The Telemark Canal

SUMMER 2018

Text: Vibeke C Strømmen

Photos: Vibeke C Strømmen, Martin Fossen and family.

There was a so-called supercell over Norway this summer. A continuous period with sun every day and temperatures up to 30 ^oC. The forests dried up leading to an unusual amount of forest fires..

We traveled to Kragerø to visit Martin's family in a small hamlet a little north of Kragerø, called Farsjø reuniting with his sister and brother who lives there and his second sister with family who lives in Bergen.

The whole extended family was gathered this summer. The days consisted of not getting too hot. Do as little as possible and swim as much as possible. I started hearing rumors that they wanted to take a paddle trip on the Telemark Canal. This channel I had heard about is very nice and a very popular destination, with tourist boats that run the stretch Skien in the south to Dalen in the north. Much of the popularity of this channel is due to the river locks you have to pass.

Yellow dotted line indicates the whole Telemark Canal from Dalen to Skien.

The Telemark Canal has 8 lock systems consisting of 18 lock chambers. The waterway from Skien to Dalen is 105 km with a height difference of 72 meters. The most spectacular lock is called Vrangfoss which has 5 chambers and a lifting height of 23 meters. More info about the Telemark Canal can be found on Wikipedia, and on the websites for the Telemark Canal.

The day for the trip was finally agreed. Books had been read, maps studied and canoos aquired. Some of the family members already had kayaks, but to get everyone involved, we borrowed canoes through the scout group that one of our nephews was part of.

We got up early on the day of departure as we had to drive from Farsjø to Lunde. For me, this was going to be a kind of maiden voyage for dedicated canoeing. We had had a canoe trip very many years ago just me and Martin in the local area where he grew up, and a kayak trip in Molde in a double kayak. These were also nice ones, but the memories from them are quite weak The canoe trip at the time did not inspire us enough to paddle more after that trip, something I do not quite understand now.

Red dotted line: Lunde to Ulefoss - the stretch we paddeled.

But now we were going out on the Telemark Canal itself. We had bought a life jacket for our dog, Khaleesi, and hoped that she would handle this well. It always takes some time organizing when several people with children and dogs are to be made ready. There are coolers with food and drink, spare clothes, towels, sunscreen plus much more. But in the end we got out on the water. Then a calm and a joy descended.

Khaleesi sat in the bow on a blanket in front of me. Martin was helmsman. This should not be a stressful trip. With so many paddlers, it was not easy to stay together, however we now drifted partly organized down this wide canal. Some motorized boats came towards us from time to time but it was pretty calm out there on the water. I do not know how long we had paddled before we decided to go ashore somewhere. Food had to be eaten. As we sat and stood and walked around a bit on the small headland we had found, we saw that the Telemark Canal's own tourist boat came towards us. It was a great sight. The boat bears the name of one of Norway's and the worlds greatest authors, Henrik Ibsen.

Yellow dottet line: From Lunde to the penisula where we ate and watch the M/S Henrik Ibsen.

M/S Henrik Ibsen

After this break, the terrain around the canal changed a bit. It got a little narrower and some rocks appeared. Here we spent a little more time, took some pictures and just enjoyed ourselves drifting with the lazy current.

Where are we going, you wierd hoomans?

Eventually we came gliding towards Vrangfoss, the largest lock on the entire canal. As paddlers, we have to give way to the tourist boats and the larger motorized boats. Therefore we had to moor the canoes and kayaks along a small pier. From here we went up a hill to the old houses that were used by the lock workers. There was a restaurant, kiosk and toilet.

Yellow dot 1: Start Vrangfoss

Yellow dot 2: Foodbreak and swimming.

Waiting for M / S Victoria to be locked through.

M / S Victoria comes from Dalen and will be locked through Vrangfoss. Impressive sight.

Martin and I did not have the main responsibility for this trip, so we did not quite know how to do it by joining the locks down. But we saw how the tourist boat was locked down and it was quite special to see that the big boat sinking when the various locks were emptied of water. The device for opening the lock gates has not been modernized. Young people with a summer job used metal rods placed in a kind of device so that the gates open and close.

After a while, we heard that we could be let through. Then it was just a matter of getting in the canoes and kayaks in a hurry and paddling towards the first lock. It was very strange to sit in this old stone chamber and just sink down. We were told not to be near the gate when it was opened due to a draft suction.

Vrangfoss has 5 locks and it takes time to empty and fill them. We spent 1 hour getting down the 23 meters. (Remember that you have to pay to be locked through.) But that hour passed in very fast. It was a new experience for all of us. Very nice to have experienced this. Below are pictures from the lock.

Video of how the floodgates work.

Martin looks bored, but he was not, belive me.

This was the point of the trip most people had been looking forward to. A very special experience to sit in these locks and just be sunk by the water below us.

When we got out of the last lock we paddled to a small bay and went ashore. Here we had to have more refills of food and drink. There had now been several hours in the sun on the water and even if you are on the water all the time you do not get very chilled so we all went for a swim.

Yellow dot 2: Foodbreak and cooling time.

Swimplace.

The trips continued towards a new lock, Eidsfoss lock, but it has only one chamber. Therefore we used canoe and kayak trolleys and pure muscle power to get them down instead of paying for the lock. After this, the canal became much wider and the most spectacular part was over. Khaleesi fell asleep in the bow. A tiresome experience for a small dog this. Finally we got down to Ulefoss where we had parked some of the cars and got ashore. We had been on the water for about 7 hours and when we got home the trip had lasted for 12 hours in total, although it felt like it had only been a few hours!

Eidsfoss floodgate

The end of the trip. Ulefoss.

The trip was memorable for all of us. For me, this trip meant everything. It was this that sparked the desire for more paddle trips. It was a great maiden voyage. Thank you Telemarkskanalen and the initiators of the in-laws who planned it.