On-the-road day, plus a few mountain tops
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Municipality | Location |
| Søråsen | 124m | 106m | Vågan | GPX |
| Årnøya | 130m | 130m | Hadsel | GPX |
| Lødingsaksla | 569m | 411m | Lødingen | GPX |
Søråsen, 124m
This was our last day in Lofoten, but before we left Kabelvåg, Anne wanted to visit the place Kalle. The majestic Vågakallen (943m) rises high above Kalle and this area is climber’s paradise. The climbers even refer to the area as “Paradise“.
On our way to Kalle, we decided to visit Søråsen. It’s not really much of a top and not much of a hike, but it’s a top with a primary factor > 100m, and on days with a lot of driving, we like tops like this one.
We drove to road end at Ørsnes, turned right on a smaller road and found a place that we started out from. The terrain was fairly easy and it took us only 20 minutes to the summit point.
We had a great view towards Vågakallen. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to visit it this time, but there WILL be a next time…
On top, we saw a path going in the northwest direction, and we decided to follow it. The path led us down to a “Gapahuk” and a forest trail. We followed the trail almost down to the road, then took right and followed another trail back to the car.
Next stop was Kalle. We weren’t really sure what we wanted to see there, so we just drove in and out.
Pictures from the Søråsen hike:
Årnøya, 130m
Årnøya is located in Sløverfjorden. E10 runs in a tunnel under this island We parked at Årnøysundet and headed towards the south ridge and found a path leading to the top. It was a great view from the top, and I could see Higravtinden – which I visited the day before.
Pictures from the Årnøya hike:
Lødingsaksla, 569m
The plan for the next day was to hike Møysalen (1262m) – the highest point on Hinnøya island and in the Vesterålen region. We chose Lødingen as “base-camp” for the night. Unfortunately, the weather the next day (rain and fog) didn’t permit a hike of this magnitude so Møysalen will simply have to wait until the next time we travel to northern Norway.
In Lødingen, we drove to Brygga Hotel and asked for a room for the night. Because of the dog, we were offered a room without windows that could be opened. However, there was a door that could be opened – so anyone from the sidewalk by the main street could simply walk straight in. No thanks!
Then we continued to Centrum Overnatting and got an apartment of high standard and it was NOK 300+ cheaper than what Brygga Hotel wanted. Sold!
Anne went over to the local book store, bought a Lødingen map and had a nice talk to the store owner. I decided to pay Lødingsaksla a visit and borrowed her map. After all, Karma needed her afternoon walk.
I actually thought this would be a quick an easy walk. The mountain looked so close. But it was 3km to the top and a vertical gain of more than 500m. After 3 attempts, I found the road leading up to Norddalen. I had hoped I could drive all the way, and perhaps I could but a gate (open) discouraged me, so I parked at the entrance to the valley.
Karma and me headed out at 5:38pm and followed the road in Norddalen for 1km until it ended. From here, I followed a marked path up the forest, past Øvre Hamndalsvatnet and to Hyttevatnet. I lost the path for a little while but found it again. At the Hyttevatnet lake, the path turned left and went in the direction of Øygårdsvatnet.
At 380m, the path turned west and followed a grassy pitch straight up the mountain. Karma and I arrived on the summit 6:32pm – close to the hour after leaving the car. Good views from up here! I could see both Møysalen and Stetind – the most characteristic peak in northern Norway, if not all of Norway!
We took the same route down and tried to keep a good pace so we could have a not-too-late dinner in Lødingen. We returned to the car 7:06pm and I managed to lose Anne’s map on the way down. A bit later, we went to the local pizza restaurant and had a nice meal. We agreed to proceed towards Sandnessjøen the next day, but not before I had bought Anne a new map in the local book store…
Pictures from the Lødingsaksla hike:
Such a beautiful country, I really hope I can get back there one day.