“Jo flere kokker, jo mer søl” we say in Norway – meaning «the more cooks, the more mess”.
And we ended up making a mess. But nonetheless we had a lot of fun when we converted our Acapulka Sled into a moving feed station for the “Grenaderløpet” in Nordmarka.
(Grenaderløpet 90k race since 1969, Nordmarka, Norway)
Our moving feed station was equipped with our wooden stove, pancake mix, coffee and comfortable seating as we set forth towards Løvlia. Blue skies and Easter like temperatures painted the treetops of “Krokskogen” as we strode across Heggelivann on a smooth layer of snowy crust. In Norway, it’s rare to feel the “heat” of the sun this early and we started dreaming of the upcoming Norwegian Easter in the high mountains. (A how to Easter tutorial will drop in a couple of weeks)
At the Løvlia checkpoint the participants are reaching the half way mark at around 50k and will be craving for sugary treats to keep up the pace. We teamed up with the official feed station of the race and got some tips & tricks for how to match the speed of the participants.
The wooden stove was fired up, cast iron pans heated and pancakes made. We cheered, fed, supported and crashed along the route as we did our best to boost the skiers on their way down the hills from Løvlia towards the 2nd half of the 90k total. Our patent (under review) for the moving feed station proved some shortcomings but our support was approved by the official “feeders” and invited back in 2025. We wished the last racers best of luck and headed towards the bush for a coffee and another pancake.
The afternoon was spent sunbathing, cups of coffee and a usual “bushwhacking” project wherever we could explore. The beauty of Nordmarka is the endless hills, gulley’s, frozen swamps, single tracks and pitch perfect groomed trails. The sun was setting as our feed station made it back onto Heggelivann to be covered by a smooth layer of gloomy fog to set the mood of “trollsk”. (Meaning magical, taken from the ages of the trolls in Norwegian mountains and forests).
And magical it was as we slowly made it across the lake towards the cabin. Temperatures dropped and reminded its only February. Still a solid bunch of winter left, luckily.
The feed station was parked, the stove died, and darkness caught the treetops as we parked ourselves in the sauna.
