Gjende or Gjendin is a lake in Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway . It is located in the Jotunheimen mountain range and also inside Jotunheimen National Park . The proglacial lake shows typical characteristics of glacial formation, being long and narrow, with steep walls. The lake is 18 kilometres (11 mi) in length and only 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) in width at the broadest point. Gjende has a characteristic light-green color resulting from the large quantity of rock flour which is discharged into the Gjende by the Muru river. The river Sjoa provides the outlet from Gjende at Gjendesheim , and flows eastward into the Gudbrandsdalslågen river.
9-584: Gjende lies in the middle of Jotunheimen National Park and both to the north and south of the lake lie peaks with elevations reaching greater than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). There are numerous staffed tourist cabins maintained by the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT); in the west end lies Gjendebu , on the north side lies Memurubu and on the east end lies Gjendesheim. In the summer boats provide transport between these locations. The name ( Old Norse : Gendir )
18-459: A keen interest in Norwegian nature and given the country publicity as a tourist destination, among them Kofi Annan and Katie Melua . The secretary-general of the association is Dag Terje Klarp Solvang. The mountains of Norway have always been utilised by the Norwegian people since the first Norwegians followed the reindeer when the ice cap retracted ten thousand years ago. DNT's first hut
27-490: Is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism in this country". Today the goal is to work for simple, secure and environmentally friendly outdoor activities. DNT has currently more than 300,000 individual members, and 57 local chapters. It also has several "honorary members", prominent people who have shown
36-640: Is derived from Norse gandr which means 'staff' or 'stick'. This is referring to the form of the long and narrow lake. The official name Gjende is taken from the Gudbrandsdal traditional district dialect used in Lom and Vågå . In the Vang dialect the lake is called Gjendin , which is the form you find in Henrik Ibsen 's name for what is now called Besseggen , formerly Gjendineggen , or Gendineggen in
45-797: Is found in literature and travel books from the 18th century. Together, the Jotunheimen lakes of Gjende and Bygdin play in many such descriptions. For example, Henrik Ibsen 's Peer Gynt took his famous wild-reindeer ride along "the Gjendin Ridge", a reference to either the narrow Besseggen Ridge - or the Knutshø ridge on the other side of lake Gjende. Norwegian Mountain Touring Association The Norwegian Trekking Association ( Norwegian : Den norske turistforening , DNT)
54-520: The association. The money has been spent to build new and refurbish existing cabins. Forty one of the huts are staffed. The rest are self-service, some with provisions and some without. The self-service huts are occasionally locked, and to use them it is necessary to get a key from the DNT for a NOK 100 deposit (if the key is returned, so is the money). Every self-service hut contains a stack of debit/credit card forms for payment. This form must be filled out at
63-419: The conclusion of a stay and dropped into the payment box. You must register before using a bunk. Most self-service huts have solar panels, and therefore electricity, but no running water, so they are usually located very close to a river from which buckets may be filled. Before leaving a self-service hut, it is considered good etiquette to carry in firewood, do the dishes, clean the floor and (if necessary) lock
72-409: The older orthography . The name Gjende is derived from the old Norse word "gandir" that can be translated into "straight stick", whereas the lake to the south Bygdin can be translated as "bent stick", the two names thereby referring to the shape of the lakes. The lake gave its name to a famous early outdoors man and free thinker, Jo Gjende (1794—1884), who had a cabin at Gjende. Lake Gjende
81-486: Was Krokan by the Rjukan waterfall. The waterfall was later harnessed for hydropower production and the hut was sold. Today it is re-opened, situated by the main road from Tinn to Vinje . Together with local organisations all over Norway, it operates more than 550 cabins in Norwegian mountains and forest areas. Olav Thon , a Norwegian real-estate investor and hobby trekker, has so far donated 55 million kr to
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