The route: Lønsstua-Saltfjellsstua-Krukkistua-Bolnastua. August 20-22, 2919. Day 74-76. 53 km.

Originally initiated by the Lofoten fishermen, the Norwegian government decided to build a telegraph line from Trøndelag to Lofoten in 1866. Building a telegraph line was a major construction job, necessitating a construction road suitable for horses as well as cabins to house the workers. It was torn down 100 years later, when the traffic was diverted to Lønsdalen with construction of a new road, but many traces remain.

Now a designated Historic Hiking Route, this is the trail I followed through Bjøllådalen in Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park. The Telegraph Trail passes historic telegraph huts such as Krukkistua on remnants of the old horse trail and the old telegraph poles pop op frequently, now with the red T-markers .

When the telegraph line was functioning, horses frequently traveled up and down the valley, which, to my surprise is still possible: At Krukkistua I met three people on a horse-riding holiday more or less following following theTelegraph Route, which needless to say, is quite easy to walk on.

To get here from Lønsdalen/E6 you pass a stone desert and to get out again you pass The Polar Circle. Obviously this passage through Saltfjellet is quite a detour, it is much faster to quite simply walk along the E6 through Lønsdalen, which can be done in a day. I spent three days in Saltfjellet.

Apart from the horse company, the only person I met was a woman collecting cloudberries. And indeed, the slopes of Bjøllådalen are stuffed with them, wherever you look.