Last days of 2025 around Tynset

It has become a family tradition for us to spend the last days of the year in the Tynset region. This year we stayed in two places - first, a couple of days in a cosy old cabin near Kvebergstjønna, and then in an amazing little house in Fådal, just 5 km from Savalen lake. 

The area around Kvebergstjønna offers great views and some nice cross country skiing routes. It was a big contrast to snowless Oslo. 

Kvebergstjønna is supposed to have good trout and arctic char populations, but on the day I tried icefishing there, nothing was biting. Still, it was a good opportunity to test my new (half home-made) pulk and to grill in the local gapahuk. 

It was time to move to Savalen. My first ice-fishing day there did not start very smoothly. I stepped right into a pool of water on the ice near the shore. I didn’t notice it because it was still dark, and there were tracks there. It was only about 50 cm deep, but I ended up lying in the water and had to drive back to change into dry clothes. As a result, I started fishing an hour later and also had to pay the toll twice. But there was a positive side to the day as well: I met Gaute on the ice, a nice man who runs an online ice-fishing shop called Isfiskebue. He gave me some good advice on when and where to fish—and he also gave me three nice fish. So I ended up with five fish for dinner and drove home after two hours. 

The key to fishing at Savalen is to start early (very early) and find the right spot and depth. A combination of a char lure, a red blinking light, and a fly with maggots usually works well. I fished four mornings and caught some nice fish every day. Such early start is actually good for a family holiday, because you can leave the ice at around 10:30–11:00 and still have time to go skiing or sledging. 

These are the places where I fished. At the southernmost spot, the fish were very active from 07:00 and stopped biting after 09:00. The northern spots were deeper (8–10 m), and the fish started biting later—around 09:00—and stayed active until about 10:00. 

Nacreous (pearly) clouds (perlemorskyer), or polar stratospheric clouds, are clouds that form in the stratosphere during winter at altitudes of 25,000–30,000 metres.

Before a lot of snow arrived, we went on a little expedition to explore the ice, using a spark (kick sled), our favourite local way to get around.

Locals really use them in Tynset, too.

First ice-fishing trip of the season

It has become my tradition to start the ice-fishing season in November on Volsjøen. This year I caught less artic char (but more trout) than last year. The weather wasn’t ideal—strong winds and a couple of days with temperatures above freezing—but the ice was solid enough, and I managed to catch fish every day.

As usual, starting early proved to be crucial. My routine looked something like this: waking up at 05:30, hiking up to the lake, putting on the floating suit, drilling the first hole at around 07:30, and then staying on the ice until about 15:00. I have to admit, after three days of that schedule—followed by the drive back to Oslo—I was pretty exhausted. But it was absolutely worth it.

Evening on the lake, Elgåhogna in the back

Shades of Volsjøen

Not a big catch, but the fish were excellent quality.

Ice-free water fishing season 2025

Finally, it’s freezing outside and the lakes will soon be covered in ice. I’ve been out in Nordmarka several times this autumn, enjoying calm days in the forest and by the lakes, mostly in the area above Hakadal. Overall, it was a really good ice-free water season for me. I started using a braided line combined with a fluorocarbon leader, and it worked great. I also began fishing with wobblers and even caught my biggest trout—over 2 kg—on a wobbler in the Mistra river.

I tried a packraft for the first time and ended up taking two fantastic longer trips: one in Femundsmarka/Sweden with Louka, Vit, and Vojta, and another on the Mistra river with Vlado, Luky, and Stella. I also stopped being conservative with my lure selection in Nordmarka and experimented much more with different types and colors.

But now, it’s time to get ready for the ice!

Nordmarka autumn days 

Nordmarka autumn days 

Madeira

Week on Madeira... fantastic and dramatic landscape, mountains,  levadas, plants, forests, food, ocean and villages. Nice and friendly people. Great facilities on all beaches. Definitelly a place to come back. 

Warriors of the North vs. Packrafts

Another summer, another expedition of Warriors of the North. As usual, we went to Femundsmarka and nearby Sweden, this time combining hiking with packrafting. We were four (Louka, Vit, Vojta and me) and we carried four packrafts. Our route and camping places are shown on the map below. It was about 55 km long and we were out 6 nights. Looking back at it, it would probably be better to do it in the opposite direction (because of wind). 

Day #0 - before the start. Norway-Sweden-Norway

We rented the packrafts from Fjellboms. These inflatable boats are very light (3-4 kg), "easy" to carry and can handle heavy bags as well. As we have never tried them before, we were excited to see how we would manage them. Unfortunately, two of them were not in the best conditions (one was deflating a lot and another had a leaky bottom), but we somehow managed to use them (just needed to stop every hour to inflate/take out the water). After the trip, Kjell from Fjellboms returned us half of money and apologised for this. Thanks for that!

Packrafts are really great help when exploring remote waters, as they are very stable and can be carried in the bag on longer trips. When I was picking them in Oslo, I was able to transport all four in my bicycle carrier. Now we are actually thinking to purchase our owns. 

I picked up the boys on Friday midnight at the airport. After 2 hours driving we slept over near Elverum. Thanks to Sika we had great homemade cakes for the breakfest. 

My original plan was to drive to Grövelsjöen  (Sweden) and use the boat taxi to cross the lake. This would have saved us 10 km of hiking. Unfortunately, because of the strong wing (over 20 m/s), the boat was not operational and the forecast for next two days was not very optimistic. Therefore, we drove back to Norway and camped next to Halvorsjøen lake. I was actually OK with the potential delay, as I had some back issues. However, we wanted to go to the wilderness! And Louka did not seem very happy to camp next to the car for a couple of more days. So after a few glasses we decided that we would not rely on boat taxi and rather hike across the mountains. So the plan for the next day was set. 

Day #1 - Salsfjellet (Norway-Sweden-Norway)

We tried to reduce our load, however we ended up with 25+kg bags each. Vit was actually carrying 30+kg bag. We drove back to Sweden and started to hike. Wind was really strong (still over 20 m/s) and crossing the mountain was not easy. It took us 5 hours to hike 11 km to reach our first camp next to Røa river. 

Start. For the first time in my life I used the walking sticks and it helped a lot.

The path in Sweden is really well done. 

First few km was just uphill. The wind was so strong, that it had power to stop a man. Luckily, we had heavy bags:)

On the borders again. The nice path ends here. 

Reindeer along the way across the mountains

Finally, the uphill is over and we found a rest without strong wind 

Northern end of Grøvelsjøen. Going downhill was actually worse than going uphill.

We still need to walk 1 km, but we need a soup first. 

Finally the end of this windy day. We camped on the same spot as I did a few years ago with Belma. 

Day #2 - Upper Grøtådalen

Another 10 km long hike. But this one was beautifull. Walking along the upper parts of Grøtåa river is among the best section I have ever walked in Femundsmarka. The water level in the river was low and the water was very clear. We spotted several trout (Vit and Vojta saw one monster jumping for fly), but there was almost no chance to get any. 

Over Brundalsbekken 

upper parts of Grøtåa valley

father, son and two large bags

relax along the way

my favourite landscape

crossing Grøtåa, only 500 m to the camp... but we need to rest

our second camp

nearby lake Stormyrtjønnan

Finally we got some trout in that lake. Several trout escaped (something we experienced often in the upcoming days)

My favourite lure, in the color of cranberries

Day #3 - from Grøtåa til Vonsjøen

Louka and I woke up early and fished little bit in Stormyrtjønnan. It was lovely morning without any fish. We started to move to Vonsjøen at 11 - this was our typical starting time. The hike is just 2 km long, the landscape was again amazing, but we were getting tired. 

morning fishing

Louka found some chaga near the camp

On the way to Vonsjøen, view back towards Stor Svuku 

We found nice camping place on a small peninsula at a western end of the lake and stayed two nights there. 

We tested the packrafts in the afternoon, getting one nice trout during the test. I realised it is not an easy task to land a fish on the pacraft in the waves near the shore.

I tried fishing in the evening as well. Did not get any fish, but just being here was perfect. 

Along the way back to the camp

Day #4 - Vonsjøen and Kratla

This was our "rest" day. Well, we fished the whole morning and we made a trip to Kratla in the afternoon and evening, so it is difficult to call it a rest. 

Morning packrafting and fishing was perfect. Especially when I managed to get a trout over 1 kg and a 80 cm pike from the packraft. 

Vojta and Vit got pike and trout as well, so we had a lot of meat to eat. Trout in Volsjøen were in amazing conditions during this time of the season - all fish we had on our rods were around 1 kg and were fighting (often with success) a lot. Only Louka had no luck, so we were hoping that he would get some fish soon (luckily he did that day)

Lets go to Kratla! A system of smaller lakes next to the Vonsjøen, known for good trout and arctic char, especially in winter. We were there twice during winter, but never in summer, so we were curious. 

Unfortunately, this creek ended soon and we needed to carry our boats to another lake

Eldorado

We spent beautiful evening there... but fishing was without a chance (too nice weather I guess)

Langtjønna

Day #5 - Back to Sweden 

It was time to move back to Sweden. Our plan was to paddle 8 km to Nedre Grötsjön, a lake in the upper part of Hävlingen system. We met a Swedish flyfisherman there, who gave us several good tips about fishing and the route ahead. 

Last stop before leaving Vonsjøen

Fishing in Nedre Grötsjön was just perfect. During two hours in the evening we landed several trout over 1 kg that were swimming in shallow waters near the camp. Quality of fish was just amazing. 

and Louka was happy!

Louka's new frying pan was busy during the whole trip

Day #6 - Over Håvlingen til Särsjön

Wind/waves again against us, plus some rain and frequent stops to inflate one of the packrafts made the day harder, but after 5-6 hours we made it to the designated camping place at the end of Särsjön lake (the borders of Töfsingdalen national park). We managed to fish in the evening as well. Vit decided to fish after pike, and he got big fish, but it was not pike but biiiig trout. He managed to land it next to him, but without a net he was not able to take it out the water...after couple of efforts to grab it by hand the fishing line was cut by a stone and the trout swam away. We must come back!

start of the day

on the water

a portage between Nedre Grötsjön and Klacken

Klacken lake. When we were skiing here in winter, those lakes seemed small, but now in summer, we realised they are actualy pretty large

Louka, aka The Blowing Man, had a problem...

The end of Klacken lake

Finally, the end of paddling (Särsjön lake)

time to dry 

Särsjön is a beautifull lake 

with big fish as well

Day #7 - Back to the car

It was raining in the morning, so there was no rush. I went fishing, but no bite at all. The rain stopped at 13:00 and we started our hike to Grövelsjön. The bags were lighter and we were in good shape, so it went well. 

Vojta, the youngest Warrior  (10 years, 36 kg). He was carrying 20+kg bag and managed his own pacraft. Among other fish, he got a trout almost 50 cm long and a big pike. Not baaad!

Up to the mountain plateau

Hävlingen lake system behind us

view towards Håvlingsklåppen

last creek

and down to the parking, already planning our next trips.