Catching up with an old walk

Much like reuniting with an old friend you have not seen in years, catching up with an old trail is a fantastic experience.

Many moons ago and especially pre-covid, if you can remember that far back, Oslomarka was always deserted Monday to Friday during the work day.

We could take the dogs and park up almost anywhere, rarely bumping into others. Of course we would meet the occasional pensioners out enjoying nature and they would, from time to time, join us for sections, or the entirety, of our walks as we chatted with them.

Then along came the pandemic and home office. Now do not get me wrong, I am overjoyed that more people are out making the most of the woods.

However this change did mean we needed a new strategy in order to avoid the masses and therefore be able to give your dogs more freedom.

We had to give up certain amazing paths and areas as they had become too popular.

Now back to today…. The conditions have to be right and things have to fall into place. The conditions as they were today were that we had been forecast storms and rain for much of the day.

This simple fact means that a lot of people will not have planned to make the effort to go out on a good hike this afternoon.

In turn this opens access to those amazing areas where we loved to adventure.

And so … I gambled. I rolled the dice and went to one of the usually overcrowded areas.

Result? Arriving at the car park it was empty. To add to this good fortune the sun suddenly came out.

Walking one of my old favourite trails, you could see it had aged. Some trees have come down over the last few years, there are huge ant hills where previously there were none. A certain section of wood had been felled, changing the feel, mood and biodiversity. The scars of time work on us all.

But just like meeting that old friend it was a lovely reunion.

Doggies: Jello, Quila, Saga and Stella