Bondhus Glacier and Fonnabuten, Jun 5th

This was a very long and spectacular day with two hikes in one. When I was in the planning phase for this trip I came across these two hikes and for a while, was a bit torn. On one side you have a shorter easier hike with at least one scene that is out of a postcard. To get there is not that hard, but the trail does continue and goes to the base of the Bondhus Glacier. It didn’t kame much sense to just go to the lake and not continue to the glacier and check that out as well. On the other side, there’s an arduous climb to Fonnabu which is the starting point if you are planning on crossing the Folgefonna Glacier towards Odda. In other words, the trail takes you to the edge of a pretty big glacier. These two trails start from the same place and have a common trail in until a junction where you can elect to go one way or the other. Not wanting to use two days for this or walk the same trail twice, I opted for the obvious solution of doing both the same day. The only caveat was it made for a 17+ miles and over 5000 feet of elevation gain. Being early summer in Norway, light was not a problem, I knew I had about 20 hours and night time was not entirely dark. So, I packed my stuff and of I went.
The hike starts from a big parking lot at the end of the road. I guess this area gets a lot of visits as it’s the nicest trailhead I’ve seen. Not only for the information but also the big trail marker in the center of a kind of roundabout. From there, the trail is just the continuation of a dirt road alongside the creek. Just from that point you can tell the scenery will just get better as you go

At some point, the road splits and a big sign indicates the different destinations you can reach… all color coded for difficulty. Since I had already made the plan, I went with green and blue first leaving the red and black for later in the day. Shortly after that, I came up to the end of the road and the outlet of Bondhusvatnet. It was one of those moments when you get a place you’ve seen in pictures before, but the real-life version is way better. It was literally a postcard and it even made me wander if the boat actually belongs to someone or it’s just there to enhance the scenery (if you search for this place, you’ll see the boat is always there)

I took several angles of the same picture trying to avoid capturing some other stuff that was in the way. Here’s the thing, when I got there, there was a car parked on the side, running, spitting fumes and playing music. It belonged to a group of kids that were camping at the mouth of the lake. I could see they were using a campsite, so I guess that’s allowed, but I was not sure the car was supposed to be there, and even if it was, running? Seriously? Aside from that, it seems they had taken a swim and changed before sitting to eat (which is how I found them) so there were wet clothes hanging from a rail on a little dock. I did give them the look but that did not get anywhere. After several pictures and breathing heavy, I took off on the trail going around the lake. The trail was rocky and wide so probably an old road. Eventually I got to the other end of the lake where I found a gate (to keep animals on one side) and a bridge over the creek that feeds the lake from the glacier. From that point, the view looking back on the lake is magnificent as you get full reflection of the mountains on either side and the narrow outlet towards the fjords.

Then you turn the other way and a shallow forest stands between you and Fynderdalsnuten, a rocky mountain where the glacier sits to its side. From my view point, I could see the mountain clearly but not too much of the glacier (as compared with pictures I’ve seen before). Later I would discover that the glacier has retreated considerably so now you only see the chute where it used to be

The hike thru the forest goes quick and the trail suddenly starts to thin out and eventually disappear. This happens as you come out of the forest into a wide rocky expanse where the glacier probably washes out. Finding your way is pretty much pointing in the direction you want to go although there are some small cairns here and there. I traversed the whole area with the intent of getting to the base of the rocky slope where I found a small creek and waterfall. I was not even close to the glacier and from that point you couldn’t even see it which was a bit disappointing. It looked like you could scramble a bit and get closer but with a long day ahead I decided not to experiment with that and just take some pictures of the waterfall

After that, I retraced my steps back to the lake and around and to my delight to find the campers had left. I took a couple more shots of the lake and the boat before heading back to the junction to veer right and head up towards Fonnabu. As a lot of other places so far, the beginning of the trail looked more like a farm road than anything else, or maybe it was the cows that helped with that idea. Either way, it was kind of funny that, as I was walking the trail, the cows started walking towards me and got close just to look at me. I guess they were interested in whatever I could offer. I don’t feed animals on the trail, so I hope they were happy with me just saying hi to them. After the cows, I entered in a more forested area and the road started looking even more like a road going up on the side of the mountain. At first, I couldn’t make sense of it but then I found a sign that would explain everything to me. Back in the late 1800’s a German Merchant visited the area and found it to be the most spectacular in Norway. Working with local authorities, the trail was converted into a bridleway, so tourists could get access, with horses, to Gardshammar. Construction was done by local farmers as the bridleway would also benefit them. A big portion of the road goes up on the side of the mountain, but the most striking part are the 18 switchbacks that wind their way up. Beautiful at the views are though, getting up there is a workout. I sweated my behind as I went thru all those switchbacks and gained elevation quickly. Below me I could see Bondhusvatnet Lake getting smaller and smaller as I was looking at the top of the mountains around more at eye level.

After one last turn, the trail goes thru another gate (again to keep sheep on one side) and then enters Gardshammar. This area is a small valley with a handful of farmhouses perched up in the mountains. It was like a scene from Heidi where she would come running to meet Pedro and his sheep (which I could hear by the way). It was like walking into my childhood.

As I walked and singed the Heidi song in my head (I know how bad I can sing so I keep it to myself) a passed by a couple of sheep laying under a tree. It was just ridiculous.

Eventually I left the farm behind and the small trees thinned out and I got to Botnavatnet, a beautiful small lake in a basin. The trail continues around the lake and soon resumes a steady climb that only gets steeper as you go. There wee a couple of times I turned around, not only to check the lake from above but also to notice I had left the valley and lower lake far behind already.

As I got even higher, vegetation started to give up and let the rocks take most of the scenery. This is when I started noticing some of the most incredible rock work I’ve seen on a trail. I passed a section that looked like an old bridge from medieval times still holding up after the pass of time. Maybe this bridge is not that old but still, impressive work that will be there for years to come

The trail kept going up and eventually got to a saddle where it turns east and climbs on a ridge. It was a perfect stop for a quick stop and recharge and as I did that, I turned around to amazing views. I knew I still had elevation to gain, but from where I was, it seemed I was at the top of Norway. It was quite incredible to see the rolling peaks and deep canyons cutting thru the scene

Once I recovered my jaw from the ground, I continued my arduous and slow progress. After a while, the trail started leveling up and I could see some snow ahead and mountains in the distance. That view was kind of blocked by a big boulder I had to get around. To my side, I had a snow filed and a small snow melt lake that was beautiful and ahead a surprise I was not ready for. Once the trail took me around the boulder, a new view opened in front of me and I remember yelling something in the lines of “holly..”. The funny thing was that up to that point, I hadn’t seen anyone on the trail, but there was a guy sitting on the other side that almost jumped when he heard me. I spent several minutes apologizing as he just laughed at me. We talked for a bit and told me he was from there and liked hiking to that point just to sit and admire the scenery. It was easy to understand why.

From my point of view, I could see the trail descending a bit to the lake and going around but lost where it went from there. I could only see what looked like ice floating over water. I did know there had to be a way to continue and get to Breidablik which is a small cabin that sits on the top of the hill on the other side (you can see the hut on the top right corner of the picture above). Once I passed the lake I found markers pointing to an area where I had to cross a small snow field and then get back on a rock chute to continue up. From that point up, it was pretty much a rock staircase towards the hut, so I got there pretty quick.

When I got to the cabin, I noticed it was not locked so I decided to check it out. There I found the cabin sleeps four and it’s fully stocked. Not only there are pillows and linens but cooking utensils, gas, plates, silverware, you name it. I started checking out the notices on the wall and learned the cabin (as many in Norway) is open to the public on a first come, first served basis. Pretty much you get there and use it. There was a payment envelope where you can fill out a form and put cash or your credit card information and leave it there to cover the cost of using the cabin at a very reasonable rate. It was the most civilized thing ever.

I left the cabin and continued on the ridge towards a huge cairn that I could see in the distance. By now, the views ahead of me had a white boundary, the Folgefonna Glacier. Far to my right I could see more peaks in the distance and to my left a deep depression with an ice melt lake. It was surreal, I was literally at the top of Norway. I finally made it to the big cairn which indicated the Fonnanuten summit, the highest point of the hike. From that point, I could see cairns all the way to the huts at Fonnabu but by then I was tired enough that decided to make this my turning point. I sat on the rocks to take in the views and refuel for the long way down being content that I was there. For me, there was no need to push a bit more to get to Fonnabu as the views where not going to get any better. After taking in the big picture, I changed lenses in my camera and started focusing on details, things I couldn’t see clearly without the aided help.

After a handful of pictures in different direction, I packed my stuff and started my long descend back to the parking lot retracing my steps. As the sun was moving away, I took a lot more pictures on the way down, so I’ll leave some of those here.

You can see the rest of the Bondhus Glacier picture set here and here for the Fonnabu Glacier pictures set

Rotekot from Fossasete, Jun 4th

I met my AirB&B host in the morning as I was heading out to hike Buer Valley. In a short conversation, she recommended me driving further down the road until I found another parking area and hike up next to a wonderful waterfall. Being a local advice, I took note and placed it in my to-do list. After the hike to Buer Valley I drove and found the waterfall not to far from where I was and the parking area. Before heading up, I grabbed my packed lunch and found a nice spot on the other side of the road where I sat under a tree with ample views of the fjord and another gigantic waterfall on the other side. After that and under a very bright day, I grabbed my gear and headed up the trail and right there I found an old storage hut that was very interesting. The bottom was big rocks piled into the mountainside with the door below ground. Above ground, the hut was wood with the customary grass roof. What I found interesting where the two rock slabs on the front. Not sure if they were just placed there without a specific purpose or not.

Then I turned back and got on the trail and started climbing quick. After doing three hikes, I started to realize that trails in Norway are designed with a different goal than here in the US. While here we tend to have graded trails that are designed with horses in mind, in Norway, it seems they design them just to last and be functional. This trail, as the others, follows a chute straight up. Using stepping stones. Is pretty much a big ladder that will get your heart pumping pretty quick

As you gain elevation, you get better views of of the fjord and the waterfall on the other side. Eventually you pass a couple of spots where the waterfall nest to the trail almost splashes at you. In one particular spot, I found a side path to the edge of the waterfall. Mossy and wet rocks stopped me from getting closer which I wouldn’t have done anyway after seeing the force and amount of water coming down.

At the top of the waterfall lies Fossasetevatnet, the lake that feed the waterfall. Next to it I found a couple of farm houses and a cable car that descends thru the trees all the way down to the road. I didn’t see that when I started but it made sense to have some sort of help to bring materials up for those houses and farms up in the valley.

I left those structures behind and continued the rocky trail gaining more elevation. As I did, the sliver of white from the glacier popped in the horizon and I knew I was closer to Lisatevatnet, the next lake. Roughly at that moment, the trail changed into a foot path which seemed weird at first. Later, looking at the map, I realized I had missed a turn somewhere and got off trail. Either way, I made it to the end of the lake and, surprisingly, more farm land.

As I hiked on the lake shore, I saw sheep, a horse but no people. There were at least 4 or 5 houses in the area sharing the mountainside and the lake in an almost idyllic place. As I was looking at that, I was wondering how they get materials and anything else up there. The only thing I saw was the cable car but that was away down the hill. I’m still puzzled as to how they make this work. Towards the western edge of the lake I found the little stream that feeds the lake and took some pictures there.

I noticed the footpath continuing up, so I decided to follow it and explore a bit. For a while I snaked thru the bushes and got glimpses of another lake and the glacier in the distance, but t didn’t seem I was going anywhere. At some point the path got thick and more difficult to navigate so I decided to turn around and head back down the way I had come. Even though this hike was not the most memorable I did in Norway, it was very educational given all the things I discovered or realized.

You can see the rest of the pictures here

Buer Valley, Jun 4th

Once in city of Odda, I had several hiking options aside from the very well-known Trolltunga hike. One that picked my interest was the Buer Valley as it followes the valley formed by glacier runoff all the way to the base of the Buer Glacier, one of the many fingers of the Folgefonna Glacier. What I didn’t know was that, aside from the incredible views at the end of this trail, the trail itself would offer a nice challenge with multiple ropes, bridges and ladders to go thru.
As with a lot of hikes in Norway, the trail starts at the end of a farm road, going thru the farm and eventually getting on the trail. On this particular trailhead, you can see the price from the very beginning and some would argue that it’s a better view than what you get after. Completely debatable.

After passing the farm buildings and some very hairy cows that looked more like large dogs with horns, I took a slight turn and got on the trail right next to the creek. I had thought that building cairns was a thing here in the US, but it turns out it’s a thing everywhere. I’m guessing the first part of the trail was an old road that became a trail. As hikers go by, the build and leave cairns behind so he whole side of the trail is just that, cairns.

Then the fun began when I got to the first obstacle. Coming from the right hill, a creek was rushing down over rocks and bushes almost looking like a small flood. It was interesting to see that since the creek bed is mostly rock, the water has not been able to dig a trench so instead it just runs over everything and over the span of quite some distance. The first section had only a log that served more as a guide than something to step on. Luckily the water was not that high so several rocks where clearly above water and hopping thru was not that hard. The second section was without a log but with a rope. I had to go a bit around it as the rope goes on the deeper part of the creek while right below there are some bigger rocks that made passing a bit easier.

After that, I got to the steel bridges which was quite easy.

The trail continues up making quick turns to go around big boulders or just going over them with the aide of ropes or chains. It was an easy trail to follow but a full body workout in places. And then I got to the hanging bridge. It was quite impressive to see this small structure anchored to rocks and just hanging there. Quite a scene.

(btw, the red markings on the other side are trail markers. There’s another rope there to climb over that boulder)
As I continued up, I got used to the variety of anchors, ropes and interesting things the trail was throwing at me. It was a lot of fun to traverse all those features

Finally, I got to the end of the trail where another side runoff joins the Buer runoff. You can continue a bit further but there’s no ropes or aides so you’re at your own risks. Since I had come out unscathed from my little ordeal the day before, I wasn’t in the “mood” to get into another pickle, so I decide to stay on the safe zone and just explore around the view area for a bit and enjoy the majestic scenery.

Just as I turned around and was getting ready to hike out, I noticed a little hut on a small ridge to the left and a foot path going to it. I decided to go check it out and found it to be a hut that sleeps 4. It was open and very clean suggesting is open to the public and used as a first come first served basis. From that point I took a last peak at the scenery and then headed back down over the whole variety of small challenges. All that certainly placed this trail very near the top of my most fun trails list.

You can see the rest of the pictures here

Fitjadalen-Breidablik-Honskursdalen, Jun 3rd

This was my opening hike during this long three-week trip where not only did I do a long, grueling route but also managed to get into a pickle – my style on the way down. If you have hiked with me, you probably know what that means but if you don’t, keep reading.

For starters, I think I need to explain how I chose these hikes. When I started planning my trip to Norway, I wanted to do the iconic hikes, you know, the ones that come up in every single search you do, mainly Preikestolen, Trolltunga and pulpit rock. With that in mind, my driving and lodging route was a loop starting from Bergen going to Odda, Stavanger and then back to Bergen. As I researched more, I learned a couple of things about these iconic hikes that didn’t resonate with what I like and why I hike. On one side, they are so popular that solitude is impossible but the other is that, to get those iconic shots, you may end up waiting in line for a couple of hours for your turn! That seemed ridiculous to me, so I dropped the idea of doing these hikes. Since I had the lop pretty much set, I started looking for hikes along the way and discovered a whole bunch that offered distance, elevation, scenery and solitude. I did drop the stop in Stavanger stop and opted for staying closer to Odda to reduce even more my driving time in favor of hiking time. So, on the road from Bergen to Odda, I found this hike to be the most interesting, not only because the main destination at Breidablik but also because it offered a couple of potential routes to do a loop instead of an out and back.

The hike starts from the little town of Fitjadalen, a little village on the north side of lake Fitjadalsvatnet just north of Oystese. Just from the start I learned a couple of things about trails in Norway that would prove correct and constant. They are very well signed and marked, and they go straight up, no switchbacks. The first section of the hike goes thru the woods gaining elevation really fast. At a particular turn, I found a sign for Kvandalen that was not in my maps but seemed to go to a view point. I followed that path that looked more like a horse path than anything else, but it certainly got me to a view point where I could see the snowcap and the valley behind me all the way down to Hardangerfjord.

After enjoying the views for a couple of minutes and noticing that my feet were sinking into the soft ground, I returned to the trail to resume my steady climb following the canyon. Soon after I left the tall vegetation behind and I entered the subalpine area and got to the end of the first canyon where I found an old lodge and the remnants of old farm houses. It was quite the scenery to see this little house all they way up in the mountains and the rock work done to build the foundation and lower part of the walls. I guess that’s what you need to do to survive the long winters.

I left the area and continued up with ever more expanding views. At almost every step I took, the views just got better. Not only I could get a better view at the mountains ahead but also at the fjords and lakes below. By then, the sense of solitude was very present. I had the mountain to myself. Further up I found the side trail to Mt Skrott which originally, I had planned on visiting but given the hour and that I was already hitting some snow, I opted for continuing towards Breidablik. By then I was already on what felt like a ridgeline, to my left I had steep slope down to the valley of one of the many creeks and to the right, the gentle slopes of the top of the mountains. The black mass of Mt Skrott was in the middle of that scenery.

Further up I saw a small hut and thought it was my destination but soon discovered it was not when I passed a connector trail to it and a sign pointing to Breidablik. The trail took me over some rocky terrain and finally to the western shore of the still half frozen lake Steinlaetjorni. I couldn’t tell where the rocks ended and the water started so tried to be careful to navigate as close to the edge as possible. The scenery was beautiful with blue pools of water on the snow. At some point I got to the outlet of the lake and had hop on several rocks to get to the other side. While doing that, I noticed very faint orange markings indicating the path to follow.

On the other side, I found a flat rock where I took a break and had a late lunch

From that point on, the trail took around small tarns, snow fields and big boulders. The views were just breathtaking al around until finally I had Breidablik in front of me. The only problem was a big and somewhat steep snowfield I had to cross. After analyzing for a bit, I opted for going around and finding my way to the Mountain Cabin

I had seen pictures of Breidablik before, but I wasn’t prepared for what it was. There are three huts that were build back in the 60’s One of them is the main mountain lodge which has some impressive wood work and rock work around it. There’s also a dorm hut which is a bit more modest and finally the shed/bathroom hut. The main hut is build with wood while the other two are just rocks. If that’s not impressive enough, all three huts form a circle with small rock walls around, rock paths, a man-made pond, a gigantic rock table built with a single slab, seating areas… I mean the whole place looks like a mountain resort. I know it sounds unbelievable so here are some pics

I stayed there for about half an hour taking pictures before continuing. I do remember thinking about heading back down the way I came because I was finding a lot of snow but being adventurous as I am, I decided to go a bit further to take a look and see how the route looked going forward. I descended a bit and, although there was a lot of snow, it seemed that the route was doable. Comparing the view with my map, I could even see a lake were one of the trails heading down was supposed to be, so I continued, but soon after that, I lost the trail completely. As I navigated around trying to keep on the upper side of a big snow field as I could hear water under it, I noticed I was veering way off trail. At some point I had to decide and try to trace back to the track. That proved to be a bit more difficult that expected forcing me to scramble around a small rock wall. I considered at that point turning around and heading back but had already descended a couple hundred feet and didn’t see my route back either. This is when I decided to continue and find my way down on the “shorter” trail I had in my map.

The route took me around a couple more tarns and snow fields and eventually to the top of the canyon that would take me down. By then I was pretty far from Breidablik so going back was not necessarily a good option. The problem was the view down the canyon didn’t look very promising either. From my perspective, it looked like I was going to cliff out soon.

I continued carefully on the side of the slope trying to avoid snow and loose rocks which helped for a bit. Eventually I got to a point that there was no other way and I had to get down from where I was. Also, from the map, I noticed I was on the wrong side of the creek so whether I liked it or not, I was going to have to cross snow, rocks and a creek hidden below. That made me uncomfortable as I know it’s very dangerous. You never know when you’re going to break thru and fall thru the snow to who knows what. At least you know you can fall a couple of inches but at worst, you could fall into a big hole or a rock and break something. I was in a pickle.

Slowly and carefully I continued down and found a place to cross that seemed safe as I could see the rocks. Once on the other side, I started navigating my way down the canyon trying to keep high to avoid falling into the water or rocks, but that proved to be as difficult. In several places I still broke thru the snow and slid down on wet, slippery grass. The going was slow but steady. The scenery was just magical. A couple of times my trekking poles saved me from falling further but it was just a matter of time until that was not going to be the case and it happened towards the end of the snow. While traversing a very slippery slope, I slid down and turned and while doing that, pone of my poles got stuck in a rock and broke. That flung me around and the only thing that stopped me was the other pole which got bent. My heart rate went sky high, but I managed to steady myself and found a place to sit and take a moment to access. I didn’t have anything broken or scratches, my poles had taken on the fall. There I noticed I was not on the safe side though. The terrain looked like it was going to drop off and I was going to cliff out. That certainly worried me, but I had no choice other than continue.

Just after that last steep section I was finally out of the snow but still looking at a steep incline heading down. The good news was that I was on a trail… it was more like a foot path but still, it was something to follow down. That climb down was even more grueling than the climb up and along the way I saw sheep meandering thru the bushes and captured some flowers. After a long hike, I was finally down in the valley floor passing by a camping site and heading back to the trailhead.

That night I was reflecting on the hike and wondering if that was assign of things to come ion this already epic journey.

You can see the rest of the pictures here