooked yet, give it a try!