Finally spring is here!

The last week I’ve been watching the rivers become gradually more open. Last weekend we had a disappointing car trip to the outer fjord, to take a kayak trip. There was ice as far as the eye could see!

But today the time was right to do a small trip, just to see how far I could paddle on the river. Weather was beautiful, sunny and the temperature was around 0 degrees when I launched my kayak in the Vestfossen river.

What a feeling to finally paddle on the local waters after a long and cold winter. Birds were singing, and the river was quiet. The loudest noise was created when the waves from my kayak set the thin ice along the shores in motion. And then the sound of streaming water in the from time to time rapidly moving water.

Nature was surely wakening from the winter sleep. I met ducks and swans on my way, and saw many tracks of recent beaver activity – trees were freshly cut down and the bark had been eaten completely off the trunks.

(Beaver eaten tree trunk)

I managed to paddle free of ice all the way to Hokksund – 5 kilometers from home when my way was blocked – not by ice, but by a flock of 20-30 swans. I always feel pity for them in winter, as I scare them with my presence. They use a lot of energy to fly away. So I decided I had paddled enough, turned my kayak and left them in peace. I was also worrying a bit for the return trip, which might get tough, bearing the force of the stream in mind.

It went O.K. home. Paddled an average of 6 km./hour which is not so bad, when you paddle against a strong current.

I’m SO happy to finally be able to paddle again!