I managed a trip to Blåfjell this year too, but this time it was different, for two reasons. First, I now have a dog, and second, I did not sleep in my tent, but partly worked as a farm hand on the Gjefsjø mountain farm. My compensation was that I could borrow a cabin on the lake Storkasttjønna.

The dog is a Bouvier des Flandres (cattle dog from the Flandres, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouvier_des_Flandres),

born on April 29 in Valdemarsvik on the east coast of Sweden. I went by car to pick it up and we arrived in Oslo on Midsummers Eve. You have to bear with me when I write too much about the dog, called Chomsky, named in honor of Noam Chomsky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky

To be responsible for a dog means quite a change in an old man’s life.

My work as a farm hand was not particularly demanding. The biggest job was to paint the inside of a new sheepfold. Then there was the haymaking and various other chores. The farmer, Christian, was not exactly a slave driver. The whole arrangement suited me perfectly, because the puppy was too small to go to the usual camp at Holmtjønna, and my own shape has not exactly improved by age, so it was OK not to have to carry a too heavy backpack. Also, the weather was lousy at times, so it was quite comfortable to sleep under a roof. Furthermore, to work at a mountain farm was quite a learning experience. While most mountain farms in Norway are being abandoned, Christian is expanding his, with a brand new building containing a sheepfold, a workshop, a dining area and bathroom for the tourists who are renting cabins at the farm. Christian is also a good cook and served a lot of delicious meals while I worked at the farm. On my earlier trips to the area I had lost quite a bit of weight, but not this time.

Storkasttjønna turned out to be quite a paradise, deep and with a lot of fish. There were many small bays and promontories with fur trees.

With this trip Chomsky got a perfect start of his life. On the farm, we lived in a cabin facing the main building, and the fact that he could walk around freely suited us both perfectly. He was more or less housebroken in the two cabins we used, but he insisted on peeing on the living room floor in the main building. During the six weeks in the mountain he gained weight from five to fifteen kilos. As his owner, he sleeps a lot and when he is awake, he wants to play. The farm dog, a four-year female elkhound consistently turned down Chomsky’s invitations to play, something Chomsky never accepted.

The trip to Kasttjønna was 7.5 kilometers, including 1.5 by rowboat. I was afraid the trip would be too strenuous for the dog, but when we arrived at the cabin, he was in great shape, while I was more or less exhausted. We made three trips to Kasttjønna and Chomsky did not like the boat trips at all. Only once did he jump into the boat voluntarily, but after I lifted him inside, he could fall asleep on the bottom of the boat .

There was not much wildlife to see, but on one of my short trips with Chomsky near the farm, a beautiful small red fox appeared at a distance of about 50 meters, with something that looked like twigs in its mouth. When the fox discovered us it dropped its load and escaped. I then found that it had carried two legs of a lamb and a big chunk of its breast. Christian and his brother in law Ole Vedal (a wildlife supervisor in Snåsa) believed that the fox was not powerful enough to tear out such a big chunk of meat, which means that the lamb had been killed by a bigger animal, probably a brown bear.

Chomsky at the breeder's 8 weeks old

Chomsky in place at the farm

Nils, Christian's father and the elkhound Raia

Dog and backpack ready for the trip to Kasttjønna

Route to Kasttjønna recorded by my Apple Watch

The cabin at Kasttjønna

Normal catch

Chomsky inspecting catch

Note the red char

Chomsky as sheepdog

Sheep with tracker

Hard work!

The walls were easier

Painter playing with puppy

My sister Turid with husband visiting Gjevsjøen

View on Gjevsjøen from the Snåsa trail

Haymaking

Haymaking

Haymaking

Mechanical trouble

Haymaking

Haymaking

Haymaking

Ola Vedal's cabin

Christian and his friend the helicopter pilot

Ready to go to Sweden for a weekend party

Takeoff

Takeoff

Helicopter over the farm

Tractor eggs

Tractor eggs

Tractor eggs and farm

Chomsky with favorite toy

Chomsky and giant marmites

Chomsky and giant marmites

Chomsky the sailor

Chomsky playing in front of fallen furs

View on Livsjøen

Cute puppy

On our return home Chomsky' bed had become too small

All in all I again had a fantastic mountain holiday. However, I have to admit that old age takes its toll. I was more dizzy than before, unsteady and stiff and sore, so it was a miracle that I managed as well as I did. The average life span of a bouvier is about twelve years. His shape is improving and mine is deteriorating, so when he says goodbye, there will not be much left of me either. Which probably is as it should be.