Oldemorstien Hiking Trail - Hardangervidda

Visitor Center Hardangervidda National Park – Skinnarbu welcomes you on a tour. This nature trail follows Oldemorstien, a 2.5 km long hiking trail in easy terrain. The trip takes about an hour. Along the way you will find benches and rest areas to enjoy the peace and quiet of this mountain birch forest. We recommend that you walk the path clockwise and turn left at the first crossing on the top of the hill. There are 10 information points, including the one at the first crossing. Here at Skinnarbu we are at almost 1000 meters above sea level. The natural area you are in now is a mountain birch forest in a subalpine zone. All the species that live here are linked together in a symbiotic network. Under optimal as well as in adverse conditions natural organisms interact; when one species disappears, it can affect many others. Along the way you will learn about animals and plants occurring here and how they relate to each other. You can find out more about this in the intranet library at the visitor center.

The mountain birch is a tree perfectly adapted to the cold and wintry mountain climate prevalent in this last forest before the tree line. For the mountain animals such as hare, grouse and other small rodents, the forest provides shelter and serves as a valuable source of food. In winter, the forest floor provides edible plant debris and when spring arrives, fresh buds contain valuable nutrition. The buds hold a substance that keeps them from freezing; sudden cold spells are weathered without damage to the trees' budding process. This means that mountain birch foliage develops early in the summer season. The autumnal moth is an insect typical to this region. About every ten years or so the forest is infested with this small moth. Its green larvae can at times decimate the entire forest's foliage during summer. After a couple of years, the number of autumnal moths declines again, and the mountain birch get a decade of peace and quiet before the next mass attack. Such fluctuations are common in nature. We are not always sure what causes them. Maybe one day there will not be enough food for the autumnal moths after they have eaten all the leaves? Many animals eat autumnal moths; maybe that will affect their population in a subsequent year? Perhaps the mountain birch has developed toxins to ward off the periodically occurring plague of the autumnal moths?

The mountain climate here is challenging to living organisms. Weather changes are rapid - sunshine and heat can quite suddenly be replaced with rain, wind and snow. Summers are short and temperatures low. We humans can adapt by dressing in thick, warm clothes, and even animals can find shelter from the wind or fly south when winter comes. Plants, however, rooted in the ground, remain exposed to the climate. The oldest juniper on record is a 1070-year-old juniper shrub in Northern Finland, while the tallest juniper registered in Norway was 17.5 meters tall and grew in Idd, Østfold. The juniper bushes you see here are smaller than the juniper you see in the lowlands and abroad. Their lower growth means less exposure to heavy winds and snow. The juniper is an evergreen and does not lose its pointed needle-shaped leaves in the winter. That means it can start producing nutrients in early springtime, without waiting for new leaves to grow. The berries are cone-shaped with a soft shell and need two years to mature. It is a common spice in Scandinavia, used in soups, stews and for adding flavor to gin.

Of the world's 250 bumblebee species, a total of 35 are registered in Norway. Bumblebees are our most effective pollinators. Pollinators are insects that fly from flower to flower to find food and are covered by pollen in the process. When moving on to another flower to feed, they carry along some of the pollen, and so the flowers are fertilized. Without this bumblebee action – no blueberries. The blueberry flowers cannot develop into blueberries if they are not fertilized, and blueberries are only pollinated by bumble bees! These berries are very important in Norwegian cooking, especially for making jams and juices. Many animals also rely on blueberries for food, including the bear. The monkshood bumblebee is attracted to the nectar in the flowers of the northern wolfsbane, which in local dialect is called lushatt, meaning 'louse hat'. In order to reach the sweet nectar deep inside the bell-shaped northern wolfsbane flower, the monkshood bumblebee has developed an exceptionally long tongue. There are no other bumblebees adapted to this challenge. This survival and reproduction enhancing trait however makes it difficult for the monkshood bumblebee to retrieve nectar from other flowers. Imagine trying to drink juice from a glass through a straw that is as long as you are tall!

Some of Norway's greatest war heroes of World War II grew up in Rjukan. During preparation for the heavy water action, the heroes from Telemark - Jens Anton Poulsson, Arne Kjelstrup, Claus Helberg and Knut Haugeland - used the cottage at Sandvatn from November 5 to November 22, 1942. Several reconnaissance missions were done in the marshes here. Einar Skinnarland remained in the area after the heavy water campaign, subsisting on supplies from his brother Olav who ran both the hotel and shop. The third brother - Torstein - was also active in the resistance movement.   Einar was awarded the Krigskorset, one of Norway's highest military orders featuring a cross and two swords. In winter 44/45, the area was used extensively by the Company Linge soldiers, who came in from England.

Norway has a lot of marshes and because it is so cold, there is little evaporation. In fact, 9% of Norway's area is considered marshland. The marshes function as natural mitigators in extreme weather: When conditions are too dry, they act as water reservoirs that gradually leak water into the surrounding soil. When there is a lot of rain, they are like sponges that soak up huge amounts of water, 13 times their own weight, thereby reducing the flood hazard further down the river. There is a lot of carbon gas stored in the marshes. If all the marshes in Norway were to be excavated, 950 million tons of carbon would be released, corresponding to Norway's greenhouse gas emissions over 66 years. The marshes and wetlands are important resting and nesting sites for many birds. The willow warbler flies all the way from South Africa to Northern Norway during migration in the spring. For the birds, taking a break in these wetlands teeming with mosquitoes, other insects and their larvae is like stopping at a gas station when you are on a long drive. Here the birds can replenish their energy reserves before they continue their journey.

"The silence and the slowness, isn't that also the natural way?" - Odd Børretzen Excerpt from More Mountains Big trees are fine and really old houses too, but even better - Mountains. Which don't move an inch Even if the whole world changed (and it soon should) Then they stand there and stand and stand so you have something to put your forehead on, and cool you and hold on to something strong. -Rolf Jacobsen From Thinking of Something Else (1979)

Lichen is not a plant, rather a composite organism consisting of fungus and algae. A fungus forms the lichen itself and inside the fungus there are algae, or blue-green bacteria, that produce nutrients. It is a bit like in an old-fashioned relationship, where one partner builds the house and protects the family from wind and weather, whilst the other partner cooks. A common one is reinlav, or reindeer lichen; as the name implies, it is a food source for reindeer during the winter season. Lichen contains few nutrients, so the reindeer must try to use as little energy as possible until the mountain grows green again in the spring. Lichen has been used in human consumption, for example Icelandic lichen was often mixed into bread dough. Lichen is very sensitive to air pollution. Where a lot of lichen thrives, such as here at Skinnarbu, there is little air pollution. We can assume that where there is less lichen, for example in the middle of Oslo, there is more exhaust and smoke. You can check your environment when you get home. Do you find comparatively more or less lichen on the trees?

Mammals and fowl alike thrive on the plants that grow in the mountains. As humans, we are particularly interested in mountain berries. Along the paths in the marshes we find cloudberries which are considered a delicacy. They are used to make jams, liqueurs and milky custards. The flower is white and very sensitive to frost. After a late freeze in the spring, the cloudberry blossoms may not be able to survive, meaning less berries in the fall. The berries are red and harden as they grow; once mature, they become soft and orange in color. The birds' favorite treat is the crowberry. Crowberries are almost black in color; when digested, they turn the birds' feces blue or purple. The crowberry is sour and has many hard seeds but is good for making juice. The leaves contain a toxin. When the leaves fall off the plant and break down, these toxins are released and can prevent competing plants from growing too close to the crowberry. The lingonberry plant has beautiful white bellflowers. In autumn, these turn into bright red berries that taste a bit sour. The berries contain benzoic acid, a common preservative used in the food industry. Jams made of lingonberries contain this natural preservative in abundance, allowing for a shelf life of several years! Lingonberries grow where it is sunny but dry. The leaves have a shiny wax layer on the upper side that protects against drying out.

You may be under the impression that Norway is blessed with an abundance of nature - but just as in the rest of the world, nature is gradually declining every year. We see less and less of unspoiled wilderness where one is far from human dwellings, power lines and other traces of development. Nevertheless, we still have far more natural areas than most other countries in Europe. Wherever untouched nature is in decline, species and habitats are also lost. This means that the natural areas we are left with become more monotonous. This has consequences for humans beings. Variety in nature is necessary to sustain clean air and water, for pollinating plants that are a valuable food source and to decompose dead organisms. In nature we find food and materials, as well as chemical compounds that can be used in medicine. Nature also has an intrinsic value, for adventure, outdoor pleasures and recreation. Upcoming generations should have access to this. Solving climate and environmental challenges is one of the biggest tasks we face today. We ourselves are the cause of environmental problems given the increasing rate and often harmful ways we use natural resources. We hope you enjoyed this nature trail and that it will inspire you to take care of your own natural habitat.