Afternoon hikes on Venabygdsfjellet
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Søre Bølhøgda | 1258m | 168m | Ringebu | |
| Muen | 1424m | 300m | Ringebu/ Stor-Elvdal | WCP |
Summer vacation 2017, day 1:
Anne and I started late out from Sogndal, we drove across Sognefjellet in beautiful weather, down to Ringebu and up to Spidsbergseter Resort on Venabygdfjellet. In one way, we picked up from where left off during our Easter vacation, when we skied Trabelifjellet – close by.
Our final destination was Femundstunet by lake Femunden, but we had decided to make a stop for the night along the way, and Spidsbergseter seemed like a good place to do just that.
If I had paid attention to the price before Anne made the reservation, chances are we might have looked for another place to stay. Charging NOK 350,- just for bringing the dog is outrageous. No one will ever convince me that they clean the room extra hard because there has been a dog there. One room + dog + buffet for 2 persons + glass of wine + 1 beer = NOK 3600. Ouch! The room was perhaps worth 800…
Anyway – the time was approx. 5pm when we checked into the room, and we had seating in the restaurant 7:30pm. Enough time to visit a mountain top or two. While Anne went biking, I took Karma and drove up to the saddle (approx. 1030m) between Søre Bolhøgda and Muen. I visited Muen back in 2000, and as I have to make sure I reach my annual goal of 100 new peaks, Søre Bølhøgda (1258m) was the natural choice. The tally so far this year was 55, and my ambition was to see 80 by the time the 2-week vacation was over.
I found that there was a path leading up the mountain, which was convenient. After driving for 5 hours non-stop, hiking was not the first thing my body felt like doing. Karma and I took it nice and easy upwards and reached the top 5:39pm, 17 minutes after leaving the trailhead. This is what peakbaggers call a “bonus top“. Very little effort involved…
We were back at the car 5:55pm and I reckoned I had time to hike Muen (1424m) and be back at the hotel before 7pm, leaving me plenty of time to shower and dress for dinner.
To be on the safe side, I decided to jog up the mountain. The body screamed in protest.
It was 2km and 400 vertical meters to the top. We left the car 7:56pm and reached the top 6:21pm. I didn’t remember anything from the hike back in 2000, other than the fact that I know I did it. The final 120 vertical meters were quite rocky, but I didn’t remember that either. After a round of pictures, we left the top 2 minutes later.
We ran all the way down. A couple of hikers on their way up seemed to study us with great interest. I don’t know what’s unusual with a guy running down a mountain with a dog on his tail.
We reached the car 6:40pm sharp and reached the hotel some 10 minutes later. After a very nice dinner (buffet), we relaxed in the room with sheep grassing on the lawn outside the window. Smart! No need to pay people to mow the lawn…
Pictures from the hikes:
