Aurlandsdalen - a valley at the west coast of Norway

[Gabriela]

The cloudberry is a sort of fabled Rubus even in the northern lands of Canada Trond. Native People also call it Salmonberry. I've read that it has a high content of benzoic acid and will remain fresh for a very long period of time (?) (in the fridge).

[Hoy]

Gabriela, you can store cloudberries outside the fridge for a long time. I have not tried it (I prefer the fridge/freezer) but it was a common way to store them aboard ships. Cloudberries contain, as you say, a lot of benzoic acid (which also lingonberries do), ascorbic acid and ellagic acid.

The Norw. name is multe/molte which probably means molten and refer to the colour and soft ripe fruit.

[Hoy]

Trond,

It is not surprising that the geology is very complex. I certainly wish I had a much better understanding of the geology in our part of California. Some understand of geology is helpful when looking for unusual plant habitats.

Ooohhh! Cloudberries grow in sphagnum moss bogs. I feel certain that you mentioned this to me in the past. I will have to give them (cloudberries) a try again with this in mind... or maybe they just dislike our California dry heat. Gardening is fun but can be very challenging at times. 

The coal mine is a big mess. Will there be an effort to restore the landscape? Here in the U.S.A, with coal mining sometimes there is an effort to restore the land. In California the scars from gold mining are everywhere. In some cases there is still pollution from the gold mining - generally mercury and other heavy metals. The hydraulic mining has left huge scars that most likely will take thousand, or more likely millions of years to disappear.

Robert, the old mines and other artifacts from the heydays of mining are all protected! You can't remove a nut

Molte grows in sphagnum moss but also other habitats as long as the roots have access to water.

[Hoy]

I didn't finish the other day -  was interrupted by family affairs

"Little Hell"




Saxifraga nivalis and Cystopteris fragilis.
It is common that high altitude plants like Saxifraga nivalis can find a niche in a river valley. Here it grows in a vertical cliff which always is shaded. It is not far to the higher mountains around the valley.




Gentianella campestris. Gentiana nivalis is also common here but it flowers earlier.




A typical scree with a mixture of high and low altitude plants. The scree never settle as long as new material is supplied from the steep walls above. (A walker in the valley is advised to be careful as pieces of rocks of all sizes fall down any time)




The valley has been inhabited in thousands of years and farmed since before 1300. The last farm, Sinjarheim in the picture, was left in 1922. It was impossible to use modern farming technology in the steep valley. The soil is extremely productive so they had a lot of animals. The valley was used as a summer pasture until recently. Now only a few sheep are grazing in the easiest accessible parts.

[Hoy]

Campanula latifolia. The old Norw. name of this plant was 'gople' which now can be found in many place names. It was used as food.




Angelica sylvestris.




Stachys sylvatica.




Woodsia ilvensis.




Saxifraga cotyledon. This species follow the valley almost to the sea.

[Hoy]

"Bridge over troubled water" or maybe it is the bridge that is "troubled".




Out of flower - but this Saxifraga oppositifolia was found fairly far down in the valley.




Origanum vulgare




waterfall




Impatiens noli-tangere

[Hoy]

The last part of the path leads through a deciduous forest. Wych elm (Ulmus glabra) make up most of the forest, but also black alder (Alnus glutinosa) and other trees grow here. Most of the trees are damaged by falling stones.










At last, after 19 km, we reach the "road".




The end.

[Gabriela]

Beautiful trip Trond! - easiest 19 km I've ever done

[Hoy]

Gabriela, you should try the real one. It is a little bit more challenging

[Tristan_He]

How long does the 19km take you Trond? With the amount I typically stop taking photos, it would probably be a 2 day trek!

Spectacular as always. I wonder has anybody recorded the changes in flora and fauna following abandonment of farming in that valley?

[Hoy]

We used 7 hours this year including 2 long stops preparing food. Even small children down to 7 and younger went faster than we did because I am always in the rear taking pictures

Had I been alone I would probably used even more time

[Hoy]

. . . . .
 I wonder has anybody recorded the changes in flora and fauna following abandonment of farming in that valley?

I am not aware of anybody doing it here but it is generally to a great concern among many people, both layman and scholar. The landscape changes very much in ones lifetime, and the change is accelerating.

[Robert]

Trond,

What a beautiful location to hike!

Origanum vulgare? Is it native or naturalized? Here in California Origanum vulgare is a garden weed, however it has not naturalized into the native landscape - at least around here in the hot interior.

Thank you for sharing all the photographs. Very 

[Hoy]

Trond,

What a beautiful location to hike!

Origanum vulgare? Is it native or naturalized? Here in California Origanum vulgare is a garden weed, however it has not naturalized into the native landscape - at least around here in the hot interior.

Thank you for sharing all the photographs. Very 

Origanum vulgare is both native and naturalized from gardens. If you buy it as a spice at a garden centre it surely is foreign. These plants spread from the gardens and mix with the wild populations. In Aurlandsdalen it is native.

I have it in my garden also - and it is wild collected